Page 174 of For Better or Hearse
Ash sinks into the big green couch. As she sets up the chessboard, Augustus wanders off and prattles around in the kitchen. She sighs and shakes her head. The man won’t sit still. Which is a good thing. He’s strong. He’s not ready to kick it yet.
With dexterous hands, she moves the brown and white pieces.Focusing on the board and the board alone. Because dammit, Nathaniel’s all around her.
The jacket he left here when they had lunch two weeks ago. A notepad full of instructions for his grandfather sits on the coffee table. A new photo framed on Augustus’s wall. The selfie taken of all of them at Rainbow Falls. Right before she pinched Nathaniel’s ass. As he pressed her in close, like he already knew she belonged there. He’s smiling so big and beautiful it makes her chest hurt.
Their time spent together is like the melody of her favorite song. So clear it kills.
“Your pick of poison,” Augustus says, hobbling into the living room. He sets a tray with a pot of tea and small glasses of whiskey on the coffee table.
Ash smiles. “You have a tray too.” It’s identical to Nathaniel’s. Goddamn these men.
He raises his bushy eyebrows as he settles in front of her. “Something on your mind?”
Ash hesitates. She doesn’t want to cross client/employee boundaries with Augustus, although she supposes she’s already in too deep. Cheeks fusing with heat, she says, “Nathaniel and I—we had an argument the night he left. We fixed it, but…” Her voice breaks a little, her heart cracking as well. “I’m worried that I messed up. That he won’t feel the same way about me when he gets home.”
Augustus casts her a wry look. “My dear, in every phone call, you are a topic.How’s Ash? Is Ash planning to maim someone today?He speaks about you so often, I’m afraid he is, what they called back in my day, twitterpated.”
She laughs wetly. Feels just a fraction lighter.
“He’s always been stubborn. A thinker. A wanderer deep down. Most of his adult life, he’s pushed people away because he doesn’t know how to let them in. But with you, he doesn’t fight it. You challenge him. My grandson’s come alive these last few weeks, Ash.” His blue eyes, so like Nathaniel’s, twinkle. “Because of you.”
His words only intensify the guilt, the love in her heart.
“Same.” She tucks her hands between her knees. “He made me feel the same way.”
With a hum, Augustus nods. “Have you tried telling him that?”
She shakes her head. “I tried calling. He didn’t pick up. I just miss him, is all.”
Augustus leans back in his recliner, considering. “I see.”
“I’m sorry.” She sits up straight, willing herself to get a grip. “You’re the one who needs me, and here I am, putting all my bullshit on you.”
A fond smile curves his lips. “You’re not just a person I hired. You’re family, Ash. You’ve given all of us a light to follow. And you’ll give them one after I’m gone.”
She brings a hand to her mouth, like she can steady her trembling lips. “I’ll miss you.”
“It will be great to be missed,” he says. His smile is wide and his eyes are bright. “It will be an honor.”
Ash leans forward. Eyes this incredible man. A man she’s built such a wonderful familiarity with, and says, “You know, I might not be great at this whole love thing, Augustus, but…I love you. Very much.”
“And I love you too, Ash.”
For one long moment, they watch one another, silent. Hope, love, sorrow rising in her chest like the most brilliant sunrise. One she’ll remember forever.
“Now,” Augustus says, flexing his gnarled fingers. “Allow me to kick your ass.”
Her phone rings the minute she reaches for her pawn.
She blinks down at her device. It’s Claire.
She answers.
“Ash?” Claire’s voice trembles, borders on hysterical. “Are you with my father?”
“I am.” Suddenly alert, Ash grips the phone tighter to her ear. “What’s wrong?”
Claire lets out an unearthly sob. “It’s Nathaniel. Something happened on the rig.”