"So you can't call her back?"
"And say what?” Ash exploded. “How's life on the home front? Is Dad ready for the hearing? Tell me, Jess, did he call in another favor to avoid jail time, or is that the next headline I'm going to read when I pick up the paper?"
"Don't be cruel."
What am I supposed to be, then? The good little daughter, who stands by her family no matter what?
"When are you coming home?” Jess tried another line of questioning.
"I'm not."
"What does that mean?"
Ash rubbed at the stain on her shorts. Her fingers came away red. “It means I'm taking some time off this summer, okay? Yeah, I left Boston for a while. To get my head straight. Sorry if you and Anne have to handle the media circus by yourselves. But I can't do it anymore. I just can't.” To her surprise, Ash began to cry. Little choking noises broke from her lips.
Jess didn't say anything.
"Don't tell Mom and Dad, please?"
"What am I supposed to say when they ask?"
"That I'm subletting an apartment for the summer."
"Where?"
"New Hampshire.” It was as much as she could say.
"New—” Jess sputtered for a minute and then ran out of steam. “Fine. I'll do my best to lie for you."
The guilt stabbed Ash right where she knew her sister meant it to.
Jess sighed. “You're sure you're okay? Do you need anything?"
The softness in her voice threw Ash for a minute. Jessica Kirk had always been the strong one, in charge of the three sisters from the time they were little. She was the director of all their backyard plays, the ruler of the tree fort and the sandbox. She was the one who tattled to Mom and Dad, the one who doled out cookies after dinner, the one who turned off the porch light if her younger sisters stayed out after dark. She'd been six going on sixteen going on forty, even back then. “Listen, I have to go. Tell Anne I said hi."
"Tell her yourself,” Jess said. “You don't have to ignore her too, you know."
Ash turned off the phone before she could work up to words she knew she'd regret. She grabbed the groceries and hauled them up to her apartment. Forget about it, she told herself. She dropped everything on the kitchen counter and headed for the shower, pulling off her clothes as she went. She could picture Jess dialing their other sister, gossiping about where poor little Ash had ended up. They'd laugh, the two of them, with their wonderful law degrees and gung-ho political campaigns. They'd laugh and wonder how Ash had turned out so different from the rest of the Kirk family.
She turned on the shower, left it cold, and stepped under the stream of water. The chill took her breath away, and for an instant she was glad. At least goose bumps might make her forget where she was. Eddie. The blonde. Her father. Jess. Ash let the water run down her back and shivered. At that particular moment, everything in her life seemed twisted up and wrong. Every single thing.
Chapter Ten
Ash turned the key in the ignition again.
Nothing.
Not a single sound. Not a click or a cough.
"Damn!"
Forty minutes past midnight, and here she sat, in the back parking lot of Blues and Booze with a car that wouldn't start. She supposed she'd pushed her luck, what with the sluggish way it had turned over the last few days. Frustrated, she slapped one hand against the steering wheel. Well, she could walk home. Everyone kept telling her how safe Paradise was after dark. It was only three blocks back to Lycian Street, anyway.
Ash made sure the windows were rolled up and locked her doors. Thunder had rumbled over Paradise for most of the night, and the last thing she needed was her leather interior ruined by rain. Glancing at her watch, she started across the parking lot.
She'd taken only a few steps when she saw him in the shadows, a man with his hands stuffed in his pockets, watching her. Ash froze. Her stomach clenched with panic, and a thin layer of perspiration broke out on her upper lip. Paradise safe after dark? Yeah, right. Her first night walking home and she was about to be mugged. Close to eighty dollars in singles bulged in her right front pocket, gas and grocery money for the following week. If this guy stole it, she'd have six dollars to her name. Ash took a step back. She'd taken a self-defense course back in college; what had the instructor always said?
Do not act or look like an easy target ... be confident.
She lifted her chin, eyes darting from side to side.
Do not let yourself get blocked in ... always have an escape route.
