Storm Front (The Charistown Series) (Volume 2) (24 page)

“Between
me
and
him
?” It felt like every nerve
in her body was exposed, every button pushed, every memory brought to the
surface. Ashley hated when people asked about her and Ryan because it killed
her to deny the love she’d once felt for him. Almost as much as it did to deny
the love she still felt… but, she had no other choice.

She looked over to where the rest of the group had
congregated, with drinks in hand, as if this was entertainment for them.
Why
do they enjoy watching my head spin and my heart break?

“There is nothing—I repeat,
nothing
—going on between
Ryan Baker and myself! We are just
friends
, who happen to both live and
work together. Period. End of story. Got it?” She pulled her hair back into a
low ponytail and turned her back to her friends before loudly stating, “Christ,
I need a drink!”

She didn’t need to look at Janie and Lyla to know that their
mouths were agape. The heat from their stares burned a hole in her back, but
she refused to turn around. She needed tequila, and she needed it now. When she
heard Ryan addressing the group, she knew one shot wouldn’t be enough.

“She loves me, she just isn’t ready to admit it yet, right,
Princess?” While his joke was exactly what was needed to break the tension,
Ashley knew it would be more like three shots before she could show her face in
the backyard.

“Whoa there, chickie, save some for the rest of us.” She
turned around to see Julie, Janie and Lyla standing behind her, each holding
their own shot glass. They smiled kindly at her and held out their glasses.

“Look, girl, Janie and I didn’t mean to pry.” Lyla donned an
oddly unnatural and forced grin on her face.

“Shut up, Ly, yes we did. We’ve been dying to know about you
two since the start. And just FYI, look at that ridiculous smile.” Janie
pointed to the silly smirk still on Lyla’s face. “Remember that look, it’s her
tell. That girl can’t lie for shit.”

“Fuck you, Janie!” Lyla spewed without a trace of anger in
her tone or her crystal blue eyes. “Anyway, what I’m saying is, you want your
space, take it. Okay?” Lyla gestured between herself and Janie. “We get it, and
we’ll give that to you. Now
that’s
the end of the story.” Lyla handed
Ashley, Julie and Janie a shot glass before opening a different bottle for
herself. Let’s take these shots, cept’ I don’t shoot straight tequila.” Lyla
poured herself a vodka.

“To friends,”
she lifted her small glass.
“I
love you near. I love you far. But if I need space, and you can’t give me
that
,”
she giggled, “then get the fuck out of my face!”

“
That
was a good one, Ly. You really should write
these down.” Ashley didn’t see the wink Janie sent Lyla at the suggestion.
Julie’s face was pinched, “Lyla, even after all these years of owning a bar, I
still hate the taste of straight tequila. Next time, pour two vodkas, okay?”
The women laughed as they watched Julie suck on extra lemon wedges.

“Let’s bring this food outside so that Danny and the guys
can barbecue.” Julie lowered her voice trying to imitate her husband. “It’ll
make them feel like men.” The ladies laughed as they carried the food outside
to the grill.

Burnt Cookies

“PRINCESS, WHAT ARE you doing? We’re
already late, let’s go.” Ryan popped his head into the kitchen and couldn’t
hold back his reaction. It started with a twitch in his abdomen which quickly
rose up through his chest, but once it got to his throat there was no way he
could contain his laughter.

“It’s not funny, Ryan!” He loved when Ashley’s cheeks
sported a pink blush. Between her reddened face, her little white tank top that
was molded just right to her fantastic body, and the newly died blue streaks in
her hair, she looked perfect for the Fourth of July festivities at Danny and
Julie’s house. Every flat surface in the kitchen was covered in a mist of white
powder, including Ashley herself.

“What happened, babe?”

“I refuse to answer if you’re going to stand there and laugh
at me,” she said, but the clatter of pans landing in the sink and the sight of
blackened discs being dumped in the trashcan answered Ryan’s question.

“Ash.”

