You, Me, and the Secret: A Club Stigmata Novella

by Elle Luckett

  We didn’t speak quite as intimately again, but I gave him our address and the time to be at the house for Sunday brunch before I made my way to help with the end of night rush at the bar.

  I hadn’t managed much sleep knowing what the day would bring with it. Sleeping lightly, I knew the exact time Ashleigh crawled into bed with me but didn’t say a word. Any conversation would mean we were up for the day, and four a.m. was a cruel mistress when you had a day like ours ahead of us. I waited for her breaths to deepen and even out, then wrapped Ashleigh up in my arms, burying my face in her hair, finally relaxing enough to fall asleep.

  “Momma.”

  I grumbled, even as the tiny hands pressed against the hollows of my cheeks and squeezed.

  “Mema is making your coffee and said she has to talk to you before church.”

  “How long have you been up?” I asked, peeling an eye open to study her.

  I received a shrug in response as she dropped her hands to her lap, where she was kneeling on the bed beside me, the end of her hair in wild curls as Anna smiled at me from her pajamas.

  “Mema gave me some cereal so I can last until brunch.” She shoved her stuffed Sven in my face, giving me a mouthful of the fur as she changed her voice to speak for him. “We watched Frozen number two.”

  “Again!” I teased, kissing the stuffed toy on the nose to my daughter’s delight.

  “Grandpa said he was going to watch all the Toy Stories with me this week while you and Mema were out.”

  “Oh?” Where were my mom and I going?

  “Sugar, how is your momma supposed to get her cute butt outta bed when you’re sitting on her?” Mom asked, making her way in through the open door with a mug of coffee for me. She looked dazzling in her Sunday best, full makeup and hair in all its glory. Something I was expected to adhere to before they returned.

  Ashleigh fell back with a joyful giggle and squealed when my hand tickled her tummy and had her squirming. My mom watched on with affection as wild tangles of hair haloed out around Ashleigh, and her legs kicked and scissored to escape the relentless tickling. She eventually popped off the bed, her breaths coming hard and mingled with giggles as she held Sven between us.

  “Get your tush back here,” I demanded playfully. “I’m not done with you.”

  “Momma.” A girlish giggle followed my name, followed by two sharp intakes of air as she tried to calm herself down. “Behave.”

  I slanted my eyes to my mother, who had pressed her lips into a thin line to stop herself from laughing. This vocabulary was from her. Even though I was twenty-nine, she still said it to me when I was teasing her, and now my daughter had picked it up.

  “If I must.”

  “Grandpa found a jigsaw for you when you’re ready, baby,” my mom said to Ashleigh, handing me the mug of coffee, which was, once again, chicory. “He found it on the internet just for you. Why don’t you go see what it is?”

  Ashleigh gave a hop of joy before turning and running from the room without a backward glance. Mom took the perch at the end of my bed as she had the morning before. A disconcerting new development that was making me paranoid.

  “I had Preston call Dillon.”

  “What did he say?”

  “He had a cancellation tomorrow, so he told us to come on in.”

  “That soon?”

  “Your brother explained the situation. The background and the circumstances.” Her polite way of saying that his family was wealthy and she wasn’t willing to lose her granddaughter to people just because their pocketbooks were fatter. “He seemed to think that addressing it sooner rather than later was the best course of action. Especially as Mr. Morris wants to get involved in Ashleigh’s life.”

  “Agreed,” I said before taking a sip of coffee. “It was Asher who suggested I find a lawyer to cover myself. I don’t think he intends any disruption. I believe he’s more concerned about his family’s actions.”

  “Sounds that way. Did you see him last night?”

  I hid behind the coffee cup and nodded. I didn’t want to get into the fact that Asher was determined to be a part of my life, along with our daughter’s. My mom had been the one to help me pick up the pieces when I’d come home. She’d cursed his name right alongside the devil’s.

  “I know that look, Shauna Iona Monroe.”

  “What look?”

  “You’re softening. Don’t you go and get sweet on that boy again.”

