Storm Front (The Charistown Series) (Volume 2) (25 page)

“If you don’t mind me asking, Ashley,” Janie leaned forward
in her chair, her voice laced with compassion, her eyes full of questions,
“who’s Leo? You have that beautiful tattoo of his name on your bicep but, well,
Lyla and I never wanted to pry.”

Ashley felt Ryan squeeze her hand a little harder under the
table. She knew that squeeze. She knew he was offering his protection, his
support. She also knew that he’d answer the question himself, just to protect
her from further pain. Insurmountable guilt slammed into her. She didn’t
deserve his protection. What she deserved was to feel every ounce of pain her
brother had felt the night he’d tried to come to her rescue. Ashley flicked his
hand off her lap.
No, I need to suffer on my own.
She squared her
shoulders and replied, “Leo is my brother. I run this program each year for
him.” She stood up and ran her hands over her shorts, as if wiping away the bad
memories along with the conversation. “It’s getting dark, gang. Let’s go get
our place on the lawn. I don’t want to miss any of the show.” She reached over
the table, grabbed an almost empty plate of chips and salsa and turned to take
the tray into the house.

Her rejection and dismissal cut deep. For over six years,
Ryan had allowed her to remind him of his betrayal. For over six years he had
shouldered the blame for his wrong doing, as well as the things that had been
out of his control. He looked down to his stomach where the knife had been
twisted and realized he no longer bled. Yes, his love for Ashley did—and
probably would always—run deeper than any love he had ever known, but it was
killing him inside to continue this one-sided affair. He knew somewhere inside
she still loved him, but after all these years he was just too damn tired to
keep digging.
It’s time for me to move on,
he thought.
But how?

Just as the question came to his mind, the answer stumbled
over to the table.

“You guys ready to go watch the fireworks?” Kyle ran his
hands through his sex-rumpled hair and smiled devilishly.

“Where’s your girl?” Ashley snipped as she came out of the
house and stopped to look Kyle up and down.

“Who? Shayla?” Kyle smiled as if remembering a fond moment.

“It was Shira, you fucking pig!” Landing a swift punch to
Kyle’s arm, Ashley huffed before grabbing her purse and heading back inside.
Ryan couldn’t hold in the chuckle. There wasn’t a thing sexier than a pissed
off Ashley.
No, it’s time to move on.

“Hey guys.” Kyle, Max and Danny gave Ryan their full
attention. “Are any of you available after the show tonight? I thought we could
grab a beer, you know?” That was their guy code for they needed to talk.

“I wish I could, son, but I promised Julie I’d finish
painting the bathroom by the end of the weekend, and it’s the end of the
weekend.” Danny’s gruff laugh made Ryan smile. “But after these two are done
giving you their bad advice, let me know and I’ll happily straighten it out for
you.”

“Thanks, Danny. What about you guys?” Ryan didn’t realize
how much he had been counting on them until they both said they’d be happy to
meet up later. Relief washed over him. They would help him figure things out,
he just knew it.

RYAN LOVED BEING at
Chopper’s
bar. Whether he was drinking, playing pool, or just taking up space, being
there made him feel grounded. It reminded him of a time when he was young and
playing in the band, they’d played in bars like
Chopper’s
all the time.
That was back when life was easy—when the only thing he needed to worry about
was their next gig, and when he would finally get to kiss his best friend’s
sister. God, he missed Leo. How different would life be if…

“Hey, man, you got us here, so let’s get us some drinks and
talk.” Max clapped Ryan’s shoulder before walking up to the bar and placing
their order.

“Dude, we need shots.” Kyle looked like he was slightly
hung-over from his earlier drinking and Ryan considered advising him not to
drink anymore, but, selfishly, he really wanted Kyle’s advice and he knew that
if he harped on him about his drinking, Kyle would just up and leave. So he
kept his mouth shut and walked over to a table.

“Women. They make everything fucking crazy,” Ryan mumbled
the toast before letting the amber liquid glide down the back of his throat,
blazing a trail of fiery frustration straight to his stomach.

“So it’s gonna be one of those talks, huh?” Kyle grimaced,
as he poured each of them a beer from the pitcher Max had brought to the table
along with the shots.

“I’ll go get us another round, and tell them to start a tab.
I have a feeling we may be here a while.” Max smiled as he strutted back over
to the bar.

