Chapter 4
Ash
Ash got back to his Jeep and sat down in the driver’s seat without starting the engine. What had just happened? What had set Tessa off? Why had she walked off like that? The soft leather seats felt better than the hard woodland ground he’d just been sitting on, but the company he had was worse. He would have happily have sat on the hard ground for hours with Tessa by his side.
A shrill ringing sound came from his jeans pocket and he reached in and pulled out his phone. “What’s up?” he asked, when he’d flipped it open.
“Where have you been?” Caleb asked. He sounded frustrated, which wasn’t something that was particularly out of the ordinary. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for hours.”
“I went to a bar, chill out,” Ash said, as he pushed his key into the ignition. “I’m on my way back now.”
“I won’t chill out,” Caleb yelled down the phone. “Your father died Ash. Your father died and you were too busy getting wasted to say goodbye. You’re a disgrace.”
Ash’s hand fell from the key. “What?” he asked. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand. He understood what Caleb had said perfectly. He was just giving him a chance to change what he had said.
“Are you really that wasted?”
“I’ve had like one beer Caleb,” Ash warned him with his tone. He wasn’t in the mood for Caleb’s crap. He wanted to get to the bottom of what had just been said.
“Sure, one beer,” Caleb said sarcastically.
“Is this really what we’re focusing on right now?”
“Look, dad had a heart attack. I called you when he went into hospital, but you were busy. The doctors couldn’t do anything. He’s gone.” Caleb sounded stressed, but he didn’t sound upset. “I guess I’ll see you when you get back. Do you want me to call you out a driver?”
“I’m not wasted Caleb,” Ash sighed. He hung up the phone and looked out at the dark bar. It had closed at some point after Tessa and he had gone into the woods, but before they had come out. The windows were dirty. Even in the pale moonlight he could see that. They should clean them – thought. His body had gone numb, but it wasn’t something he’d noticed. The grime on the windows was the only thing on his mind and it was driving him crazy. Who ran a business like that? Who left the front of their shop looking dirty?
He turned the key in the ignition and started the engine. It wasn’t the windows that were bothering him. It wasn’t the dirt. It was his father. It was his death. It was the fact that out him and his two brothers, he would be the only person to miss him. He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the open road. Ash’s foot pressed down against the gas pedal, so that the speedometer continued to dance forward. He didn’t care about how fast he was going. He didn’t care about the bright streaks that were flying passed him in nothing, but a blur.
His hands turned the wheel at the right time without him having to think about it. He didn’t know the town well, but he had a good sense of direction. He wasn’t sure how long it took him to get home. The ranch was dark except for a light flickering in the kitchen window. He walked over and opened the unlocked door. “Are you all in the kitchen?” he called out into the quiet space.
“Sure,” Caleb called out. “You better come join us.”
Ash pushed open the door. The low light that he’d seen from outside was coming from a wall lamp with dodgy wiring. Caleb was sitting at the table with their other brother, Cain. There was another man at the table too. Ash wasn’t sure what his name was, but he’d seen him before. He’d seen him leaving his father’s office from time to time. “I don’t think we’ve ever been introduced,” Ash held out his hand, so the vaguely familiar man could take it.
“I’m John,” the man took his hand and shook it. “I’m your father’s lawyer.”
“Oh,” Ash said simply. He should have been shocked, but he wasn’t. His brothers had only ever cared about the family money.
“So,” Caleb cut into their introduction. “Can you tell me what’s in the will?”
John shook his head. “I’m sorry Caleb, but as I said. The funeral needs to have taken place. You don’t ever have a death certificate yet. You need to calm down son.”
“Can’t you just tell us what it says?” Cain cut in, before Caleb had a chance to argue. “We’re not asking to get our inheritance now. We just want to know what to expect.”
John frowned at them both. “Don’t you have more pressing concerns?”
“Who are you to judge me?” Caleb brought his hands down loudly onto the table. “My father has just died. You were his lawyer. Do your job for god’s sake.”
“I’m sorry about them both,” Ash said, before John had a chance to reply, to his idiot brother’s. “They’re both just upset over our father. Grief can bring out our ugly sides sometimes, don’t you think?” he asked, as he led John out of the kitchen. “We appreciate you coming over so late.”
“Well, it seems your father was right about you,” John nodded approvingly.
“I’ll see you again soon, I’m sure,” Ash said pulling open the door, so that John could leave.
“I’m sure that is correct,” John nodded. “I’m very sorry for your loss, Ash,” he said soberly after he’d walked out onto the porch. “Your father was a good man.”
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