1. Asher

1

ASHER

Present Day

“ J esus, what the hell is going on?” I say into the empty cab of my pick-up truck as I pull down the road leading to my house. My eyes have to be deceiving me. I’m probably just sleep deprived and need to blink to really see what the hell is going on. The whole way home from the fire station, I rode with the windows down, needing the fresh air, the noise, and the wind to keep me alert. My shift that should have only been one twenty-four-hour stint turned into ninety-six hours. The station is understaffed, and I’m whooped.

A quick turn into my driveway, placing my truck in Park, and I’m wiping a hand down my face, trying to clear the fog from my brain to being exhausted to my bones. Tired would be a complete understatement at this point. It seemed like every time I closed my eyes, the siren would blare through the firehouse, and we’d be springing into action. My one saving grace is that I’ve got the next two days off before I do it all over again. Of course, I’ve got other shit I’ll be doing, so that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll get a lot of lying-around time.

At the thought, I pinch the bridge of my nose. A headache forms just thinking about it. My part in the construction company I own is piling up, and while the other owners in our group are understanding, that doesn’t make me slacking any better. Plus, there’s no way I’ll be able to shut my brain down until I’m able to at least head to the jobsite, check-in, and figure out what’s going on with what. With that thought in mind, I should probably at least text our group chat or make a phone call. Which then makes me realize there’s no use sitting in the driveway stewing over this shit when I could be inside and horizontal. I take a deep breath, turn the engine off, and go to grab my bag when my attention is diverted to the house next door.

By her.

She’s the unexpected.

She’s breathtaking.

She’s everything.

I may be fifty or so feet away from her with a passenger side window in my way, but I see her. I see all of her . The way she carries herself, strong shoulders held back, head tilted up, her tits that bounce when she walks, and they’re definitely more than a handful. A slim waist with hips flaring out. And her ass… Jesus, my mouth waters at the thought of getting every piece of me on the woman. My dick comes to li fe in my jeans, and I already know I’m gone for her , and I’ve never even met her.

I continue watching as she walks up the driveway, entering what should be an empty house with people surrounding her, and with that, I lose sight of her .

The mystery woman.

Estelle’s place has been sitting without her in it for well over a year now. Today, that seems to have changed with all of the activity happening. Estelle moved into an assisted living facility when her place became too much for her to take care of. We all offered to pick up with what we could, but she wasn’t having any of that. Instead, the house sat. A cleaning service would come once a month and a lawn company twice a month. Though, that’s slowed down significantly judging by the grass. It’s clear she put plans in place, but what they are will be anyone’s guess.

This new development has me puzzled. There isn’t or hasn’t been a For Sale sign in the front yard that I can recall. Maybe there was and I had no idea. Between working at the fire station and my side job, it’s anybody’s guess what could have happened in the last few weeks. Hopefully, after the next few shifts I’m on, the new hires will start rolling in and I can go back to picking up an extra shift here or there instead of being on mandatory overtime like we all have been lately.

Instead of heading inside like I should, I stay put, watching for a moment to try and figure out what’s going on. It’s not every day someone sells or moves out of the neighborhood. With most of the houses here built in the forties through maybe the sixties, people tend to stick around for the long haul. It’s an everyone-seems-to-know-everyone type of situation, and if we don’t, well, we all at least give a nod or a lift of our fingers to say hello.

My eyes go back and forth, tracking everyone’s movements as they follow her inside. There’s a shit ton of people for what I know is a small two-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow-style home. Similar to my own except where Estelle doesn’t have a garage, my place does, and I’ve got more bedrooms. It’s also a bit newer in age than hers by a handful of years, and since her place has been sitting empty for a while, I’m willing to guess it’s going to need some work done to it. Hence the need for so many people because surely, whoever owns it now isn’t moving in just yet.

I watch as the four men, all wearing hats of some kind, baseball style or cowboy hat, as well as three women, an older one which I’m gathering is with the man sporting more salt than pepper hair, enter the house. One guy with a black cowboy hat has his hand on a girl who looks similar to her , so I’m assuming it’s her sister. That leaves two guys and two women for me to put the pieces together with. Except now, all of them are inside, and I’m fucked trying to distinguish who belongs to whom. I close my eyes, tipping my head back until it’s relaxed on the head rest, and take another moment to gather myself.

