Rivers end boxset volume.., p.102
River's End Boxset Volume 3, page 102
Daisy was ready to hold on for the ride. She was willing to guide his obedient, planned-out mind through it. She could only hope for future spontaneity. Unscheduled events. Exciting expeditions. Romantic feelings.
But those had to wait. He could get weird and mean. No one wanted a repeat of that Asher, least of all her. So, she decided to remind herself how bad he could be if and when her willpower weakened.
CHAPTER 8
EVENTUALLY, DAISY AND ASHER managed to have a decent date. One that was neither weird, awkward, argumentative, nor uncomfortable. Dinner at the local café, which was owned by Jacob and Luna Starr, (cousins by marriage to Daisy), was the spot they chose. There was no reason to wonder why they were having dinner alone. They neither sought out attention nor avoided it. What harm could there be in a casual dinner between friends?
They talked about stuff far beyond what they already knew of each other. From a lifetime of growing up in close proximity to sharing so many relatives, Asher managed to move past that issue and was not as weird and awkward as he had been previously. He was polite, nonjudgmental, and did not dwell on their differences or consider them anything pivotal. Instead, he let the conversation drift wherever it went with no concern for future problems or issues. Right now, this moment and this hour were all that mattered.
He cringed when he remembered how freaked out he was on their first one. He had trouble switching his impression of young Daisy from his cousin to someone he could date. Obviously, it wasn’t easy for Asher to make the switch. His ensuing anxiety and confusion of why he couldn’t date her left him without any real answer.
This time, their date was successful.
They ate, chatted, and even laughed a few times. After the meal, they parked in a spot where they could watch the sun setting over the water. It was a fun, enjoyable, normal time. Like any good date might have gone.
The time came to walk to her front door and say goodnight. With a kiss. It was already decided and agreed upon. Knowing it would happen made it easier to accept. The raw worry and stress and what-ifs didn’t arise this time.
Additionally, her name didn’t flash in his mind with quite the same drama or evoke the uncomfortable feelings as the first two dates did. They were both reasonable, more comfortable with each other, and the conversation flowed. They even held hands without any degree of weirdness (or meanness). However, it was once more, decidedly awkward.
She was wearing shorts and her hair was long and flowing as it framed her face. Daisy said, “So our first normal date is finished.”
“How would you rate it? Three stars? Four?”
“Out of how many?”
“Five, of course.”
“I’d rate it a four at this point. But with a really great kiss? Might boost it to five.” She tilted her head up and looked at him with a soft, but strangely wise grin. What she was thinking was a mystery to him and he had to wonder. Daisy seemed to possess a secret that he lacked any knowledge of. He saw innocence and light in her eyes, and he sensed there was something special about her that he could not identify or define. Surprisingly, she was much more than he ever estimated.
“Kiss. Right. No pressure there. A whole star higher?” he said with a grin. But he found it easier this time to reach out for her. Wrapping his arms around her waist and feeling her warmth at his touch, even over her clothes, pleased him. She swayed closer, her head up, her plump lips waiting for his. He lowered his mouth on hers and their breaths mingled before he pressed harder on hers. It was a long, slow, delicious kiss and their mouths opened as naturally as morning glories do to the morning sun. They held each other tightly and kissed, their tongues stroking and hands gripping.
Finally, he lifted his mouth from hers, finding it harder this time than before. Her eyes stayed closed a second longer, as if she were savoring it. Which was damn hot. Her eyelids fluttered open as her head slid back a few inches.
“Was that worth another star?” Asher inquired.
“I think so. But you’d better make sure.”
He grinned and obeyed her suggestion. Enjoying himself more this time, he made very sure it was a full star-worthy kiss. Releasing her, she nodded. “Yes, I think we could call it a genuine, five-star kiss.”
He was glad to freaking earn it. Grinning, they held hands and she looked up at him with a new expression. Asher hesitated to call it dopey or sappy, but an on-looker might say it was.
“So… back to school?”
“Yeah. I came home for Violet, but I wonder if she even knows I was here.”
“I’ll keep checking on her.”
Daisy stepped away from him and wrapped her arms around her middle. It was like being slapped in the face with a wet fish and she regretted mentioning Violet. “And still she isolates herself. She won’t let anyone talk or get close to her.”
“No. I guess not,” he agreed, his tone as hollow as hers.
“Do you think she’ll be okay? I mean, in the long term?”
“I have to believe she will.” There wasn’t a lot of conviction in his tone.
“Do you think we’ll be okay long term? I mean, trying to follow the plan?”
There it was. The first reference to what they were. He wasn’t ready to talk about it or wanting to hear her take. But there was probably no way to avoid it. “Same answer.”
She nodded, biting her lip. “That’s a decent and fair answer I can live with.”
“So how do we go about following it?”
“We talk? Or text? No rules. No exclusivity. Whatever happens is fine. But we must agree to complete honesty.”
“I can do that.”
“Me too.”
Asher didn’t ask, who the hell would he date around there? She was the one going back to school in a city so full of available men, his mind might explode trying to picture it. He put his hand out again. “Deal.”