Ryan looked at his friends. Despite their differences, both
had become incredibly important to him over the last few years. He’d never
thought he’d have a close friend after Leo, but here he was, sitting at a table
with two of them.

“Spill, Ry.” Max returned and slid a shot in Ryan’s
direction and waited for him to talk.

“You guys know that I’ve been waiting on Ashley for years,
right?” Both men rolled their eyes and nodded their heads. Ryan smiled. “But,
well, I think I realized tonight that I’m waiting for something that’s never
gonna happen.”

Just saying the words out loud caused an ache in his gut so
deep he was surprised he managed to hold himself upright. “So, I guess the
reason I asked you guys here is…” He bit the inside of his lip, the sharp pain
a reminder of why he was there in the first place. “I need your help moving
on.”
There, I said it,
he thought as the acid rose up his throat.

“Christ, Ryan, drink this.” Max handed him a glass of clear
liquid. He braced himself and took a large gulp only to spit it straight back
out.

“That was water!” The clean clear substance was a complete
shock to Ryan. Pausing only to wipe down the mess he’d made, he drank down the
whole glass.

“Yeah, Ry,” Max laughed, “it’s water. We’re not
all
alcoholics.” His comment and his gaze shifted directly to Kyle, who chose that
exact moment to check out the pair of scantily clad women playing pool. “You
looked like you were about to puke so I didn’t think another shot would be
helpful. Look, buddy, I can’t tell you how to ‘get the girl.’ Hell, I don’t
ever wanna get the girl again.” Ryan didn’t believe that for a second. He saw
the electricity that sparked every time Max and Janie were together. If Max
wanted to pretend it wasn’t happening, so be it.

Max continued, “I do, however, know how to move on. And if
that’s what you want to do, I can help. To move forward, you need to—”

Kyle chose that moment to re-engage in the conversation,
chipping in with, “Fuck everything that moves.”

“What?” Both Ryan and Max stared at Kyle.

“Don’t give me the innocent act, DeLucca.” Kyle poured
himself another beer from the pitcher and took a long gulp before continuing.
“You and your buddy Gage have cornered the market on Fuck and Release. Christ,
I think the term F and R just might be in the Urban-fucking-Dictionary by now.”

Ryan watched as Kyle pointed a relatively unsteady finger
firstly at Max and then at him. “Judge all you want, but neither one of you are
better than me—I’m just not afraid to admit exactly who I am. Ryan, you wanna
move on from Ashley, good! It’s about time. I love that girl—she’s a great bartender,
a hot chick, and an awesome friend—but her head is fucked up, man. She’s goin’
down and taking you with her. She can’t shake her past.” Kyle’s eyes clouded
over and Ryan saw the familiar sadness that only came out when Kyle was
completely wasted. “If she can’t shake her past, then it’s gonna consume her.
You’re my boy, Ryan, and you have to know you’re too damn good for that. Let.
It. Go.”

Ryan was completely overwhelmed by the amount of insight
Kyle had just offered. Never in all the time they had spent together had Kyle
been that clear, and the funny thing was the man was shit-faced drunk. “Not to
mention, fuckin’ other girls will piss her off,” he added. “You get her good
and jealous and then stand back with your arms open and your pants down, she’ll
be all over you like a hooker at a free clinic.”

“You couldn’t have stopped while you were ahead, could you?”
Ryan laughed finishing of his last shot.

“Hopefully he’s too smashed to remember me admitting this,
but he’s not totally wrong,” Max agreed. Ryan grinned at the comical look on
Max’s face. “While I certainly wouldn’t go around throwing chicks in her
face—because let’s face it, Ashley’s a tough woman, she might just kick your
ass if you do—Kyle’s right in that the best way to forget about the past is to
move on to something new.”

Max poured the remaining beer into the three glasses. “To
women, the more the merrier.” The three men lifted their glasses and finished
off their beers.

Single and Available

“LYLA DALTON, ARE you crazy?”
Ashley’s heart raced from the two-mile run she’d just taken from her house to
Lyla’s. If she was being honest with herself, which was something she tried to
avoid, her heart had started pumping faster long before she ever tied the laces
on her Nikes, and the steamy August air had nothing at all to do with it.

“Some might say so,” Lyla shrugged lazily, opening her door
and inviting Ashley in.

