She quickly texted back, not wanting to worry him if she didn’t answer right away again.
“I am at home for the night. I’ll text you later.”
Putting her phone away, she grabbed the plates and a couple sweet teas and headed back into the living room where Hunter was looking at a photo album she kept on the coffee table.
“That is my mother,” she told him as she set down his drink in front of him. “She passed away when I was four in a car wreck. That is why I grew up here with my grandparents.”
“I lost my father in a car wreck when I was fifteen. It is a tough thing to go through as a child.” Hunter turned the page and she saw her favorite picture of her grandmother standing in front of the house when she was barely twenty years old.
“That is my grandma just a year after her and grandpa were married.” She pointed at the old photograph. “And the house behind her is this one. It looked much better then.”
“Beautiful, both your grandma and the house.” Hunter smiled as he looked at the picture. “This house would be even more amazing if it was restored to its former beauty.”
Ashley put a piece of pizza on a plate and handed it to him. She got her own plate and sat down in a chair beside the couch.
“Maybe you can help me?” she blurted out, not sure why she was offering this man the work. “You can remodel and restore the home for me.”
“That would be great but I am leaving town in a day or so,” he told her. “Like I said, the guy I was working for stiffed me and my motel room is only paid up for another two nights.”
“You are leaving?” Her heart sank to the floor. “But where will you go?”
“Probably back home to stay with my dad. I don’t want to, I have been trying to get a fresh start away from there, but I don’t have much of a choice.” He took a bite of his pizza and kept his eyes on the photo album.
Ashley wasn’t sure why she couldn’t bear the thought of him leaving her town or the idea of never seeing him again, but saying goodbye to him would mean never getting to find out just what her feelings for him could become. She took a chance and made him an offer, not debating whether he was a stranger or a person worth trusting.
“You can move here, well, back in the barn. There is a small apartment in there that you can stay in, in return you can start helping me fix this house up. I will pay you for the work too.” She looked around the room and then into Hunter’s blue eyes. She saw more than a stranger, she saw something intriguing and inviting. She hoped he accepted her offer.
“Are you serious? You would do that for me?” The look on his face was sweet and genuinely thankful. “Is that really what you want?”
“Yes.” She didn’t need to take a second to think about it. “I really want to restore this house and I don’t know how to even start. You need a job and a place to stay. We both need each other, so yes, this is what I want.”
“Alright,” he said. “It’s a deal.”
He stuck out his hand for her to shake on it. His hand was warm and Ashley wondered how it would feel on her body.
“Can I ask you a question?” he asked her.
“Of course.”
“Is that cop, the deputy, your boyfriend?”
“Henry? Oh God, no! He is just my friend.” Her face reddened as she thought about her and Henry together as a couple. “We grew up together. He lived next door. His parents still do. So we have always been really good friends, but never romantic. Henry is more like a brother to me than anything.”
“Okay, I was only asking because of the way he looks at you, and the way he glares at me when I am with you. I just thought maybe you two had something going on and that’s why he didn’t seem happy that we were talking or hanging out.”
“No, he can just be really protective over me. Especially after his wife left and my grandma passed away. I guess he just got used to it being just me and him. He was lonely and depressed when his wife divorced him and I helped get him out of his depression. When my grandma died he did the same for me.” Ashley thought about what a good friend he had been to her. “He is my best friend, but nothing more.”
“Well, then I am glad you have him in your life,” Hunter said.
“What about you?” Ashley asked as she picked up her tea. “We have been talking all day and you have said a lot about growing up but you never really talked about your adulthood. Do you have a girlfriend? Kids?”
“No girlfriend.” His eyes met hers and for a moment she felt like the heat he ignited inside of her might make her melt. “And no, I don’t have any kids. I spent most of my adult years just wandering a lot, going from job to job and never feeling at home anywhere, but I am ready to settle down and stay in one place.”
They stared into each other’s eyes for a long moment when suddenly Ashley’s phone buzzed again. She pulled it from her pocket and saw that it was just Henry again.
“Henry is going to stop by and check on me. He is so worried about those bank robbers coming back to find me.” Ashley shook her head. “I keep telling him that I am fine and they are long gone by now.”
“He is on his way now?” Hunter asked as he set his plate down on the coffee table.
“Yeah, he just got off work.”
“I think I am going to head out. I am really tired from all the baking you made me do today,” he joked as he stood to his feet.
“Oh, okay.” She was disappointed that he was leaving so soon. “Thank you for your help at the bakery today and for stopping and getting the pizza.”
“No problem.” He headed to the door as Ashley followed close behind him. “Thank you for having me over and for offering me some work and a place to stay. Do you think I can come by tomorrow with some of my things?”
