Chapter 6: Ashlyn
“Have you met him yet?”
I was barely out of the front office when Martha’s daughter, Britney, grabbed me by the arm and pulled me to a side. If it weren’t for her pink highlights, I wouldn’t have been able to tell her apart from her twin sister, both girls identical to the point where I wondered how they hadn’t completely abused that benefit yet.
“Met who?” I asked, laughing as I tried to balance the flowers in my hand while simultaneously not tripping over my own two feet. Britney pulled me all the way down the corridor to where it branched off behind the buildings. This was where the girls usually hid to smoke their cigarettes without Martha giving them a speech about what it meant to be a proper girl in Texas.
Heather was already there, a cigarette in her mouth and another in her hand which she dutifully gave to her sister once we appeared around the corner. She offered me one, and I quickly declined. Earl’s smoking habits had been enough to put me off the damn things anyway.
“The new guy!” Britney almost squealed. “How have you not met him yet?”
“Maybe because I just got here?”
Britney rolled her eyes and gave me her typical high school ‘ugh’ that came with every other sentence she said. Heather only giggled.
“Okay, so first thing you do is go to room seven, knock and use some excuse like, I don’t know, you have to water the plants or something.” Britney was talking very quickly, a little too excited for my taste. Who the hell was this new tenant anyway? “Then you’ll know what I’m talking about.”
“Okay, first of all, it’s great to know you think my job here is to water the flowers,” I said with a smile. “Very encouraging. Second of all, I’m not going to knock on someone’s door just to ogle at him. Sorry, a little too old for that.”
“Your loss,” Heather said between puffs. “You’re really missing out.”
Britney nodded in agreement and grabbed me by the shoulders. “I didn’t know he was in there when I was cleaning up. I walked in, and he was just walking out of the shower. I saw him in all his splendor, and I mean all his splendor.” Britney leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. “And, oh my God!”
“How didn’t you know someone was in there?”
“That’s not the point Ashlyn,” Britney protested, stomping her leg like a five-year-old. “I have never seen a body like that up close and personal. It was like staring at the body of a Greek God!”
I smiled at that, placing my plants down at my feet and ruffling my hair. I was still a little asleep, having had tossed and turned in bed all night. It wasn’t usual for me to have trouble sleeping, and the lack of it made my head swim a bit. My intention had been to change the flowers I could, quickly, and then race back home and jump back into bed. I liked the twins, a lot, but could have done without the ‘behind the bleachers’ conversation we were having.
“Well, Greek God or not, I need to replace these flowers and get back home,” I said.
“Suit yourself,” Britney said. “More for us.”
I winked at her, picked up my pile and made my way back. The flowers were waiting.
* * *
I did run into him, sooner than I had expected.
The guest in room seven really was something out of the storybooks. Tall, brown hair, and the most incredible blue eyes that were so clear a girl could easily lose herself in them. I didn’t get to see the Greek God body the twins were talking about, but his shirt clung to him tight enough to let me know that what was underneath must have been chiseled to perfection. Besides, what I could see was good enough. Way too good enough, and when he caught me staring, I quickly turned away and felt my face flush.
I’m back in high school, I thought to myself. I’m standing by my locker, hiding, because the hottest guy in school just noticed me.
When I turned back around, I felt my heart skip a beat as I watched him make his way towards me, a wide smile on his face that blew me away. If I had had any sense, I would have just dropped what I was holding and made a run for my car. In the back of my head, I imagined the twins watching my escape and laughing at me.
But I didn’t run. Instead I just stood there, watching him approach, frozen in place like deer in the headlights. He crossed the space between us in seconds, his long legs making his movements both quick and graceful. It was only when he was a few feet away did I get a clear look at him, and to quote Britney, Oh My God!
“Hi,” he said, sticking out his hand and flashing me a smile I wished I could wake up to every morning.
“Hi.” I would have taken his hand if not for the bundle I was carrying, and I tried to maneuver my way around it but only managed to make myself look even more like a fool.