Ash considered her choices. She could cross the lot and follow Main Street down to the square, cutting behind the church and winding home the back way. She could make her way to Palmetto, the street running behind her, and head for the train station. Sometimes a cab idled there as it waited for late arrivals. Or she could get back in her car, lock all the doors, and call the police from her cell phone.
Forget that last one, she thought. She didn't need to attract any attention from local authorities. They'd take one look at her driver's license and identify her as Senator Kirk's daughter right away. By the following morning, everyone in town would know who she was. And the jokes would start all over again.
As she stood in the shadowy lot, heart pummeling against her breastbone, the man began to move toward her. Thick arms hung from a solid frame, and he walked with purpose. Oh, God. Forget about the money. What if he grabbed her? What if he tried to rape her?
She wrapped her right hand around her car keys, working the sharp edges so that they pointed straight at him. Maybe she could stab him between the eyes. Maybe she could kick him in the groin and then stab him between the eyes. Maybe she could—
"Ash? What are you doing back here?"
Her heart leapt at his words, an instant before it puddled around her ankles. She let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. “Eddie! You scared the hell out of me.” She'd never been so happy to see anyone in her life. Suddenly boneless, her hand flapped against her leg. Her keys slipped through shaking fingers and fell to the ground.
He bent down and scooped them up. “It's way past twelve,” he said.
"I know.” She waved in the direction of her lifeless car. “It wouldn't start."
He frowned. “You should have told me."
The concern in his voice washed over her, smooth and warm. The tightness that had rolled around in her stomach the last few days vanished.
"I didn't want to bother you.” She paused. “What are you doing here, anyway?"
Eddie dropped his chin, suddenly fascinated with his shoelaces. He put a hand on the back of his neck, opened his mouth, and then closed it again without saying anything. When he answered after a long minute, his voice was gruff. “Knew you weren't home. Wanted to make sure you were okay."
Ash bit her bottom lip as her cheeks flamed. He'd been sitting up? Waiting for her? Worrying about her? She smiled. “Yeah, I'm okay. Just tired."
"So let's go,” he said. Dropping one arm across her shoulders, he pulled her close, squeezing for just a moment before backing away again. “I'll come down, take a look at your car tomorrow morning."
"Thanks."
They headed across the lot to where it opened onto Main Street and walked in silence. Ash tried to keep her short stride up with Eddie's longer one.
Curiosity got the better of her after a few minutes. “What happened to Savannah?"
He didn't answer.
"Eddie? Hello?” Maybe I got the name wrong.
"It was just a date,” he said.
"Oh.” Ash dodged a trashcan that had rolled into the sidewalk. “You gonna see her again?"
Eddie glanced over. “Don't know. Maybe."
"That's a no.” She elbowed him. “What's wrong with you, anyway?"
He stopped short on the corner of Elm Street. “Nothing, last time I checked. Why?"
"You know you're totally self-destructive, right?"
He frowned. “What're you talking about?"
"This w
hole thing where you go out with women once or twice, show them a good time, get them thinking maybe you like them, and then never go out with them again..."
"I like women, Ash. What's wrong with that? One date doesn't mean I want to get serious with anyone. I like to keep my options open."
"Well, that's obvious."
"Now you're mad at me? Are we fighting again?"
Ash sighed. “No. Sorry. I just meant ... you give women the wrong idea, I think."
"I never make promises. Not to any of them."
Yeah, I know. That's what breaks their hearts.
A white pick-up truck missing a taillight rolled past them. The horn beeped, and Eddie raised a hand in greeting.
"You know him?"
He laughed. “Know just about everyone in Paradise."
Ash considered that for a minute. “Does it ever bother you? You ever want to live somewhere else? Somewhere people don't know your business?” The question, from deep in her soul, burned as it crossed her lips.
He shrugged. “Not really. Thought about it a couple of times, but I'm settled here, you know?"
They walked a few more paces.
"Thing is,” Eddie continued, “I don't think other places, small towns or big cities, are any better at hiding out in."
