The Reunion: Ashley's Mountain Retreat (Starting Over Series) (2 page)

Ashley walked out onto the deck that was off the master bedroom. The view was stunning as they looked out across the mountains which were glittering in shades of orange and yellow as the sun started to set.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful,” she whispered in awe of the peaceful scene in front of her.

“I have…” he muttered under his breath as he looked at her.

“You have?” she asked smiling as she realized the compliment.

“We don’t get many women that are as pretty as you up here, if you don’t mind me saying so…” he said with a smirk.

“Well, thank you. That’s quite a compliment.” Ashley wasn’t sure what to say or do. In other circumstances, she might have run back to her car for fear of a stalker attacking her. In this case, she knew he was harmless and just being a Southern gentleman.

“I hope you don’t think I am some kind of weirdo,” he said shaking his head as if he regretted saying that. “I don’t know why I said that. It makes me sound like I just got out of prison and haven’t seen a woman in a while,” he said with a laugh.

“No problem. I’m not too worried about you,” Ashley said with a wink. “So, how soon can I close on this?”

Her comment shocked Parker who wasn’t used to women making decisions so quickly and independently.

“Well, that all depends on your financing…”

“I’m paying cash, actually.”

Again, Parker was surprised since most people needed to get financing first.

“Great. We could probably get you closed in a couple of weeks or even less. Do you want to see anything else first?” he asked.

“I would like to see a restaurant, actually,” she said with a chuckle. “In all of the effort to catch my flight and get the rental car, I just realized that I forgot to eat lunch today… and now it is dinner time.”

“I’d be glad to have dinner with you in town, if you want,” he said smiling as he looked down at his boots.

“Okay. That sounds like a good plan to me. I have to warn you, though. I am starving, so don’t put your hands near my plate,” she said laughing.

“Thanks for the warning,” he said with a wink as they walked out onto the front porch. “Let’s take my truck so we can talk about the house.”

Ashley agreed that leaving her small rental car at the house was the best idea. Her friend’s cousin had agreed to let her stay there over the weekend to see how she liked the place, so she took her bags inside as Parker locked the place up.

“This little town is amazing!” Ashley said of Mountainview. Looking around, it seemed like she had landed back in time in a place where people still borrowed a cup of sugar from their neighbor.

“Yes, it’s definitely a great place to live. I’ve been here my whole life. See that little yellow house there? That’s where I grew up,” he said pointing to a quaint cottage sitting just off the town square.

“Wow. That is adorable,” she cooed. Ashley had never been to a place that felt more like home. It was odd as she had never been there before, yet she felt like she had.

“How do you feel about a hamburger?” he asked. “There’s a great diner over there.”

“That sounds so good right now,” Ashley said.

They pulled into the parking space in front of the diner. She looked around at all of the businesses in the square which included a barber shop, dry cleaners and authentic drug store with soda fountain. She expected Andy Griffith and Barney Fife to walk past her at any moment.

“After you…” he said opening the door to the diner. It was decorated like the 1950s complete with red vinyl upholstery, a jukebox and lots of chrome finishes. “Jailhouse Rock” was playing on the jukebox as a waitress led them to a table in the corner.

“Howdy, Parker,” the blond waitress said with a smile. “How’s your momma?”

Parker looked uncomfortable. “She’s doing fine, Emmy.”

As the waitress walked away, Ashley’s curiosity got the best of her. “Is your mom sick?”

“Sort of. She has early onset dementia. She lives in a personal care home a few miles from here.” The pain in Parker’s eyes was palpable.

“You were close to her, huh?” she asked not looking up from her menu.

“Very close. She started our real estate company here about thirty years ago. I took it over last year when her dementia got too bad.”

“That’s a lot on your shoulders… at your age, I mean,” she said.

“At my age? How old do you think I am anyway?” he asked with a smirk.

“Oh, I don’t like the guess ages,” Ashley said with a grin as she shook her head.

“Come on. I don’t mind. Take a wild guess.” His dare was something that Ashley couldn’t turn down.

“Well, I would say you are around thirty three years old.”

Parker let out a loud belly laugh. Emmy came back to the table and smiled at him laughing. “What’s so funny?”

“She thinks I am thirty three years old. Can you believe that?” he asked Emmy. She giggled to herself and looked at Ashley.

“Honey, he looks good for his age. All the ladies think so,” she said as she put the silverware on the table and walked back to the counter.

“Well? How old are you then?” Ashley asked raising her eyebrows.

“I am actually forty five years old, Miss Ashley,” he said leaning back in his seat.

“No way. That is not possible. What do you have up here? Some kind of magic mountain water?” she asked. City guys never looked as good, she thought to herself.