  “I’ve said no to him more times than I can count. I’m not sweet on him again.” A true statement considering I’d never really stopped being sweet on him since the first time. “Just hold off judgment until you meet him, please.”

  She glanced down at her wrist with a sigh, her fingers angling the face of her delicate watch so she could see it. “I’m gonna be late for church if we don’t leave soon. Your daddy put a brisket in the smoker last night, and it should be about ready by the time we get home. You don’t have to do a thing with it. He has that contraption that beeps on his phone. He’ll call you if it changes.”

  “Do you need me to do anything?”

  “Your daddy’s beans are going in now. I have a salad ready to chop, but if you could peel and boil the potatoes for the potato salad, it would be helpful. Give them time to cool.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Rising from the foot of my bed, my mom dropped a kiss on my forehead and smoothed my hair down before cupping my cheeks. “I love you, baby. We’re gonna get through this together.”

  “I know it.”

  “I want the two of you dressed and ready by the time we get home, okay?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “You sure you don’t want to come with us?”

  “Certain.”

  Shrugging, she left the room, and I let out a quiet laugh in her wake. Every Sunday, she asked, and every Sunday, I said no.

  I spent a while helping Ashleigh with her puzzle, peeling and boiling the potatoes as I did. Eventually, I gave us both a shower and played a number game with her as I braided her hair and dressed her in one of the many cute dresses my mom had insisted on buying her. I dried my hair to tame it, applied the lowest level of makeup acceptable with company coming, and then dressed in shorts and a cute shirt that would satisfy my mom’s dress code.

  “Can I wear lipstick, Momma?” Ashleigh asked as I started tidying the bathroom.

  “Of course.” I pulled out one of my flavored lip balms that had a hint of frosted pink and dabbed it lightly on her lips, watching as she studied her reflection and smacked her lips as I had just minutes earlier. “Sugar, you’re a pro.”

  “Can we go to the park today?”

  “Maybe later. We have to wait for everyone to get back from church so we can eat first.”

  “Mema said we’re not having brunch today. We’re headed straight to lunch because no one should have that much beef for breakfast.”

  “She’s a wise lady.”

  “What does wise mean?”

  I rolled through my mental vocabulary for the correct definition. I usually had my phone to search and show her. “It means clever and smart. They call owls wise because they make good choices.”

  “Owls?”

  “Yup, those birds are smarty pants. They can spin their heads almost all the way around.” I immediately regretted that piece of trivia when she nagged me into showing her a video of the owl and then spent the next ten minutes trying to turn her head all the way around and walking into walls.

  She had her head turned and walked straight into Preston as he came in with his wife, Lucy. She bounced right off him and landed on her butt with a giggle.

  “Did you break your kid, Shauny?”

  “I’m trying to be like an owl,” Ashleigh informed him before throwing herself at Lucy, who twirled her into the living room with a giggle. “Momma said they’re wise like Mema.”

  “Suck up,” Preston mumbled at me with a grin, dropping a kiss to the top of my head on his way to the kitchen. “What’s
on the menu today?”

  “Brisket, beans, potato salad, and coleslaw.”

  “Ooh-we, Ash, we gonna eat good today,” he said and headed to the backyard with Ashleigh in tow to drool over the meat.

  “Only a man could be that excited for beef on a Sunday morning,” Lucy mused, wrapping her arms around me in greeting. “How are you holding up?”

  “Scared shitless,” I admitted, walking with my arm around her waist to the kitchen.

  “Dillon’s a good lawyer, he’ll help y’all out, and from what your momma told Preston, your Mr. Morris is on board with it,” she said, stepping away and dropping onto a stool.

  “It was his idea.”

  I poured us both a lemonade and handed hers over as I settled onto the island stool next to hers, studying the cooling potatoes as though they held the answers to the universe.

  “He sounds genuine enough when you look at it like that.”

  “It’s not him I’m worried about.”

  “No, I suppose not. Still, it’s a step in the right direction.”

  “Luce, Asher’s—” As if on cue, the doorbell rang. “Early apparently.”