I grab the door handle, figuring I’m not going to see the elusive woman again, when my phone starts to ring. My truck radio announces, “Kennedy calling.” I grab my phone and bring it to my ear, disconnecting the Bluetooth. The damn thing is so loud people will be able to hear it two doors down.

“Hello,” I answer on the third ring .

“Uncle Ash, I’m stayin’ with you!” My niece, Briar, doesn’t even bother saying hello. She went straight for what she’s after.

“Hey, Ash, sorry about that.” Kennedy, my younger sister, jumps in. She’s a single mom, and I’d like to do a fuck ton of damage to her ex-baby daddy, Chris. He’s not in the picture on the regular, barely pays child support, and when he makes a sudden appearance, it’s a rarity. Kenny or I make it to where it’s supervised visitation when Chris is anywhere near Briar. “That’s not how we ask, Briar,” Kennedy says to her six-year-old daughter. She gets excited and forgets to ask instead of telling, like she is now. Shit comes with the territory, and I don’t begrudge Bri for a minute.

“Not a problem. I take it you need help with the pipsqueak?” I’m usually the last one Kennedy will ask, so she must have gone down the line. Our parents are divorced and both remarried. Our dad and his wife are the jetsetters. They’re traveling more than they’re home here in Whispering Oaks. Mom, on the other hand, still works, her choice entirely, and her new husband spends his time on the golf course.

“Yes, and I know you’re coming off a long stint at the fire station, but I’m desperate.” Briar starts singing the background. I’m pretty sure it’s a boy pop band that everyone loathes because she requests the same song over and over again, scream-singing it at the top of her lungs. My ears are bleeding thinking about what I’ll be listening to when she’s with me next.

“You know I’ll always take my favorite girl. When do you need me?” I’m hoping like hell Kenny doesn’t need me to take Briar within the next few hours. Sleep is calling my name, and I know my niece—the minute she lands at my place, she’s like the Energizer bunny all damn day until she finally conks out.

“Can you pick her up tomorrow after school and keep her with you until I get off work? It’s early release, and I can’t get away from work long enough to grab her. Plus, you know Briar hates sitting at the office until I’m finished for the day.” Kennedy put Briar in after school her first week of kindergarten. She came home with two scabbed knees and a lot of tears, which was the end of that saga. It also meant I marched my ass down to the school with my sister to get answers. The principal already took care of the kid who pushed her down and told her she was a bastard. Apparently, he was a few grades above Briar in class. He shouldn’t have even been in the same area with the younger kids. The boy received some kind of suspension, never returned to her elementary school, and that was that, except I’d like a chance to speak to whoever is raising him to give them a piece of my mind.

“Yep, tell my girl we’ll grab an after-school snack, hit the park, and hang out over here.” I lower my voice and make sure Kenny knows we’ll take care of business. “I’ll also help her with homework. Still dumb, if you ask me. They’re in school for how many hours a day, and she’s only in first grade.”

“Thanks, Asher, you’re a lifesaver. You’re also preaching to the choir. Even at the parent-teacher meetings when I ask, they just say it’s state regulation or something. Therefore, every night, I grumble, she groans, yet we do it, every damn night.” Kenny takes a moment, probably trying to figure out where her daughter ran off to in the office. “Bri-Bri come tell Uncle Ash goodbye. You’ll see him tomorrow.”

“Bye, Uncle Ash, love you!”

“Love you, pipsqueak. Love you, Kenny,” I tell them both.

“I love you. You’re my lifesaver, per usual. Get some sleep. Sorry to bug you.” Kennedy doesn’t wait for a response. The line clicks, and I drop the phone to my lap.

I hop out of my truck, grabbing everything to take it inside. As much as I want another look at the woman with jet-black hair, hourglass figure, and a smile that would be any man’s undoing, it doesn’t seem like I’ll get it. A few different voices carry through the air, and my eyes lock on the mystery woman. My dick twitches again and for the first time in what feels like forever it’s because I can’t stop thinking about her. Just when I’m about to get ready to head for the door to my house, she comes out, and what I see next instantly has my dick deflating. A man comes up from beside her, arms wrapping her up in a hug and staying for longer than what I’d consider a friendly type of moment.

“Figures,” I mutter under my breath, shake my head, and walk inside.