Asher: A Second Chance Novel (15 page)

He opened the front door to find Dean with a twelve pack of beer in his hand and a smile. “You’re working too hard.”

Asher laughed. “What makes you think that?”

“I could sense it. I can always sense when too much work is taking place, you know that. You need a beer break.”

Asher smiled again. “Come on in.” He led him through the house to the back door. They stepped out onto the back porch to his mother’s other swing. They sat down and Dean handed him a beer, then popped the top off his own. “You asked me if I was staying in town,” Asher said, “What about you?”

“I haven’t decided yet. The old man wants me to. I can do what I do anywhere but as long as the Proctor’s are in control in this county, it won’t be easy.”

“What do you do again?” Asher asked him with a smile. “Besides drink beer.”

Dean flipped him off. “I work. I own my own business. I develop properties, strip malls, parks, museums, you name it. I would play hell getting any contracts around here though because I’ll be damned if I’d ever pay those Proctor bastards off.”

Asher nodded. “Maybe you and I should join forces with your dad and Frank and see what we can do about getting them out of control, and out of town.”

“That sounds like a plan,” Dean said, “As soon as I finish my beer.”

Asher laughed again. It was good to laugh. He hadn’t done it for so long. He leaned his head back as he took a drink of his beer and his eyes landed on a loose beam above them. “That’s not good,” he said. Dean looked up at it.

“Nope, that whole thing will come down if that beam falls.”

“I’ll have to take care of that. I noticed some of the roof tiles missing too. I guess Dad didn’t feel well enough the last few years to take care of things the way he used to.”

Dean stood up to put his empty bottle back in the case. When he did, his foot went through a piece of rotting wood on the porch. It startled him and he cried out. Asher got up to help him but as he did, he laughed. Dean started laughing too, but as he was laughing he said, “Get me out of here.” Asher pulled him out of the hole and said, “I’ll start working on this tomorrow.”

“Well, while I’m deciding what to do about my business, I have some time. I’ll help you.”

“You have to really work,” Asher told him with a grin. “I don’t need a supervisor.”

Dean flipped him off again and grabbed another beer.

**

Asher went into town the next day to get the lumber he needed for the back porch. It was the first time he had actually gone into town since the funeral, other than to just see Lyle. He hoped that he could get in and out without seeing anyone he knew. He didn’t want to have to talk to someone who would be asking him a bunch of questions about where he had been and all of that. He was happy to see that there weren’t many cars in front of the hardware store. He parked and went inside, going straight to the back where he knew they kept the lumber. As he passed the cash registers, he noticed the young man Mia had been with at the funeral was behind one of them and his eyes were trained on Asher.

Asher walked by, but as he gathered his supplies he couldn’t help but wonder again who this kid was. He took his purchases to the counter and once again, he got a stare down from the kid. He raised an eyebrow and said, “Have we met?”

The kid looked completely disgusted by that question. “No, but I know who you are.”

“You do?”

“Yes. You’re Asher Fury. Mr. Fury’s son.”

Asher nodded. The kid’s tone was almost accusing. He had no idea what he could have done to garner this reaction from him. “How did you know my father?” Instead of answering his question, the kid said, “That will be fifty-two ninety-eight.” Asher was going to ask the question again, but he bit it back and handed the kid his credit card. Once the kid handed him the receipt to sign Asher said, “You have the advantage of knowing who I am. How about you tell me who you are? What’s your name?”

The kid stared at him for so long; Asher didn’t think he was going to answer again. Finally, he said, “My name is Axel.”

Asher could see it now. The yellow ring around the outside of his hazel eyes. “Axel…?”

“Halloway,” he said, almost as a challenge.

“You’re related to Mia?”

“Yes. I’m her son.” That was said almost smugly. What was up with this kid?

“How old are you, Axel?”

The kid’s stare became even more intense as he said, “Seventeen.”

Asher’s mouth went dry. He didn’t know what else to say at that point, so he grabbed his things and left. He felt the boy’s eyes on him the whole way.

Asher drove home thinking about the boy. Mia’s boy…his boy? What kind of coincidence would it be if he wasn’t? Mia wasn’t the kind of girl who would have jumped at the chance to have sex with another guy as soon as he left. She had waited with him for quite a while, until they had both been sure that they were in love. The other thing was, if he was not Asher’s son, why doesn’t he have his father’s name? Why is he using Halloway?

Asher got home and unloaded his supplies. He reached for his phone then and was about to call the Bar and Grill when Dean walked through the back gate.

“Hey man, are you ready to get started?” Asher was looking at his phone almost in a confused state. This could wait until she was off and he could talk to her face to face, calmly. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. You knew that kid was Mia’s son, didn’t you?”

Dean looked guilty. “Yeah.”

“Do you know who his father is?”

“I never asked her.”

“Does your father know who his father is?”

“I never asked him either.”

Asher rolled his eyes. “Why not?”

“Because it wasn’t my business. I figured you would explore that with Mia on your own time.”

“You think he’s mine?”

“I’m not the one you need to be asking these questions to.”

“I know that. Shit! If he’s mine, why wouldn’t she tell me?”

“Don’t get pissed off.”

“What?”

“Man you left her high and dry. She was a wreck with you gone and Travis and everything. I tried to see her before I left and her mother wouldn’t even let me in the door. If he is your kid think about it. After all that happened, she was left behind as a teenaged; unwed mother. For seventeen years she had no way of reaching you. Now, all of a sudden, she’s supposed to say, ‘Congratulations, Daddy?’”

One thing Asher could always count on was Dean not sugar-coating things for him. Everything he said was spot-on. She had every right not to tell him as soon as he wandered back into town after all of these years. Maybe that’s what she had come over to tell him the other night when he had brushed her off.
Jesus Christ!