She looked at him with her arms crossed over her chest as
his eyes glittered with amusement mixed with a bit of something else, although
his voice was gentle and warm as he continued. “You tried to bake cookies,
didn’t you?” Her following silence was admission enough.

“Princess, that was so thoughtful. I’m sure Julie would have
appreciated the gesture, really, babe.” He tried to maintain a serious face,
but it wasn’t easy containing the grin that threatened to break across his
lips. He loved their banter.

“Uh, thanks Ry.” He couldn’t believe she was falling for his
mature act. After all these years, she should know better, geeze.

“No problem. And Princess, for future reference, do you know
what Julie would appreciate more?” Ryan finally revealed his wide smile in its
entirety before he answered. “She’d appreciate it if you never tried to bake
for her again. Seriously, you can’t bake for shit. What were you thinking?” His
laughter bounced off the walls of the small house as he ran out of the kitchen
but he learned he wasn’t quick enough when a burnt cookie hit him in the head.

“Ryan Baker, you are such an asshole!”
Maybe
, he
thought to himself, chuckling. But hearing Ashley giggle out loud he knew once
and for all that there was nothing sweeter than the sound of true laugher
coming out of her mouth.

By the time they arrived, the party was in full swing. Ryan
went directly over to Danny, who was manning the grill, and Ashley delivered
her store bought cookies to Julie.

“Look how sweet they are together.” Ashley gestured to Max
and Janie who were lying together on a yellow blanket spread out on the grass.
Deep in conversation, each wore a relaxed smile. It was the first time she’d
seen them together and she could see there were some serious sparks between the
two. Whether any thing would come from it was anyone’s guess.

“I’ve never seen him look so happy,” Julie mused.

“Do you think he realizes the affect she has on him yet, or
do you think he’s blind to it? I’d hate to see him lose someone like her—she’s
pretty special, you know?”

Julie turned her gaze from Max and Janie and stared directly
at Ashley. “Yes, Ashley, I’m surrounded by pretty special women and so I have
it on good authority that it’s not just the men who are blind to things that
make them happy.” Julie placed a loving stroke on Ashley’s arm before returning
to the house to retrieve more food. Ashley glanced over at her friends on the
grass once more. She hoped Max didn’t let his past screw things up with Janie.
The irony of the situation was, sadly, completely lost on her.

Heading over to Danny and handing him a cold beer, Ashley
felt Ryan’s gaze on her a moment before she noticed Kyle practically weaving up
the slate path that led from the street to the back yard with a woman clinging
to his side. Ryan laughed and shook his head in amusement. “Danny, look at that
girl with Kyle. She looks at him like he single-handedly hung the moon. What
the hell does he do to these poor girls?”

“Hey guys, this is Sheena,” Kyle said, introducing the
petite, scarlet haired,
young
woman as he approached the group,
noticeably off-kilter.

“Um, actually, my name is Shira.” Her cheeks were nearly as
red as her hair when she sheepishly corrected his mistake. “Sheena, Shira—same
difference.” Ashley didn’t think it was possible for a woman’s face to get any
redder without bursting into flames but poor Shira’s face did.

“Kyle, you dipshit, that’s not how you talk about a lady.”
Ashley couldn’t believe that the poor girl had to deal with this level of
embarrassment. Kyle had been drinking more than usual lately but this behavior
was inexcusable. She was flabbergasted as she watched the woman place her small
hands sweetly on Kyle’s arm and whisper something in his ear. Kyle went
pie-eyed as the dimple in his right cheek winked.

“’Scuse us for a bit,” he announced loudly, sliding his arm
around Shira. “We’re gonna go get our fuck on. Be back soon…but not too soon,”
he chuckled.

Winking at Ryan and Max, who had left the grass to witness
the spectacle, Kyle escorted Shira around the side of the house and out of
sight. Ashley looked around, taking in the silent stares and awkwardness that
blanketed her friends.