“Oh, sorry, yeah,” he said quickly, relieving me of my flowers and placing them carefully on the window sill of the room I had been working at. “Let’s try this again?”
I smiled. “Sure,” I replied, feeling electricity shoot up and down my arm when he wrapped his hand around mine.
“Chance,” he said. “And you must be Ashlyn.”
I frowned, a little confused as to how he knew my name, but at the same time holding back a giggle that threatened to break free.
“Chuck told me,” he said, noticing the confusion on my face. “The woman with the flowers, right?”
And that is how I will be remembered for the rest of my life. It’s going to be etched into my gravestone. Here lies Ashlyn Carter, the woman with the flowers.
“That’s right,” I managed to say, reluctantly letting go of his hand and sticking both of mine into my pockets. “Hope they’re not too much.”
“Oh no, to the contrary,” Chance smiled. “My mother used to have a garden of her own, and just the smell of everything here kind of brings me back.”
Did he just compare me to his mother? I wanted to slap myself.
“That’s wonderful,” I said instead. “Not a lot of people appreciate them.”
“Well, Chuck obviously does,” Chance said. “The motel’s like a giant greenhouse.”
I chuckled. “Chuck’s a sweetheart,” I replied. “My biggest client. Well, as big as they come in Ludwig.”
“You should really think about delivering outside of town,” Chance hinted. “I mean, these are actually beautiful, and with the right management tool, you could expand your business tenfold.”
“Woah, slow down, cowboy,” I chuckled and mocked Chuck’s thick Texas accent. “What are you, one of the entrepreneurs we hear about?”
Chance laughed, hesitated for a few seconds, and then nodded. “Yeah, of sorts. Listen, I’m sorry, didn’t mean to intrude on your work. I just wanted to come over and say I really enjoy the flowers, and that what you’re doing here is beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I said.
He nodded, looked at me for a beat, and then nodded again. “I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”
You most certainly will.
“Yes, I guess so,” I smiled.
I watched him walk to the front office, then turned around and let out the breath I had been holding in.
* * *
He was still in the front office when I was done putting out fresh flowers in all the rooms. I had gone through my routine a little faster than normal, most of my work done yesterday, and was just going in for a cup of coffee when I saw him sitting on the couch in the tiny lobby, flipping through a magazine. Chuck was bent over a few papers, scratching his head as he tried to make sense of the numbers he was punching into an old-timey calculator.
Chance looked up at me, flashed me a smile, and put the magazine down.
If he keeps smiling at me like that, I’ll lose it.
I smiled back, went to the coffee pot and poured myself a mug, my mind screaming at me to just ignore the coffee and go home. Another few minutes with him, and I’d probably say something stupid that would just make me look like a complete idiot.
Britney came out from the back, stopped in her tracks when she saw him, and then diverted her gaze to me and winked. I widened my eyes at her and mouthed “stop it”, earning a knowing smile from her as she walked out.
“Numbers confusing you again, Chuck?” I asked.
Chuck raised his head, a frown on his face, and looked at me as if he was trying to decide whether or not he knew who I was. He quickly shrugged, pushed the calculator away and scratched at his beard.
“Martha usually does the bill paying and such,” he said, “but she’s at her sister’s for the next two days, and I have no idea where to start.”
“Need help with those?” Chance asked. “I’m a bit of a numbers guy.”
“That’s okay,” Chuck said. “I need to get a hang of these things sooner or later. I can’t keep pushing things off onto other people just because I don’t like to do them.”
Chance stood up, crossed the room with three long strides, and brushed up next to me as he gazed down at the papers in front of Chuck. I sipped at my coffee, wondering what it would be like to just lean into him and have him wrap an arm around my shoulder.
Fifteen, Ashlyn. You’re acting like you’re fucking fifteen.
“See, there’s your problem,” Chance said, pointing at a column on one of the sheets. “You’ve got the cost of your laundry supplies listed under room rents, which is income, when they should be in the expenditures side. That’s why the numbers don’t balance.”
