I swallowed hard and he leaned forward, brushing his nose against my neck before pulling away. “I’m a lost cause, so find someone else to save.” With that, he dropped my hand and the pack of gum fell to the floor as he walked away, leaving me to wonder what in the fuck I was doing here.
I watched him go around the side of the house and head inside before I reached in and pulled out the rings that hung from the chain at my neck. Was Colin looking down at me shaking his head or cheering me on? Or neither? Was he screaming, “Run?” or was that just my heart?
We’d had a morbid conversation one night when we had just gotten engaged, I remembered it so clearly now.
“If I died, how long would you wait to move on?” Colin had asked me.
“Never,” I’d promised him.
He’d chuckled. “That’s sweet, but I don’t want you to be alone. Just don’t move on too soon. Grieve a good year or two, then move on.”
I’d laughed. “How about you? How long until you would move on?”
Colin had grinned. “Depends how hot she is.”
He was always a joker, the life of the party. I’d smacked him and the conversation had gone deeper into whether or not we had kids and how that would affect things.
Was I moving on? One year and I was already kissing another guy. A not so great guy. If Ashton were a truck he’d be old, broken down, and covered in rust, but man how good he could run with a little love and elbow grease.
“Millie!” Gran’s voice carried out into the yard and I realized I was crying. A tear ran down my cheek and I wiped it away, fixing my hair and running to the house.
If Ashton didn’t want to be saved, then I shouldn’t try. Right?
“I’m stuffed.” I leaned back in my chair, glad I had a dress on with room for my stomach to grow.
Gran smiled proudly. “You want that corn cake recipe? I saw you take thirds.”
My cheeks blushed. Why did Gran have to call me out on taking thirds?
I nodded. “Definitely.”
Ashton watched me from behind blue eyes. “Maybe we could serve it at the bar.”
I narrowed my gaze at him. “The bar you’re selling?” I crossed my arms and Gran grinned.
“Ohh, I like her,” Ashton’s aunt told Gran.
“Me too,” Gran replied.
Ashton rolled his eyes. “I haven’t made my mind up. You got until Saturday to show me it can stand.”
“Just you wait, Ashton Knight.” I cocked my head to the side. “Saturday is going to be the biggest night your bar has ever seen. The fire marshal will get called, it will be so packed, and you’ll run out of alcohol. Mark my words.”
I’d said free beer. If that didn’t work, then nothing would.
Ashton chuckled. “We’ll see about that.”
Gran reached over and patted my hand. “You are a breath of fresh air, doll.”
With a smile, I stood and started to collect plates.
“No. Guests don’t do dishes.” Gran stopped me and handed them off to Ashton. “But I hear you’re a wonderful cook. How about you make us all breakfast.”
My gaze flicked to Ashton’s and his cheeks reddened. Did he tell his grandma about my cooking?
“I’d love to—”
“But we aren’t staying over, Gran. Can I just borrow your truck and drop Millie off? Mine will be ready tomorrow afternoon.”
Gran scoffed. “Drop Millie off two hours away? That’s a four hour round trip. No way. She can sleep in the guest house.”
I squirmed. “Are you sure?” Did Uber come out here? Maybe I should try to call up a ride.
Gran waved her wrinkled hand. “Positive.”
“I think Millie would be more comfortable at her own apartment,” Ashton growled.
“Ashton Knight!” his aunt hissed. “Ever since Jenna passed you’ve had a thorn in your backside. Where are your manners?”
The entire table went quiet and his aunt seemed to have realized what she said, because she slumped over, head down.
Jenna.
He’d lost a woman named Jenna.
“I’m going to feed the chickens.” Ashton put down the stack of plates and stormed outside.
His cousins Jackson and Richie went into the kitchen to start on dishes while I played with the hem of my dress.
“I’ll call a cab. I don’t want to be where I’m not wanted,” I told the three women left at the table. Trudy, his aunt Maggie, and Gran all looked at me with pity.
His grandma’s hand reached out and clasped mine. “First let me tell you a story. Then you can go if you want.”
She looked at Maggie and Trudy nodded. They got up, leaving the dining room.
“Once upon a time, my daughter met the love of her live, Wayne, at the state fair.”
Ahh, so she was Ashton’s grandmother on his mom’s side. I’d wondered that.
“Wayne had a troubled childhood. No parents to speak of by the time he was seventeen so I took him in as if he were my own son and I’ll always see him that way.”
My heart pinched at her words.
“They fell deeply in love, got married, bought the bar and lived in the apartment above it.”
That made me smile. Imagining Wayne in his prime, owning the bar and living where I now did.
“And then they got pregnant with twins.”
A stone fell in my stomach as the smile was wiped off my face. Twins.
Jenna. She was Ashton’s twin? From what I’d heard and read, twins had such a special bond, it went beyond that of normal sibling relationships.
“When the kids were just two years old, my daughter found the lump on her breast.”
Tears lined my eyes and she squeezed my hand.
“I’m so sorry,” I told her.
She nodded. “Me too. She was able to fight it the first three times, but that last time she didn’t last long. It was stage four and … well, after that Wayne went into a spiral and I agreed to take the kids and
