Dreaming of Forever (7 page)

Chapter 17

Ashley couldn't wait to see Sara. Her plane would be landing in Denver in just a few minutes. Her heart was racing and she had a huge smile on her face. It had been nearly four weeks since she had seen Sara last. The phone calls were helping somewhat but she still missed Sara like crazy.

“Oh my god, it's so good to see you!” Sara exclaimed, running to the gate when she saw Ashley.

“I know. I've missed you so much!” Ashley said jumping into her arms, tears running down her face.

“How was your flight?” Sara asked when she finally let her go.

“Good. I’m traveling even more for work now so I feel like I’m always on a plane.”

They drove back to the cabin and Sara suggested taking the horses out for a ride through the trails. Ashley happily agreed and they spend their afternoon talking as they rode side by side through the woods.

****

That evening while lying in bed together Ashley's cell phone rang. She looked at the number and saw that it was Jason. She was still mad at him. Even though weeks had gone by, she couldn’t let it go. She decided to ignore her phone.

“It might be something important,” Sara told her lightly, putting her hand on hers.

Ashley sighed. “Hello?”

“Hey I know it's late but have you been online in the last few hours?” Jason asked.

“Just Facebook. Why?” Ashley sat up in bed, wondering what he could be calling about.

“Look, just Google your name,” he told her. “I’m sorry this is happening to you.”

“What are you talking about? Did you write an article about me?” she accused him angrily.

“No. This has nothing to do with me. I’m just giving you a heads up. Google your name,” he said and hung up the phone.

Ashley just sat there for a few seconds wondering what could be so bad that Jason felt he had to call her and warn her about it.

“Can I see your laptop?” Ashley asked Sara. It was sitting on her night stand.

“Of course. Is everything alright?” Sara asked.

“I don't know. There's an article about me that doesn't sound too appealing,” she answered, typing ‘Ashley Turner’ into the search engine.
This can’t be happening.
She clicked on the first result.

There were pictures of her and Sara kissing in the airport in Chicago and Denver. Ashley started reading the article under the pictures. This sports blogger was saying that she was taking Sara's side over Zach Ellis's in her published book because she was romantically involved with the surgeon. They didn’t think that the book could be credible considering her relationship with Sara.

Ashley couldn't believe it. She had to blink two or three times. She knew that she would have to explain this to her parents. They weren’t great with technology but she knew how fast things spread now with social media. Someone was bound to tell them.

What about my career? Is this going to ruin me?

Tears came to her eyes, and she tried to blink them back.

“Shhh.. It's alright,” Sara whispered to her, holding her until she stopped crying.

“I can't believe this is happening,” Ashley said, wiping her eyes.             

“It'll be okay,” Sara told her, knowing exactly how it feels to be thrown into the spotlight against your wishes.

No matter what she tried, Ashley couldn't go to the sleep that night. She was tossing and turning so much that she had to get up in the middle of the night to pace the living room. She was afraid of what she’d find when she searched the Internet for her name again tomorrow.

Chapter 18

“Are you okay?” Sara asked Ashley. She ended up falling asleep on the couch at around five in the morning.

“Yeah. I’m sorry I couldn’t stay in bed. I had to come out here last night to just sit and think.”

“I felt really bad when I saw that you weren't in bed,” Sara said, yawning. She went over to the couch and sat down next to Ashley. "You had a rough night last night.” Sara hated bringing up the night before but knew that Ashley would probably want to talk about it.

“I just never expected this. I'm the one who’s supposed to be the writer,” she muttered, leaning back into the couch.

“Maybe you should try to go back to bed,” Sara suggested.

“No, I’m sure that there’ll be plenty of calls to answer today: my family, my boss and probably the media. This time it’s me being harassed but you still have to go through it all over again.” Ashley looked worried. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don't worry. I’m here with you through thick and thin. Nothing is going to make me leave you,” Sara whispered to her, hugging her tightly to her.

“Thank you.” Ashley had tears in her eyes when they pulled away from each other.

****

The morning hours were quiet with no calls from anyone but then right after lunch, the calls started coming in.

Late in the afternoon Dave, her boss at the newspaper, called her.

“Hello,” Ashley answered.

“I’m sure you’ve seen some of the sports blogs this morning. Is it true?” he asked her sternly.

“Not all of it. I didn't put Sara in my book or try to write an article about her because I favored her over Zach Ellis. Everything in the book is factual,” Ashley told him.

“I know that you had a side job with this book. You’re a good journalist but I’m going to have to let you go. You weren’t professional. I can’t have that at my paper,” Dave explained. “I’m sorry.”

“I can’t believe you’re firing me over this.”

“You let your emotions cloud your judgment,” he stated.

She couldn’t handle arguing with him. She knew her article was factual. “I’ll be back on Monday to clear out my office.” She hung up without giving him a chance to respond.

Ashley turned to Sara. “They fired me.”

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry, baby.” Sara pulled her into a hug. “What are you going to do?” Sara asked, letting go of her.

“I don't know yet. There's so many things to think about right now and I don't know if I'm coming or going,” Ashley said collapsing onto the couch.

“Well you know that you have an option to stay here with me if you want to,” Sara offered.

“Thanks,” she said, giving her a small smile. “I’d love to just stay here and never go back to Chicago but I have to face my family and I’ll need to take care of my apartment if I’m leaving. I just need to figure out what I want to do and then go from here.”

Chapter 19

1 Month Later

Things were going better than Ashley expected. She was helping Sara with the horses on a daily basis. She cooked dinner for Sara most nights. Ashley wanted to show her that she was there for Sara just like Sara was there for her.

Ashley was falling in love with Colorado too. Most weekends, Sara took them for a drive to show Ashley somewhere new. Skiing was quickly becoming Ashley’s favorite pastime. She used to ski once or twice every year but now that she had more time, Ashley was hitting the slopes at least once a week.

“You seem to be doing much better since you came back from visiting your parents,” Sara said. She was glad Ashley was settling in okay to her new life in Colorado. Moving across the country wasn’t an easy decision but she was so happy to have her here.

“After talking to my Mom and Dad I think they’re going to come around. I can’t wait for them to meet you,” Ashley said, standing in the kitchen chopping peppers. “I wanted to wait until after dinner to tell you the good news…”

“You can’t do that,” Sara said, coming up behind her and wrapping her arms around Ashley’s waist. “What is it?” Sara asked, kissing her neck.

Ashley turned around to face her. “I got the job for that new online sports magazine!”

“That's great news! I'm so happy for you.”

“Every thing's coming together for me, just like you said it would. Thank you for standing by me through all this,” Ashley said, hugging her.

“I’m so glad that you get to work from home so I can see you every day,” Sara said, kissing her. “This calls for a celebration. I have a bottle of red wine that I’ve been saving for a special occasion.”

“You know what red wine does to me,” Ashley said over her shoulder.

“Yes I do. Not only are we going to have a great dinner but we are going to have a fabulous evening together,” Sara told her.