Page 39 of Mystery in the Mountains

The man smoothly returned to his car without so much as a glance back, little billows of dust puffing up behind him.

“Are you going to take his offer? I thought you were staying.”

She cocked her head. “What?”

“The offer,” he said, pointing to the envelope. “I thought you were going to turn him down. And now, what . . . the money is being offered, and you’re going back on your word.”

“Asher—”

“No, you know what? I should’ve suspected. You almost had me fooled. I almost believed we were fixing up this house so you could stay here. I should have fucking known.”

Before she could even digest what had just happened, Asher had stalked off into the woods and was gone.

What just happened?

Chapter

Fourteen

ASHER

The next morning, Asher woke up and went to Abe’s for breakfast. Being greeted like a picture of domestic bliss made his headache even worse.

Abe and Julie were sitting at the table, drinking coffee, while Ruby was eating scrambled eggs and a biscuit with jam.

Asher wanted to put his head through the wall, so he put those emotions in check.

“Good morning, Uncle Asher!”

“Hey, Peanut.” He ruffled her dark curls before heading into the kitchen to pour himself coffee.

“I was looking at the schedule today, and we’re all caught up. We don’t have to start working on the pieces for the Midsommer Festival for a few more days. Do you want to go to Sunny and fix her porch?” Abe asked.

“Oh, Abe. I almost forgot to tell you,” Julie interjected. “The fence for the garden has a hole in it, and the bunnies keep getting in and eating my herbs. Can you fix that?”

“Of course. I’ll do that when we finish here.”

“After I finish that, I’ll head down to Sunny’s,” said Abe.

Asher nodded and blew out a breath.

“Alright, sweetheart, let’s get you to school,” Julie said as Ruby started gathering her things.

“Can you drop me off at Sunny’s house after? I left my truck there.”

“Sure, let’s go!” Julie called out as they guided Ruby out the door. “I’ll be back later.” She reached up on her toes to kiss Abe goodbye.

As they dropped Ruby off, Asher was still lost in thought. He had contemplated staying in the woods the night before, but his wolf was done with him.

His wolf and everyone else around him seemed to think he should be over what Sunny had done. But all he knew was when he saw her take the envelope from the suit, he saw red. He saw her taking the money, loading back up into her house on wheels, and hitting the road again.

After dropping Ruby off, Julie started on her way to Sunny’s house.

“So, Asher, how are things going with you and Sunny?”

He blew out a long breath and kept his gaze out the window.

“I don’t know . . .” he said. The sun hit his eyes. There was no escaping Sunny. “It’s complicated.”

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