Page 6 of Mountain Reclaiming

Her eyes widen, jaw dropping. “How is that possible? Have you seen you?” Her mouth snaps shut, and her eyes squeeze closed as soon as the words leave her mouth.

The blonde-haired nurse in blue scrubs wheeling her chair chuckles as we enter an exam room.

I can’t help my grin or teasing her. “Well, I do look in the mirror now and again, but I’m not sure what you mean.”

The nurse clears her throat. “Just need to get some vitals from the patient. Are you good with him here?” she asks Ash. “I can kick him out if you want.”

“Hey now. There’s no need for that,” I protest.

Ash looks at me through lowered lashes. I'm pretty sure she’s not meaning to be provocative in the least, but the look has my groin tightening.

She sighs. “He’s fine.”

The doctor comes in then, ordering X-rays after a quick examination of Ash’s ankle, which is a mottling of black and blue and the size of a softball. I stay with her every step of the way. We reminisce about our high school days and all the time we spent together. It’s as if no time at all has passed, and we fall into the easy conversation we had so often back then.

We catch up with each other’s lives while we wait for results. I shouldn’t be so happy to hear about her getting laid off, or her sister’s husband leaving her in the lurch, but I can’t help it. All that happening brought her back here. The girl she was had been my best friend, but there was no doubt I could easily fall for the woman she is now.

It’s that thought that gives me pause. Our lives are filled with family obligations currently. Starting a relationship is the last thing either of us needs, but the pull I feel with Ash is going to be damn hard to resist. Honestly, I don’t know how much I really want to try in the first place. She’s most likely only here until she finds a new job, and there’s no chance of it being in Coyote Creek.

Last time neither of us were ready for what getting physical would’ve entailed. We were too young, and even as a horny teenager, I knew it would’ve messed us up to get involved like that when I was leaving.

We’re no longer kids, though, and that changes things.

Maybe she’d be up for extending our friendship to include benefits. That way we wouldn’t have to worry about the expectations of a relationship.

She deserves more than that, but I’m not sure I’m strong enough to walk away from temptation this time.

Chapter Five

Ashlynn

“Don’t be mad at me,” Paisley weirdly announces, flopping down next to me on the couch, where I’ve been spending my time since I sprained my ankle.

My brows furrow. “Why would I be mad at you? What’d you do?”

Her face scrunches, and she squeezes one eye shut before replying, “I got called in for an extra shift.”

“Oookay, and why would that make me mad? It’s not like I have plans or can do anything with my ankle like this.”

“Well, it’s only been two days, and you’re not getting around that well with the crutches and all. Cash gave me his number when he dropped you off Saturday and told me if we needed anything to let him know. So, he’s going to be here in an hour to help you with the kids tonight.” She rushes out the last sentence so it takes me a minute to process it.

“Why? I can handle it,” I pout.

She arches an eyebrow at me. “Really? It takes you five minutes to get from here to the bathroom. Those two would burn the house down before you could stop them. I love my kids, but they’re too much for someone on the mend. We should probably get you up and going so you can sponge off before he gets here. You kinda stink, and I still gotta get ready .”

I gasp at her audacity, but doing so gives me a good whiff of the stench surrounding me. Getting clean has been too much work, so I’ve been putting it off. Now I have no choice, unless I text Cash and tell him not to come. But honestly, it probably wouldn’t be safe for me to watch the hooligans by myself.

“Fine, help me up. You are such a pain in the ass. I can’t believe you called him.”

“Pfff. You know you’re going to end up thanking me for it. You’ve always had stars in your eyes when it came to Cash. Life has thrown you back together, and you’d better take advantage of it. He’s so freaking hot now, I’d be all over him if he didn’t still have eyes for you.”

This earns her an eye roll as she helps me hobble down the hall. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. He was always out of my league. Now he’s in a completely different galaxy.”

“Ash, I love you, but you’ve always been stupid when it comes to how you view yourself.”

“Yeah, well, I’m only saying what other people are thinking or have said.”

“Well then, those people are stupid as well, and you shouldn’t listen to stupid people. I saw how he looked at you, and it gave me shivers. Don’t let what other people have said in the past steal something from you now.”