by Skye McNeil
“You know, it’s not polite to stare at someone when they’re sleeping,” Asher’s sluggish voice pestered.
“Oh,” Jessie withdrew her hand, ashamed at being caught. “Sorry. I thought you were…” She settled onto her shoulder opposite him. “Never mind.”
Asher’s long arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her flush to him. His heat crept through her clothes, warming her to her toes. “How was the party?” he asked, nuzzling the back of her neck.
No matter how many times Asher pulled her in like a puzzle piece, Jessie could never imagine tiring of it. She didn’t know why she let him do it in the first place, but she was glad she did. All her prickles vanished at the sound of his sultry voice. It levelled the creases from her brow and coursed tranquility through her blood. He was the best possible type of obsession.
“It was wild, crazy, drunken and horrible. I’m pretty sure I fell on my head at one point. I would guess it was when we were on the hammock.”
Smoothing her hair, Asher pressed a kiss to her temple. “But you had a good time bonding with your sister and cousins?” She nodded against him. “Good. You will remember last night for the rest of your life. No doubt you all will joke about it for years to come.”
Jessie giggled and winced at the pain of the happy act. “Or maybe wish I couldn’t remember it.” Asher chuckled and his heartbeat pulsed against her back.
They lay in serene silence, her arms wrapped around his, cuddling it close to her heart as she waited for dreams to find her. To her dismay, sleep eluded her. Asher consumed too much of her thoughts for the senseless act of sleep.
“I missed this,” she confessed above a whisper. “Don’t judge.”
Asher’s low chuckle resonated in her ear. His sexy laugh haunted her dreams. “I would never dream of it.” He pushed her hair away from her neck, his breath cascading down her skin. “Because I missed it too.”
A warm glow filled Jessie’s soul at his words. He had a way with them. A unique yet eerie way with words she couldn’t figure out. “You’re spoiling me for other men,” she whined, snuggling into him.
“Good. You discovered my evil plot,” he joshed, rolling her to her back.
Jessie stared up at his eyes crafted by the heavens. If she kept his gaze, she would no doubt drown in the green sea. Eyes with such a shade weren’t a common occurrence in life.
“Mina, I have to tell you something.” Asher started to say, with a glance at his arm.
Worry seized Jessie’s gut more than the after effects of tequila. “Are you going to tell me you’re a felon on the run for murdering his wife?”
“What? No.” Asher shook his head and traced her face with his finger. “Never that.”
“Whew, that’s good. What is it?” She wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what he was going to say, but she couldn’t move to escape it.
“I am a bit of a celebrity,” he began, his fingers moving to her shoulder. The tank top strap fell to the side at his miniscule touch. “About three years ago, I became a recipient of the Silver Star.”
Jessie’s eyes widened and she sat up. “What? Really? Why? Why are you a celebrity?”
Asher waited until her questions came to a halt before answering. “When I was deployed in Iraq, our convoy was doing a sweep of a village. Normal job. We’d done a hundred of them. Everything looked fine until we reached the last house.”
Jessie settled closer, curious at the faraway look in his eyes.
“My brother, Jared, was the first in.” He paused. “All hell broke loose once we filed in. Insurgents were everywhere. Bullets hit us hard and faster than we could retreat. Smoke bombs went off and semi-automatics filled the air. I swear I thought we were all going to die.”
Jessie squeezed his hand. She couldn’t imagine such a situation and it made her grateful Asher survived.
“Once the smoke cleared, I started grabbing my men. Any way I could. I dragged one out by his boots and another by his helmet. I got them all out. Everyone except my brother.”
His eyes turned a shade of green, reminding her of a grenade. “I had to go back for him. He’s my brother. All I could think about was how my mom would kill me if I left him in there. So, my buddy covered me while I sprinted back into the house. It took me a few minutes to get him. I fought off a dozen unfriendlies before I found him unconscious and dragged him to the safety of the Humvee.”
Asher took a breath and traced Jessie’s wrist. “The sucky part is that even though I managed to pull my guys out of the firing squad, we hit an IED. It flipped the Hummer, but by then our backup arrived to gather what remained of my squad. Three of my best friends died in the explosion.”
