by Vivian Arend
“The picture looks good from this angle,” Ashley whispered.
Travis twisted his head. Not toward the wall where her artwork hung, but to take in both Ashley and Cassidy as they sprawled under him. Her hair was tousled around her, Cassidy’s fingers gently stroking through the strands. Travis clung to them both, his fingers linked with Cassidy’s other hand where it rested on her thigh.
“The view is perfect from this angle as well.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The local fairgrounds were already showing signs of the full-out picnic activities planned for Saturday. Mother Nature had cooperated with a gorgeous fall day, the annual September event a familiar time to get involved in the community before the snow descended in late October.
Travis pulled into the gravel parking lot, waving at the fellow in the orange vest working the gate. The man smiled at Travis before glancing into the truck. His happy expression faded as he spotted both Ashley and Cassidy.
Ashley forced herself to look away, choosing instead to focus on the white-topped tents being raised on the grassy space, bright-coloured flags fluttering around the edges.
Not everyone would be happy to see her and the boys at the picnic, but not everyone would be jerks, either. What had Jaxi told her? Stupid people would act like stupid people—she had to ignore them.
Cassidy took her hand and helped her down from the high cab of Travis’s truck, brushing a kiss against her temple on the sly before giving her more room.
“You headed anywhere in particular?” he asked as she reached back in and grabbed the package she’d brought as her contribution for a local fundraiser.
“Vicki said she and the girls were setting up coffee first thing. I’ll meet them there, then we’ll wander for a while.”
Travis emerged from around the truck and slipped in front of her. “We’re going to join in the baseball game later if you feel like cheering us on.”
“You know it.” She gave him a wink. “And barring that, I’ll meet you at the pie tent, right?”
“She’s got your number, T,” Cassidy teased.
“Of course she does.” Travis tugged her close and kissed her, giving her no opportunity to protest. She tried to wiggle free, but that only got her pinned tighter in place until she relaxed and accepted his caress, sighing happily when he finally let her go.
“I shouldn’t have let you do that,” she complained.
“You didn’t let me do anything. I took what I wanted. Now get going, Cassidy and I have important things to do.” He smacked her on the butt, directing her toward the food area.
“The colouring contest doesn’t start for hours,” Ashley taunted, skipping away as Cassidy offered to smack her ass as well.
“I’ll get you for that later,” Cassidy promised.
She took a few steps before pausing and glancing back at them. They were still watching her, standing side by side like light and dark bookends. Strong, solid—one with his gentle giving, the other intense in his passions.
The sight was becoming more and more familiar, her guys with their unique smiles and bright eyes. In contrast to the cocky lean to Travis’s torso, Cassidy stood straighter, his shoulders pulled back and spine stiff as he rested about a foot apart from Travis. They weren’t touching but they were together, connected in a way that was all too clear to her.
Yeah, life wasn’t one hundred percent perfect, but the good bits were still making up for the rough moments.
She blew them a kiss then headed to find Vicki.
All the Coleman women were in one spot. Jaxi was hip deep coordinating the men carrying in chairs to place at the long dinner tables. Beth and Hope arranged tablecloths. Marion was measuring out coffee into two-foot-tall urns.
“Hi, all,” Ashley called. “Put me to work.”
Vicki pulled out another set of cups from a box and arranged them on the folding table they were gathered around. “Hey, you made it.”
“Sorry I’m late. We would have been here earlier, but the guys took longer than expected to load up on firewood. Marion, Travis said you needed some at the house?”
Mrs. Coleman nodded. “Mike didn’t get around to filling the wood shed this summer, but the boys didn’t need to start on it this morning.”
“The timing shouldn’t have been a problem,” Ashley insisted. “They were being lazy butts this morning and should have started sooner. They’ll stop and drop off the load after the picnic, if that works for you.”
“We appreciate it.” Marion looked as if she were about to say something else then wrinkled her nose and went back to her task.
Ashley tried not to let it bother her, but this time it was pretty clear something was off. Beth and Hope exchanged glances before Hope left the cloth behind and stepped closer. “I have a job I’ve been waiting to do until you arrived. You brought something for the raffle table?”
