Chapter 22

Brock

It all felt so right and so familiar. Waking up with Ashley’s body draped over mine was something I had grown used to once before. It had been one of the things I had missed most when she’d left me. Waking up alone every day had been hard. She hadn’t been gone long before I’d started trying to fill the hole she had left in me with a series of one-night stands, but somehow that had never satisfied me. I eventually quit trying with women, focusing on becoming a successful businessman instead.

Last night had left me feeling very satisfied, but I was hungry for more. I wanted to repeat this morning over and over. I remembered when this was normal, but it wasn’t anymore. I had to accept that. She had made it very clear we could never go back to the good ol’ days. I listened to her softly snoring before I began the process of extricating myself from her. I slid my leg out from under hers and then very slowly moved my arm out from under her head, gently setting it on a pillow instead.

There was no way I wanted to be there when she woke up. I knew she would be one cranky woman when reality struck, and I would be blamed for last night. Every time we’d had sex, she had initiated it. I never pressed, knowing it would only push her away. But I wasn’t an idiot, and if there was a chance of sex with her, I wasn’t going to pass it up.

I pulled on my underwear and shorts, then picked up my shirt and shoes before grabbing my bag that I’d dropped by the door last night. I tiptoed out of the room, closing the door slowly behind me to keep it from slamming and waking up the sleeping bear. Crossing the hall, I entered my own room and jumped in the shower before heading down to my truck to toss my bag in.

I stopped to see what the continental breakfast had to offer. There was an assortment of coffee blends, so I poured myself a cup of what I hoped was the strongest and took a sip. It wasn’t exactly the best quality, but it would do. The donuts I found were a bonus. I poured an extra cup for Ashley and pocketed a handful of little creamers and sugar packs.

Hopefully, the coffee would erase her memory of last night. I could pretend it hadn’t happened to preserve the peacefulness of the trip home. I knocked on her hotel room door, half expecting her not to answer. She had apparently just gotten out of the shower.

“Hi,” I said a little awkwardly.

“Hi.”

I stood there like an idiot, waiting to see if she would invite me in. Thankfully, she pulled open the door and gestured for me to come in. I glanced at the messy bed as I made my way to the small table in the room.

“Grabbed you a coffee from downstairs and”—I pulled out the cream and sugar and put it on the table—“wasn’t sure how you liked it, so I grabbed it all.”

“Thank you. I could use coffee. This is a good start. We’ll have to stop for more, though. I need some of the good stuff.”

I nodded. “I agree.”

“I’m ready. Are you?”

“I am.”

She stuffed her clothes from yesterday in her bag and we headed out.

The first two hours of driving were passed in unbearable silence. It was brutal and horribly awkward.

“What are you going to do for work?” I asked, hoping to start a safe conversation.

“Freelance. I hope to retain some of the clients I had in New York. I don’t want to do a lot of traveling right now, so I’ll be limited, but freelance can be a pretty good gig,” she said, sounding enthusiastic.

“Really? I guess I always assumed freelance meant starving artist.”

She laughed. “No. Freelancing can be really good actually. The problem is the uncertainty. You can make a ton of money one month and then sell nothing the next. It’s how I started out. I learned really fast to stretch the dollar just in case I didn’t sell a picture or land a job the following month.”

I was intrigued.

“What kind of pictures do you take?” I asked.

She shrugged one of her dainty shoulders. “Whatever the client wants. I started out doing weddings and senior portraits. I won’t do those again. At least I hope I don’t have to. I eventually found commercial photography was where the money was at. A customer would send me a product, tell me what kind of idea they wanted to capture, and I would take it from there. Some clients were a little pickier, but most of the time it was up to me.”

“Wow,” I said, completely amazed that she had found a way to make money and be happy. I remembered her always walking around with a camera when we were younger, but I never imagined it would turn into a career—a lucrative career judging by the amount of money she had just dropped on the family farm.

“I’m going to see if I can sell some landscape pictures. I have one client that I think will be interested. I love the idea of taking pictures of nature, and there are so many places around where we live that are absolutely stunning. I will never run out of places to shoot,” she said with excitement.

I nodded my head. “Don’t let anyone know where the pictures are taken. I don’t want all our secret places getting out.” I winked.