Jessie’s eyes locked on his memorial tattoo. “I carry those guys with me every day now. Their story won’t go untold.” He patted his tattoo. “I started a trust fund for their kids when I got home, but it doesn’t seem like enough. Not when I lived instead of them.”
Cupping his stubbly face, Jessie forced his eyes to meet hers. Keeping her tears at bay was harder than she expected when she saw the torment in his gaze. “You allowed their families to have closure. You went and got them so they could have a proper burial and you looked out for them after they were gone. There is no shame in you living. You live in remembrance of them.” She kissed his cheek that seemed so much more alive. “They would have done the same for you if the tables were turned.”
Asher nodded in agreement. “They would’ve liked you.” He smirked. “And I’m damn sure they all would’ve hit on you.”
“And the celebrity part is from your Star?”
Asher’s nose scrunched. “Mostly, yeah.”
“Where is your Star now?”
“After the presentation ceremony, which included meeting the president by the way, all I wanted to do was throw the thing away. My mom found it tucked away in my apartment and framed it. It’s hanging in my living room at home.” Asher beamed down at her.
Jessie felt a burden lift from her shoulders. If all he harbored was this secret, she could live with it.
Leaning up, she brought his face closer. “I’m glad you made it back. If you hadn’t, I never would have met you.”
“Ah, but then I never would’ve ruined your nine hundred dollar shirt,” Asher reminded with a serious tone.
Jessie shrugged at the reminder. “Hmm, well, since you brought it up…”
Asher’s lips cut off the rest of her sentence. Not minding one bit, Jessie laced her fingers behind his head and matched his enthusiasm. Nothing felt better than his skin melting into hers from the heat their bodies created. As close as they were, she wanted more. She craved to feel him in every sense of intimacy.
Yanking him on top of her, Jessie gasped at each hard inch. All muscle. Every part of him was the epitome of a soldier turned civilian. “I think you’re hitting the gym too hard,” she joked, running her hands over his chest.
“I don’t think so,” he remarked, kissing her neck. Jessie giggled when he nipped at her neck before returning to her lips. “Come on, Mina, you need a shower.”
Slapping his ass, Jessie feigned hurt. “How could you say such a thing?”
Asher sniffed her hair. “Because you smell like tequila instead of the incredible citrus scent I love.”
Laughing aloud, Jessie shoved him off her and stood. “Fine, you win. I’ll go shower, which means you have to make breakfast.”
“I think I could whip something up,” he resolved, throwing the covers off the bed.
“Ooh, can you make coffee?” she implored, grabbing an outfit for the day. “I need a lot of it.” Crossing to where he stood, she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “And you make pretty good coffee.”
His green eyes lit up in delight. “So, I’m a good barista then?”
Rolling her eyes, Jessie grabbed the door handle. “Mediocre at best,” she offered back. Asher lunged for her with a smile on his face, but she squealed and raced down the hallway as quickly as she could. If her days started with Asher and a c
up of his coffee, nothing could go wrong.
»»•««
“Bridge, can you come up with a reason for me to leave the wilderness?” Jessie pleaded, using the one bar of signal she managed to find after walking for ten minutes. Her salvation came when the trees opened in the slightest way to the sky. Marvelous clouds floated over the trees, hiding the sun at times.
She needed space from her family. A quick breath of fresh air. To reconnect with nature, Jessie meandered through the Timberline community, waving at fellow residents before the mosquitos found her. Before her hasty escape, she’d blatantly scoffed at the dress her sister still insisted she wear at the wedding tomorrow. All the cousins got involved following her refusal, and let’s just say the mountains weren’t the only things in sync for the Davis women.
“Jess, I’ve got it covered. You haven’t been gone a week yet. I don’t even miss you,” Bridget replied, her voice cheery as usual.
Jessie rolled her eyes to the treetops. “You wouldn’t miss me unless it meant you didn’t have a job,” she chided, grabbing a handful of leaves from an aspen tree.
“Yeah, you’re right. Being the assistant to a neurotic editor who loathes love is such a posh job,” shot back Bridget, who was probably filing her acrylic nails, if Jessie knew her at all.
