Page 52 of Impulsive Saint
“Ashtyn?” Her mother sounded worried when she trailed off again.
“I just needed to hear my mom’s voice.” She swallowed past the sudden lump in her throat.
“Oh baby, I’m here. Whatever you need, I’m here.”
“I know. It’s weird to think that we’re thousands of miles apart but I feel closer to you right now than ever before. It’s almost like, I don’t know, maybe like I’m following in your footsteps? Getting out, getting away and taking this chance to figure out who I am without all the pressures of being Senator Echols’ daughter or everything that came with being Aaron’s other half has made me realize why you had to leave and why you stayed gone.” Ashtyn took a deep breath and blew it out, “I forgave you for leaving a long time ago, Mom. But I never really understood why you did what you did, until now.”
She could hear her mother’s sniffle on the other end of the line, “Oh baby, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you before all of this. I’m sorry that you felt so alone with these feelings, that I didn’t see you were suffocating just like I was.”
“I hid it well.” Ashtyn admitted.
“Better than I ever did.” Her mother managed a small, tear filled laugh.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too my sweet girl.”
“Are you still in Nashville?” Ashtyn asked hesitantly.
“Of course. I couldn’t leave with things the way they are.”
“Will you still be there when I get home?”
“Are you planning to come back home soon?” Her mother countered.
“We’ll be in Vegas soon. I’m sure Kelsey’s told you all that’s where we’re headed. I’ve been ticking items off my bucket list along the way but, we’re almost there and then… I guess we’ll turn around and come back.”
“We?” Her mother seized on the word. “So you’re still with the man you left Nashville with then?”
“Yes, we’re still together. He promised to take me to Vegas and he’s not the kind of man to back out of a promise like that.”
“Good. Good. I’m glad to hear that. And he’s taking good care of you?”
“He is. He’s very protective but he’s also…” she trailed off, unsure of how much to tell her mom.
“He’s also what, sweetheart?”
“He’s… annoying, frustrating, a total pain in the ass because he wants to be the boss and make decisions for me that aren’t his to make. He drives me crazy. He thinks I’m just some pretty princess that’s been kept in a castle and know nothing about the real world and I want to strangle him at least once a day.”
She would have sworn she could hear her mother smiling on the other end of the line, “But?”
“But…” Ashtyn blew out a rough breath, “He’s also kind and sweet and most of the time he seems to understand why I’m out here and what I want to get out of this trip. He’s a good man. A foolish, pig-headed man, but a good man nonetheless.”
There was the sound of that smile again, “You like him.”
“I do.” Ashtyn admitted though it hadn’t sounded like a question. “Most of the time anyways.”
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
“No.” Ashtyn laughed a little. “Definitely not.”
“I see.”
“It’s just… he’s a good guy, like I said, and maybe if we’d met somewhere else, at some other time, things would be different but, we didn’t and it’s complicated.”
“Well, you’re a grown woman and you don’t need your mother’s advice but I’m going to give it to you anyway.”
“Mom.” Ashtyn groaned.