“Ly, I can’t take this.” Ashley retrieved the folded paper
from her pocket and held it out for Lyla to take, but her friend just crossed
her arms over her chest and stared at her.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, Ashley, but that check isn’t made
out to you, it’s made out to
Leo’s Lights
, isn’t it?” Ashley would have
smiled at the mock confusion on Lyla’s face if she didn’t know for a fact that
she was being purposely obtuse. “So,
you
aren’t taking anything. The
money is going to a good cause and I, personally, love good causes.”

Lyla turned her back to Ashley and headed into her kitchen.
“Want some water, you look…
sweaty
.”

“Yeah, I’ll have some,” Ashley accepted. “Lyla, that’s not
the point, this is a shit ton of money…”

“Ashley,” Lyla said in a singsong voice, “it’s just a one.”

Laughing at the silly banter, Ashley responded, “With a lot
of zeros after it. Seriously, you write a column in the paper, you can’t afford
this. Write a check with less zeros and I will gladly accept it.” The warmth in
Lyla’s blue eyes quickly turned to ice and Ashley tried to figure out what she
had said to turn the playful discussion into such a painful one.

“Ash,” Lyla said quietly, her hands balled into fists and
tucked at her sides, her eyes glued to the donation in Ashley’s outstretched
hand. “I told you before, I won the lottery and I have a lot of money just
waiting to be spent.”

Lyla’s words, although seemingly light-hearted, sounded like
they were being forced out of a jaw that was wired shut. “Let me give this to
you. Clearly your brother means a lot to you. If I had siblings, I’d want to
help them.” Pangs of guilt tugged at Ashley’s insides when Lyla referred to Leo
in the present tense. She knew she would eventually have to tell her close
friends the truth about Leo, but she just wasn’t ready yet.

Ashley absently rubbed her sternum with her thumb as Lyla
continued. “So, just take the money and let it do some good, please.”

Raw pain flashed through Lyla’s eyes seconds before her
ever-present shield came down, covering every stitch of vulnerability that had
been exposed. “Besides, if you don’t take it, I’m giving it to the Kyle Marx’s
Drinking Fund.” She shrugged before returning the pitcher of water to her
refrigerator.

“Well, we certainly can’t have that.” Ashley smiled.
“Thanks, Lyla. I can’t begin to tell you the good this money will do.”

After a few more minutes, she left Lyla’s house and ran the
two miles back home. With the evidence of Lyla’s generosity tucked in her
pocket, thoughts of her brother floated around in her head.
“Look at all the
good you’re doing, big brother.”
Luckily, by the time she reached her front
door, no one would be able to tell the difference between her sweat and her
tears.

Ryan’s deep laugh was the first thing Ashley heard when she
entered their house. She took the stairs two at a time to show him the check
for the charity.

“Hey, Ry, you’re finally awake. It’s about time—” Ashley
stood frozen in the hallway as she watched the beautiful, blonde-haired woman
slip on her shoes. Ryan stood there shirtless, his gym shorts resting low on
his hips and his bare feet kissing the hardwood floor.

“Oh, hey, Ash, this is Michelle. Michelle, this is my friend
Ashley.” Ashley flinched as though cold water had just been thrown in her face.
When had Ryan brought this woman home? She’d worked with Max and Kyle last
night but Ryan had gone out. He must have picked her up last night. Oh my God, Ryan
had slept with someone. Never once in all their time living together had he
brought someone home, and now…he had.

“Wow.” The word slipped from her lips before she could catch
it.

“Wow what, Ash?” Ryan ran his thumb over the very smiley
woman’s shoulder.

“Um, nothing, I just need to get some Gatorade. It was nice
to meet you, Michelle.” She raced back down the stairs and headed right to the
kitchen. What the fuck?
Well,
she told herself,
it’s probably better
this way.

Just maybe, if she said it enough times, she’d eventually
believe it.

IT WAS THURSDAY night and Ashley
sipped at her drink while watching Max flirt with Janie, when she noticed Ryan
shake his head out of the corner of her eye. “What’s up with you?” She asked.
She was on the opposite side of the bar for the time being, drinking a cocktail
instead of slinging them. Danny had asked Ryan to text her on her night off to
see if she would come and fill in for Max. Both Danny and Ryan had a feeling
the thing between Max and Janie was about to boil over, and as much as Danny
had wanted to let Max leave,
Danny’s on Main
on a Thursday night needed
three bartenders.

