Chapter 17

As Asher drove back up to his house he saw Dean was already there, sitting on the swing on the porch. He gave him a chin nod as he got out of the car and went in through the garage. He grabbed two beers and went back out through the front door. Handing one to Dean, he sat down next to him.

“I see you’re still a Mustang man?”

Asher smiled. “Yep. It reminds me of the one my dad and I fixed up.” The one that Travis died in. He didn’t have to say that out loud.

They sat silently for a while, lost in their own thoughts and sipping their beer. “How did it go with Mia?” Dean asked.

Asher laughed. “Awkward.”

Dean nodded. “I haven’t seen her since her mother died. I was in town, so I went to the funeral with Dad and paid my respects. We didn’t really talk though. She seems to be doing alright considering every time I see her, someone else just died.”

“Yeah, that sucks. She told me her mom died. What happened?”

“She had an aneurysm I think dad said. She was in a coma for a while. It was rough on the family. Her father especially.”

“Damn. They’ve all died way too young.”

“Yeah, that’s for sure.”

“Hey, who was that kid with Mia at the funeral?”

Something crossed his friend’s face that Asher didn’t recognize. Dean looked away for a second and then back at Asher and said, “I think maybe that’s something you need to ask her.”

“I guess that means it’s her kid. Is the dad still around?”

Dean laughed nervously and said, “Really, it’s Mia’s story to tell, man.” Asher nodded. Dean always was a loyal friend. He couldn’t expect him to sit here and tell him personal things about Mia. Dean took a deep breath and said, “There is something I need to ask you though. I don’t want to dump too much on you all at once, but has anyone filled you in on what’s been going on with the Proctor’s?”

“No. That was the guy you called an ‘asshole’ earlier?”

Dean curled his lip. “That was putting it mildly. Do you remember him at all?”

“Not really. I mean, I knew of him, but like he said, I think we only actually met once.”

“He has three sons. They all came here to roost after their mother died. One of them is the mayor. The other two have their dirty hands in local politics. Between the four of them, they’ve bought up as much property around here as they can. They’ve run up the rents and they don’t keep them up. They’re slumlords, basically. But, it gets a lot worse. They’re suspected of making bribes to contractors with the city and taking bribes from others. They had been pressuring your father, mine and Mia’s dad for years to sell their holdings in the county but so far they’ve all held out. Unfortunately the stress of it could very well be what drove your father to have a heart attack.”

Asher felt a dangerous rage surge through him. They better fucking hope that’s not the case.

“They’re also suspected of supplying the youth in our town with a variety of mind-altering substances.”

“Drugs?” Asher was shocked. When he had lived in Haddenfield, drugs had been the exception rather than the rule.

“Yeah. The youngest one, James is the one that’s involved knee deep in that, I think. I haven’t been around, so my information comes from my dad. James is the one Mia dated.”

Asher cocked an eyebrow. “She dated a drug dealer?”

“It was right after James first got to town dad said. She obviously didn’t know how corrupt he was. When she found out, she left him right away. She’s the reason Greg and Frank knew as much as they did, but dad thinks she may have paid for it.”

“Paid for it how?”

Dean shrugged. “She’s protective of her father. She’s kept anything she’s gone through to herself. But, she has a restraining order against the guy and dad says she carries a gun now. I’m guessing that’s not for sport.”

“Fuck.” The idea of anyone hurting Mia in any way set every nerve in Asher’s body on fire. Her being afraid of the man alone would be enough to make him want to kill him. He realized Dean had said something else strange then. “Frank and my dad were working on something together?”

“Oh yeah, man. dad said after Mia’s mom died that she encouraged the two of them to become friends. I guess there was something your dad told him when Mia’s mom was in a coma that helped him get through the decision to pull the plug. That had to be hell. Anyway, they both needed someone to lean on; who understood what the other was going through. Mia and your father became really close.”

“Wow. I didn’t see that one coming.”

Dean laughed. “Yeah, big change, I guess, huh?”

“Definitely. When Mia and I were seeing each other our parents despised each other.”

“Well Mia did good. They’ve been working together against the Proctor’s for years now.”

“I guess she did.” Asher wondered why it was so important to Mia for the two men to become friends. He thought it was a great thing, but he was curious about her motivation for it.