She laughed. “Of course not. I’ll keep it generic.”

“How’s Jasper liking it so far?”

“He loves it! I’m excited for Jasper to go to a small school. I really think it will be good for him,” she said.

“You think? I would have thought a bigger school would have more opportunities.”

She sighed. “Maybe for high school students, but I always felt Jasper was kind of lost in the shuffle. I had him in a good school, but the class size was huge. I always felt like he was a little fish in a big sea. I want a teacher to recognize how smart he is and push him to do better. Plus, the city life is a lot different than the farm life. He’s used to playing in parks or playgrounds. I love that he can roam around the farm and explore in a more natural environment.”

I smiled. I loved knowing how smart my son was. I was downright giddy to take him to his first day of school. I could already feel my chest puffing up. I couldn’t wait to help him continue to grow. Ashley had gotten the kid off to a good start, but I wanted to help mold him, to teach him things and hopefully raise a young man we would both be proud of.

“I’m really glad he will get that chance, too. I think it is going to be good for all of us, but most importantly for Jasper. He has a lot of people that love him and will look out for him.”

She bestowed a warm smile on me. It was a smile that made me feel all tingly inside.

We stopped at a McDonald’s that was attached to a gas station and got some food and gassed up. Then we climbed back in the truck and headed home. When we pulled into town, it was close to eight. The sun was just starting to set.

“I’ll swing by my house so you can get your dad’s truck, and then we’ll head out to the farm,” I told her.

She yawned and covered her mouth. “Sounds good.”

“Ever wonder why driving is so exhausting?” I asked, thinking out loud.

She laughed. “It really is. I have done nothing but sit here, and I feel like I’ve been up for days.”

“You’ll sleep good tonight, and hopefully you can relax tomorrow.”

Ashley scoffed in feigned disgust. “The first thing you will learn about being a parent is there is no such thing as sleeping in, especially with your son.”

I fought back the urge to shout in glee. She had called him “my son” like we were regular parents. I was not known for sleeping in. I hated it. I had always been an early bird, and I loved that Jasper had inherited that characteristic.

“I’m sure your dad will be up early and can keep an eye on him.”

We pulled into my driveway, and she quickly jumped out and got into Tanner’s truck. I followed her out to the farm and backed up close to the porch to make unloading easier.

Jasper was on the porch and excited to see Ashley and his things. Tanner had come out and offered to help carry things in. At first Ashley refused to let him help, but she finally gave in. I knew Tanner needed to feel useful.

It took us another hour to unload the boxes and Jasper’s bed. I offered to come back the following day to set it up, but Tanner assured me he could do it. I relinquished the task, knowing I would need to buy and put together a bed for Jasper at my house—assuming I would get overnight visits.

Ashley walked me out. We stood on the front porch. The warm summer night took me back to the many nights we had sat out here as kids.

“Thank you,” she said in a voice laden with exhaustion.

“You’re welcome.”

We stood there listening to the crickets before I wrapped my arms around her. She sank into me and hugged me back.

“Get some sleep,” I told her.

“You, too. You did all the driving. Thank you again, Brock. You were a huge help.”

I nodded and headed down the steps and into my truck. I started it up and looked in my rearview mirror. She was still standing there. My breath caught as I drank in her beauty. She was hot, sweaty, and tired, but she was still the most beautiful woman in the world to me.

As I drove home, I thought about the past forty-eight hours. A trip that I had been convinced would be the last straw in our tenuous relationship had ended up being pleasant. I was happy to have her back. When I found out she was coming home to fight me on the land deal, I had been dreading seeing her. When she completely screwed me out of the deal, I had thought I was pissed. I had cursed her and wished she had never come back.

Now I wasn’t so sure. No, I was very sure. I wanted her here. I wanted her close. In my heart and mind, I felt a spark of hope. We had matured a lot, and I felt we had moved past all the baggage that had been following us for years. Was there a chance for us?

I knew there was. I could feel the change. Last night had been different. The drive home had been awkward at first, but once we’d started talking, it was like we had never split up. We definitely had chemistry between us, and now we shared a son. I felt we had a good foundation to build a relationship on.

Now I had to find out if she was willing to try. Stranger things had happened.