Remember Me (11 page)

It was a good thing she enjoyed my sense of humor. I was beginning to think I’d ruin our day.

“I think a house bitch cooks and cleans, so that’s probably not my kind of job, but I’ll definitely keep you happy in the bedroom,” she replied with a cute little giggle.

“What about all these other rooms? We need to Christen each and every one of them.”

“Not until they’re clean. I can’t do spiders, Shayne. We need to make sure there’s none before I move in.”

I chuckled. “Seriously, it’s the country. We’re goin’ to have insects.”

“They have services that come in and get rid of them. Put that on the list. We totally need one of those.” She was funny when she was ordering me around. I don’t even think she realized that’s what it was. Ash had a way of charming someone to do things, but most of the time it was innocent. I think people just always did them for her without making it a big deal.

I smacked her ass. “You’re such a princess.” With another laugh I caught her giving me a dirty look. She was cute when she got defensive.

“I am not. I’m a mom.”

“Well, you used to be a princess, back when we were all younger and you walked around wearin’ your high-dollar, fancy-schmancy  clothes. Everyone knew it. They all knew who your father was.” As she turned away I wrapped my arms around her, setting my chin on her shoulder. “But inside every princess is a beautiful queen.” I kissed the side of her neck. “You’re my queen.”

She turned and made it easier for me to look into those blue eyes. Her arms reached around my back and she smiled. “I’m not gettin’ naked in this dirty house, if that’s what you’re thinkin’.”

I ignored what she said and leaned in to place a single kiss on her sweet lips. Rationality went out the window the moment we made
contact. When our tongues began to crash together the whole room faded away. It didn’t matter where we were, or what condition it was in.

The mood in the room changed from disgust to lust in a matter of seconds. I picked Ash up and pressed her back against a wall. She was already reaching her hand down my shorts, trying to take hold
of my erection that was pushing against her. I wanted her so much, but mostly because she said I couldn’t. My need to be inside of her grew, as did the stiffness of my cock.

There was nothing romantic about this encounter.
This was ravenous desire, possibly resulting from the stress of making such a huge leap like buying a house would do. The reason wasn’t important. This side of Ash rarely came out and I wanted to take full advantage of it.

There was no undressing, or foreplay. Once again, we were caught up with one common goal. I entered her without a fight and quickly moved to a relentless pace.
Her tight walls made every experience better than the last and I got off knowing that she was always wet and ready for me.

We were caught up in the moment, loud moans and other sounds escaping us as we continued rapidly grinding together. It wasn’t our fault that we didn’t hear someone walking up on the porch steps, or the creak of the old wooden front door
, but we sure as hell heard it when it slammed shut.

We both turned, my shorts around my ankles
, and me still being fully inside of my girlfriend. “What the - ”

Her father stood there, turned enough to block anymore of the scene he’d just witnessed. “Just get dressed.”

I never looked at Ash as we refastened our clothes and turned to face him. She kept her body half behind mine, probably to avoid having to look directly at him. We were both embarrassed, but I was pretty sure she was devastated. “Sorry, sir. We were just - ”

He turned, but wouldn’t look at me. His eyes were
on his daughter. “Yeah, I know what you were doing. Excuse the interruption, but I don’t appreciate you taking advantage of my daughter in these conditions.”

“Sir, I can explain. The ho
use is mine. I purchased it and - ”

“If you think you’re moving my daughter into this condemned building, you’re seriously mistaken, Shayne.”

“With all due respect, the house is not condemned. I’ve got contractors coming here tomorrow to start renovations. By the time we move in here, it will be a new house.”

He pointed at m
e and finally gave all of his attention to my face, as if he were threatening. “I’m telling you right now that you’re not living here.”

I’d about had it with her demanding father. He could swing who he was around other people and gain respect, but it wasn’t happening with me. “Yes we are. You can’t tell me where my kids are going to live. You’ve got no damn right.”

“You think that because you bought some dilapidated house that you can be a good dad? I know all about, Shayne Hutchinson. What I just walked into shows me exactly what you have to offer my daughter. You’re going to use her and toss her aside for a new model. Guys like you are all the same. I won’t let you take my daughter down. I won’t let you hurt her more than you already have. You’ve ruined her life, you know that?”

Where was this coming from?

I put my palms facing up in the air. “Hold up. You don’t know me. You don’t know shit about me.”

“Trust me, I know plenty.”

“I think you need to leave.” I pointed toward the door.

He stepped forward, closing the gap between us. That’s when Ash jumped in between us. “Stop it! Please just stop it.”

My hand touched the small of her back while I silently listened to her going off on her dad. “You can’t barge in here and expect that we’re goin’ to listen. Shayne is the father of my children. He’s taken care of me and them and never strayed. How dare you come in here and accuse him of something he’s not capable of. How could you think that I’d be okay with this?”

“I didn’t know you’d be here,” he admitted.

“Well, it’s goin’ to be my home. Of course I’d be here.” She pointed to the ceiling and spun her body around. “All of this is ours. If you can’t see the potential then you need to go. I’m not goin’ to let you talk to him like this. We’re a family now and there’s nothin’ you can do about it.”

“Ashley, don’t push me.”

“Push you? I’ve done nothing to you. This is all about bein’ in charge of my life, which you no longer are. I’m happy and you need to deal with it or just leave me alone.”

Most of this made no sense. Through her
pregnancy her father had been distant. When he called or visited, I usually wasn’t around, but Ash had never mentioned how he didn’t want her with me. It pissed me off. “I think you need to go.”

He cocked his brow and laughed. “You’re tellin’ me to leave? I can have this piece of shit torn down within the week.”

