He’d been so scared that being with Ava was going to unearth all the pain in his life and make him feel things he’d buried deep. And it had, but in the best way possible. He wasn’t holding onto that pain anymore. He’d been freed from it. Last night with Ava had healed his soul.
From the look in Jenna’s eyes, she felt the gravity of the moment. She’d always been good at reading him and it was clear that she could see the difference in him.
She smiled and he felt a shift between them. “Thanks.”
His shoulders relaxed as he unlocked the door to the cabin and reached back to grab her suitcases.
Jenna walked inside and looked around, heading straight to the large picture window that overlooked the river that ran beside the town. “Wow, this is beautiful.”
After giving her a quick tour of the cabin, he put her bags in the guest room.
“Are you sure it’s okay if I crash here? I saw a place called Mountain Ridge on my way in, or I could find an Airbnb.”
For some reason the thought of her staying at the same place that Ava was didn’t sit right with him. Not that he had anything to hide. He and Jenna had been divorced for seven years and they were just friends. Which was why he offered, “You can stay here. We have an extra room.”
“Are you sure?” she asked.
Asher nodded. He was about to excuse himself to go take a shower when her face lit up as she pulled out her phone. “Oh my gosh, you will never believe what I saw when I was driving into town. I took a picture of it because I knew you wouldn’t believe it.”
Jenna only got that excited when dogs were involved so Asher guessed, “A Great Dane and a Chihuahua walking down the middle of the road?”
His ex’s jaw dropped open and she turned the phone which had a picture of Scooby and Scrappy waltzing down the center of Main Street.
“How did you know?”
“I’m a detective, it’s my job to know,” he stated flatly.
When her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head to the side, he explained. “Those are the chief’s little sisters’ dogs Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo. They escape together sometimes and walk to the ice cream shop where the owner gives them each a scoop of ice cream.”
Jenna shook her head back and forth. “This town is...”
“I know.” Asher wasn’t sure what adjective his ex was about to say, but he was sure that Hope Falls would fit whatever it was.
It was the Hope Falls Effect.