“Seriously? No one’s gonna say it?” Lyla started to weave
through the group, talking to no one in particular “Fine, I will. That was some
fucked up shit!” Ashley watched Lyla’s blue eyes dance with amusement. “No,
really, let me see if I’ve got this right. He brings a girl here to meet his
friends. He doesn’t even know her name. She clearly has the good sense to be
embarrassed, unless of course she was suffering from sunburn…yeah, maybe it was
sunburn.” Lyla paced while everyone listed to her recant the story. “She shows
a modicum of backbone by telling him he got her name wrong. He basically tells
her he doesn’t give a shit. She giggles, whispers some sort of trailer trash
voodoo in his ear, and then he announces that they’re gonna go fuck? Really?
Did that just happen?”

It sounded insane, comical even, but Ashley wasn’t laughing.
Inside, her heart was hurting for Kyle. Over the six years they had known each
other they had shared some drunken nights and some cocktail confessions. She
had only been granted bits and pieces of his past, but she knew enough to be
able to deduct on her own that there was a ton of pain behind his “Fuck You”
persona. Kyle was headed on a downward spiral and she wanted to help but didn’t
know how. Shaking off the guilt she decided to enjoy the party, but vowed to
discuss whatever was going on with Kyle with Danny and Julie in the morning.

As the sun began to set in the sky, and the party was
getting ready to move venues, everyone congregated around the table. The
copious amounts of food and drink had everyone in a mellow mood. Janie sat
between Lyla and Max. Julie was sitting on Danny’s lap. Ryan looked around at
his friends and wondered how he got so lucky in life and if it could possibly
get better than this. Catching sight of Ashley, who was sitting beside him and
laughing loudly at something Lyla has said, he knew that, yes, it could get
better. The woman next to him could make his life complete. He was just out of
ideas on how to make that happen. His thoughts were interrupted by Danny’s
announcement.

“So listen, before we head over to the park to watch the
fireworks, we should discuss the final details for the fundraiser.” Danny’s voice
had taken on its patriarchal tone, making it clear to everyone around the table
that this was a topic to be discussed seriously.

“What fundraiser?” Janie asked, her face full of excitement.

“Ashley, why don’t you explain,” Julie stated quietly,
imploring Ashley to fill Janie and Lyla in on the details, but, Danny must not
have caught the subtle hint because he started to describe the event until
Julie put her hand over his mouth to stop him.

Ryan’s gut clenched. They hadn’t had to explain this story
in more than four years—in fact, if not for this event, Ryan was pretty sure
Ashley would never have spoken of her brother out loud. He subtly moved his
hand under the table and rested it over hers. When she gave a slight nod of her
head, he laced their fingers together and gave it a squeeze.

“We hold a fundraiser in August each year called
Leo’s
Lights
,” Ryan felt Ashley’s leg begin to tremble as she started her
explanation. Holding tight to her hand, he was uncertain if he was giving
comfort or seeking it.

Ashley took a breath before continuing. “Ryan writes songs
for some pretty big labels in the music industry so each year he manages to
score some sort of music memorabilia. Actually, how he does it is still a
mystery to me. Anyway, we auction off the donated item and all of the money we
make goes to helping local kids get the musical training they otherwise
couldn’t afford. This will be our fifth auction and each year so far we’ve
raised enough money to provide kids of all ages with instruments and musical instruction.
In a couple of cases we’ve donated the extra tuition needed to help the kids
who’d earned musical scholarships to college, but still wouldn’t have been able
to afford it if not for a little extra help.” She shrugged her shoulders and
her voice got smaller as she said, “I’m really proud of what
Leo’s Lights
has accomplished.” Ryan was in awe of Ashley for speaking up and explaining the
situation to Janie and Lyla, but the way she swallowed deeply and failed to
make eye contact with anyone told him that she was only just clinging to her
control. He tugged gently at her hand and she brought her gaze to his. No words
passed between them but the slight nod that Ashley gave him let him know that
she appreciated his support. All these years and she saw him only as support.
Does
she even see me as a man? Or am I just her friend?
Exhaling he decided it
may finally be time to move on.
How the hell do I do that?