The Billionaire's Bride by Elana Johnson

Author:Elana Johnson [Johnson, Elana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AEJ Creative Works
Published: 2018-10-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Ash climbed the front steps to her childhood home, noting the way the rain gutter had separated from the roof. It dipped in a strange way, and she made a mental note to call Leo about it. He could come fix it, or he’d at least know who to call to come fix it.

She knocked and eased open the door. “Mom?” The interior of the house was still pretty dark, though the glorious Hawaiian sun had started to rise and paint the island in gold morning light.

The scent of burnt coffee met her nose, but she couldn’t decide if it was from this morning or yesterday. “Mom?” she called again.

A noise thunked from the back of the house, and Ash thought for a moment she should take something with her. Maybe an animal had gotten in the house or something. She liked dogs and cats just fine, but anything more than that, and she’d rather be armed.

Unfortunately, her mother’s living room was void of weapons or tools. So Ash called, “Mom?” for the third time and went around the corner into the kitchen. The coffee was definitely from this morning, as the red light on the maker was shining brightly. A mug sat on the counter beside it, along with the sugar bowl, but her mom was not there.

Ash switched off the coffee maker and moved around the corner again and into the mud room, walking quickly now. Sometimes her mom liked to go outside in the early morning hours before it got too hot. The yard didn’t look nearly as good as it once had, but she did the best she could, and it made her happy.

Leo had suggested a gardening service once, and their mother had gotten upset. Said, “You can’t take everything away from me just because I’m sick.”

So Ash and Leo had let her keep doing the yard work.

Another thunk sounded as Ash pushed through the back door, and then another as her mom tossed another red potato into a bucket. “There you are,” Ash said, putting a smile on her face.

Her mom glanced up, the color of her face impossible for Ash to determine under the wide brim of her sun hat. “Oh, I missed your call, didn’t I?”

“It’s okay, Mom.” Ash moved out into the sunlight and approached the garden. “how are the potatoes?”

“These are a bit small.” Her mom looked down at the ground and sighed as if a poor red potato crop was the worst thing to happen to her. As Ash got closer, she could see her mom looked good today, with good color in her face.

Ash wrapped her arms around her mom and gave her a tight hug. Her mom patted her on the back with her dirty gardening gloves and said, “You okay, Ashy?”

She wasn’t sure why she felt like someone had poured gelatin inside her whole body. But she trembled and quaked as if they had. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Your wedding was last week, wasn’t it?”

If only, Ash thought, though she knew what her mom was referencing.

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