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“You’ve been very chipper this morning with all the customers and smiling a lot.”
That made her laugh. “Isn’t that the way I’m supposed to be?”
“It is, but it’s not how you’ve been most of the time you’ve been here. Most days, you’re surly at best. So what’s going on?”
Shrugging, she continued to clean. “Just…you know…the usual.”
“Mm-hmm…” her sister hummed with amusement. “This wouldn’t perhaps have anything to do with the new firefighter in town, would it? The one who bought you brownies…”
Glancing over, she grinned. “Good call on them, by the way.”
“I knew it!” Billie said excitedly. “So things are going good with Reid?”
“They really are. Like…really, really good,” Ashlynn admitted. “So good that I’m starting to freak out.”
“Why?”
Looking around, she noticed that most of the customers were gone and Jade was currently at the bank, so that meant she and her sister could talk without filters.
“I think we all know I’m the queen of the commitment-phobes,” she began. “I like being the one to walk away because…”
“Oh, Ash. Sweetie…you know none of that stuff was about you. You need to stop thinking that way.”
“It’s not something you can just stop doing, Bill. I blamed myself for Dad leaving and always felt that every guy I cared about was going to take off too.” She sighed. “But Reid was persistent. In a good way.”
“That’s because he’s a good guy and he’s obviously crazy about you.”
“I know, and that kind of makes me freak out even more.”
Billie leaned against the counter. “Okay, this I’ve got to hear.”
“Because he’s going to make me fall hard for him and it will hurt that much more when he leaves,” she said quietly.
“Why do you think he’s going to leave?”
“Because everyone does! Jeez, haven’t you been paying attention?” she snapped.
“I don’t think my attention skills are the issue here,” her sister countered. “Dad didn’t leave; he was pushed out.”
“He didn’t fight very hard to stay…”
“Not that we know of because no one wanted us to see that, Ash. And besides Dad, who else left?” she asked hotly. “No one! We are surrounded by long-term marriages and relationships. Our grandparents, aunts, uncles…all solid.”
“Levi left.”
“To go to college and start his life. And yes, he stayed away for a while, but he came back and now he’s here to stay.”
“Jade’s ex left,” she said smugly.
“I didn’t say no one in the history of the world has left,” Billie wearily explained. “I’m talking about the people directly in our lives. You can’t have this attitude and fear of people leaving, and you shouldn’t put that pressure on this relationship with Reid. For crying out loud, the guy had a crush on you when you were fifteen and as soon as he comes back to town, he’s still crushing on you. You don’t think that’s impressive? That it doesn’t prove he’s got staying power?”
“When you put it that way…”
“Stop looking for problems, Ash. Please.” Turning, she added some muffins to the bakery case and straightened the platters before speaking again. “Think of how much you like this guy and how good things are going. Focus on how we’re going to get your salon going soon and how great life is going to be.”
Letting out a long breath, she sagged against the counter. “I wish it weren’t taking so long to hear back about the loan. The longer it takes, the more anxious I get and feel like the news is going to be bad.”
“With everything going on here in Sweetbriar, there are a lot of businesses applying for loans. We just need to be patient.”
