Chapter 16

Brock

I felt like whistling. I knew it was cheesy, but having Ashley back in my life was making me a little giddy. She wasn’t “back in my life” in that sense exactly, but there was something there. She would deny it, but there was an undeniable chemistry between us. We were drawn to each other—moths to a flame, magnetic attraction, or whatever a person wanted to call it. We were made for each other. There was no arguing with chemistry. When she was near, I could feel the pull, and I had learned by now that she could feel it too. She couldn’t get enough of me, even if she did hate me.

I didn’t whistle because I knew that would result in Anna asking questions. One thing Ashley and I agreed on was the fact that we didn’t want to advertise our little trysts. As of now, that was all they were. Two healthy people who were fiercely attracted to each other were having consensual sex. If anyone knew, there would be drama, and clearly, we both wanted to keep it drama free.

Anna had arrived about five minutes after I had. I’d been pleasantly surprised.

Now she stood in my doorway. “So, is Helen coming back?” she asked.

“Yes,” I said, but there was no way I could know that for sure. Helen had already picked up and gone to Morgantown for treatment. It was the best care she could get.

“Fine,” Anna said, pouting. “What am I supposed to say when I answer the phone?”

I looked at her. “Brock Trenton’s Realty.”

She nodded. “Very clever.”

Anna had been doing this strange mood-swing thing that I chose to attribute to her pregnancy. She could be very nice or very sarcastic, and I never knew what I was going to get. I just hoped the potential clients always got the nice, amenable Anna.

“Thanks. Keep it simple,” I told her, leaving off the last part of that statement. I wasn’t sure how she would react to it.

Anna was actually a smart woman and a real computer whiz. I had assumed I would need to explain all the little details, but she’d picked right up on it.

“I’m going to run out and get some lunch,” I told her. “I’ll be back in about fifteen minutes. Anything in particular you like?”

She looked at me strangely. “Turkey. And bacon.”

I nodded. “Got it.”

After grabbing my keys, I headed to one of the nearby sandwich shops and ordered our lunches. When I got back, she was surprised that I’d actually brought her lunch.

“This is weird,” she commented a second before digging into the sandwich.

I sat down in the chair clients typically sat in. “What’s weird?”

“You. You’re not an ogre—that I’ve seen yet anyway. I think I half expected you to chain me to the desk and deny me food, water, and bathroom privileges.”

I laughed. “I do have an ogre side, but I rarely let it come out. I know I have a bit of a reputation, but I promise, I am really a nice guy.”

“Ha! The way you’ve been talked about in recent months, you would think I signed up to work with the devil himself.”

I cringed. I hated that certain people had such a negative opinion of me. I really didn’t deserve it. I had done nothing wrong or illegal. A lot of the reputation came from my younger years and a whole lot of gossip.

“I’m sure your family thinks I’m a real dick, right?”

She smiled. “Kind of. I think they mostly pity you.”

I raised my eyebrows. “Why would they pity me?”

“Because of Ashley.”

“What about her?”

“The way she ran off and left you. It was really stupid. None of us really knew why she did it. But now that you are trying to buy the family farm, I guess you could say they don’t trust you. They assume you want revenge for what she did,” she said nonchalantly. “I don’t. I understand it’s just business, but they are somehow convinced you gave my dad cancer and then made him lose a bunch of money so you could steal the farm.”

I rolled my eyes. “It has nothing to do with Ashley. Not everything I do revolves around her. And while I’d like to think I’m some kind of super powerful person, I don’t think I am quite that powerful. I offered to buy a small piece of the farm to help out your dad, but he turned me down.”

She smirked. “Well, clearly you didn’t know that Ashley hung the moon. The world revolves around her, and everything that happens is somehow related to her.”

In my eyes back then, that statement had been true. She was the first thing I thought about when I woke up and the last thing I thought about when I closed my eyes. She had been the center of my world, and I’d loved her right down to my core. If she had walked back into my life a couple years ago, I would have taken her back with open arms. It would have been foolish, perhaps, but she had my heart. I was still struggling to keep hold of it now that she was back in town.

“I’m sure your family thinks I hired you so I could mistreat you, but I’m not like that,” I said, feeling a little defensive.

“Relax. Don’t worry so much about them. Honestly, none of them care. I mean, I didn’t tell Hank, but I’m sure one of my sisters probably whined to him by now. Who cares what they think? I don’t. Besides, you can’t mistreat me. I wouldn’t tolerate it.”

