Page 24 of Asher's Assignment
Conner shook his head. “No. Why would she tell me before she told you?”
“We haven’t told anyone. Not even Edie knows,” Esther said.
Asher made a mental note to text her and tell her to act surprised when her mother called to talk about this.
“We’re just—” Esther paused and looked up. “Seeing where this goes.”
Asher smiled, squeezing her hand, then turned to her parents. “The truth is, your daughter captivated me the moment I saw her. We’ve been chatting the last couple of months through email, then on the phone. I finally asked her if I could come visit and see if we can make something of this. Our situation isn’t normal or uncomplicated, but you can’t make something work that you never try to do in the first place.”
“Very true,” Conner said. He swept an arm out toward the church. “Let’s go in, shall we?”
They made their way inside, where Asher helped Esther out of her jacket and hung it up on the coat rack along with his own.
“Faye!”
Asher glanced over as someone called Esther’s mother’s name. Faye raised a hand and waved to the other woman, who beckoned her over.
“Go on, Mom. We can’t join you in the sanctuary, anyway. I’m teaching Sunday School today. Asher’s going to help.”
“Oh.” Faye’s brows knit together. “All right. Maybe we can have lunch afterward?”
“Can we take a raincheck?” Asher asked. He didn’t want to put anymore stress on Esther to keep up appearances than necessary. Besides, they had other things to accomplish today. “I planned an afternoon of activities for us.”
Faye’s expression brightened. He could see in her eyes that she liked the idea of him courting her daughter. “Of course. Perhaps one evening this week we can all have dinner.”
Esther directed a smile at her, but Asher could see from the fine lines at the corners of her eyes that it was forced.
“Sure, Mom.”
“Great.” Faye smiled.
The woman across the room called Faye’s name again.
“We’d better go before Liz has a stroke,” Conner said.
Faye rolled her eyes, looking very much like her daughters in that moment. “It’s not like it’s gourmet fare we have to get ready. And she can handle the coffeepot on her own.”
Conner took her hand and pulled her away. “I know, but she needs the affirmation that she’s doing it right. And you’re so good at making her feel accomplished.”
“Oh, stop.” She lightly tapped him on the chest, chuckling. Turning her head, she smiled at Esther and Asher. “Asher, we’re glad you’re here. Essy, I’ll call you, and we’ll set something up, all right?”
“That sounds good, Mom.” Again, she smiled her tight smile.
Asher slid closer and untangled their fingers to lay them on her back at the base of her neck. When Faye and Conner turned away, he gave Esther a gentle squeeze. “You might want to work on that fake smile. Your parents were too excited to see it this time, but next time?”
She huffed. “Come on.” Leaving him behind, she swiftly moved off.
In a couple of strides, he caught up to her. “It’s not that terrible, you know.”
“What’s not?”
“Pretending to be dating.”
She halted abruptly, turning to face him. “It’s not that. It’s—” She broke off, pushing him toward the wall as a middle-aged woman approached. Esther offered her a quick smile, waiting for her to pass.
Asher didn’t think she was aware she’d left her hand on his chest after she nudged him back. He wasn’t about to break it to her. He liked it there.
“It’s not that I’m upset about the pretend dating thing or that I think it’s hard. It’s—” She paused, pulling the corner of her bottom lip in to chew on it as she thought.