“Okay, okay, I get it. I’ll be nicer.” Jessie perched on the edge of a fallen log. She missed the blonde beauty, even if she annoyed her in equal amounts. “Bridge, do you remember the guy I told you about?”
“Hmm, let’s be a little bit more specific, shall we?”
“You know, the one I asked to come to Colorado with me.” She evaded. “What other guy would it be?”
“Just checking. I know those Colorado guys can be pretty hunky.” Bridget giggled at herself. “What’s he like? Asher, right? Is he a total bore who makes you renew your vow of celibacy?”
As much as she wanted to confirm her assumption, Jessie couldn’t. “Umm…well…”
“Oh my God, you like him!”
Jessie heard the wheels on Bridget’s chair roll forward and she bit her bottom lip. “I do. A lot and I shouldn’t. He’s supposed to be my buffer, but somehow he became my boyfriend.”
“Wait, what?” Bridget cried.
Jessie heard a thump from the other end. Either she dropped her phone or fell out of her seat. Both would be funny to watch. “Yeah, it kind of happened yesterday.”
“Holy shit, girl. Have you had sex with him? What’s his last name again? I’m going to stalk him online.”
“No, we haven’t had sex.” She bit her bottom lip. Not that I don’t want to. After Jessie informed her nosy assistant of Asher’s last name, she felt guilty. The idea of snooping on him wasn’t something she felt comfortable doing, but Bridget was pushing the keys, not her.
The clicking of fingers over the keyboard filled the silence. As she waited, Jessie watched a chipmunk scurry across the forest floor, his cheeks bulged with nuts. It was surreal how slow life moved if she sat back and watched it instead of hustling through each day.
“Ookay, I found him. Sort of,” Bridget announced. “Damn, he’s smoking hot.” More clicking of her nails. “And an ex-Army Ranger, how impressive.”
“Yeah. He still has the muscles to prove it too.” She didn’t want to get into how much of the muscles she’d seen.
“Ooh, la la! Getting frisky in the mountains, are we?” hinted Bridget.
“Bridge, focus, please.”
“Fine, Professor Buzzkill.” Her voice hummed a popular pop song over the line as Jessie gripped the phone. She wasn’t sure what she expected Bridget to find. He told her about his military honor and the publicity it attracted. Could he be keeping more secrets at bay?
“Oh,” Bridget’s tone shifted down an octave.
“Oh, what?” Jessie clenched the phone until she thought it would splinter.
“Um. I’m not sure if this is the same guy or not, but there’s more info about him you should know.” Bridget’s voice crackled on the line.
“Bridge, you’re breaking up.”
“Wha—Jess—he…” More crackling buzzed across the line.
Click. The phone went quiet as Jessie jumped up and down in frustration. “Damn mountains,” Jessie sputtered, holding the phone up above her hair. “Ugh.” She lolled her head to her chin in defeat and then stuffed the phone into her pocket when no bars illuminated on the screen.
“What on earth was she trying to tell me?” Fear washed over her. “What if he’s married? Or maybe he has a criminal history.”
More atrocious thoughts zoomed in her mind, but she wouldn’t listen. She couldn’t. Not when her heart longed for him to be the man in white she secretly hoped existed. The prince she swore she hated to read about in romance novels.
Deciding the only way out of this predicament was to ask Asher face to face, Jessie took a deep breath and began her hike to the cabin. The walk didn’t take as long as she anticipated and before long she spotted cars lining the looped driveway. Without a doubt, the wedding was in full swing.
Jessie frowned when she recognized the license plate “IRISLV.” Right then, she wanted to run for the hills. Tommy’s parents had arrived. The small solace she found was the reminder of not enough rooms in their cabin for everyone to stay. No doubt, the majority of the guests rented cabins nearby for the mountain wedding.
Running up the steps, she met her sister’s frowning face at the top. “Where did you go? We’ve been worried sick. No one knew where you were. Asher was about to go looking for you,” Bobbi scolded, placing her hands on her hips. “Your man was feisty when he heard you stormed off alone. I think he went fishing to clear his mind.” She eyed her sister. “You have some hold you have on Mr. Wonderful.”
