Page 81 of Because You Loved Me

Asher couldn’t disagree with that. Their relationship had come a long way since they were kids. Their mother married Michael Carlson when Chase and Charli were young. Shortly after, Asher was born, followed by Craig and Kat.

They’d all been raised together, and Michael had been a true father to all of them, never treating Charli and Chase as if they weren’t his children. But Chase had felt differently and left Trickle Creek as soon as he had a chance, only returning home intermittently. It wasn’t until their father’s death that he’d returned for good and they’d had a chance to rebuild a relationship properly.

For reasons that a therapist would no doubt have a good time digging into, Asher had grown up with a low level of resentment for his eldest brother and had spent a lifetime trying to be enoughsonfor both of them.

“We could.” Asher meant it. After a moment, he dropped his head and blew out a sigh. “I bet Dad didn’t think that this would happen when he stripped me of my job and banished me to the woods, did he?” He tried to laugh it off, but Asher couldn’t hide the frustration and anger he felt for his father, and Chase saw right through it.

“That’s not what you really think, is it? That he banished you?”

“That’s exactly what he did, Chase.” He looked up and scratched at his beard, which had grown a little out of control over the last few days. “The only thing I’ve ever loved is my job. Carlson Corp has been everything to me. And he took it away.” Asher gestured dramatically around the small room. “And then just to rub it in, he sent me here.”

Chase didn’t respond for a moment. Instead, he bit his bottom lip and finally nodded a little. “I can see how you might think that. What did the letter say?”

“The letter?”

“The letter Dad left you? He left them for all of us.”

He’d heard his siblings talk about thelettersover dinner before. Neither Chase, Craig, nor Charli had discussed specifics of what their letters contained. Theywerepersonal, after all.

But the one thing they could all agree on was that whatever it was that they contained, it had changed everything for them and helped them gain clarity on why their father had done what he’d done.

Asher hadn’t given much thought to the letter, only vaguely paying attention at all. He knew, as they all did, that his turn would come for him to carry out whatever stipulation their father had thought of for him, and he’d do it and move on. Letter or not.

Asher shook his head. “All I got was a key and the paperwork to this place.”

“Well, that’s more than most of us. But maybe check with Steven. There’s probably a letter waiting for you somewhere.”

He didn’t know how to feel about that.Did he even want a letter from his dad? Would it explain his actions? How could it? How could his father possibly explain why he’d taken away the one thing Asher loved?

“Don’t shake your head.” Chase grabbed him by the shoulder and shook gently. “I know this whole thing is…well, strange.”

Strange didn’t even begin to describe the way their father was handling his legacy.

“But the letter will make everything so much clearer,” Chase continued. “It did for me. And the same for Charli and Craig, too. I know you’re mad now, but one thing I’ve learned from all of this is that Dad had his reasons for everything.”

Asher gave his brother a look, and Chase gave him a little shake again while he laughed.

“But you’ll see,” Chase said. “There’s something about reading Dad’s handwriting. It’s almost as if he?—”

“His handwriting?”

The notebook.

Chase nodded. “He hand-wrote all the letters. You’ll?—”

“I saw his handwriting. He kept a notebook in the tool shed.”

“A notebook?”

He moved toward the door and grabbed his boots. “I haven’t made my way through it all yet, but it looked like mostly lists of projects and chores he wanted to do or had done out here.” Asher tossed Chase his coat. “Maybe there’s a note or a letter in there for me.” He shrugged. “I’ll be honest with you, I felt like it was just a to-do list he left for me to finish once he was gone.” He rolled his eyes. “Just like everything else.”

“Whoa.” Chase stopped him. “What do you mean by that?”

“You know what I mean.” Asher shrugged his brother’s hand off his arm. “Just like everything else, Chase. Dad left me his little secret house with a list of things to finish because he knew I’d do it. Out of all of us, he knew I’d be the one who’d follow through and get it done, because I always do.”

His brother took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly as he pulled his coat on. He offered Asher a sad smile. “This is something you need to do on your own, brother. But check the notebook. If the letter isn’t there, it’ll turn up. And I really hope it’s sooner rather than later.”

Asher assessed his brother but didn’t speak, unsure of what he could possibly say.

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