“Can he do that?” That didn’t seem right. Wasn’t this kind of thing exactly why people made custody arrangements?
“No, he can’t. We have a custody agreement, but when I told him that he said, sue me.” She threw her head back. “Ahh, he’s such an asshole,” she roared.
The people at the next table looked over, and I smiled apologetically.
“What are you going to do?”
When she glanced back at me, her eyes were filled with tears. “I’m going to have to ask Saint Asher to rescue me.” She rubbed a tear that had fallen. “Again.”
Saint Asher? The bite to that comment sounded a bit harsh. “Does Ash help you a lot?”
“Yeah.” She sniffed. “My parents won’t help me at all with money. They’re big on the whole ‘I made my bed; I can lie in it’ philosophy. Which is true, but being a single mom is hard, and Brian screwed me when he left. I just…”
“And Ash rescued you?” I said, using her words, not mine.
“Yeah. He bought me my house.”
“He bought you a house?” I yelled.
“Shh.” Beth glared at me. “Yes, he bought me my house, okay.”
“Wow.”
“I know. He wanted to make sure I didn’t have to depend on Brian, so he bought me this cute little house a couple of blocks from the school. It’s small and old, but…” She smiled. “It’s mine.”
“Oh.” If I wasn’t already a little bit in love with Ash, I definitely would be now. Could the man be any sweeter? “Hang on. That sounds amazing. So why do you sound annoyed to ask him for help? Clearly, he doesn’t mind.”
“No, he doesn’t. Ash isn’t the problem. It’s my parents. You’d think they were the ones who bought me the house. Every time I need anything, I get a lecture about why can’t I be more like Asher? He’s so responsible.” Beth’s eyes filled with unshed tears again. “I’m responsible too. I’m raising three kids. All I do is be responsible.” She blinked back tears. “It’s not like I planned to get pregnant and drop out of school. I did the responsible thing and got married. I’m not the one who cheated. And now I’m a single parent.” She angrily swiped her face. “What about me is not responsible?”
What was I supposed to say? Nothing I could say would help here.
Beth sighed. “Everyone knows Ash is practically a saint. Who the hell can measure up to that? But it doesn’t mean I’m not trying.”
I didn’t think saints did the kinds of things Ash did in the bedroom, but it wasn’t exactly appropriate to say that to his sister. “I’m sure they know that, honey. Ash sure seems to. And from the looks of that rec room he built, he obviously enjoys having the kids around.”
I wrung my hands together under the table. I’d planned on talking to Beth about Ash and me today in person. The kids had been sick last week, so we hadn’t been able to meet, and I hadn’t wanted to tell her over the phone. Now it was over two weeks since Ash and I had gotten together but now didn’t exactly feel like the time to bring up the fact that I was also a little starstruck by Ash and how amazing he was.
“Yeah, he loves having the kids over. But that’s what I mean. Who builds a playroom for their niece and nephews at their house? How am I supposed to compete with that? Of course I don’t measure up by comparison.”
“Who’s comparing you?”
“Everyone.” She looked around. “Every person in this town compares me to Ash.”
“I don’t,” I said, and I meant it. What I felt for Ash had nothing to do with my friendship with Beth. They were completely different people. One was a ride-or-die friend, and the other was the man I was falling in love with. There was no comparing.
I just prayed I didn’t have to pick.
Beth snorted. “Yeah, but that’s because I know where the bodies are buried.”
“True,” I agreed. I grabbed her hand and rested it against the table in mine. “Honey, my point is. Everyone who knows you and Ash loves you both. I don’t imagine there is a single person in this town, besides Brian maybe, who wouldn’t do anything for either of you. It’s not a competition. You’re both amazing people. You need help. Your brother is in a position to help you. So let him.”
Beth closed her eyes and exhaled audibly. After a few breaths, she opened them. “Yeah.” She sighed. “Can we not talk about my brother any more today? Please?”
Crap. Now it felt like I was hiding our relationship from her, and I didn’t want to do that. “Um—” I started, but Beth cut me off.
“Please, no more talk of Ash today. At all.”
I slowly nodded. Clearly this wasn’t the time to tell her anyways. There’d be plenty of time for that.