She jerked at his words, stumbling over a tree root growing through the pavement. “I didn't say anything about hiding out."
"No, I know.” He waved a hand. “I just meant that ... well ... everyone thinks the grass is greener. If they live in a small town, they think they got to move to a city. If they live in a city, they think a place like Paradise is better. Less scandal or corruption or something. But I gotta tell you, people have the same problems no matter where they go. Big city or small town, people get hurt. Friends steal from each other. Men cheat on their wives. Kids sneak out at night and get drunk while their parents think they're sleeping. People get divorced, leave home, desert their kids. And people sure as hell die, same as every other place."
He looked up at the sky, as if counting the stars strewn out like a map above them. “At least here in Paradise, you know someone's got your back. You know there's always someone you can count on, someone you grew up with who's gonna forgive you no matter how bad you screw things up.” They turned the corner onto Lycian Street. “So no, I've never really wanted to live anywhere else."
Ash thought about that as they turned into the walk leading up to their house. Safety in a small town, huh? She wasn't sure she could believe it. But then again, why had she moved here, and why was she staying, unless something about the way a no-name village drew its arms around her felt right? She glanced sideways at her neighbor. For a guy who hadn't ever left his hometown, Eddie West sure seemed to know a lot about the ways in which the world worked.
"Thanks for walking me home."
"No problem.” He dug his hands into his pockets. One dimple popped as he smiled at her.
"See you tomorrow, I guess."
"See ya."
She felt his eyes on her back all the way up the stairs.
* * * *
Eddie pulled into the employee parking lot behind Frank's Imports just shy of nine the next morning. Ash's car, he saw, had been towed and dropped in front of the shop. Good.
He pulled on a faded blue baseball cap and headed inside.
"What's up with the Volkswagen?” Frank sat behind his desk, feet propped up, hands laced behind his bald head, an unlit cigar clamped between his teeth.
"Belongs to a friend of mine."
"You better take care of Mrs. Myer's oil leak first."
"I got it. Don't worry."
* * * *
Ash showed up an hour later, cheeks flushed and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Running shorts brushed the tops of toned legs, and a tank top curved around damp breasts.
From the other side of the shop, Eddie swallowed and told himself to think of cold showers.
"West!” That was Frank.
"Hang on."
"You got a visitor!” Frank crossed the room and kicked at his foot. Eddie wheeled the creeper out from under the sedan he was working on.
"You didn't tell me your friend was a chick,” his boss said, in a voice that echoed in the cavernous space. “A cute one."
Eddie cut a glance Ash's way and watched her smile.
"Yeah? There's a reason for that."
"Hi,” Ash said when he approached. “I was out for a run, thought I'd stop by and see what I owed you."
Eddie pulled a rag from his back pocket, aware of the dirt on his hands and the smell of gasoline on his clothes. She looked fresh, alive, young around the eyes in a way that she hadn't when they'd first moved in. He liked it.
"Haven't had a chance to look at it."
"Oh.” She raised her arms, stretching over her head. Her shirt pulled up a little, and for a moment all Eddie wanted to do was run a hand across that strip of skin above her waistband.
With effort, he pulled his gaze away and frowned at the clock in great concentration. “Maybe around lunchtime? Can you come back after one?"
"Sure.” She looked around, taking in the enormous steel toolboxes, the hoses hanging from the wall, and the lifts with cars sitting on them in various states of repair. Eddie watched her catalog it all and wondered what she thought.
Ash wiped her forehead with the back of one wrist. “Do you—would you like me to bring lunch? I sort of feel like I owe you."
"I haven't fixed anything yet."
She cocked her head. “Yeah, but you had it towed here. And you saved me last night."
"What, from all the muggers in Paradise?"
Ash smiled, and Eddie loved the way it lit up her face, turning her eyes from brown to green. Desire kneed him right in the gut. “Exactly. So do you want pizza or subs?"
Eddie shrugged. He didn't much care, if it meant he was going to see her again. And soon. “You decide."