The fact that Asher worried about her was reassuring yet uncanny. She was glad to hear, instead of hunting her down, the barista took up fishing instead. Jessie caught her reflection in the window and grimaced. She looked like she’d battled the elements and lost. She needed another shower if she was to endure family time.
“I went for a walk, Bobbs. I’m fine.” She pointed to her body. “See?” When she moved around her sister’s smaller frame, Bobbi caught her arm.
“I don’t want to be at odds with you, Jess,” Bobbi stated. “What happened five years ago was my fault. I was drunk and ultimately the one who hurt you the most.”
Jessie shoved her arm aside. “I’m not talking about this.” She had enough on her plate involving her sister.
“Yes, you are,” her sister insisted with a scowl. “My wedding is tomorrow, and I want my big sister to be a part of my special day.”
“Then you should have chosen a better groom,” Jessie said with a huff. She thought about telling Bobbi what her beloved did yesterday, but she couldn’t muster it.
“For God’s sake, you and Tommy were horrible together!” Bobbi yelled. “He cheated on you more times than once before I was even a blip on his radar.”
Jessie’s jaw muscles ached from clenching so tight. She always suspected Tommy of cheating, but to hear it was true and not just with her sister re-opened the wound.
“Tommy was a dipshit,” Bobbi admitted and Jessie snorted. “And so was I. We both had to work our lives out.” She rested a hand on her chest. “We found we did it best on our own before we became a couple. That’s what you didn’t know, Jess. We didn’t jump into this without a struggle.”
Bobbi took a seat on a patio chair and patted the seat beside her. Jessie stayed stoic in her place instead. “I didn’t want to fall in love with him. Not with the guy who broke my sister’s heart.” She took a breath. “But it happened before I could stop it.”
Jessie took a seat now. All this was too much. She didn’t want to hash out the past, but her sister had other ideas. Slumping in the chair, she looked at the window on the second floor with longing. She should’ve stayed in bed with Asher.
“I tried to fight it, but it was worthless. I love him no matter how much of an
idiot he is and he loves me. It’s all that matters. I hope you can accept our apology and our love,” Bobbi finished with finality.
Closing her eyes, Jessie rested her head in her hands. Bobbi wasn’t asking so much if she was honest with herself. She wanted her sister in her life, but at what cost? Her pride. More than anything, she wanted to inform Bobbi of Tommy’s continued asshat temperament, but she doubted her sister would believe her. She was too blinded by her love for said asshat.
Massaging her temples, Jessie knew what she had to do. It was the tough decision she wished she had done five years ago. Harboring this bitterness had gotten her nowhere. Well, it got her Asher, so she couldn’t disregard the feeling in its entirety. Nevertheless, she wanted to be a part of Bobbi’s life even if it involved Tommy.
Asher’s voice echoed along the tree line and Jessie sighed. Then there was the fascinating facet of him. She understood where Bobbi was coming from when it came to quick feelings. She didn’t expect to develop a connection with Asher, let alone agree to be his girlfriend, but it happened.
After wrestling with her thoughts, Jessie met Bobbi’s baby blues. “I love you, Bobbs, but I sure as hell am not riding a horse or wearing a saloon girl outfit.”
Bobbi’s bodacious laughter filled the air and she pulled her sister in for a tight hug. Everything was forgiven for the time being, and they knew it.
From her spot in Bobbi’s embrace, Jessie spotted Asher’s approach to the cabin. He sported fish on his line and a proud smile. She wouldn’t fight her attraction to Asher any longer even if it scared her to the core.
∙•∙
The tender moment Asher saw when he walked up to the cabin made his heart constrict. They made amends, he assumed, reaching the stairs. He half-expected Tommy to be nearby, ready to pounce with his newfound blackmail, but the groom was nowhere in sight. No doubt nursing his wounds. He smirked, remembering Jessie’s punch. She amazed him more with each passing day. Her attitude didn’t diminish his fear of the truth.
For now, he was safe. He was still a barista to Jessie. He would have time to explain everything to her before someone else spilled the beans.