“Maybe so. I suppose it’s the mountain air or the slower pace of life.”

“I guess so.” Her palms started to sweat a little which was unusual for her. She never got nervous around men, but this one was different for her.

“What’ll you guys have?” Emmy asked reappearing at the table. Parker ordered a hamburger and fries while Emmy opted for a Patty Melt with chips.

“So, what’s your story?” Parker asked as Emmy left the table. Ashley’s breath hitched in her throat. This was getting more personal than she ever intended.

“My story?”

“Yep. What brings you up here to Mountainview? I mean, we are off the beaten path, as you know,” he said.

“I… um… I just wanted a place to get away and think when I needed to. And I love these mountains. I went to nursing school in Atlanta, and I would sometimes take day trips up to this area,” she said trying to remain as objective as possible.

“A nurse, huh? What kind of work do you do?”

“I am a labor and delivery nurse. So, I basically help bring babies into the world every day,” she said with a slight smile.

“That must be cool. I’ve never seen a baby born before, but I’ve heard it is an amazing event,” he said as he took a sip of his Coke.

“Yes. Amazing.” Ashley’s stomach churned as she thought of her own empty womb. She had wanted a baby since she was a teenager, and somehow she had never been blessed to have her own. Adoption often crossed her mind, but she just wasn’t sure it would fill the void of never having her own biological baby. At forty years old, time was certainly running out, if it hadn’t already.

“Are you okay?” he asked with a genuine look of concern on his face. “You stopped talking for a few minutes…”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I was just thinking. Anyway, let’s talk about the house,” she said changing the subject.

“Sure. Of course.” Parker went with the change of subject as he pulled out the paperwork so that she could make an offer.

***

The ride back to the cabin was quiet. They stopped off at the market so that Ashley could get a few things for dinner and breakfast while she stayed at the cabin. As they approached the road up to the house, Parker suddenly pulled over.

“Is something wrong?” Ashley asked looking behind them to see if a police officer had pulled them over.

“I don’t know. Is it?” he asked looking over at her.

“What do you mean?”

“Ashley, I know that we are really strangers, but you seem like a nice woman. You were awfully sad about something back there, and I am a great listener. I just hate to see a woman so blue about something,” he said softly. At another time, she might have thought this was a come-on, but he seemed sincere.

“I appreciate that, but it isn’t a big deal. And it certainly isn’t your problem,” she said biting her lower lip.

“I don’t feel right leaving you at the cabin alone and sad,” he said with a smile.

“Parker, I am sure you have plenty on your plate to keep you busy. You must need to get back home…”

“Nope. I live alone and run my own business. I can do what I want. And right now, I want you to tell me what’s wrong.”

Realizing that he wasn’t going to let up, she decided that she might as well spill her guts. At least he would stop asking, and it might just run him off completely. But, then she could get back to the cabin.

“Alright, but remember you asked for it,” she said shaking her head. “I was sad talking about babies because I’ve never been able to get pregnant. At forty years old, my time is definitely running out. Secondly, I was married for eight years to a man who turned out to be living a double life. He was married to someone else in another city and had several kids. As you can imagine, that didn’t make me feel so good. Talking about delivering babies just put me back in a space I am trying to forget for a few days. That’s all. Okay?”

Parker just stared at her for a moment. There was no look of disgust or even pity. There was a softness about him that tugged at her heart and made butterflies do a dance in her stomach.

“Thanks for telling me that.”

“That’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Ashley asked incredulously.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said. She felt kind of irritated that she had bared her soul to this stranger, and now he seemed uninterested.

“Ashley, I need to know right now whether you want me to be a man or an objective real estate agent.”

“What?”

“Which role can I play right now? Should I tell you what I want to say as a man or continue acting like a real estate agent?”

She thought for a moment, and the anticipation of what his “man” side would say was killing her.

“Speak like a man, please.”

“Okay. I think whoever the jerk was that lied to you all of those years should be taken out behind the wood shed so he can get the crap beat out of him. Secondly, you are one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen in person, and any man should be honored to share his life with you.”

Her heart sped up as she looked at this man who had seemingly been dropped in her life by God himself. Was he a mirage? Was he some kind of dating angel? It was everything she could do to not jump into his lap and bite his full bottom lip. Instead, she just said “Thank you.”
What a crock. Thank you? That’s all you can say?

“You’re welcome,” he said with a slight smirk as he re-started the truck and made his way up the steep incline to the cabin.

As Parker pulled up the driveway in the dark, Ashley was amazed at how easily he did it. She wondered if she could ever venture out at night once she owned the place. It was hard to imagine being able to maneuver her large SUV back home up the steep incline, but she decided that she would figure it out one way or another.