She collapsed back onto her back. “Your brother doesn’t hate you,” she continued.
Ash crossed one ankle over the other andlaughed. “Is that why his first instinct was to kick the shit out of me after not seeing me for years?”
He didn’t know why he was perpetuating this conversation. Ash hadn’t talked to anyone like this since… Well, he didn’t talk to anyone like this. He played the game, put on his public persona, gave the fans what they wanted, and gave his management team an ulcer. But it felt different when it was only him and her, just like it had four years ago. Even if the real him was a mess, he seemed to be dropping the act around Willow.
“It’s getting dark,” she finally said. “We should probably head back.”
He nodded, grabbed his hat, and climbed to his feet. Then he held out a hand for Willow, and she surprised him by taking it. Once on her feet, she pulled her hand free.
“I’m not the naïve groupie you thought I was four years ago.”
His eyes widened. “Willow, I never thought—”
“Let me finish,” she interrupted.
Ash nodded and closed his mouth.
“For reasons beyond my wildest imagination, we work—as co-writers. But if we’re going to survive as cohabitants too, I need to stop putting so much energy and effort into the Ash Murphy anti-fan club.”
His brows furrowed. “Is that a thing?”
She nodded, expression earnest. “Oh yeah.I’m the founder, president, and social committee chair. We have online meetups every Wednesday night and do a pub crawl the first Saturday of every month.”
Ash stared at her, unblinking, and she left him hanging for several seconds until she finally burst out laughing.
“I know I deserved that,” he admitted. “But you just made me realize that such a club probably does exist, and it’s going to be really hard not to fall into a Google rabbit hole later trying to confirm it.”
She shrugged. “If you sign up with my referral code, it’s half off the joining fee.” Then she strode toward Holiday, leaving him there to wonder…
“You’re kidding, right?” he called after her, following her back to his own horse. “I mean, at least about being president and founder?”
She hopped into her saddle and took a page from the Ash Murphy book, answering him with nothing more than a mischievous wink. Then she nudged Holiday with her heels and took off for the ranch before he even had a chance to untie Midnight from her tree.
When he finally made it back to the ranch, Holiday was already in her stall, no sign of Willow in the barn. He guessed she hadn’t wanted to take her time riding back with him…probably because it was Wednesday, and she had an anti-fan club meetup to attend.
He half expected to find her sitting at the breakfast bar, video chat open to greet the other members. But the house was empty, save for a page ripped from what he guessed was her songwriting notebook stuck to the fridge with a magnet.
Need some space. Heading out to see my brother and Jenna. Rain check on writing for tonight?
He nodded as if they were having an actual conversation. But that seemed to be the last thing Willow wanted. Space was good. Two days with Willow, and he was venturing into dangerous territory…in his head, the kind that made him wonder if her abandoning her hate might be the beginning of something like forgiveness.
Ash’s stomach grumbled, and he pulled out his phone to check the time. Then he opened his texting app and fired off a quick message to Boone before he talked himself out of it.
Ash:How about I pick up dinner for you, me, Casey, and Kara and bring it over?
Why did seeing the flashing ellipses make him more nervous than if his brother didn’t respond at all?
Boone:Will you let Kara paint your nails? Fulldisclosure…she’s 2. She does not stay in the lines.
Ash let out a relieved laugh.
Ash:Was going to get my nails done later this week, so she’s actually saving me a trip. And staying in the lines is so boring.
Boone:See you soon. Pick up whatever you want, but I wouldn’t kick a pizza out of bed. Or an order of garlic knots.
Ash found himself unexpectedly grinning. Did this mean his brother had forgiven him? Did it mean he’d forgiven his brother? Or maybe after their time in the ring and their forced chat—thanks to Willow—they could simply move forward.
One thing Ash knew for sure was that he wouldn’t be eating alone tonight or with anyone who stood to either make or lose money on whatever he said, did, or sang next. He’d be with family, and tonight that sounded better than any crowd cheering him on from below the stage.
