Page 22 of Hauling Ashe

“How goes the road?” she teases after greeting me.

“I don’t know how you work for him.”

“Mr. Ashford?”

“Call him fucking Tucker. That’s his name.”

“Actually, at the office he goes by Ashe with an e from Volde-Mach.” How had I not known this nickname for Tucker? And why isn’t my sister calling him such a name? Then, I chuckle at another one of her labels for Mach.

“Anyway…” she drones.

“He’s so hot and cold.” Do I admit to my sister that one minute he’s flirty and the next he’s like a frozen pizza?

“He’s had a lot go on in his life.” Jane defends Tucker’s behavior.

“Haven’t we all? And just what does that mean?”

“I don’t think I should be the one to tell you. Just give him time. He’ll open up.”

Sure, he will and then he’ll slam the door in my face as he has with each hint into who he is.

“How is the trip?” Jane asks when I remain silent.

“Horrible.” We’ve bypassed so many places I wanted to stop and explore, not to mention my spirit trip to reflect on all things isn’t quite how I envisioned it going. Horrible might be too strong a word, but I am frustrated. “I just don’t understand him. Sure, he’s nice to look at, but how can he be so aloof underneath that pretty skin?”

“Oh, are we back to talking about Tucker?” Jane teases. “Careful Mae.”

“What’s there to be careful about?”

“Don’t go falling in love with him.”

I scoff. “Of course not.” I sound exactly like him. Love is the furthest thing from my mind. “I’d like to throttle him instead.”

“What was that? Thrust with him?” Jane laughs and the sister I recognize comes through the line. Not that passive creature saying yes sir, and calling Tucker Mr. Ashford, but the lighthearted woman underneath her power suits.

I laugh as well and recall Tucker’s reaction when I told him about Adam. I stayed married because I was afraid to leave, at first. I was afraid Adam and his family would take from me all I’d built. Mae’s Flowers had my name on it. The garden center had my heart and sweat in it. I didn’t want to lose my business even if I lost my husband.

And Adam wasn’t only a liar and a cheat, but also a thief; however, I didn’t share that part with Tucker. It was hard enough admitting my husband had not one but two public affairs. In a small town, news travels, but somehow, I hadn’t gotten the broadcast. I’d had my suspicions of the first infidelity but never had proof. When the second one occurred, Adam wasn’t half as circumspect. The red in our financials proved his doings. My then-manager Pam was the one to catch the discrepancies. She wasn’t an accountant by trade and even second guessed herself at first, but she did the bookkeeping, and the bottom line was that Adam had stolen money from the company to pay for his extra-marital activities.

When Tucker told me I deserved better than Adam, the comment almost brought me to my knees, and on those knees, I’d have begged him to kiss me. For a minute, I thought he might meet my mouth with his, or at least pull me into a tight embrace, holding me against his firm chest. I would have settled for a hug. However, he didn’t do anything but keep me at arm’s length and give me sweet reassurance.

My eyes track toward the window where I have a view of Tucker’s room. Narrowing my gaze, I notice a car parked before number four and Tucker steps out the door. He leans toward the dark car I can’t distinguish and then hops into the backseat. What is it with him and the backseat? As the car circles through the small parking lot, I step back from the window but watch as the driver pulls onto the street.

Is he going to dinner after all? Is he going out on the town? Is he leaving the motel to stay someplace else? Is he finding another ride to take him to California?

“Jane.” I choke on my sister’s name. “I think he just ditched me.”

“What? He wouldn’t do that. He just checked in with Mach.” Surprisingly, she calls Mr. Wright Mach behind his back but doesn’t do the same with Tucker. On that note, how does Jane know Tucker checked in and what is she doing with Mach this late at night?

“Are you still at work?”

“I just had a few things I wanted to finish up.”

“Jane,” I groan. My sister works too hard.

“He didn’t leave you,” Jane says. The wording hits me hard in the chest. There are psychology case studies on little girls and their daddy-abandonment issues. I don’t have those concerns regarding my father, but some might argue I do have anxiety for another reason. While Adam hadn’t physically left me, he’d left our marriage long before it was officially over. I didn’t like to think of my life that way, but the truth was there. I’d been sleeping with my husband, but he wasn’t really mine. He was the selfish one, doing what he wanted, when he wanted. He stole my heart and my hard-earned money.

“How do you know?” I ask, my weak voice cracking. Would Tucker leave the motel for a nicer place to sleep? Would he leave me here to continue on my own? Isn’t that what I’d wanted all along? I wanted to be alone. But did I really?