A Long Goodbye (13 page)

Lu and I were getting ready to head to The Oaks Mall to hit up every store to find the perfect suit when she stopped dabbing on her lipstick to look at me. “Do you trust him, Ashton?”

“What do you mean? Of course, I do.”

“Did he mention his name to you yet?”

“No,” I admitted. “I asked him this morning, but he’s staying firm on Woody.”

She made a sound of disgust and then finished priming and propping.

“Why do you have to do that?”

Staring at me through the bathroom mirror, she said, “Do what?”

“Make me question Woody. An hour ago you were all for me and him, buying bikinis, and telling me I should make love under the stars every night.”

“Oh, good grief, calm down. I was just thinking that’s all.”

“Well stop thinking.”

“Do you know anything about him other than he was a soldier, that his name is “Woody” and his hometown?”

I really didn’t want to go there and start questioning Woody’s intentions with me because when I did, it left me with a zillion of them. I smiled widely. “Yeah, he can give a toe curling, Ohmigod orgasm.”

She smiled back, laughing. “Well, I guess a girl can’t argue with that. Besides if it doesn’t work out, at least you can chalk him off as the best fucking souvenir ever.” Lu spun around just as I was slipping into my sundress. “What the hell are you putting that on for?”

“What’s wrong with it?”

“Dear Lord, Ashton sometimes I really wonder about you.” She ran over to the drawer and yanked it open. A pair of my cutoffs and one of her tanks landed on the ground in front of me. “Toss those on. We’re shopping, not going to church. That dress screams ten years old.”

I glared at her, but admitted to myself that she was right and slipped on the clothes she’d thrown at me.

“Much better. Now we need bikini’s and I’m thinking a quick pop in Victoria’s Secret to score something that’ll make him not want to walk away.”

“Yeah, that sounds real good,” I agreed. Every time I wasn’t with Woody, I was thinking of long distance relationships, moving out of the only house I’d ever known, and doing the one thing I never thought I’d do. Leave Daddy alone. I dreaded that thought knowing he only had me to look out for him. Hell, I knew he was a grown man, but when I wasn’t around, he ate like hell, smoked those damn pipes, and drank way too much for my liking. I’d always imagined getting married and raising my kids in my home someday. It was a beautiful home to grow up in with the barns and the acres and acres of Oak trees.

I started hoping it would be Woody, and I knew I couldn’t think like that. Not until he trusted me enough to tell me his name, because until he did, a part of me knew Lu was right. Woody was going to walk away and not look back. And I only had myself to blame for letting my heart take over.

CHAPTER 22

DANE

“I’m checking in. I already spoke with Winslow.” I was on the phone with Jason after calling Ashton and finding out they were shopping so we could head out to Miami tomorrow.

“All right, Dane. What’s the word?” I could hear him typing on the computer so he wasn’t giving me a hundred percent of his attention.

“Heading to Miami tomorrow morning. I’m following in my truck.”

Jason blew out a breath into the phone. “Dane, if you want to come home, I could always fly out this evening and take over. You could walk away now. In fact, I think it should be what happens.”

If I could’ve grabbed him through the phone, and shake him, I would have. “No, Jay. I’m going to finish this one out.”

“Can you?”

“Look, man, I ask myself everyday a million times why I’m still here kicking and screaming and why the hell AJ isn’t.”

“Dane, shit, man c’mon.”

“No! Let me finish,” I hollered.

“Maybe this is why. Maybe she is why. I know this sounds corny and stupid, but Jay when I’m with her, I don’t question it. I don’t think of AJ and why I lived and he died. She quiets everything inside of me. And if that makes me a pussy—so be it.”

“It doesn’t make you a pussy, man. What it makes you is fucking stupid. Ashton Winslow is someone you can’t have and you know it. Her dad will never allow it and you still dove in without remembering that. Why the hell would you get involved with her in the first place?”

“I’m done explaining this to you. I’m going to Miami tomorrow and spending the next week with her and I swear if you ruin the week I have left to say goodbye to Ashton, it’ll be a problem for me.”

‘Fuck’ was the only answer I got. He knew what the threat meant. And Jason never liked friction, but if he planned on taking her from me for the last few days I have, friction would be an understatement.