  “Want me to get it?”

  I rose. “No, this is for me to deal with. Thank you, though.”

  “Just remember we’re all here, and we’re all on your side.”

  My mind knew that, but my stomach didn’t receive the memo. Hoards of crickets swarmed my guts, tickling, scratching, and bouncing around inside me. It made me feel nauseous as I approached the front door and pulled it out of the way.

  Asher looked just as nervous standing on the other side in dark jeans and an oxford shirt. He held flowers in one hand and an aged bottle of scotch in the other. Beside him on the stoop was a Sven that stood as tall as his hip. Fear abandoned me, leaving only amusement, and with my hand over my mouth, I tried to hide my startled laugh.

  “Too much?”

  “Where the hell did you find a Sven that size?”

  “Target.” He met my eyes, concern still evident. “Too much?”

  “She’s going to love it.” I stepped back from the door and offered to take the flowers and scotch so he could heft the Sven into the house. Directing him through the house to the kitchen, he smiled at Lucy with warmth and placed Sven at his feet to offer his hand. I put the flowers and aged scotch he’d bought on the island.

  “Asher Morris, good to meet you.”

  “Lucy Monroe. I’m Preston’s wife.”

  “I think you were still dating when Shauna was in Gatlinburg?”

  “Yes, that would’ve been right. Preston actually proposed to me a couple of weeks after Shauna came home.”

  “It’s nice to finally put a face to the name,” Asher said, dropping her hand and flashing her one of his most charismatic smiles.

  The back door opened before she could say more, and grinning, Lucy stepped away from the man and his Sven.

  Ashleigh blew into the house at full speed squealing in a musical tone that Uncle Preston had stolen a taste of Grandpa’s brisket. She’d been so focused on calling out her uncle, she didn’t see Asher until she rounded the island and almost ran right into him. Then her eyes fell on the Sven standing beside him, and they grew to the size of saucers as her hands clasped in front of her with pure delight. Glassy-eyed, Ashleigh looked to me first, and then back to the stranger who now watched her with awe and wonder.

  There was only a moment of silence before Ashleigh closed the distance between her and Asher. Wrapping herself around his leg, she sighed dreamily and said with no hesitation. “Kristoff, you came.”

  The world stopped for me when I finally saw Asher and Ashleigh in the same room together. Asher had managed to do just the right thing, find just the right gift, and now Ashleigh was wrapped around his legs looking up at him with such adoration, it made my heart melt.

  Asher looked enamored. His soft, faded denim eyes watched his daughter for a few moments more before he gently unwrapped her arms and lowered himself to one knee. Preston stiffened, while Lucy and I just seemed to melt into awestruck puddles, lost to the charm of what was going on in front of our eyes.

  “I’m not Kristoff, sweetheart.” His tone was so soft and tender that his accent came our pure southern, charming me all the more. Reaching out, he rested his hand on the head of Sven, and Ashleigh followed his gesture, the eyes that mirrored Asher’s growing larger with wonder. “But, your momma told me you wanted Sven as your best friend.”

  Ashleigh registered me again for the first time since she entered the house. I smiled for her, nodding gently that she was okay.

  “He’s for me?”

  “Why, yes. Who better to look after him than you?”

  “Thank you, mister.”

  Snapping out of my awestruck bubble, I finally found my tongue. Introductions were needed.

  “Baby, this is momma’s friend, Asher.”

  “Asher?” Ashleigh asked, looking between him and me and giggling when her eyes met his. “That’s like my name.”

  “Well, your momma has great taste,” Asher said smoothly, his body relaxing a little.

  Gifting him with another small chuckle of glee, Ashleigh, stepped in and wrapped her arms around his neck like she’d been doing it her whole life. “Thank you so much. I will love him forever.”

  Asher had barely patted her back in an awkward one-armed hug when the front door opened, and she’d detached herself from him, hauling the large Sven to greet her grandparents. Our eyes met after he followed her across the room, and I silently promised to give him what he looked so desperately like he needed—time to breathe and talk.