Dean finished his beer and stood up. “I’m going to take off, man. Are you going to be around for a while?” Asher hadn’t given that any more thought since he had arrived, so he surprised himself when he replied, “Yeah, I’ll be sticking around for a while.” It sounded like there were some things that needed taking care of and things he needed answers to.

**

Asher was in Lyle Kentworth’s office at ten a.m. sharp the next day for their meeting. Lyle once again told him how sorry he was about his father and Asher thanked him again for calling him. He sat down and Lyle pulled out a stack of documents.

“This meeting is more about letting you know what your father’s assets were and what they were worth at the time of his death since he’s left them all to you.”

“All of it?”

Lyle looked surprised. “Yes everything. You had no idea?”

“Well since my father and I were estranged for the last seventeen years, it does surprise me.”

“It has all passed to you. The main residence, the land that was left to him when your mother died, the land and property that he and your mother accumulated. Most of which are rented out now. They all have property managers in place. It will be up to you to decide to keep them or not.”

“Shit, I don’t have a clue how to be a landlord.”

Lyle laughed. “That’s what the property managers are for. I’ll give you the names of your father’s accountant and his financial advisor as well. They’re all old friends. They will help you through this. We all will.”

Asher nodded and then palmed the back of his neck. He thought about the ranches that were so important to his mother and then the words his father wrote in the letter. “How many of those properties are ranches?”

Lyle looked at the paperwork and replied, “There are two that are leased and still operating. They are both located on the south edge of the town line. I’ll give you all that information as well. I have a list of all properties for you.”

Asher nodded. Lyle went over more things like bank and savings accounts, jewellery left from his mother, art work and a gun collection his father had. A lifetime of things his parents had both worked hard for and lovingly collected and cared for, which was now left in his hands. He could only hope he was up to the task. When that was finally finished, Lyle had a pile of paperwork for him to sign. He went through page by page and when he got to the last one he said, “Dean mentioned there’s been some problems with the Proctors, my father and Frank Halloway. They were being pressured or something by them.”

Lyle Kentworth was suddenly very serious. “Yes, that’s true. They’re like their own little Mafioso. They force people to pay more rent than their property is worth. They buy at much lower than what the property should be selling for. Their bullies and they’ve got everyone in Haddenfield running scared.”

“One of them is the mayor?”

“Yeah, that’s Vince. He has been for three terms now. If I had my say about it, I would gander he is only winning by coercion. But like everything else they do, I can’t prove it and neither could Greg or Frank.”

“How old are these men?”

“Vince is forty-four. I know that only because of the publicity since he’s been mayor. His brother Michael is a couple years older than him. He’s also been voted in as President of the HISD Board of Trustee’s more times than he deserves to be. He’s been accused more than once of misappropriating funds, but when it comes time for the accusers to face him in a legal setting they either disappear or back out. They use blatant scare tactics and if that doesn’t work they resort to violence. That’s where the youngest comes in. James Proctor is about thirty-eight, I think. On the surface he is one of those guys that seem to have an easy charm about him. They’re all sharp dressers and educated, well-mannered until you cross them. Then, they’re just flat out dangerous.”

“Do you think my father died because of the stress they caused him?”

“I do. Frank Halloway does as well. I wish we could prove it.”

Asher felt that rage again. If they were responsible for his father’s death, they would pay for it. He also couldn’t get what Dean told him about Mia and the youngest one off his mind. He better pray hard that Asher never found out that he had hurt her. He wasn’t going to look for evidence you could hand to a D.A. on these people either. The only person he needed to prove it to was himself.

**

Asher spent the rest of that afternoon and early evening trying to figure out what he needed to do first. He went through the paperwork Mr. Kentworth had given him page by page and made notes. He would begin by calling the financial people in the morning and the property managers. He was thinking about taking over the management part of the ranch properties himself. He had to do something that made him feel like he was making up to his father for the past seventeen years. Although Greg had told him he didn’t blame him for any of it in the letter but Asher was still hanging onto a little bit of guilt.

When he looked at the papers for so long his eyes were about to cross, he finally put it all aside and went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer. He took it out to the front porch and sat down on the swing. The air was still warm, but getting cooler as the sun went down. He had been out there for ten or fifteen minutes when a car drove up and Mia got out. His heart sped up at the sight of her. She was so beautiful. He watched her come up the stairs towards him and he wondered what she would do if he just stood up and took her in his arms. He ached to feel her body against his.

