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“Reid never runs away from anything,” Leo chimed in. “Trust me. He’s the most loyal guy I’ve ever known. Loyal to a fault. He always has everyone’s back.”
Billie glared at his friend. “Your opinion doesn’t mean a whole lot right now. Avery’s pretty upset with you and your crappy advice, so maybe just stay out of this.”
Leo made a dramatic zipping motion over his lips as he sat back.
“Now you,” she said with her full attention on Reid. “I’m not going to force my sister to talk to you. If she needs time, then you need to give her time.”
He nodded. “I fully agree.”
“However, I also know how stubborn Ashlynn can be and I think you should have a timeline in place for how long you should wait before maybe giving her a little nudge.”
“O-kay…”
“Right now, she’s definitely feeling emotional and vulnerable, but more than anything, I think she’s embarrassed by this entire situation. She stopped coming to work here at the coffee shop because she got tired of people commenting on whether or not she was guilty.” She paused for a moment. “I almost wish something else would happen to get everyone to focus on something else.”
“I’m sure everyone’s talking about Becky and Sandy being arrested and how Ashlynn was cleared,” he reasoned. “Isn’t that enough?”
“It might be, but it’s still talking about the fire and…” Pausing, she sighed. “Everyone who came in this morning wanted to talk to me about it so I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like when Ash goes out today. I’d kill for some good gossip right now. Like someone making a complete spectacle of themselves to shift the focus.”
They sat in silence for a few moments when inspiration hit.
“If I give Ashlynn the rest of the weekend, do you think Monday is too soon to approach her to talk?”
“I’m not sure. Why?”
“Let’s just say I might have the perfect spectacle in mind.”
Billie’s smile was slow, but he could tell she was intrigued. “Anyone in particular going to be involved?”
“Just tell me if Monday is too soon,” he replied vaguely.
“I’m totally on board with groveling publicly to Avery if that’s what you have in mind,” Leo offered.
“Dude, you’re going to grab her a cup of her favorite coffee and maybe a brownie or two and go over and grovel right now,” Reid said firmly. “There’s no way you’re waiting any longer on that. She knows Ashlynn’s okay, and you can clearly see that I’m fine and that your advice totally sucked.”
“Damn. That was a little harsh,” he mumbled.
“No, he’s right,” Billie agreed. “Your advice was terrible. Like you shouldn’t even be allowed to talk to people without checking with Avery first. Trust me.”
With a huff of annoyance, Leo stood. “Then if you’ll both excuse me, it appears my groveling plans have moved up.” Then he grinned at Reid. “And good luck.”
“Thanks, man. You too.”
When it was just him and Billie again, he felt oddly confident. “I’m not sure what I’ll do if Ashlynn reaches out before Monday, but…”
“I’ll take care of that. We’re supposed to go over to the salon today once I’m done here. I can get Chloe, Jade, and Levi involved to keep her busy all weekend. But on Monday, you’re on your own.”
He nodded. “I do have to work, but if you can make sure she’s at the salon around four, I’ll take care of the rest.”
She was silent for a moment. “Look, Reid, I’m sure you’re a good guy, but you need to know that we’re not big on trust in our family. I know Ash has shared our family history with you so I’m not going to bore you with it. If she’s willing to give you a second chance, then you better make damn sure that you don’t mess it up. I’m very protective of my siblings, and I don’t like it when someone hurts them.”
“Understood.”
With her arms folded, she certainly didn’t look like she was ready to trust him just yet.
“If you’re looking for some sort of guarantee, Billie, I can’t honestly give you one. All I can give you is my word that I’m going to do everything in my power to prove to Ashlynn that I love her and that I’m in this for the long haul.” He laughed softly. “And until she’s willing to sit and listen…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know.” She got to her feet and stared down at him. “Monday at four. And I don’t even want to know what you have planned…just make sure it’s something that’s going to get the people around here talking about something other than Lavish Locks.”
