Page 42 of Because You Loved Me

“Perfect.” He handed over his credit card and paid for his purchases, grabbing the bag from her hand before she could ask any more questions.

“Merry Christmas, Asher.”

“You too, Krysta. Don’t work too hard.”

Asher was almost through the plaza and back to the safety of his truck when he heard his name called. He froze and muttered a string of expletives under his breath. But there was no help for it. With a sharp exhale of breath, he pasted a smile on his face and turned around to face his sister.

“Hey, Kat.”

His little sister held a pair of sharp scissors in one hand, the other on her hip as she stared at him with raised eyebrows and, no doubt, a million questions for him on the tip of her tongue.

“So you are alive?”

Asher shrugged, going for asmart-assapproach. “Looks that way.”

“Don’t get smart with me.”

She pointed the sharp scissors at him, and he held up his hands.So much for that approach.

“We’ve all been calling and calling. You don’t know how to answer a phone anymore?”

He pressed his lips together and sucked in a breath of air. “About that. I?—”

“Don’t lie to me, Asher. We’ve been so worried.”

“I spoke to you yesterday, Kat. I’m fine.”Had it really been only yesterday morning that he’d talked to his sister and opened the envelope with the key and the address to his cabin?In so many ways it felt like much longer.

Kat dropped her arm and, with a quick look behind her at her salon, where she’d very obviously left a client mid-haircut, approached him. “You didn’t tell me what was in the envelope and then we all heard what happened at the lodge yesterday evening.”

Of course they had.

“You kidnapped the bride?”

“Hardly.” He burst out laughing. “More like she…” He thought better of sharing any more details. “Never mind. But whatever you heard, I’m sure it was far more dramatic than the truth.” Asher wasn’t really sure how that could possibly be true, but it didn’t seem like a good idea to feed Kat any more details than were strictly necessary. “At any rate, I’m fine, Kat. Honestly.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked him over carefully. Satisfied he was telling the truth, she asked, “Are you going to tell me what was in the envelope?”

That much hecouldtell her. “It was a key and a property deed with my name on it. Apparently, I am the proud owner of a tiny, rustic cabin in the middle of the woods.” He shrugged, and the effort lifted his giant bag in the air. “I just popped into town for supplies.”

When she tried to look in the bag, he tucked it behind his back. There was no reason she needed to know exactly what kind of supplies he’d rounded up.

“A cabin? I didn’t know Dad had a cabin. I’ve never heard of one.”

“Well,” Asher turned to walk away, “we didn’t know he’d decided to play games with us after his death either, did we?”

His sister’s face crumbled, and Asher instantly felt bad. Out of all five of them, Kat was having the hardest time with their father’s passing.

“I’m sorry, Kat.” He reached for her and pulled her in for a quick hug. “I guess I’m still a little pissed that he booted me out of the business.”Understatement.

“It’s not permanent.” Her voice was muffled by his shoulder. “Six months will go by before you know it.”

“And then it will be your turn.” He released her in time to see the hope shining in her eyes. It wasn’t a secret that Kat had been waiting, not so patiently, for her turn with their father’s will stipulations. “You’re freezing. You should get inside.” He pointed with his free hand to her salon.

She didn’t disagree. “Mrs. Bradford is probably wondering where I went.” She laughed. “I’m glad I saw you though, Asher. Please don’t be a stranger, okay? We all love you and we’re worried about you.”

“No need to worry.” He put a smile on his face and found that the moment he thought about Noa waiting for him in his little cabin, there was nothing forced about it. “Like you said, six months will go by before we know it, and then I can pick up right where I left off.”

Kat looked like she was going to protest, but a knock on the window of her shop pulled her attention. “Okay, I’ve got to go. But you make sure you answer when I call, okay? Christmas is only a few days away.”

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