Page 38 of Meet Me on Blueberry Hill

Asher gave her a stern look. “Now, remember our promise.”

Hetty sighed and waved her hand. “Fine. You can fix my closet.”

“And?”

“And I promise not to pay you.”

Asher stood and dropped a kiss to the top of her silver head. “Thanks for listening.”

As he started past, she reached for his arm. “Why are you so stubborn?”

He let out a laugh. “Oh, that’s rich coming from you.”

Hetty sniffed. “I’m not stubborn. Just strong-willed. My Hank always said so.”

“I’ll let you in on a secret, Ms. Hetty.” He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, “They’re both the same thing.”

She laughed and batted at his arm. “Some lucky lady’s going to have her hands full with you.”

Asher sobered. “Yeah, no worries about that.”

Hetty turned and looked up at him. “Asher Quinn, one day, when you least expect it, some young woman is going to come along and snatch that big heart of yours right out of your chest and claim it for her own.”

Visions of Sadie lying on the ground next to her toppled bike looped through his mind. “I need a heart for someone to steal. My chest is empty.”

Even though he tried to make it a joke, the idea of falling for someone sent a chill through him. Once she learned his secret and the reason for his scars, she’d run in the opposite direction.

Not that he blamed her.

No one wanted to carry the baggage of his past.

Without another word, Asher returned to the bedroom and dug through his uncle’s canvas tool bag for his battery-powered drill. He attached the right bit and backed the flush screws out of the hinge. Grabbing a pair of pliers, he caught hold of the bent screw and pulled it out. He stooped and did the same thing to the bottom hinge. Then he leaned the door gently against the wall so it wouldn’t fall or chip the paint.

He dropped the screws into a magnetic bowl so they wouldn’t get lost and then ran a hand over the carved-out section of the frame where the hinge had been.

Hetty’s walker thumped against the wooden hall floor. He turned as she appeared in the doorway. “Need something, Hetty?”

She made her way into the room and lowered herself onto the wingback chair in the corner of her room. “Just thought you might like some company, that’s all.”

Where’d she get that idea?

But Asher wasn’t about to argue with her. Maybe she was the one who was feeling lonely.

“I’m pretty boring company.”

She waved away his words. “Now, I’ll be the judge of that. Sadie mentioned you’re restoring your grandfather’s carriage?”

“That’s right.” He sanded the wood lightly, then rubbed away the dust with a microfiber rag. “If I can get it up and running, I’d like to do a trial tour during the festival and see how that goes. Then I can give them a stronger reason to return home.”

“You know why they left, don’t you?” Hetty’s soft voice floated over him.

He lifted a shoulder. “I figured losing my cousin had a lot to do with it.”

“Partially, yes. Everyone grieves in their own way. But you showed up.”

“Yeah, and they couldn’t wait to escape me.” Asher laughed, but his voice sounded more like a croak.

“No, they trusted you. For the first time, Terry had someone who could watch over the ranch so he could take Angela on a getaway.”

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