“Of course. My bakery isn’t open tomorrow so I will be here all day.” She leaned against the wall in her entryway.
“Alright, well I will see you tomorrow then.” He opened the door and took a step out before turning back to her once more. “And your cop friend is right, you do need to be careful. The guys that robbed the bank may still be close by.”
Hunter walked out of her house, shutting the door behind him as he left. Ashley watched him drive down her driveway and disappear onto the main road. After she double-locked the door she stood there for a minute thinking about the conversations she had with both Henry and Hunter. Suddenly the idea of being witness to such a crime seemed crucial. It was the first moment she thought that maybe Henry was right and the robbers might come back for her. She jumped when she heard a car door shut outside her house. Peeking through the window she saw it was just Henry in his uniform.
“You scared me,” she said when she opened the door. “You have me freaked out now.”
He came onto her porch and stepped inside her house. Taking his shoes off when he walked in, he set them aside before going into her living room. It was a rule her grandma had enforced until her death. You took your shoes off at the door, always used coasters, and never took the lord’s name in vain under her roof. Henry knew all the rules well.
“Who was here with you tonight?” he asked as he went to sit down on the couch.
“Huh?” Ashley was not sure where his question came from. “Why are you asking me that?”
“Because you have two cups and two plates on the coffee table.” He sat down on the leather couch and examined the room like it was one of his crime scenes.
“Are you investigating my life, Henry?” Ashley went over to the chair and sat down. “It was Hunter, if you must know.”
“I knew it,” he said with disgust.
“What is your deal? You have been acting strange ever since you first saw him. Why are you treating him like a suspect or something?”
“You know that I am not allowed to discuss my cases with you.”
“So he is a suspect?”
“I can’t deny or confirm that.” Henry didn’t look her in the eyes, instead he grinded his clenched jaws and focused ahead, not even looking in
Ashley’s direction.
“What? You are acting ridiculous.” She rolled her eyes at him. “Did you come here just to ignore me and not talk?”
“No, I came here to make sure that you are safe. I came here to protect you from anyone that might wish you harm but you are inviting criminals into your house and looking for trouble.”
“Criminal? Are you telling me that Hunter is a criminal? What are you trying to tell me?” Ashley stood and walked in front of him to make him look at her. “Tell me.”
“Look, I can’t say too much but I warned you about him.”
“I am your friend, you can’t tell me, even if I am in danger?” She finally got him to look up at her face and in his eyes she saw that he was not telling her something.
“All I can say is that he has been in some deep trouble before. We are still waiting to get all the information on him but he does have a record and you do need to stay away from him.” Henry sighed.
“I need to talk to him about it,” Ashley said. “Just because he has a record doesn’t mean he is a bad person. Everyone make mistakes. Hell, you even dodged a few charges for vandalism when you were a teenager.”
“Ashley, this is different than some careless decisions I made as a boy.” He shook his head. “Just promise me that you will stay away from him.”
“No.” She refused. “He saved my life. Why can’t you appreciate him for that instead of persecuting him for his past? I am not staying away from him because you are having some tantrum.”
“Tantrum? I am a cop investigating a bank robbery that he may be connected to.”
“I don’t believe that. He wouldn’t do that.”
“Really? Because you know him so well? You just met him yesterday, Ashley. Why are you acting like some rebellious sixteen-year-old girl idolizing the bad boy her parents forbid her from seeing?”
“Because no one gets to tell me who I can see.” She pointed her finger at him. “And you have no right to try to dictate my relationships.”
“So now you two are in a relationship? Are you sleeping with him?” Henry stood up as his face grew red.
“Get out of my house.” Ashley yelled.
“I’m sorry, that is not something I should have asked,” Henry said.
“Go!” she demanded.
He went to the door as Ashley stomped behind him, fuming with anger. Opening the door, she watched him walk out onto her porch, his face as angry as hers. He stopped when he got to her steps and turned back to her to speak.
“Ashley, I am just looking out for you.”
“Well then, look out for me from your car.” She slammed the door and locked it.
The image of Hunter came to her mind. He couldn’t be involved in the robbery. He had saved her. When that robber was going to shoot her, Hunter risked his own life by tackling him. Hunter was not a bad guy, was he? She remembered the way the other robbers had looked at him strangely for a few seconds before they left. Did they know him? Was he with them and had he surprised them by intervening to save her life? No, this was not possible. She might have just met him but she could feel that he was good. He saved her and in that moment nothing else mattered. She was going to talk to him the next day and surely he would have an explanation. That was what she hoped because she couldn’t bear knowing he was part of the same crew of robbers who had scared, robbed, and almost hurt her.