Ryan nodded in Max and Janie and Lyla’s direction. “Those
two are cute, that’s all. And Lyla, God love her, she’s been trying to make that
happen for weeks. I’m not sure who’s more frustrated—them or her.” He laughed
at his own joke and moved away to take orders and pour drinks.

Ashley leaned over and looked to the other end of the bar at
her friends and then back at Ryan as he talked to the guys and flirted with the
ladies. Every time she saw him smile, little butterflies started flapping their
wings in her belly. This had been happening for several months, but it had
gotten worse since he’d started dating.
Yeah right, dating. More like whittling
his bedpost, but whatever.
Bitter much, Ashley?

“Hey, Princess, talking to yourself, now? Spending a lot of
time with Lyla, you’re starting to pick up her habits?” Ryan stood right in
front of her, his biceps bulging in his black uniform t-shirt, his brown and
gold-flecked eyes dancing with amusement—probably at her embarrassment.

“No,” she snapped. “I don’t have any bad habits, Ryan. And
you may want to stop spending too much time talking to me, or your bar flies
might get the wrong idea.” She gave him her most sugary-sweet smile before
taking another sip of her margarita.

“No, they won’t,” he said shrugging his shoulders aloofly.
“They all know that I’m single and available.” With a crooked grin and a wink,
he left her speechless and returned his attention to the customers. She swore
she heard Kyle chuckle but when she looked at him he was busy entertaining the
bar bunnies with his sexy looks and bar charms.

She finished her drink and got ready to begin her shift. If
nothing else, tonight was going to be entertaining.

“Ashley, goddamn it! Seriously, did you
see
him?” The
look on Lyla’s face was priceless. Ashley had known Sebastian Gage for years.
He and Max were best friends and therefore he came into Danny’s almost once a
week. The man was pure and unadulterated sex. He oozed sexy from every pore and
there wasn’t a woman—or a man, for that matter—who didn’t feel the vibe when he
was in the room. That being said, Ashley had never, ever, seen Gage approach a
woman. Ever. Usually, he sat at his corner booth, almost shrouded in darkness,
and the women went to him. The fact that he’d pursued Lyla was almost as
shocking to Ashley as it was to Lyla.

“That’s Max’s friend. You’ve probably seen him here before.”
She placed a glass of ice water in front of Lyla, gestured to her cheeks, and
gave a devilish smile. “You look like you could use this.” She then watched as
her friend tried to make sense of the burning lust that was rushing through her
body.
Yep, this is gonna get interesting
, she thought to herself.

“What’s got you smiling so big, Princess?” Ryan asked. It
was so rare that he saw her happy anymore. It tore him up that the Ashley he
once knew was all but gone. Sure, she was still caring, generous and giving,
but she no longer turned any of that kindness toward herself.

She, like in Shel Silverstein’s children’s book, “The Giving
Tree,” had given so much of herself away, that there wasn’t much left but a
stump on which to rest. It was like she saw no worth in her person unless she
was giving to others, and that broke his heart. Between chairing
Leo’s
Lights,
volunteering at the local soup kitchen, and working at
Danny’s
,
she practically worked herself to sleep each night.

They used to be best friends, tell each other everything.
She’d been an open book to him, and he to her. However, now the only way he
knew how she was feeling was by the color of the streaks in her hair, and even
that had been a guessing game until he’d finally figured it out. It was his
special inside secret into Ashley’s mind and he doubted anyone else had even
noticed the correlation.

He’d been relieved when Janie and Lyla started coming around
six months before because she’d finally started hanging out with friends again.
It hurt that she wouldn’t accept him back into the place he used to be, but at
least she was starting to let
someone
in. Finally he’d started to see a
glimpse of happiness in the beautiful hazel eyes that had once held so much
love, and for that he was grateful.

“Did you see Gage approach Lyla just a few minutes ago?” She
didn’t wait for him to answer before she continued excitedly, “Ryan, that man
just rocked her world. I’ve never seen anything like it! It was like the world
stood still when the two of them connected.”

Yeah
, he thought to himself sadly,
I know just the
feeling
. He gave himself a moment to let her excitement penetrate his soul
before getting back to serving drinks and
moving on
.