"She's like thirteen or so. Anyway, I met her in the bathroom." Ashton nodded, encouraging me to keep going, so I did. "She's got a few cat scratches across her lower belly, just above the waistband. Told her how to make them stop bleeding quickly. Then I find her sitting next to Luke. That's hisdaughter!"
He leaned forward and dropped his voice. "Know why she's cutting?"
"I'm gonna find out."
"Vi, leave it alone. That's not your problem, and do you really think Mr. Hunk-of-the-Month would ignore it?"
I took a deep breath, fighting back my desire to snap at him. "I think it's real easy to hide, especially when she's around the age that Dad shouldn't be looking at her undressed. All I did was invite her to spend some time swimming. Not a big deal."
"Mhm. And you just got someone else pushing him to come spend more time with you."
"So I have an agenda. Sue me. I honestly want to make sure she has someone to talk to and show her that sometimes other people are wrong.”
"Ok," he said, shoving my last fry into his mouth. "At least eat a couple more bites of that sandwich?"
I took one just to make him shut up. Ashton chuckled. I wasn't fooling him, but he didn't seem to care.
"Chew," he insisted, "and decide if you need me to stay a few more days. I'm pretty sure we don't have any major shows coming up, and I can always design from here."
I shook my head, swallowing the mouthful of meat and bread. "I think Luke's more likely to bring her over if you aren't here. I just wish you'd been able to at least apologize to him before you fly out - even if you aren't sorry."
"I'm sorry I made you mad, so that's close enough." He opened his mouth to say something else, then closed it, shooting me a warning look.
A split second later, Luke and Faith stopped at the end of our table. The girl was smiling but her dad stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders. His eyes landed on Ashton.
"Faith really wants to come, so I'll see what I can work out," he said.
"If you really don't mind," Faith added.
But Luke was still looking at Ashton, and my best friend knew it. "Not my place, so don't ask me. Just here for a visit and to help her unpack."
I saw Luke's jaw tense, so I told Faith, "I really don't mind. I love swimming, and it's always more fun with company." I looked up, hoping Luke caught the double meaning.
But he was still glaring at Ashton. Yeah, this wasn't going to sort itself out as easily as I’d hoped, and it wasn't exactly a chat to have in front of the kid. Trying to explain to Faith why Luke had walked in on me with Ashton taking photos? That wasn't a story I wanted to get around, and daughters had a tendency to tell their mothers, who told their friends.
"I'm sorry about earlier," Ashton told Luke. "I’ve been trying to catch you to say that, but it didn't work out. I was out of line, and you're right."
"Cool." Then Luke bent to his daughter's ear. "I promised your mom I'd have you back at a decent hour, then I gotta go feed the horses."
"Can I help?"
"Not this time, cupcake. Maybe later you can teach Miss Dawson how to ride. Think Cricket would be nice to her?"
"Yeah. So does that mean I can ride Storm?"
He chuckled. When Luke looked at his little girl, the rest of the world vanished. Watching him, I decided that he must be the perfect father. He made a face like he was thinking about it, then nodded.
"Sure. You're a pretty good cowgirl, so I don't see why not. Just don't let him get away with anything. If I have to retrain him, I'll make you help."
"Deal." Faith looked back to their table. "I hope I see you soon, Miss Dawson."
"Just Violet," I told the girl. "Nice to meet you, Faith. Bye Luke."
He flicked his eyes back, dipped his head, and mumbled, "Later."
Stalling, I took one more bite of my sandwich, fighting the urge to twist in my seat and watch them leave, but that was Ashton's job. Gran may have taught me good manners, but Ashton had taught me how to be sneaky and always give the right impression. When he didn't say anything, I took another. When he still didn't say anything, I kicked him under the table.
"They're in the truck," he told me, "but just right there, so stop kicking me, woman."