Ashley held up her package.
“Oh, are you going over there right now?” Vicki wiped her hands and slid from behind the cups. “I have something to contribute, so I should come with you.”
“What?” Beth laughed. “You’re abandoning us?”
“You still have Jaxi,” Hope pointed out. “She can get all this set up in about ten minutes flat if you don’t get in her way.”
“I heard that,” Jaxi called. “You wait, Hope Coleman. I’ll put you down to host Thanksgiving dinner this year.”
Hope laughed, slipping her arm around Ashley and guiding her from under the tent area past Jaxi. “Not a threat, girl. I know damn well you want to host, so try again.”
Jaxi winked, glancing back at Marion before lowering her voice. “Ashley, she’s not mad at you. Really.”
So Jaxi had said before, but Ashley was getting tired of the games.
Vicki popped up beside them, her feet turning over double time to keep up with Ashley’s and Hope’s longer strides. “So, after we drop these things at the raffle table, you want to find the guys?”
“I thought they were playing ball?” Ashley asked.
“Not until after lunch.” Hope pointed the direction they needed to head. “They’re supposed to watch the kids this morning, but knowing them? I bet Blake and Daniel are entertaining the lot while our guys have snuck off to the music stand or they’re sweet-talking people into cooking them corndogs early.”
Ashley wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that. “I’m game for interrupting their sweet-talking…”
Vicki laughed. “Oh, girl. Don’t be jealous.”
“Exactly.” Hope rolled her eyes. “I mean, tell the truth now, you really think Cassidy is going to look at someone else when he’s got you?”
“Got you and Travis…?” Vicki snickered, then tugged Ashley to a stop. She glanced around to make sure they were alone. “Okay, true confessions. Back at camp, when I found out you were doing them both, I had this blazing hot streak of envy for all of three seconds.”
Hope frowned. “It passed that fast?”
Vicki grinned. “Well, I remembered I was damn happy with Joel, but I also figured no way did I have the energy to keep up with two guys. You must be exhausted.”
The teasing tone was real—Vicki truly had gotten over whatever concerns she had, and Ashley was glad. “Well, remember if I feel like telling them to go fly a kite, they cannot only deal with hard-ons themselves, but they have each other. And once they start fooling around, I tell you, my energy usually comes back damn quick.”
“Is it just me, or is this an usually hot fall day?” Hope asked, fanning herself with her hand. She bumped Ashley. “Enough naughty tale-telling, let’s get the goods dropped off so we can search out the sexy men in our lives.”
Ashley carried a cheerful glow all the way up to the raffle table.
The stern-faced woman behind the counter knocked off a bit of her happy buzz. She glanced at both Ashley and Vicki then focused on Hope with only a slightly less disturbed expression.
“Hope. I wondered if you’d bring something for us
.”
“I had signed up, Mrs. Leigh.” Hope placed a wrapped package on the tabletop. “Have you met the others yet? This is Vicki and Ashley. They both brought something to contribute to the raffle.”
“Well, yes, I know Vicki.” Mrs. Leigh didn’t meet her eyes. “I suppose it would be all right.”
Hope’s gaze darkened, a spark of heat and anger in her eyes that reflected what was in Ashley’s gut. “I don’t know why it wouldn’t be okay. This is a fund raiser for the pre-school and after-school care program, isn’t it?”
“Well, yes, but the group is picky about who they take contributions from.” Mrs. Leigh didn’t even try to hide her sniff as she examined Ashley again.
Ashley’s ears burned like fire. “So, only people with children, or only people who have lived in the community for years? I didn’t see that on the request for donations that was posted in the grocery store.”
“Hope, is there a problem?” A younger woman joined Mrs. Leigh who scurried off with a final look of disgust in Ashley’s direction.
“Hi, Katy.” Hope sighed. “Mrs. Leigh was giving us a sparkling demonstration of her bigotry. We’re okay now, if you’re interested in the items Vicki and Ashley brought to donate.”