“Hi,” she said and smiled at him. His breath caught in his throat and he forced out a, “Hi.”

“Can I join you?”

He pat the seat next to him. “You want a beer?”

“Sure.” He got up and went to get her one, thankful for the chance to get his breathing back under control. Taking one last deep breath, he took the beer out and sat back down next to her. When he handed it to her, their fingers brushed. Again he wondered what she would do if he just took that hand and pulled her into his chest.

She took a drink of her beer and neither of them said anything for a long time. It wasn’t awkward like the first time he saw her but seventeen years was a long time. He wanted to know about her life, but he didn’t know where to begin. “So, what are you up to tonight?”

She smiled. “I just closed the Bar and Grill. I was on my way home and I saw you out here.”

“Are you running the bar now for your dad?”

“Yeah. I handle most of the business for him now. His health hasn’t been the best. What about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. What do you plan to do? Are you planning on staying here now?”

“Yeah, I think I’ll be sticking around for a while.” He could see a flicker of something in her eyes. He found himself hoping that it was happiness that he was staying.

She nodded. “What are you doing these days? I mean do you have a job or something you need to get back to?”

He smiled, trying to make light of it and hoping she wouldn’t ask too many questions. “I’m retired.”

She gave him a strange look. “Retired at thirty-four? How did you manage that?”

“I was in the Army for seventeen years. It was just time.”

“The army? What did you do?” She arched a delicate eyebrow.

“Special Ops,” he said, not elaborating. Hoping to lead her away from there he said, “I bought a little place in South Dakota when I got out. I don’t have anything to rush back to though.”

“You’re not married?”

“No. I never married. How about you?”

“No, never married. Too busy working, I guess.”

Jesus, he wanted to kiss her. She had a perfect mouth. It was made for him as far as he was concerned. He could’nt imagine why some man hadn’t snatched her up by now. He thought about asking her about the kid but it just seemed too soon to pry into her life that much. Hell, he really had no idea what to say to her. He did know that if things had been different and he had stayed, he would have never let her go. He tried to shake off the thought, but it was impossible. He cleared his throat and said, “Dean tells me that our fathers had become close, thanks to you.”

She shrugged. “It was as much them as me. Your father and I became close first. I used to cook for him sometimes and I was there for him when he went through rehab.” Asher felt the sting of regret once more. That should have been his job, not Mia’s. She was so much better than him.

“Thank you,” he said.

She smiled sadly. “You don’t have to thank me. Your father was a good man. I enjoyed his company. He helped my dad a lot after my mom died. He knew exactly what he was going through. He was a life-saver actually.”

“I’m glad you all had each other,” Asher said, honestly. It still hurt that he hadn’t been there to help.

Mia drank the last of her beer and set down the bottle before reaching over and putting her hand on his arm. The warmth from her body flowed through his like lava. It took everything in him to keep from touching her back and pulling her in for a long, deep, slow, sexy kiss.

“Why did you leave, Asher?” Her eyebrows furrowed together and he could see the pain in her eyes but also anger.

He knew he would have to answer that question if he stayed but there were still things he couldn’t talk about. “Too much had happened and everyone was so angry with me.”

“I wasn’t angry. I was confused and devastated over Travis and Lily. I’m sorry if it seemed like I blamed you for Travis’s death. It wasn’t your fault and I knew that in my head. My heart was broke.”

He tried to smile at her. “Mia, it wasn’t your fault that I left. I just had to go.” He felt like every emotion in his body was battling for top spot. The one that was winning was the one that wanted to take her into the house and make love to her all night long and never let her go.

Unfortunately, the one that needled at him all the time, the one that told him everyone in his life died or was miserable had to be taken into consideration. She deserved so much more than he could offer her emotionally. He couldn’t drag her into his dark world filled with nightmares and regret. He stood up and said, “I think I’m going to call it a night.” He saw the pain of rejection in her eyes and he wanted to take it back. God, he would give anything to just touch her. She didn’t say anything else. She stood up and left quietly. Once again, Asher felt like his heart was being ripped to pieces. He was a professional at fucking things up!