  “Asher Morris, this is my brother Preston,” I said, while Ashleigh gave my momma and daddy a play by play. “Preston, this is Asher Morris.”

  “You’re older than I imagined.”

  “Preston!” Lucy admonished, backhanding his arm lightly.

  Asher smiled, and with no hint of being insulted, held his hand out to my brother. “It’s good to meet you, Preston.”

  The two men shook hands but said no more as my parents followed Ashleigh and the large Sven into the kitchen, their hands dropping as the newest arrivals stepped in to be greeted. I took control, shooting my brother a warning look before I turned my attention to my parents.

  “Mom, Dad, this is Asher Morris. Asher, these are my parents, Anna-Mae and Wyatt Monroe.”

  Reaching for the flowers and bottle I’d put on the island, Asher held the bouquet out to my mom. I hadn’t noticed what they were before, but when I saw the collection of peonies, orchids, eucalyptus leaves, and dusty miller, I knew she’d be a goner. The man had a memory like a damn filing cabinet. He’d been with me when I’d arranged to have a bouquet sent to her on her birthday when I hadn’t managed to make it back.

  “Mrs. Monroe, it’s an absolute pleasure to finally meet you.”

  From the look my mom gave him, she was already bewitched by him, but when Asher handed my father’s favorite aged scotch with his other hand to shake, I could see the Monroe men were going to be a harder sell.

  “Thank you, Mr. Morris, it was mighty thoughtful of you to think of us. If you’ll excuse me, I have to check on my brisket.”

  My father kissed my mother’s temple before sliding the bottle onto the counter. Nodding at Lucy and me, he retreated to the back yard, followed closely by my brother.

  “You’ll have to forgive my husband,” Mom said, pressing her face closer to the flowers she held. “When it comes to his daughter, he doesn’t forgive easily.”

  “Jesus,” I mumbled, taking the flowers from her arms. I found one of her vases and filled it with the water and flower food, while Lucy stepped in to help trim and arrange. My mom and Ashleigh took the opportunity to lead Asher into the lounge and talked quietly enough that we couldn’t hear.

  “My God, Shauna, he’s a looker,” Lucy said in hushed tones as we worked side by side on the arrangement.

  “He’s also charming, smart, funny, sexy, and amazin
g in bed.”

  “Damn. I’m going to be thinking about that all day now. What’s going on in that head of yours?”

  I blew out a breath, glancing over to where I deduced Ashleigh was chatting animatedly about Sven from the way her arms flailed around the reindeer. Asher’s gaze flickered to mine as though I’d called him before dropping back to his daughter’s.

  “Both times I’ve met with him the last couple days, Asher’s told me he wants me back.”

  “Ah.”

  “Yeah,” I said, shearing the end of a stem off with a bit more enthusiasm than was needed. “I thought, shit, it’s gonna be damn hard to resist that, but I may just pull it off, you know? Then I saw him with Ash, and—”

  “That’ll do it.” Lucy dropped a couple of leaves into the vase. “Hell, it made my uterus start ticking, for Christ’s sake.”

  Snorting out a laugh, I dropped the shears I was holding and pressed my palms to the granite. I felt the familiar sting of tears and dropped my chin to my chest to try and gain some semblance of composure. Lucy rubbed a hand over my back in reassurance, her support helping me to gulp down air and finally blink back the biting edge of raw emotion. I hadn’t expected this ease in which he’d entered my world. Asher had taken Preston’s criticism, as well as my dad’s cold shoulder and just rolled with it, apparently undeterred now that he was with his daughter. It made me feel more than I wanted to.

  “There’s no rule saying you can’t get what you want, too, Shauny. He hurt you, and yeah, it was bad, but look at what he gave you. Would you go back and erase the hurt knowing you couldn’t have that little ray of sunshine in your life?”

  “Not for a second. The problem is if we don’t work, what does that do to her?” I tipped my head in Ashleigh’s direction.

  “Exactly the same thing as you not getting together would do. She’d have two parents she’d split herself for.”

  “It’s more complicated than that.”