That got a chuckle from me. “Yeah, I get that. You Parks girls are not pushovers; that’s for sure. Your daddy raised you right.”

She waved a hand. “Ashley just pushes and pushes until she gets her way. I’m not quite as bad as she is. I can be flexible and consider other people’s feelings.”

I felt a little uncomfortable talking about Ashley with her sister and quickly changed the subject. There had been animosity between the two forever. I remembered consoling Ashley many times after a fight with her sister. I didn’t want to hurt Ashley and certainly wouldn’t play into Anna’s hand. She was a smart girl. I knew anything I said or did would be used against me. Hiring her had been a risk, but I wanted to help her out, and I was in a bit of a tight spot myself.

“The farm is on a great piece of land. It would mean a lot to the growth of the town to get that property. I want to put condos on it, condos that will attract young people who want to start families here. It will be good for everyone, and it has nothing to do with what your sister did a long time ago.”

I hoped I sounded convincing. My desire for revenge had set me down this path, but once money had gotten involved, revenge wasn’t really at the top of my list. I wanted more money, and I really wanted to build something that would change the way the town functioned.

“You don’t have to convince me,” she said, clearly seeing right through me. “I really don’t care. The farm is just a farm. I mean, yeah, I live there on occasion, but I’m a big girl and can support myself. I only went back to help out Dad,” she said, shrugging her shoulders.

“If Tanner wanted to keep that farm, I think he would have done things a little differently. I think it’s only one person who is making the big stink about it,” I said with a grin.

She smiled. “Yep. The same person who likes to stir up trouble that makes her out to be a hero.”

“Now, now, I’m not here to bash your sister,” I playfully scolded. “I think her heart is in the right place, but it just isn’t going to work. I want that land, and I intend to get it.”

“Then go get it. I’m certainly not going to try to stop you. Do I get a bonus if I help you close the deal?”

I laughed. “We’ll see. We still have three weeks before I can make a move. Your sister may come up with a way to hold back my plans.”

“As usual,” she commented under her breath.

“Okay, I need to go out and check on one of the properties. You think you can hold down the fort?”

“Yes. I can sit here in this chair and stare out the window. Got it covered.”

I laughed. “I’ll be back around two, and then we’ll close the office for the day.”

She nodded. “Okay. I’ll be here.”

I left the office and picked up my phone. I called Helen’s cell to make sure she was settled in and doing okay. She asked about work, and I assured her all was well and her job would be waiting for her when she was healthy again.

Out at the property, I assessed some minor damages due to a recent storm. There was nothing major that required immediate attention, which was good since I had just purchased this property. Once that was done, I went back to town and showed Anna how to close everything up at the office for the day. Like with the computer, she picked up on it all quickly. I’d have to be sure to watch my mouth around her, but otherwise it was looking like she might turn out to make a decent employee, and I was pleased.

When I got home, I walked into my big house and immediately felt how empty it was. It was always empty, but today it felt lonely. I’d bought the home because it was gorgeous and I imagined it would be great for a family, but there was no family here. It was me and me alone. The furnishings and lack of pictures and personal touches in the home reminded me of just how stark it was.

Walking to the fridge, I grabbed a beer and headed for the deck. I had a massive yard, all fenced in. The deck was huge and had a patio set and a barbecue on one side. I was ready for that family barbecue, but I would never have it if I didn’t change things.

I wanted Jasper in my life. I wanted to watch him play in this big backyard with the mountains in the distance. Maybe he could even have a dog. He could pick his room. Mine was the master, but there were three others to choose from. The house was too big for me alone. I wanted to fill it with laughter, love, and toys that tripped me when I was walking around in the dark. I wanted a little chaos instead of the perfect home that never had anything out of place.

I walked back into the house and drifted down the hallway, opening one door after the other. Each of the spare bedrooms was empty. I figured Jasper would like the last one I walked into the best. It had a view that overlooked the backyard, and I could imagine posters of rocks and a shelf filled with rocks he had collected on one wall.

Ashley had to let me have a relationship with my son. I had no idea how it would work with her living in New York, but I was willing to work a little harder to pay for the plane tickets back and forth. I would do whatever it took to have a real relationship with him—except move to the city. I wasn’t built for city living. That was Ashley’s gig, even though I could tell she really loved it here.

I let out a long breath. I had to convince her to change her mind. Jasper was mine. I would fight for him.