"I’m not," I answer her honestly. "What is all this?" I change the subject.
"That is for Asher," she says, and I want to roll my eyes. "He was at your grandparents’ yesterday, and your grandmother went on a shopping spree."
"He can buy his own clothes," I huff, walking to my car to dump the bags in there.
"What are you doing?" my mother asks me.
"I’ll bring them home to Asher," I say, and her eyebrows shoot up.
"Wait, he’s staying with you?" she asks me when I grab the bag from her hand and dump it into the back seat of my car.
"Yeah," I say, avoiding her eyes and closing the car door. "He helped me out."
"Is that a good idea?" my mother asks me softly.
"Why wouldn’t it be a good idea?" I fold my arms over my chest. "He needs help. What was I supposed to do?"
"Have you had coffee today?" my mother asks, trying to hide the sly smile.
"I’m fine," I say, annoyed. "I’m not tired. I’m helping a friend, and it’s fine."
She walks to me and puts her hand on my cheek, and I look at her. She looks the same she did when she was eighteen. "One of these days, someone is going to want to help you juggle all those balls you have in the air, and you are going to freak the fuck out."
"Mom!" I laugh. "You just said the f-word." I point at her.
"Damn straight, I did," she says. "Now, what is troubling you?"
"Nothing," I say, trying to figure it out myself. "I’m cranky, and I don’t know why, and it’s bothering me that I can’t fix why I’m cranky."
"Unless you know the answer and you don’t like it," my mother says, and it makes me put my head back and groan. "I have to get back to work." She kisses my cheek. "I’ll see you Sunday, yes?"
"Always," I say and watch her get into her truck and pull off.
I grab my phone and pull up Asher’s name. Going to the text.
Me: Where have you been?
I quickly delete it and start again.
Me: Haven’t seen you in a while.
I erase that also. "What the fuck?" I mumble.
Me: My mother dropped off clothes. Come and get them.
I stare at it for a good ten seconds before I delete it.
Me: My mother dropped off clothes for you. I’ll leave them at home.
I press send before I erase it and put my phone away, turning when the hair on the back of my neck flies up, and I feel someone watching me. I turn in a circle and look at the open field toward the dense bushes in the back. I see what looks like a little orange circle, and when I pick up my hand to put it over my eyes to see better, I can’t find it again.
Chapter 11
Asher
I get out of the truck after having to park almost in the street. I can hear the country music all the way over here. The parking lot is jam-packed as I see the lights coming out from the windows. The walk to the bar is the longest, and even though I told myself coming here wasn’t a good idea, I still got dressed, and here I am.
The whole week I’ve avoided seeing her. I mean, not that I had the time not to avoid her. I spent the week helping Billy repair fences. The man was doing it himself when I found him. When I got home, I had enough energy for a shower. I fell asleep, but I would listen for her and only fully fall asleep when I heard her come in.
In the morning, I tried to make the least amount of noise I could so I didn’t wake her. But I was hoping she would come out. The only thing I’ve heard from her is a text about the clothes her grandmother bought me.
I pull open the door, and the heat from all the people in there hits me right away. I take one step in and stop in awe. The bar is jam-packed. I mean, it usually is on a Saturday, but it’s more so today. All you see is a sea of people. I move through the crowd toward the bar and stop when I see Ethan and Emily standing by a table talking.
"Hey," I say to them and look around. "This is crazy."
"Yeah, my sister got one of the popular bands to come and play tonight," Ethan says, looking around and smiling. "She should have charged a cover."
"Nah," I say, looking around and seeing that people are crowded on the dance floor, and the band hasn’t even started yet. "This is better. They will buy drinks instead of paying for the cover."
"Exactly what she said to us." Emily smiles and steps closer to Ethan when someone tries to walk past her.