Page 84 of Hauling Ashe

I’ve been in contact with my boys, learning on Thursday when Tucker and I spent the day in Santa Monica that Adam was spending the weekend away from them again. I didn’t like the sound of that but didn’t have a say from here. I’d asked Pam to send me proof of life photos to prove the boys had eaten, slept, and possibly showered. In the heat and dirt of working with plants all day, I assumed that they had. My thoughts briefly drift to home, but I dismiss them and enjoy the wonderful dinner eventually served. To my surprise, I’ve been added to the main table, where Julia and Chopper chose to sit with Lily, Brut, and Tucker. They didn’t want a sweetheart table where they would be the center of attention.

“Another new suit,” I tease Tucker, reaching for his lapel as we sit for dinner. I’m wearing the dress I wore the night he played the piano for me. The first night he fell back in love with the instrument once so vital to his life.

“Keep the coffee away from this one,” he jests back before slipping his arm around my shoulder and leaning in to kiss my temple. I glance up to find Julia watching us. A slow smile curls her lips.

“You should talk, Mr. Wine Accident.”

“How did you meet again?” Lily Paige asks, lightly chuckling.

We’ve already explained the circumstances. His transportation company canceled, and my sister works for his firm. I was coming to California anyway.

“She was looking for a sign,” Tucker says, and I laugh.

“I was looking up for an actual sign that marks the beginning of Route 66.”

“And then she bumps into me, spilling coffee all over my new suit.”

“It wasn’t everywhere,” I clarify, as most of it ended up on me.

“I was so pissed. The transportation company had just canceled on me for this trip.” Tucker smiles at me. “I think it was a sign my life was about to change.”

I stare back at him, dumbstruck.

“And when I spun around, my tongue froze. A ray of sunshine was beaming at me, like the heavens opened and said pay attention here.”

I softly laugh. “That’s dramatic.”

“That sounds romantic,” Lily sighs.

“I suppose it is if you like wearing coffee more than designer suits,” I say, slightly uncomfortable with all eyes on Tucker and me.

“I’d let her spill coffee on everything I own as long as she looks at me like she did that day.”

Lily turns to Brut, and they share a secret smile, and I risk another glance at Julia who swipes under her eye. Chopper rubs a hand up her back and leans in to kiss her neck, and I turn back to Tucker to find him still looking at me.

“You are my sign, sunshine,” he says softer, only to me.

“A sign for what?” Instantly, I recall our discussion about that poor bird that flew into the car grill.

“A sign of everything I knew was missing but didn’t think would ever happen for me.” With his hand on the back of my neck, he pulls me to him, kissing me softly and quickly before releasing me. My face heats. Today is his daughter’s wedding but I feel like the blushing bride on the eve of a life-changing moment.

+ + +

As the night wears on, Tucker and the guys get closer to their big reunion performance. They had a practice earlier this morning, but Tucker is nervous, and I have an idea. Excusing myself, I head back to the room, remembering what he’d placed on the dresser. When I return to the barn, I’m almost to the entrance when I’m stopped outside by Jude.

“You shouldn’t be here,” he says without greeting.

He’s been eyeing me on occasion throughout the day, but I’ve ignored him, brushing off his behavior as a spoiled twenty-seven-year-old. I haven’t missed the sneers he’s given his father before shifting into tight smiles on behalf of his sister. He doesn’t seem to comprehend all Tucker did for him, but that’s the way of children. They never appreciate the sacrifices of parents until they are parents themselves. In his case, Jude’s entitlement might never allow him to see the light.

“Excuse me?” I say.

“He loved her, you know. That’s why he was upset. He didn’t want her to run off with someone else. He wanted their marriage to work.” His statement is in complete opposition to what Tucker told me, but I don’t share that with his son.

“What happened in your parents’ marriage is between them.” Children aren’t necessarily privy to all that goes on behind their parents’ door. My own boys weren’t blind to how their father and I didn’t always get along, but they also didn’t pay enough attention to notice how truly unhappy I was with their dad.

“But it wasn’t. They were a very social, visible couple, and he loved her. She loved him, too.”

If she did, I don’t understand why she’d have an affair, but I don’t mention that either. Adam told me how much he loved me, yet he still slept with multiple other women. The lies people tell don’t always make sense.