“Of course we are.” Katy clicked her tongue after Mrs. Leigh’s retreating back. “If she’d spend less time all oh-my-goodnessing at the nasty things in her brain, she might become a better person.”
“It’s okay. No harm done,” Ashley offered. It wasn’t as if being called dirty rubbage by someone whose opinion didn’t matter should hurt.
Only…it did.
She focused on unwrapping her parcel. Ohhhs and ahhhs bounced back at her as Katy snatched up the drawing to examine it closer.
Bold lines leapt off the page. A pencil sketch of Travis on horseback, his hat pulled low but his eyes still visible as he grinned at her, the rolling land of the Six Pack ranch in the background.
“Wow, you did this?”
Ashley laughed at the awestruck tone in the young woman’s voice. “With my own little hands. It’s not much, but I’m in the middle of a deadline. That’s one of my rough works for the larger paintings I’m preparing. Next year I’ll know ahead of time, and I can arrange to do more.”
Katy twisted the picture to face the three of them, shaking her head. “Now, don’t you dare go cutting this down. It’s incredible, and it’s going to make a lot of money for the kids, so thank you.”
“Gee, overachiever.” Vicki hip-bumped her. “I only brought cookies.”
Hope laughed. “You feed us, we’ll keep you in quilts and paintings, right, Ashley?”
“Right.” Like a yo-yo, her emotions were jerked up and down and up again. They passed over the charity items and paced slowly through the fairgrounds, the press of bodies increasing as the day grew later.
Ashley thoroughly enjoyed her time with the other women, laughing as Hope snarked out another sharp-witted comment. Vicki proved she had deadly accuracy on a few of the throwing games, the guys running them stepping back a little quicker after she’d knocked the piles of bottles over on the first throw a few times.
“Remind me not to make you angry when you’re holding a ball.” Ashley nibbled on the corndog she’d been handed by a girl who was maybe ten years old—nothing to worry about being sweet-talked there, she decided.
A group of teenage boys raced up, crowding around them. One whipped out a squirt bottle of mustard probably stolen from the picnic area and squeezed it hard, a stream of yellow stickiness spraying all over Ashley’s face and chest.
He was gone before she or Vicki could get their hands on him.
“Darryl Hannes, I’m calling your parents. And Mark—and…” Hope shouted after the troublemakers even as Ashley caught Vicki by the arm before she could sprint after them.
“Don’t bother,” Ashley ordered. “I just want to get cleaned up.”
“Brats.” Vicki glared after the boys then gestured to one side. “I’m so sorry. Come on, the washhouse is over here.”
Ashley let herself be led away, the heads turning to rubberneck more annoying in a way than the childish assault. She waved off Vicki’s help. “I’ll be fine,” she snapped.
Vicki jerked back.
Fuck. Ashley softened her tone and tried again. “Sorry, I’m a bit grumpy. Let me get washed up, and I’ll meet you at the ball diamond.”
“You sure?” Hope asked.
“Positive.” A large blob of yellow slid down her chest and fell to the grass. “Gack, I hate mustard.”
“We’ll tell their parents. Beth will have all their numbers from the high school.” Hope shook her head. “Little idiots.”
Who were only following the cues of the big idiots around them. Ashley sighed. “Go. I’ll be there in a bit.”
Vicki refused to budge. “Deal with it. I’m staying. Hope can go rain down terror on the brats, I’m sticking with you.”
There was a lump in Ashley’s throat as Vicki tugged her into the washhouse, muttering under her breath. She soaked down a couple hand towels while Ashley did her best to remove the surface layers first.
Five minutes later Ashley was ready to burst out laughing. “I look like I bought a malfunctioning tanning lotion.”
Vicki tossed the stained towels in the trash. “Gotta laugh or you’ll cry, right?”
“Pretty much.” Ashley leaned back on a stall door and gave Vicki a tired smile. “Thanks. For your help, and for understanding.”
“I understand more than you know. People can be a pain in the butt, and I can handle it. It’s when they hit me in the heart that I lose perspective.” Vicki wrinkled her nose. “I’m still considered one of the town bad girls, you know. Hanging out with me isn’t helping matters.”