“You wouldn’t?” I was taunting him and he wasn’t letting down.

“Are you challenging me? Son, you need to learn to shut your mouth.” He pointed to Ash. “You’re not living in this house. Do you hear me?”

“Please don’t call me anymore,” she cried. “Don’t come near me or the twins. I don’t want them knowin’ someone like you.”

When I say that the man stormed out, I mean he left a crack in the wooden door from slamming it so hard. Ash jumped at the sound and then threw her body against my chest.

Calming her down was only half the battle. Once we walked outside and I locked up, I saw the paper on my car. He’d already contacted the Health Department to check for Asbestos, which meant I couldn’t do shit in the house until it was cleared. If they found any, I’d be forced to pay out the ass to have it removed.

Now, I was okay with having it checked for the safety of my family, but I didn’t appreciate being forced. He was stalling construction and had come to do it even before our altercation.

With little to say to my girlfriend, we drove home in silence.

Chapter 14

Ashley

My father had definitely ruined Shayne’s special moment. Aside from him catching us in the act, I was appalled by his new attempt to get me away from my boyfriend. My father wasn’t the kind man that everyone in town thought. He was bitter and sneaky. He pushed people’s buttons and manipulated situations for his own gain.

I don’t really know why he didn’t want us moving into that house, or what his reason was for tampering with Shayne’s renovations. All I knew was that he was causing stress on my relationship with the one person who had never left my side.

As frustrated as I was, I couldn’t find the words to remotely apologize to Shayne. For the rest of the afternoon he made calls pertaining to scheduling. His hopes to head over and start working were out the door.

The twins were finally starting to sleep through the night, so by the time they went to bed, I was feeling exhausted as well. Without telling him goodnight, I climbed into bed and silently cried to myself.

All I wanted to do was be happy and my dad wasn’t going to let it happen. I feared for what was to come and almost wished Shayne had never bought the house.

The worst part was that he’d made a huge investment. If the house did get condemned, he’d lose so much. My family would be the reason for it, and as much as I didn’t want to feel
responsible, I was.

By the time Shayne climbed into bed beside me, I’d calmed down. His hand slid over my abdomen and I felt his breath on my neck. “You okay, Ash?”

At first I wasn’t going to answer, but knowing that Shayne felt bad didn’t sit right with me. “I’m sorry about my dad.”

He moved away as I turned to face him. The pale light of the moon came in the window, giving us enough to see
each other. “You have nothin’ to be sorry for.”

We played with each other’s fingers, before
finally holding hands. “I don’t get why he’s bein’ like this. When I got pregnant all he wanted was for me to get an abortion. Now, all of the sudden he’s so worried about my wellbeing. Shayne, you have to know that I’ve never even considered leavin’ you. You make me happy and I know how much the twins mean to you. He’s lost his mind if he thinks he could do anything that would change those feelin’s for me.”

“Baby, I’m not mad at you. I’m pissed that I can’t start workin’ tomorrow. I’ve worked for weeks to make this all go as smoothly as possible. Now, I’ve got new hurdles. It’s fine. We’ll work around them and make that house everything we could ever want. Why don’t we take the twins to the hardware store tomorrow and start gettin’ ideas. I’m sure it will take a while and I’d rather do it together anyway.”

I kissed him tenderly, realizing how patient he was being about everything. “It sounds like a perfect date.”

“We can pack a bag with formula and bring your pump, just in case. I’m sure there’s a quiet place I could park to give you enough privacy.”

It was little things, like that comment that made me appreciate who I was with.

The room was quiet and I started to doze off again.

That’s when I heard his next sentence. “Ash, I’ve never strayed, not with you. The thought has never crossed my mind. I swear it on the twins. You’re dad doesn’t know me.”

“I never questioned it. He’s desperate. Look, I don’t know what’s up with him and that property, but this can’t just be about you buyin’ it. There’s somethin’ he’s not tellin’ us.”

“I don’t even care. He’s not goin’ to stop us.” He kissed me on my nose after reassuring me that he was fine. “I love you.”

I smiled, even though he couldn’t see me, because I turned my body away from him. “I love you, too.”

I woke up a few hours later with a horrible headache. The pain was so excruciating that it was impossible for me to get comfortable to rest. I took medicine, but it wouldn’t alleviate the pressure, so I went out into the living room and started watching the home improvement channels.

As daylight approached I woke to someone touching my cheek. Shayne was holding Beka and feeding her a bottle. He had it propped under his chin to hold it up while he got my attention. “Hey,” he whispered. “You okay?”

“I had this terrible headache.” I sat up and felt the pain still lingering. “It’s still not gone.”

“We don’t’ have to go anywhere.”

“No, it’s fine. I’m sure it’s just stress from yesterday. I want to go. Last night I watched this show where they did a nursery. I loved the colors and can’t wait to show it to you. I recorded the reveal part for you to watch.”

Shayne had already changed Beka and fed her half of a bottle before he handed her to me. Within seconds he was back with a fresh glass of ice-water and two pills.
“Here’s some migraine medicine. I keep a bottle in my bedside table. I used to get them from bein’ on the computer for hours at a time.”

“Thank you,” I said as he leaned over and kissed my head. He hadn’t shaved yet and his facial hair tickled my face.

“I told Peyton not to bother comin’ over today. Today is about the four of us.”

I looked down at Beka. “Our family.” Saying it made me feel so happy. In the middle of feeling like someone had beat me with a bat, I could still smile knowing how lucky we were. How other people felt about Shayne was their business. I knew who he really was and how much he loved us.

Two hours later we were packing up the car and heading out to start making selections for our new home. After seeing the whole thing, and trusting in Shayne, I knew that it would be beautiful.