22
Asher foundhimself turning onto the road that led to Mountain Ridge. He’d volunteered to stay at the festival until all the vendors had cleaned up and gone because the idea of spending the evening with six teenage girls wasn’t exactly high on his list of fun activities. Blake was having a horror themed slumber party with the friends she’d made in Hope Falls and, thankfully, Jenna had everything under control.
He’d set up a projector in the backyard that morning and downloaded what Blake called “classics” which included, the original Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Halloween, and Scream. She’d also requested more current movies, Saw, Get Out, The Conjuring, and Purge.
Over breakfast that morning they were discussing her watching the films outside and he’d mentioned to Blake that if they were in the city, he would have stopped by his neighbors to let them know that they might be hearing some screaming because his daughter was having a slasher birthday party, but he didn’t have to do that here in the mountains because their neighbors were so far away they wouldn’t hear them.
Blake’s face lit up and she said that she was going to tell the girls that, because it would make the night even scarier. His daughter was twisted and he loved her for it. He loved that her fourteenth birthday party’s theme was fright-night cinema, and she wasn’t afraid to get dirty, and she was very competitive. Although, those last two traits had caused her to end up in a cast, but even that she’d taken in stride.
She really was thriving in Hope Falls. She wasn’t on her phone nearly as much as she had been. Mainly because she was outside doing things. The kids here didn’t just stay indoors and they weren’t glued to the devices they had. Asher liked that, even if that meant she was going to be outside with Noah. Asher hated to admit it, but the kid was growing on him. Not that he planned on letting him know that.
His headlights illuminated the Mountain Ridge Outdoor Adventure sign and he pulled into the parking lot.
Ava had gone to the festival but he hadn’t seen her until the very end of the day when she was leaving. He’d tried to catch up to her but he hadn’t made it to her before she got in her car.
When he got into his car a few hours later, he’d planned on going home but instead of turning left, he’d turned right toward the resort. It hadn’t even been a conscious decision. It was as if his subconscious thought it was in a Carrie Underwood song and had taken the wheel.
As he got out of his SUV the thought hit him that maybe he should have texted to let her know that he was stopping by. Now it seemed a little late to do that. What would he say, I’m here? He figured at this point it was better just to knock on the door. At least then he’d get to see her, even if it was only for a minute.
But he had zero game plan for what to do after that.
Should he apologize for not contacting her this week?
Did she even care that he hadn’t?
Should he tell her how much he’d been thinking about her?
Or was that “cringy” as Blake would say?
He still hadn’t figured anything out when he reached the door and knocked on it. He’d just have to play it by ear.
“Coming!” he heard her shout from inside.
His pulse sped up knowing that in a few moments he’d be face to face with the woman he hadn’t stopped thinking about. The woman who was a game changer in his life. The woman who he’d accidently started falling for.
When the door opened Ava’s eyes grew large and she sucked in a startled breath. “Oh, hi!”
It was obvious that she’d had no idea who was on her porch before she’d opened the door.
“You didn’t look to see who it was.” Asher hadn’t meant the statement to come out sounding so harsh, but he didn’t like the idea of her just opening the door. Anyone could have been on the other side.
“No. I thought it was the pizza guy.”
“You should always check to see who it is.”
He realized then that this was getting off track. He hadn’t planned to come over here to lecture her, but he couldn’t help himself. He cared about her, more than he was even admitting to himself, and when he cared about people he wanted, no needed, to protect them. And he’d already failed her twice. Once when she got shot, and again when she’d been drugged. He was going to do everything in his power for there not to be a third time.
“You’re right. I should.” She nodded and he noticed that she was a little breathless and her cheeks were flushed.
He wondered if he’d interrupted her in the middle of something. “Did I come at a bad time?”
“Oh um…” She glanced over her shoulder nervously before turning back. “I was just...”
Now he really wanted to know what she was doing.
She took a deep breath before explaining, “I ordered pizza.”
Right. He’d figured that out when she’d told him she thought it was the pizza guy at the door, but he had no idea what that had to do with her being out of breath. “And you ran to go get it?”