“Fuck that noise,” Ashley snapped. “You’re a saint compared to the bullshit I see going on. And I’ll own it—my life and choices aren’t typical. But they are mine. If people don’t like it, they should leave me the hell alone, not try to call down fire and brimstone.”
She found herself caught in a tight embrace as Vicki latched on and squeezed. Nothing more, just a physical acceptance that closed Ashley’s throat. She soaked in it for a minute.
“Again, thanks.”
Vicki smiled, her eyes suspiciously moist. “Yeah, well, let’s not tell Joel or your guys that we’ve been hugging, or they might get ideas about naked pillow fights. Us being the corruptors that we are.”
Ashley choked out a laugh. She squeezed Vicki’s fingers briefly then slipped into a toilet stall.
She was about to leave when she heard a mock whisper from a familiar voice. “It’s disgusting, you know. No decent people would go out in public like that.”
Mrs. Leigh. How lovely.
Ashley sat back down on the toilet seat and rested her head on the sidewall to wait out the catty conversation. She should march out and be done with it, but she couldn’t take another round of evil eyes and outraged huffs. Besides, maybe it would be entertaining to discover what deviant behaviours the old gossip thought she and the boys were getting up to out in their evil house of sin.
Pretty much nothing interesting though. The woman needed a new vocabulary as she seemed stuck on filthy, horrifying and morally disgusting.
Only Ashley was disgusted and horrified herself when the conversation took a turn in direction.
“I’m not surprised, though,” Mrs. Leigh continued. “That Marion Coleman has always considered herself above the rest of us. And see where it’s gotten her? Sons who are attracted to the worst possible elements of society. One as good as a whore—breaks my heart to think of that sweet, young Joel tying himself to that Hansol creature. And Matt, well, sleeping with one sister before marrying the other?”
“Blake Coleman and Daniel have good strong marriages,” another woman protested.
“Beth Coleman is a saint, and Daniel, but they got themselves off that cursed Six Pack land as soon as they could, you notice? And that Jaxi acts just as high a
nd mighty as Marion, putting on airs and bossing around better women than her. I told Marion years ago she was setting up for a fall, and now she has. I called her last week and told her again. That lot will come to be nothing but trouble, and this new one is the worst to date. Sleeping with two men.”
The whispers dropped to a scandalous hush. “I heard the two men are…involved…as well.”
“Marion’s not going to be welcome anywhere in town. Or Mike. There’s talk—”
That was enough. Ashley slammed open the door and simply stood there in the doorframe, all her indignation hopefully clear and visible. “You know, shit-talk me all you want, but leave Mike and Marion Coleman out of it. They don’t run their children’s lives, and they’re good people. Far better than those who thrive on nasty comments and dirty innuendo.”
The women fled, dismay on a few faces, but mostly disgust—there was that word again. She figured if they had a scarlet letter with them they would have slapped it on her chest right there and then.
“And it’s pretty incredible sleeping with two men at one time,” she called after them, “but I won’t bother to describe it because you’d probably just stroke off wishing you were me.”
Soft arms slipped around her waist and hugged her tight again, but this time Vicki’s good intentions couldn’t push aside the coldness inside.
Ashley twisted, staring into indignant brown eyes and a flushed freckled face. “You heard that crap?”
Vicki nodded. “The stinky attitudes are familiar, but you know what? They are getting better.”
Ashley’s face must have shown her shock because Vicki shrugged.
“Well, they are. It hurts and it’s horrid, but…there were only a couple women talking dirt this time. For the most part they felt guilty when they realized you’d heard them. I bet they’ll be thinking harder in the next while every time someone mentions you in a positive way. I mean, consider at the raffle booth. Katy Thompson loves you, and she’s going to be singing your praises all day long. She’s also got a ton of big brothers who she will have trained in no time to behave.” Vicki held her close, lowering her voice. “I don’t like it either when people are catty, but it cuts far less now that I have Joel who I know loves me, and the rest of the family.”
