Everly
Asher Riggs is a force.The kind of force that everyone should be so lucky to have in their lives. My father is smart, loving, loud, and always over the top. In all aspects, from his professional life to his hobbies. There’s nothing subtle about Daddy. Most newcomers to Strutt’s Peak assume he’s the mayor, knowing everyone, and spending his time being actively involved in the community, but he’s not. I think when we were in high school, maybe when I was a junior, enough people wrote his name on the ballot for mayor and he won. He declined it, though. He was too invested in building his business. Well, that, and raising four teenagers on his own. It was also the year that he donated enough money to re-turf the football field because Michael and Law decided to hold a horse race with some of Dad's prized thoroughbreds.
You would think he would have torn them a new asshole for that, but instead, he told them he was disappointed, andthatfrom Ash Riggs is far more damaging than any berating or punishment. That’s who he is, though. Respected. Influential. A badass.
He showed up in Strutt’s Peak with a blown tire and met my mother at the diner across the street from the mechanic’s shop. They fell madly in love. And he never left. Even when she did.
“Pumpkin! Get your ass in here. I need help with the fireplace. This damn flue won’t stay open…” My dad’s lower half is the only part I see as I open the door, walking into the oversized living room with a massive fireplace in the center. It’s a spectacular house, and we were lucky enough to grow up in it. Most of the ranch my dad built and upgraded over the years, but this fireplace has been here from the beginning. He says it's what made him pull the trigger on buying. Well, and the acreage and views, of course.
“Pull the lever on that side, and I’ll use the iron poker to hold this piece open. I need to have someone come out here and fix this.”
“Fine, but I’m wearing a white sweater. I better not come out of this with soot all over me.”
“There. All set.” He ducks down and out of the chimney. “No soot. You look like a damn model in that, pumpkin. You have a date later?”
I kiss him on the cheek. “No date. Just wanted to wear a new sweater, that’s all.”
He looks at me with slightly narrowed eyes, wiping his hands on a cloth hanging from his belt, then walks into the kitchen. “So it wouldn’t have anything to do with this Jack guy coming for dinner too?”
“What?! No. I didn’t even know he was coming. And even if I did, no. You should know by now in your old age that women dress for themselves these days, not men.” I’m so clearly caught here. I didn’t know Jack was coming for sure, but I know Law, and I knew he couldn't resist inviting him over to join us.
“Old age.” He huffs. “I’m fifty-four, pumpkin. That’s not old. Hey, where’s my other girl? She didn’t come with you?”
“G? She’ll be here. She was planning on bringing dessert, I think.”
“Good. I haven’t seen her in a bit. I miss that firecracker.”
I grab a glass and pour some water. “You have any lemon slices, Dad?”
“The lemon is for vodka or gin, not water, pumpkin. So, if you want lemon, you need to have a cocktail with youroldman.”
I smile wide and shake my head. There’s no use in putting up a fight that I won’t win. Plus, I could use a drink. “Fine. I’ve been wanting to try your last batch of Limoncello.”
“Excellent choice.” My dad’s full bar is state-of-the-art. Aside from some local brews on tap, it has an ice machine that specializes in pellets, cubes, spheres. Not to mention, most of the cocktails he peddles at guests have some sort of infusion that he’s perfected, like herbs or cedar smoke. He takes his cocktails very seriously.
“This is also a good time to tell you again how proud I am of you.” He holds his drink up in the air as a toast. “You and your brothers made me so damn proud in that board meeting, and I’m genuinely excited to see what this business is going to look like over the next few years with you at the helm. I couldn’t be prouder. Cheers, my darling girl.” With watery eyes, my dad clinks my glass and we toast.
Before I can appreciate the moment, the side door off the kitchen slams open. “You’re not going to just make changes without talking with me first, man. This isn’t how it works, Michael,” Law says loudly as he walks in.
“This is the new plan,” Michael replies plainly. I can’t see them yet, but I can hear them. One of them drops a bunch of bags on the counter.
“Dude, why? Why not just talk to me first, and then we figure it out together? You can’t just call people and tell them they’re not needed. We might still have to pay some of them based on their contracts.”
My dad looks at me in question. I shrug. I have an idea of what they’re talking about, but I have no desire to talk about work right now. “Michael, bring in the firewood by the garage, please.”
I look over my shoulder toward the dining table where Law is putting out bottles of wine for dinner. He looks up at me and shakes his head. “I’m not. I’m not talking about it now, I know. We can discuss later, butsomeonedecided they were going to hijack my plans and not even tell me!” Law blows out a breath. “He just doesn’t talk to me, ya know. I mean, we live in the same damn house, and he won’t talk to me. I gotta find shit out from other people. Ugh…fuck it, never mind.” He makes his way over to Dad, giving him a big hug and slap on the back. “I need one of those. What are you guys drinking?”
“Limoncello.”
He makes a stink face. “Gross. I’ll just do bourbon.”
Dad gets up. “Here, let me pour. Want me to smoke it?”
My attention is pulled toward the kitchen again as Michael strolls in. I raise my eyebrows at him, silently asking him what he’s done now to get Law so worked up.
“You okay?” I ask.
Law cuts in. “Why are you asking if he’s okay? He’s the one fuckingmeover right now.”