She turned to leave. “Okay, but remember you said that."
He watched the sway in her step until she disappeared from sight. Then, shaking his head, Eddie eased himself back under Mrs. Myers’ car. Oil leaks. That's what you need to be thinking about. Not good-looking upstairs neighbors. Not long legs and eyes so big you could lose yourself inside them. And definitely not small waists and smiles that end with a biting of the bottom lip and pink that spreads from cheek to cheek when she laughs.
Eddie reached for a wrench and adjusted his droplight, trying to ignore the throbbing in his groin. When he scraped open a knuckle a few minutes later, he was glad for the pain that drove Ash from his thoughts once and for all.
Chapter Eleven
"I got both,” Ash said two hours later, her arms filled with bags from Lou's Sub Shop and a six-pack of soda. Behind her, on Frank's desk, Eddie spied the corner of a pizza box. His stomach rumbled, but not before the scent of her, feminine and floral, drifted over to him.
"Great. Smells terrific."
He headed for the sink in the corner and spent a few extra minutes scrubbing. Jesus, why does she do that to me? He glanced at his reflection in the paper towel dispenser. Why does she leave me stuttering around like a fool? Women never threw Eddie West into a tailspin. Usually, it was the other way around. Usually, they fell for him, called him, waited around for him. But ever since Ash had moved in upstairs, things had changed. He felt unsteady on his feet around her. And the trouble was, they weren't even dating. A heavy whisper of possibility just hung over every moment they spent together. Eddie splashed water on his face. Was it him, or did she feel it too?
"You don't get your ass over here, I'm gonna eat the whole pie and both subs,” Frank called across the shop.
Eddie tossed a damp rag at his boss. “Like hell you will.” He pulled up a chair and propped one knee against the desk. Ash sat a few feet away, a salad balanced on her lap. She'd changed into one of those halter-tops that clung to her curves, one that made him see swells in all the right places. A pair of shorts, frayed around the hem, rode
up on her thighs. Eddie reached for a soda and forced himself to look away.
"It's the distributor cap,” he said after a few mouthfuls of Italian sub.
"On my car?” Ash frowned. “Is that bad?"
He shook his head. “Nope. Take me ten minutes to replace it."
"That's it?"
He finished the sub and reached for a slice of pizza. “That's it."
"How much will it cost?"
Eddie thought about teasing her, about telling her she couldn't afford it unless she meant to spend the next week cooking him dinner. But he couldn't. The way she looked at him, with that wide, trusting expression, twisted his heart halfway around. “Forty bucks."
Frank snorted. “For the part, maybe.” He winked at Ash. “Guess he's throwing in the labor for free. Must be your lucky day.” The telephone rang, and he reached over to answer it. “Can't say I blame him, though. Wouldn't mind having a housemate that looked the way you do."
Eddie watched the blush spread its way across Ash's cheeks, enjoying the way it made her eyes shine.
"Thanks,” she said to Eddie, as Frank stood to take the call on the other side of the office. “I really appreciate it. You have no idea."
"Better than having it towed back to your mechanic in Boston."
The way she started in her chair caught him off guard.
"What do—oh.” She raised a hand to smooth a few curls away from her face. “Right."
"You have someone you take it to, regular?” Eddie asked. There's that look again. Like she has to watch her words. Or like she has to watch her back. Ash hadn't told him anything at all about her life before Paradise. In fact, she avoided it every time he brought it up. But her silence, and those nervous glances every now and again, made him more curious than if she'd dropped hints and tried to tease him into guessing the details of her story. And everyone had a story. He knew that better than anyone.
She shrugged. “I usually just take it to whoever I can find."
Frank hung up the phone and scrawled something on the giant calendar that hung on the office wall. “Everyone's god-damned air conditioning goes at the same time,” he grumbled. “God forbid anyone thinks about trying it out before June. Then they get their panties in a knot ‘cause I can't see ‘em until next week. Well, what the hell do they expect?"
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