Chapter Four – Asher
I was standing in the middle of a room I’d been in a dozen times or so, but it looked nothing like I remembered. Here I was in my best friend’s vacation home, the same friend that helped me buy the house next door and looking at his daughter as if she wasn’t his daughter.
Jesus, when did she grow up?
The last image I had of Addison in my mind was at the beach. That was like a couple of years. Right? Now that I thought about it, it was about seven or eight years ago. Right when the tremors in my hand began.
Now here I was watching Harlan’s daughter wander over to the bathroom down the hall. She looked nothing like I remembered. Nothing like the little girl I used to keep when her parents went out for a romantic dinner together. This girl looked more like a woman. A woman I didn’t recognize and wished that she didn’t resemble the child I knew.
Jesus fucking Christ. Was I watching every hobbled step she took with her delicate ankles?
Every protective instinct in me broke free and I rushed forward and scooped Addison in my arms, her body tucked against my chest as I moved toward the bathroom.
Why did holding her this way seem so. . .right?
“What are you doing?” she exclaimed as she tried to wiggle free from my arms.
“Helping you. What does it look like?”
“Like you think I’m not capable of walking on my own.”
“I’m well aware you can do it on your own.”
Gently I sat her on the white marble counter with her legs dangling over the edge.
“Let me wash my hands and I’ll take a look,” I explained to Addison regarding her leg.
“Good luck.”
“What do you mean?”
Addison made a weird noise, something between a growl and a sigh, as she narrowed her eyes at me. “You can’t wash your hands because there is no water. Which, if you hadn’t been such an asshole, I could have explained to you.”
“So you weren’t just standing in my outdoor shower getting your fill?” I said cockily. Did I care that she saw me naked? Not really. I’d graced enough magazine covers wearing barely anything, so it didn’t make me uncomfortable. But the fact that it was Addison who had watched me was what made it weird.
“Don’t be an ass. I wasn’t staring.”
Oh, she definitely had been. Despite the steam in the room and the water dripping from my hair, I’d noticed the way her eyes drank me in.
Jokingly I added, “Watch your language or I’ll have to tell your father.”
Her face paled at the mention of her dad and I wondered if there was a story there. The more I thought about it, Harlan was the kind of father that would have given me a heads up about Addison’s arrival. He’d have asked me to open up the house and make sure I kept my eyes on her.
“I’m twenty-four, Asher. I can cuss if I want to. And my parents don’t know that I’m here. I’m hoping to keep it that way.”
“Why?” I asked, her injury now pushed to the back burner.
“Just. . .because. Okay? Can you drop it?”
“For now.”
She rolled her big brown eyes and huffed.
“Are you going to help me get the water turned on or not? Otherwise, you can leave. I can tend to my leg myself. I’m a big girl.”
I asked her to give me a minute and made my way down to the lower level of the cabin, assuming that the water cut-off was in the same place as mine. Stepping into the utility room, I found the switch and twisted the handle. My insurance had suggested turning off the water when the house wasn’t in use to prevent any flooding. I assumed Harlan’s insurance told him the same.
As I made my way back to the bathroom, I could hear Addison’s sultry voice echoing down the hall. Even as a young girl, I remember her having a strong tone and I wondered why she didn’t follow in her father’s footsteps. But I suspected fame wasn’t something that she was after.