“Let’s start on the porch first,” he grunted.

“You’re not going to go talk to her?”

“Not now,” Asher said, “I don’t want it to come off like I’m angry and put her on the defensive. I need to get my emotions in check.”

“Good idea,” Dean said, “You’re smarter than you look.”

Asher flipped him off this time.

They worked on the patio for several hours when Dean suddenly said, “Are you going to feed me?”

Asher laughed. “Are we dating now?”

“Hell no. You couldn’t get all of this if you tried. I’m starving man.”

“You’ll have to call for take-out. I don’t have any food.”

“The only place in town that delivers is the Bar and Grill.”

“I know. It’s not like Mia will deliver it herself, right?” Dean shrugged, but he got down off the ladder he was on and called to order the food. He stepped inside and yelled out to ask Asher what he wanted. He told him and when he finished what he was doing, he went inside to wash up.

He was just coming out of the bathroom when the doorbell rang. He opened it, expecting food. He really didn’t expect Mia. She was standing on the doorstep with two bags of food in hand. “Hey. Why are you delivering food?”

She raised an eyebrow. “Are you disappointed to see me?”

He felt his skin flush. He stared at her intently. “Never,” he said, “Come in.”

When Mia walked in, Asher couldn’t help but notice the exchange of looks between her and Dean. She held a bag out to Dean, he grinned and took it. Looking at Asher he said, “Call me tomorrow and we’ll get some more work done.” Before he could leave the doorbell rang again. Asher looked at Dean and asked, “Anything else you ordered?”

Dean grinned. He knew he was caught. “Nope, just some sandwiches and Mia.”

Asher rolled his eyes and shook his head. He pulled open the door and three men stood on his doorstep. He heard Mia’s sharp intake of breath behind him and he heard Dean put down his food. “Can I help you?”

The guy standing in front who seemed to be in charge, stuck out his hand and said, “James Proctor. Are you Asher?”

Asher looked at his hand and back up at his face. “What can I do for you?” he asked. He saw the flicker of annoyance in James’s eyes, but he recovered quickly.

“My father would like to meet you,” James said.

“I met him at my father’s funeral.”

“He wants to meet with you. He wants to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“Can we come in?”

“I don’t think so,” Asher said.

James looked around him and his eyes fell on Mia. He smiled broadly. “Well, hello there beautiful.”

Asher took a step forward, crowding him out of the doorway. “You’ve got about two seconds to tell me what it is that you want.”

“I told you, my father wants to meet with you. When you leave town.”

“I’m not leaving town.”

“Surely you don’t plan on trying to run your father’s business? I think maybe it’s a little beyond your scope.”

“Really. You have no fucking idea what my ‘scope’ is. As a matter of fact, if I were you, I would pray you never find out.”

James smiled. “That goes both ways. If I were you, I’d sell this shit your parents have been hanging onto for so many years and go back to wherever you came from.”

“Thanks for the advice, but I don’t normally take advice from piss ants.”

That pushed a button. James stepped even closer so that he and Asher were face to face. “You don’t know who you’re fucking with, Fury.”

“Neither do you,” Asher growled, “Don’t come back here. Leave me and my friends alone.”

James smiled again. “This is my town Fury…” before he could get another word out, Asher grabbed him by the throat and shoved him up against the front door in one fluid motion.

“Listen carefully piss ant. This is your one and only warning. Do not fuck with me or mine again. If you do, I will show you my full ‘scope,’ and it may be the last fucking thing you ever see.”

He let go of him and James was gasping for breath. Asher left him and his goons standing there and closed the front door their faces. When he turned around, Dean looked pissed and Mia looked frightened. He hoped that it wasn’t his behaviour that scared her. “They will be back,” Dean said.

Asher’s eyes were on Mia as he said, “If they’re that stupid, then they deserve what they’ll get if they do. Let’s eat.” Dean picked up his bag and said, “I’m going to take mine to go. Thanks, Mia. I’ll see you tomorrow, Bro.”

Asher watched him go, shaking his head again. When he was gone, he looked at Mia and asked, “What did he tell you?”

“Just that you and I really needed to talk.”

Asher walked over and sat down at the dining room table. He took a deep breath and said, “It’s about your son. Is he mine?”

“Yes.” Mia whispered sitting at the table and watched as Asher paced the room. For at least fifteen minutes he paced back and forth without saying a word. She didn’t say anything either. She was waiting for his next question. When it finally came she felt a rush of anger.

“When were you going to tell me?”

She stood up and couldn’t hide the sarcasm in her voice as she said, “Oh, I don’t fucking know, maybe the next time you decided to come home. It’s been 17 years Asher!”

He rubbed a hand through his hair and over his face. She could see that he was trying to calm himself down. She was pissed. He had no right to act so accusingly with her. He was the one who had left. When he finally spoke this time, it was with a softer tone. “I understand why you would be angry. I also know that for seventeen years I gave you no choice. You had no idea how to find me. It’s just such a shock, to have a nearly grown son that I didn’t even know existed. Jesus. Does he know who I am?”

“Yes, he knows you’re his father. He and your dad were close. Greg was a good grandfather to him.”

Somehow that seemed to make Asher feel better. Mia wondered if it was knowing Greg hadn’t been alone at the end. “He’s angry,” Asher said. It was a statement, not a question.

“How do you know?”

“I saw him today at the hardware store. I could see it in his eyes.” His tone softened and he smiled as he said, “Your eyes. He has your eyes.”

“He doesn’t understand, Asher. I’ve never been able to give him an explanation as to why you left.”