Her smile was quick, and he liked the interaction they shared. The possibility of it moving towards kissing and sex made it even more fun. Like good friends who fantasized about becoming more than that. Asher never interacted with a woman like Daisy before. He had friends who were strictly friends; whom he never imagined wanting to kiss. His encounters with sex were mostly casual and strictly about sex, since he had zero desire to spend any of his time with those women. Being raised with Daisy might have been an advantage; and that suddenly, he felt different. He found it exciting. Anticipation enhanced their encounters and most of all, it was fun.
She shook his hand in agreement and he pulled her forward to kiss her lips one more time. He felt unable to stop himself since she looked so adorable. Her blond hair brushed her shoulder, and her wide eyes were bright, warm and full of humor and understanding. She was staring up at him. Big boobs and soft body too. All of it suddenly appeared wildly attractive to him.
Now? They were inextricably connected.
And all it required was three dates, two of which were conclusively awful. They must have had some good moments or there could not have been a third date. They were odd and strange and unpredictable. That bothered him.
But also, they were kind of exciting, fun, intriguing. Which surprised him. And left him wondering what the hell to do about that?
His offer for the old Riesling ranch and house was accepted. Stunned but grateful, he took title of the decrepit, old, beautiful monstrosity as if he were tying an albatross around his neck. Miles of fencing needed repair and much of it had to be replaced. He had to buy cattle and plant the land. No idea where to live yet, or where to even start. It cost a lot of money and the dry, dusty land would take a long time to justify the cost.
But the excitement almost made Asher do cartwheels.
Asher couldn’t wait to go straight to his parents. They praised him with accolades, and he reciprocated with undying gratitude. AJ and Asher drove directly to the property.
Grinning, Asher said, “It’s such a fucking mess, I don’t even know where to start.”
AJ nodded, his grin just as big. “It is. That’s what most excites you. Making the plan, getting a big bite on it. Basically, by rebuilding it and restoring it from the ground up, each plank and nail and fencepost you construct, and every seed you plant, will make it yours. It will be your sweat and your labor. All yours. Not many people get to enjoy that kind of personal satisfaction or experience. I never did it for myself. It’s something to admire in you, Asher.”
They stood before the front porch stairs. Asher was picturing a soft, round bottom on his lap, his hands full of rounder, softer mounds, the most glorious boobs he ever fondled. Hair as gold as sunshine and a mouthful of nectar-flavored lips under his. He blinked. What the hell? When did he start to fantasize? When did he get lost in his fantasies? When did they become sexually based on a pretty, blond girl?
What if Daisy were much more than just a girl?
That’s what had him so twisted up. The reason for overreacting to her. In all ways.
Ignoring the lusty images, he stomped a boot on the ground. Daisy was gone now. Big-city Daisy. Coed Daisy. Absent Daisy. He tried to ignore his distraction and answered AJ.
“Or that I’m crazy by trying to resuscitate a dying lifestyle and doomed to fail as a businessman for reviving an unpopular way of life.”
“No. You’re not. Look around you. Ranching exists. Right here. Right now. If you’re doing it, then it’s real. Hold onto that. It never occurred to me to branch out on my own. I was never that ambitious. I’m surprised Kate didn’t think of it and push me harder. But I would have been too anxious. I needed Jack Rydell to guide me. He took all the risks and reaped most of the rewards. I liked the work. But you? You’re going to take all the risks and you will reap all the rewards. Again, I’m so proud of you, son.”
Asher grinned and replied, “Pride won’t build a roof over my head. Or put the cattle and horses I want out to graze on that hill. Or seed the pasture come spring.”
AJ nodded. “You know if ever need anything…”
“You’re supposed to be retired.” He reminded his dad.
“I know. But in what crazy-assed world do I not work outside? At least this way as it’s under the guise of helping you, your mom can’t get mad at me. You know retirement and me… don’t really mix. If you’ll have me—”
“I’ll definitely take any help, knowledge, advice, and muscle you want to lend me.”
“Then let’s get started. What’s step one?”
They looked around to see how to begin. AJ’s expert eye scanned the surroundings. Asher already had a complete plan that he intended to follow. While he itemized all the things he needed to do, AJ actually knew how to do them. Forty years of experience made AJ an expert on the best and most expeditious methods to accomplish the necessary work. AJ knew how to fix or finagle most things and Asher planned to learn from the ground up.
Kate did her part too. She helped Asher recheck the contracts and paperwork on what he was buying. She also discovered the water rights were grandfathered in, and he could access the water from the creek below the house. She determined if the ranch were accessible during winter, it was as the county snow-ploughed the road. But he’d have to keep his own driveway clear. Asher’s parents were indispensable in knowing all the questions he didn’t even consider or imagine.
It illustrated how important parental guidance and support is to a child. How much closer to his dream was his life plan now, thanks to his parents?
He worked at the Rydells by day and went to his place in the evenings and weekends. It made time pass by like a bullet train.
Daisy and Asher spoke every night. It soon became a required event before he could fall asleep. Her face appeared on his phone and he was mesmerized by her. She was usually doing homework or lying on her dorm bed. He learned all about her life as she finished her summer quarter. She took some time off, visiting her sister and Mateo, for a few weeks before fall semester started.
