Steal My Heart - J.H. Croix Page 0,2

Ash, I’d have said she was like a sister. Except nothing about the way my body was reacting to her felt sisterly now. Not even a little. Her brother was one of my closest friends. Growing up, my younger sisters hung out with Ash all the time. On any given week, we were bouncing between houses, close enough that she felt like family.

When I’d looked up and seen her on that stage earlier, she’d taken my breath away as she belted out song after country song. Once the initial shock of seeing her passed, I expected my body’s hyper-awareness to fade, but it wasn’t fading. Not at all.

“Do you want to tell me what the hell happened, Ash?” I pressed.

She dropped the twisted napkin on the table and picked up another one to torture. “You know I was kind of seeing Kyle, right?”

“I’m not up on the gossip, Ash. I haven’t been back to Stolen Hearts Valley since last Christmas. I didn’t hear much other than you were traveling, playing gigs, and doing veterinarian work for the rodeo circuit. If I recall, you met some guy who brought you along to start with.”

Ash nodded. “That’s basically it. Anyway…” Ash licked her lips, and her lashes swept against her cheeks when she closed her eyes. Opening them again, she brushed her long brown hair off her shoulders and shrugged before her cheeks went a little pink again. “It’s kind of embarrassing. It’s not like I ever thought Kyle took me seriously, and I didn’t want anything serious. But I got sick of him making me look like a fool. I woke up one day, and he was gone. Again. I just decided I was done with it. I sold my car about six months ago to front him a little cash. We were traveling together, so it didn’t seem like a big deal. Anyway, I’m done with that, and I’m going home.”

“Why didn’t you call Jackson for help? You know he’d do anything for you.”

“I know,” she began slowly, lifting a shoulder in a small shrug, “but Jackson told me more than once that he thought Kyle was taking advantage of me. It’s not like I pinned my hopes on Kyle. I didn’t. After my wedding blew up with Brian, well, I was done with romance. And now I’m also done with looking like a fool.”

I watched Ash for a moment as she kept fiddling with the napkin before finally dropping it and draining her coffee. At that moment, the waitress paused at our table with a pot of coffee and a bright smile. “How are you two doing?”

“I could use some more coffee,” Ash replied.

“Same,” I added.

The waitress filled our drinks and continued on to check on another table.

Ash lifted her head, weariness in her features. “I’ll hitch a ride with you. No sense in arguing about it. The thing is, I don’t have much to put toward hotels. The money I earned tonight is all I have. There’s one thing, though.”

“What’s that?”

“Since I needed some cash, I booked some gigs to float me on the trip. It’s not exactly a straight line back to Stolen Hearts.”

I had so many questions, but I held every single one of them inside. I could see in the set of Ash’s shoulders and the subtle shadows in her eyes that she was embarrassed and most definitely didn’t want to explain further.

“Okay. I’m not on a tight timeframe. I was already taking care of my hotels, so that’s no biggie,” I said, keeping my tone light. “Where do we need to go on the way back?”

Ash stared at me for a long moment. “If we take I-90 up north and then head south after we get to Niagara Falls, that’ll take me everywhere I need to go.”

“That’ll work. Heard that’s a pretty drive.”

Ash nodded, and I could practically see the wheels spinning in her brain. Finally, she said, “I’ll pay you back. I just need to get back to Stolen Hearts Valley and get back to work at the vet clinic.”

She and her brother were veterinarians. They’d started a clinic together on their family’s old farm, which had been renovated into an outdoor adventure place for tourists looking to escape to the wilderness in comfort. In addition to that, they ran a rescue program for animals, so the vet clinic was a good fit.

Ash closed her eyes before leaning back in the booth, her brown hair a contrast to the bright red vinyl seats.