Page 7 of April is for Asher

We walk across the street and once we are seated and have placed our order, I finally look at her.

"Why are you so stressed out?" I ask.

"Remember, I told you I put my house on the market?"

Nodding, I wait for her to go on as my mind races. Does her place need work? The guys and I can go over in a weekend and fix up anything she needs done.

"Well, a couple from out-of-state put in an offer over the asking price. It was all cash, but I have to move out this weekend. They need to move in next week for his job. Not wanting to pass up an extra twenty thousand dollars, I took the offer."

While she's stressed about telling me she’s moving sooner, my heart sinks because I'm losing time with her.

"Well, the place I rented in Billings won't be ready for another six weeks, and I have to finish training my replacement at my job here before they will transfer me. On Sunday, I could move in with my sister because I can't live in my place with everything in boxes."

She's stressed, but I'm relieved she isn't leaving just yet. As I listen to her speak, I’m trying to find a way I can help relieve her stress.

“It would be a great solution, except she's newly married. They will be keeping me up all hours of the night with loud sex and thin walls. Plus, she has a cat and I'm allergic to cats. For six more weeks, it's just not going to work.”

"Move in with me." The works are out of my mouth before I can stop them. But the more I think about it, the more I love the idea.

"Don’t be crazy. I can't do that," she says, waving me off.

"Why not? You work up the street, right? Today it took me thirty minutes to get here. You’d have your own room, and no cats which having an allergic reaction could cause harm to the baby. There’s an entire section in the baby book stating that pregnant women shouldn't even be around cat litter. You’ll have your own personal craving fetcher, and if at any point you aren't feeling well or don't want to even make the drive into work, I can take you, or anyone of my friends or their fiancés can."

After I lay it all out on the table, she stares at me with a funny look on her face. Holding my breath, I’m hoping she'll say yes. But I don't get any answer because the server brings our food.

Before she takes her first bite, she says, "It's just temporary until my place in Billings is ready. Though I insist on paying rent."

"No, I don't have a mortgage on the place. There’s no way I'm making money off of you. Any money you save will be for the baby. If you want to help with cooking or cleaning, or hell, even decorating the place, I won't say no."

Taking a bite of lasagna, I can see she’s thinking out as she eats.

"Then, if you let me pitch in for groceries, you have yourself a deal."

If it gets Jenna in my house for the next six weeks, I can concede on groceries.

CHAPTER4

JENNA

As I stareat all the people in my living room, I'm still in shock. Not only did Asher show up this morning, but he brought three couples with him and several other guys, all with trucks. I can't remember all the names, but they are hard workers.

The women have been super sweet and treat me like I'm their best friend. They have been helping me pack up what I haven't gotten to yet. The guys are loading boxes and furniture to go to storage and have already made one trip taking a bunch of stuff.

"Okay, so what do you want to do with the food that is left in the kitchen?" Emma asks, sitting beside me on the couch where Asher insisted I put my feet up and rest.

He's told everyone the couch will be the last thing to go and they agree. Apparently, they all know about my doctor visit and how stressed I was, too. They have all been checking on me, making sure I have water and snacks. When I got up to pee earlier, the two guys in the room surrounded me, asking what I needed and telling me to sit back down.

Though when I told them I was just going to the bathroom, they backed off, and the girls started giggling. It’s been great to laugh today, and more than once. Unfortunately, it seems like it's been a long time since I’ve been so carefree and relaxed.

"I'll take the food she isn't taking with her," my sister says, walking in the door.

This morning she had a hair appointment and said she'd stop by after. She wanted to meet Asher and help me pack because neither of us expected this kind of turn out.

"Nothing will go to waste at your house. There you go,” I say, handing the food to my sister. Oh, by the way, that's my sister Hailey. Hailey, this is Emma."

"Ok sis, which one of these hunky bearded muscle men walking around here is yours? Damn, if I had known what Mustang Mountain was hiding, I'd have hung out here a lot more," my sister says, eying the men walking in and out of my front door.

"Mumm. Asher?" When I don't see him, I call out and he steps out of the hallway where they were dismantling my bed.

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