Chapter 5
By the time the sun came up Ashley had barely slept a few hours. All night she had tossed and turned. Thinking about Hunter and the robbery had kept her from sleeping and getting any peace of mind. Was she thinking with her heart? Was he really a danger to her? It all had her going crazy. She slipped out of bed and jumped in the shower. The warm water on her back was a pleasant comfort to her body.
She had never dated much. As a teenager she had a high school sweetheart but they broke up when he went away to college. After that she dated a couple different guys but nothing real serious. No one seemed to be her match or bring that special spark that she yearned for. Her grandmother used to call her picky and say she was expecting too much from love, but Ashley had insisted that she would find her soulmate one day. It was inspiring watching her grandparents have such a great relationship and she supposed seeing them so in love when she was growing up was what caused her to search for something as vigorous as they had.
After taking a hot shower and putting on a clean outfit, Ashley went downstairs to see what she had to eat. The fridge was almost empty and her cupboards were pitiful. She missed the days when her grandma would cook all of her meals. It was such a simpler time, without huge responsibilities or decisions that impacted others, now she had bills, a business, a house that was beginning to fall apart, and a crime conspiracy floating around her. Gone were the days when her most important choices were what color lipstick to wear and whether or not she should study.
The cellphone on her table rang and she rushed to answer it, hoping Hunter might be the caller, but it was only her grandma’s old friend Suzanne Murray from down the street.
“Hello, Mrs. Murray,” Ashley answered.
“Oh hello, Ashley dear. I have a favor to ask you. My dog got loose and I can’t catch her. Do you think you could keep an eye out for my dog?” Suzanne asked her.
“Of course. I will go look for your dog now.”
“You are such a dear. Thank you so much.” Suzanne hung up the phone.
Ashley knew that Suzanne used a walker and would never be able to catch her dog Sadie. Suzanne had always been friendly to her and had been a great friend to Ashley’s grandmother, so she would help her any way that she could. Grabbing her car keys, she headed to her front door to go on the hunt for the loose dog, but when she opened her door she found Hunter walking up to her porch.
“Sorry, did I come at a bad time? Are you leaving?” He was wearing a black T-shirt and ripped jeans but he had a way of looking so extraordinary in anything. He was so sexy, maybe he was dangerous for her.
“I have to help a friend with her dog. It is loose somewhere around here,” she told him. “You are welcome to stay here until I get back.”
“Do you want me to help you?” he offered.
“No thanks, I can do it by myself.” She smiled. “It can be really frustrating chasing her dog. Trust me, I have done this a few times already.”
“I’d like to help. What’s the dog’s name?” He followed after her. “I am here, I might as well tag along.”
“That won’t be necessary.” Ashley opened her car door but didn’t get in. She stared at him looking for a sign, as though criminals had some kind of trait that made them stand out differently from others, but there was nothing obvious to her.
“Did I do something to upset you? Did I do something wrong?” Hunter looked at her, confused.
“Okay, I need to ask you something and you need to be truthful.” Ashley walked around her car and got closer to him. She wanted to see his eyes well when he answered her. “Were you involved in the robbery?”
“No!” He answered fast while looking directly into her eyes.
She let out a sigh of relief because she believed him.
“And your past, I know it’s none of my business but if you are going to be staying in my barn I need to know, have you been to jail?” She saw him look away from her and knew the answer before he even spoke.
“Yes, but I was young and stupid. I ran with the wrong crowd and got caught up in something that I never intended to go as far as it did. So yeah, I ended up doing time, but that doesn’t define who I am, Ashley.”
This couldn’t be true, how could he really be a criminal? It was like a blow to her stomach, like someone had punched her right in the belly and she was fighting to catch her breath. She had believed he was better than that. She had believed he could be her spark.
“Ashley, please look at me,” he pleaded with her. “Please just hear me out.”
“Why were you at the bank?” With her back still to him, she spoke softly.
“I wanted to open a new account. I am new to this town without a bank account. I was just there to open a new account.” He walked around to the front of her so that she was facing him. “Please just look at me.”
“Why?” She looked up at him and immediately knew why it mattered; because they both saw something amazing in each other, even after he had admitted his past. His eyes were genuine and the truth was staring back at her.
“It is my past. I never hurt anyone and it has been three years since I got out. That is why I stay away from my home town and the bad crowd I ran with.” He shook his head. “Just please don’t look at me like I am a horrible person. I made some stupid mistakes and I learned my lesson the hard way, but I had nothing to do with that robbery.”
The Stolen Heart (Contemporary Romance) Page 3