Chuck leaned in, shook his head in disbelief and chuckled. “Thanks, Chance,” he said. “Although I’m not sure if you should be looking at these numbers in the first place. Lord knows they’re nothing to be proud of these days.”
“Glad to be of help,” Chance said, glancing briefly at me and winking. He seemed so laid back, so relaxed. I wondered what the hell he was doing in Ludwig.
“So, business advice and numbers,” I said. “Can you do repairs, too?”
Chance laughed at that. “I’ve got some time on my hands,” he said. “Tell me what needs fixing and I’ll figure it out.”
I laughed and sat down on one of the high chairs near the coffee machine. “Why exactly do you have time on your hands?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said you’re an entrepreneur of sorts, right? Aren’t you supposed to be buried deep in numbers and graphs, choosing your next venture?”
Chance leaned against the counter and fixed me with his eyes. They’re like twin windows to an ocean view. How the hell do you look at those and not lose yourself?
“I’m on sabbatical,” he said. “City life’s a little too much these days, thought I’d take a break from it all, appreciate the great outdoors.”
“And that’s why you’re in Ludwig?” I had to laugh. “Our great outdoors ain’t that great, especially this time of year.”
“Unless you like things dry as the desert and hotter’n hell,” Chuck added.
“No, actually, I’m in Ludwig because my truck broke down,” he answered. “I was on my way to –” He hesitated, then smiled. “Never mind. Let’s just say I’m grounded for a few days until Hank can get the part to fix my truck.”
I nodded and took a sip from my coffee, wondering why he was being so vague. Then again, we were strangers, and there was nothing that said we had to share everything just because we were sitting in the same couple of square feet. Ludwig could do that to you. Everyone knew everything about everyone else, and although it was a privacy killer, it did bring the community a lot closer together. It was just second nature to want to know everything you could about the person in front of you. It was almost like welcoming in a new member of the family.
“An odd place to break down,” I said. “I mean, Ludwig isn’t really on the interstate’s way to any major city.” I winced a little inside, wishing I didn’t have that bit of curiosity that was either going to make him hate me, or at the very least avoid me for the remaining days he was here.
“Who said I was going to a major city?” Chance asked, a wide smile on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. He was obviously enjoying the little game.
“I just assumed as much, I guess,” I said, looking at him from above the rim of my mug.
“Told you, taking a break, great outdoors, all that.”
I nodded and smiled, giving him a look that I hoped let him know that I wasn’t buying it. From what I knew, investors never really took breaks. Not unless they were sitting on a pile of cash, which would not explain why he would be driving anything that might break down on him.
“I guess I’d just expect someone to move a little bit more northwards if they were looking for the great outdoors.”
“You gotta excuse Ashlyn,” Chuck laughed as he watched our conversation go back and forth. “We’re a small town. We’re used to asking questions.”
“Not at all,” Chance said. “Truth is, I was on my way to Houston, big investment opportunity. Only it’s in a few days, so I thought I’d do a little sightseeing until then.”
“Sabbatical,” I nodded. “Is that what normal folks would call a little time off?”
“It is,” he said with a smile itching at the corner of his lips. He stared at me, his eyes squinting just a little, and I knew he was trying to read me. He was definitely interesting, along with the strong jawline and piercing blue eyes. For reasons other than the fact that I was a Ludwig native, I wanted to know everything there was to know about him.
Attracted to the strange ones, as always, eh Ahslyn?
I pushed the little voice to the back of my head where it wouldn’t bother me anymore. I finished my coffee, grabbed the rest of my stuff and handed Chuck the master key I’d used to replace the flowers in all the rooms, even though most of them would be vacant the entire week.
“I guess I’ll be seeing you around, Mr. Sabbatical,” I said with a smile. “Just let me know if you’re ever looking for a tour guide.”
“I’ll do that,” Chance replied, drawing out the words as if he was teasing me with them.
I gave him one last look, then turned and walked out the office, blushing like a silly school when I realized that my brief chat with the man called Chance had left me as wet as the Rio Grande in spring.
I would definitely be seeing him again.