Asher stopped by to see Violet every Monday after work. That was part of his routine. Sometimes she spoke to him for a few minutes. But she had little to say and asked him even less.
He also spent several evenings after work with Wallace, running him through the performance routine and making sure the horse didn’t lose the unique skills he had. He planned to bring him out to the ranch as soon as he had a proper spot built for him.
Daisy often asked his opinion on Violet’s slow recovery.
“She listens to information but has no emotional response to it,” he told Daisy one rainy night in October.
“No. Depression keeps her angry and her heart stony. It’s very difficult to reach her.”
Daisy responded to Asher, however, and she reacted to every single thing he told her. From letting out squeals of excitement when he officially became the owner of the ranch to cheering him on when he got overwhelmed at the magnitude of his to-do list. She was his greatest fan and supporter, which was ironic since that ranch would be the biggest hindrance if they ever decided to become more than just friends.
He couldn’t describe what they might be. So, he tried not to define them. Ever. They took one day at a time.
Daisy applauded whatever he did, one more accomplishment to strike off the giant master list, and he was more than eager to tell Daisy his latest achievements. Since they never dated on a regular basis, talking on the phone was his newest habit. Asher wasn’t missing her as much because he integrated her into his life.
He liked hearing about the subjects she was studying. The things that she found particularly hard or interesting. She complained about the professor that pissed her off by never posting the students’ grades; and another one she thought she could cite as a reference if she ever needed one.
“Another huge publishing house just bought out a smaller one.”
“What does that mean?”
“My dream of becoming the literary junkie editor, with a pencil in my hair at some posh New York office, and discovering the next great American novelist is growing slimmer by the year. There used to be all kinds of big publishers until they started merging. Now there are less than a handful. I fear they might become fully extinct.”
He found it odd when he tried to see what motivated her ambitions. Going to college to earn her bachelor’s degree was not easy, and he understood that. He realized that many people in their early twenties chose that path. Hunter did. So did Rose and Lillian. Now Daisy.
It was Daisy’s choice to work and live in New York. There would never be a way to…
See? That’s what Asher’s brain did. He always thought ahead. Way too far ahead. Why pursue this attraction and fun with her, or allow it to grow if their destinies and dreams were plainly at opposite ends of the earth?
Sure, AJ and Kate’s lifestyles were also at odds, but he thought his and Daisy’s were even further apart. Asher rarely brought the subject up to Daisy because she got so mad when he worried over such things. It seemed reasonable whenever she made her points.
But at other times, he couldn’t sleep when he thought about it. Hammering together the new fencing, he wondered, what if? What if their friendly flirtation, and mutual desire to kiss, became exclusive dating? Where could that go but toward monogamy? The time they spent together was so limited. Sure, the distance was an obstacle for now. They had to make time for each other. But what about after that? After she announced she wanted to live in New York City permanently and he insisted on living here?
He often found it hard to ignore the strange, far away possibilities, or banish them from his head. He reminded himself to focus on the here and now. That’s all that mattered. The misty horizon that enveloped the future could wait. So, he felt happy she loved her English major and he respected her lofty, unfamiliar ambition, at least for now.
He never even thought about trying to date another girl, and as far as he knew, Daisy didn’t date anyone else either.
Not that it meant anything.
“When you come home, what will it be? Our fourth date or…”
How could it only be date number four after three months of daily conversations that lasted a minimum of an hour? He could recite almost every fact about her, from her underwear size to how frequently she bought shampoo.
“I don’t know. It’ll probably be weird and awkward again. So, try to keep your meanness in check.”
He gave her a digital evil-eye. “Cute.”
“You’re right, I am.” She grinned. “But I know exactly what you mean. We’ve talked so much. But gone on only a few dates. I don’t know what to expect. I guess like all of this, we’ll just have to see.”
Her parents picked Daisy up from the airport in Spokane. Asher was on edge, dying to pick her up himself, but why? She wasn’t his girlfriend, so it would have been weird.
He paced and tried to keep busy. Doing anything to keep the hours passing rapidly. The Rydells planned a welcome-home dinner with most of her family.
Great. He glanced at his phone. Crap. They were still eating.
Snow had been falling over the last few weeks and accumulated four inches on the Rydell River Valley floor. It melted before freezing back over, creating brittle ice, that went crunch-crunch-crunch! every time anyone took a step. The trees and bushes were bare, but the icy snow covered all the pines and bare trees, along with the shrubs and branches. The heavy layer piled onto the roofs.
Asher’s ranch got eight inches of snow. The road was plowed but a layer of ice still clung to it. His old truck needed chains despite having four-wheel drive before he could easily make the commute. Daisy would soon realize just exactly how far “out there” his future home was, especially in middle of winter—
No. He tried to interrupt that thought. They weren’t even dating.
But goddamn. She was back in the state. In the freaking town again finally. Not a mile separated them, and he wanted to see her badly. But he respected her family too much. Violet especially needed to see her, and Daisy wanted time with her sister. They all missed her. Their youngest sister. The baby of the family.
Why did he feel so anxious to see her now?