“Do you hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear ya, Dane. Don’t fuck this up.”

I hung up, throwing my cell onto the bed pissed and frustrated without saying anything else. I knew Winslow could put a damper on Jason’s business with all the people he had inside his fancy political pockets, but I figured I could pull this off. I’d walk away with a broken heart, but I’d walk away. And if by chance I were able to step away for a short time to keep her and the job separate, I’d come back and claim her when the coast was clear. That was if Ashton would even hold out and wait for me.

I didn’t spend that night with Ashton. I let her and Lu have a night to themselves seeing I was planning on Lu not making many appearances in Miami. Still, I kept up with them and watched from the corner of a crowded bar in my dark sunglasses and me beat up old University ball cap. It took a lot more strength than I thought I had watching them dance with guy after guy, downing shots of Bacardi and watching her shake her ass and laugh with other men.

To Ashton’s credit, not once did she let a man get touchy feely with her and it helped. Some. Each time one walked away, I almost stepped up and pummeled them down to the dirty floor. Ashton and I never exchanged numbers so I couldn’t outright call her up and pull her away, so instead, I patiently waited until they’d finally had enough and headed outside. The neon lights were brightly shining on their faces as I watched them through the murky window as they waited for a taxi to take them back to the hotel.

Once I was cleared, I headed back myself. I knew Lu would sneak outside at night and have an extra drink and a cigarette on the balcony before she turned in, and sure enough, she was already out there when I got to my room.

Carefully and quietly, I opened my own door, smelling the tobacco that lingered over the railing to my side. After Lu was finished I sat out on the patio chair, chewing on the Skoal I’d placed in the corner of my mouth, listening and waiting for them to fall asleep. Once the lights were out and no more voices filtered out to me, I went to bed with Ashton’s voice playing over and over again, as she told Lu how much she couldn’t wait to see me tomorrow.

As much as her words thrilled me to no end, they also forced me to acknowledge what a piece of shit I was being leading her on with something that may never pan out. I stared at the ceiling fan spinning with a hefty glass of whiskey until it lulled me asleep.

The next morning I’d been downstairs waiting in the lobby with three cups of coffee when they finally came off the elevator. Ashton’s scanned the lobby until her eyes locked on mine, and then she smiled with a sense of relief at seeing me sitting there. I had a feeling she was questioning if I would show or not.

She sashayed over to me with her beautiful green eyes trained on mine. “There’s still time back out?” She leaned down, her mouth an inch from mine, hovering.

Quickly, I pecked those perfect pink lips. “Why would I want to do that?”

She stood up, but continued to scrutinize me. I looked over to the table and pointed at the Styrofoam cups. “Got you that expensive coffee you like for the road.”

Lu strolled up after checking out at the front desk. “You two ready to hit the pavement?” She looked to me then to Ashton then back to me. She tilted her head from side to side, as she watched me, but then shook it off, looking like something clicked, but thought differently. I slipped on my shades and stood to grab Ashton’s bags.

“Yeah, let’s go cross off some more of that list of yours,” I addressed Ashton quickly before trotting off to the revolving door leading outside.

“Hey, Woody!” Ashton shouted after me.

She followed me outside with Lu on her tail. “Let’s exchange numbers in case we get separated.” She pulled her cell out of her handbag and swiped the screen with her finger. “Anytime you’re ready.”

I yanked mine out my pocket. I knew I couldn’t give her mine because she’d notice the area code matched hers and not West Virginia’s. “Just give me yours, Grace.”

She rattled off her number and I plugged it in again, and then quickly stuffed it back in my front pocket. Grace stood there looking shocked and perhaps a little suspicious. Lu wasn’t helping either; I could read her like a book. She did not trust me as far as she could throw me. And she was about ready to make it known by the look of the fire coming out of her ears.

“Did he just do what I think he did?”

Ashton was staring at me even though Lu was clearly addressing her. “Yeah, he did,” she whispered and I could tell it was just another thing that made her think about trusting me. She swallowed and grabbed her bag off the ground. “Woody don’t come on this trip if you’re hiding something from me.”

