“I meant to reach out to you at the funeral. I was there, but it seemed Ashley had everything under control. Are you and him picking up where you last left off?”
I wrinkle my nose. “What’s that supposed to be mean?”
“You’re meeting him here. Word around town is he slept at the cabin with you last night. And I do believe the last time you were here, it was in Ashley’s bed.”
“Word does get around,” I grumble. The fact that everyone knows Ashley spent the night, before I’ve even processed it, is beyond annoying. We’re not sure what we’re doing, but everyone else seems to know.
“It’s a small island, and an even smaller community.”
A waitress comes to our table, and we order drinks. As soon as she leaves, I clasp my hands and place them on the table. “I find it funny everyone knows my business, but I still have no clue what happened with Adam. Where is he?”
Tyson smirks. “Ashley hasn’t told you, obviously. Well, I don’t want to spoil our lunch by being the one to do it. Let’s enjoy our meal. Trust me, you’ll lose your appetite otherwise.”
Our server returns with our drinks, plus Ashley. He takes the seat next to me and scowls at Tyson. I pat his leg with one hand, and with the other, point to the painting on the wall.
“I recognize your work.”
“Thanks,” he clips as he looks at Tyson and then at me. “Have you two been getting caught up?”
“Don’t worry, old pal. I’m not after Sugar. She was only asking me about Adam.”
I bite the inside of my cheek as the tension comes off Ashley. Tyson may have cleaned up and gotten his life together, but he’s still an asshole. I really don’t want Ashley thinking I have feelings for Adam, but I can’t help but wonder what happened. Why not just tell me?
I shift in my seat. “I wouldn’t be so curious if you’d just tell me.” I speak only to Ashley.
“Fine. Let’s step outside and I’ll tell you.” His chair scrapes along the floor as he abruptly stands. Tyson chuckles and raises his eyebrows at me as if to say good luck.
Anxiety and nerves prickle along my skin. Last time I went looking for answers, that summer ended in disaster. Obviously, these answers are not going to be pleasant, if Tyson’s facial expression is any indication.
I follow Ashley out of the restaurant and then down by the shoreline. The water is so calm, and there’s a cool, gentle breeze. It seems so at odd with the energy radiating off the man next to me.
“Adam went to prison for a year. He’s back but different. It’s all my fault.” Ashley won’t look at me. He keeps staring at the water, his reflection angry.
“You’re going to have to give me more details than that.”
“Adam, Lennox, and Tyson were partying, chasing women, getting into trouble in every way possible on this small island. He’d get arrested. I’d bail him out. And the final time was when he got mixed up with a married woman. Assaulted her husband and then took off in a drunken rage. Could’ve killed someone or himself. I didn’t bail him out. I didn’t help him lawyer up. They sent him away longer than I expected, but I figured it would be good for him. It made the other guys wake up, so I helped them. Zuri got accepted into a university. As horrible as it sounds, my parents finally drank themselves to their grave, so that was, in a way, a relief not to have to constantly worry about them. But Adam…”
Ashley’s shoulders drop lower as his head hangs. “Adam was different when he was released. It wasn’t a wake-up call. A reason to get his life straight as I’d hoped. He was angry. Resentful. And he blamed me for everything. There’s so much I can’t take back. I shouldn’t have stood by and allowed him to go to prison. I ruined Adam.”
“Adam is still around?”
“Yes. But you’ll barely recognize him. I didn’t know how to tell you, because when you see him, you’ll hate me. I did this to him. I didn’t help him get a good enough lawyer. I let them give him the max penalty. He hates me. I’ve destroyed him. I helped everyone else and then allowed my brother to miss his own parents’ funeral, his sister’s graduation, and now he’s worse off than what he was.”
I take a moment to stare at the man before me. He’s so broken. He really believes after everything, after all he has done over the years, that this is his fault. “Ashley King, you really are a blind and foolish man.”
“Excuse me?”
“When are you going to stop blaming yourself for what other people do? You’ve helped Adam all his life. He committed his own crimes, and he had to be the one to pay for them. Not you. You’ve been paying for his recklessness for years. Stop. Just stop.”
“You’re not mad at me because you haven’t seen him.”
“Then take me to him.” Ashley starts to step away, but I grab his arm to stop him. “After our plans. Let’s not spoil a good day just yet. I promised you we’d go out on the rapids today.”