“Yes. I’m listening.”
“Good. Do you have an answer?”
I shook my head. “Now. I’m listening now.”
Cal nodded and took of his glasses to rub his temples. “You have a problem, Bonnie, and I’m offering to help. Do you want that help or don’t you?”
Luckily, the arrival of the other two Ashby sons interrupted our conversation, and I flashed a victorious grin.
“This isn’t over.”
“Seems like it is,” I sang back just before Jasper and Virgil entered the kitchen, both pretending not to be surprised to find us having breakfast together.
“We need your help,” Jasper said, not sparing a glance for me. “A few hours, tops.”
Cal looked at me. “We’ll pick this up later,” he said and turned to his brothers. “Let’s go.”
As soon as they were on the other side of the door, I got up and rinsed the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher. I hadn’t decided for certain to stay but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t treat this place like it was my own.
Alone with my thoughts was the last place I wanted to be today, especially after everything that went down last night. So, I went upstairs to grab my purse with a plan to spend the day job hunting any and everywhere that was hiring or thinking about hiring.
Before my foot hit the bottom of the staircase, the doorbell sounded and then the door opened. Another Ashby.
“Bonnie, just the woman I was looking for. How are you?”
“I’ve been better Kat. How are you?”
She shrugged, her smile genuine and friendly. “I’m the same as I always am. Busy. But I didn’t go through some serious shit last night, so cut the crap and tell me how you’re doing. For real.”
“I’m fine, Kat. Honestly. A little shaken up and anxious, a little off kilter too. But I’ll be fine.” I had to be. There were no safety nets or cushions to catch me from another hard fall.
“I’m sorry about that shit you went through. It’s never easy.” She wrapped me in a soft hug that brought tears to my eyes, so I pulled back.
“Sorry,” she said through a watery laugh. “The boys suffer my hugs, and Maisie is a hugger so I guess I got excited.”
“No, it was nice,” I insisted. “I just wasn’t expecting it.” Maisie offered the only physical kindness I’d received since that monster had his hands all over me. Touching me intimately. I shivered at the gross memory. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. Feel your feelings, however they come out. It’s necessary. Trust me.”
I didn’t know why, but I did trust her. “I will, Kat. Thanks.”
“Anytime. What are you up to? Hang on… Hello?” The call interrupted whatever she was about to say, and I was grateful, as nice and welcoming as Kat was, I wanted to be alone. To weigh my options. Decide my future. Get high.
“Sorry Bonnie, raincheck? Emergency at the office.” I nodded my agreement and watched Kat rush off in her gorgeous red heels that were a bright pop of color against her all black pantsuit.
That gorgeous suit that was fashion forward and office appropriate. It was also a glaring reminder of the hard right my life and career had taken recently. No job. No money.
No prospects.
And I felt like crap.
I wanted something—a pill—strong enough to take the pain away, to dull my senses without blurring the edges, but I was determined to prove to Cal—and to myself—that I wasn’t an addict. I didn’t need pills most of the time, I just wanted them. But sometimes the pain got so bad that I wasn’t sure I’d make it through the day without dying from it. The pills helped ease that agony. They weren’t a crutch and I wasn’t dependent. I was a casual user at best.
So instead of going out, I grabbed the laptop Maisie had let me borrow, put on my bikini and spent the day by the pool sending out resumes.
Chapter Twelve
Cal
“What the fuck is going on, Virgil?” They’d pulled me away from an important conversation with Bonnie for me to sit around and do nothing.
“Calm down, Cal. We’ll get you back to your girlfriend soon enough.” Virgil flashed a playful smile, but I wasn’t in the mood.
“Just ‘cause I’m not sticking my dick in her, doesn’t mean it wasn’t important.” I shook my head, pacing in front of the stone façade wall that hid a secret passageway under Ashby Manor. “What the fuck is going on?”
He sighed. “Savannah Rhymer is in there…answering some questions.” My eyes went wide but Virgil didn’t seem disturbed at all.
“Did you get anything from her?”
He shook his head, gaze focused off in the distance, but I knew that calm demeanor was just for show. Virgil was always on. Always ready to brawl. “Not yet, but Jasper’s in there asking questions with Ma and Lance acting as back up.” It didn’t take a genius to figure out what Virgil wasn’t saying.