I stepped closer to whisper in her ear. “Grace, I’m not hiding anything.” It was my time to swallow hard. “I promise.” I cupped her angelic face and kissed her softly. “Now let’s get on the road. You girl’s follow me the whole way.” I thought maybe Ashton would maybe want to ride with me and lord knows I wanted her to, but she jumped inside that shiny Lexus and cranked on the engine and let it purr at the curb as Lu loaded the rest of the bags.

I didn’t know how I was going to keep all my lies straight if they continued to roll off my tongue knowing they were going to come back and bite me in the ass.

CHAPTER 23

ASHTON

The top down and our hair blowing with the wind was how we pulled off the 1A and into South Beach. Palm trees were swaying in the breeze, and buildings were shining brightly as the last rays of the sun highlighted them before going down for the evening.

I checked my rearview mirror to find Woody’s big black truck following right behind me. We were supposed to be following him, but it was like a following an old lady. Lu and I had some major excitement brewing between the two of us as we pulled onto Ocean Avenue. Hundreds of people were walking back and forth under awnings and big umbrellas lining the one side of the street. Half-naked men and women in string bikinis were roller blading on the road, weaving in and out of cars without a care in the world.

“Oh, my God would you look at this place, Ash? It’s so beautiful.”

I smiled taking everything and everyone in as we continued down the road slower than turtles. There was such a laid-back vibe that I instantly felt relaxed and comfortable.

“I want to move here,” Lu exclaimed with a big old grin on her face.

I shook my head. “You’d get sick of it, Lu and besides, I won’t be here, so you can’t.”

A few seconds of silence, the radio playing low, Lu turned to me just as we reached the hotel that she booked a few days prior. She had to use her one and only credit card to reserve it, so my daddy couldn’t find out about our little side trip. But, I’d had enough with me to pay for it all in cash and do some serious damage in the boutiques while we were here.

“What about him?” She pointed behind us with her thumb.

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess he’ll get a room or bunk with us.”

“Oh, hell no, Ashton. You are not sucking face in front of me in that room all week. That boy needs his own room. I am not sharing a room with a guy I’m not gettin’ any from.”

I punched her playfully on her shoulder and rolled my eyes. “Okay, Lu. I understand.” And I did, but I still wanted to sleep next to Woody every night while we were here. But I would never leave Lu hanging like that and she knew it.

Woody being Woody pulled up next to me and rolled down his window right after we pulled up to the valet. “Grace, I’ll meet you inside in five. I’m going to go park my baby.” He winked and flashed me a smile.

I closed my eyes and grinned, doing a happy dance in the seat of my car as he drove away. “Dear God, Ashton, hold yourself together. It’s just a man.”

I turned off the engine, but left the keys dangling. “And what a fine man he is and he’s mine
all
week long.”

“Remind me to take you on more vacations. I love when you’re away from that SOB father of yours.”

“LuLuBelle Trainor, don’t talk about my daddy like that,” I said in a mocking voice. But we just laughed.

I felt his hands and smelled his scent as he wrapped them around my waist as I was in line to check in. Lu had run to the bathroom to fix herself up since she thought the check in clerk was hot. “The three of us getting a room together?” He rested his head on my shoulder, kissing my exposed neckline.

“Umm… The thing is…,” I started saying.

He cut me off. “I was just messing. I’ll get my own, but Grace you gotta promise to be in my bed at the end of every night.”

“What about Lu?”

“I don’t like spectators. Unless you’re into that sort of thing?”

“Haha, funny man.” I turned, kissing him right on his mouth.

“Next,” the clerk yelled out. I’d made my move toward the desk, but Woody stepped in front of me.

“How you doing,” Woody looked at his nametag, “Kurt?”

Kurt smiled at him, but kept typing something on his computer. “I’m going to need two rooms for seven days and I’d appreciate it if they could be adjoining, or right next to each other.”

Kurt looked up from his keyboard. “Let me see what I can do.”

I shook my head, but slipped underneath Woody’s arm. “Actually, I have a reservation under LuLu Trainor.”

Kurt was not being very coy as he checked out my cleavage as if they were laid out especially for him. Woody growled quietly, but I heard him. I elbowed him to shut him up, but he wrapped his arms around my neckline to hinder Kurt’s view.