Page 101 of Wish You Were Mine

I shivered. He sounded numb, and now that the adrenaline was beginning to seep from my limbs, I realized just how cold I was too. Despite the acrid smell of smoke in the air, and the dying embers of the fire, snow continued to fall around us. I could hardly feel the tips of my fingers, so I buried them in my palms, hoping to thaw them.

“You…and Summer?” Brenda was stunned. “You two are together? Is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes.” I forced myself to confirm it, since Asher didn’t seem capable of much other than holding Cookie and staring at his house.

“That’s wonderful!”

Before I could dodge, I found myself squeezed in a tight hug. Brenda was soft and comforting, and it was all I could do not to bury my face in her shoulder. Mum hugs were the best. She kissed my cheek and let me go, then floundered when she realized she couldn’t repeat the process on Asher because he was holding Cookie.

“You’re happy?” I asked, pleasantly surprised. It’s not that I thought she wouldn’t approve, but I hadn’t expected a celebration either.

“I’m thrilled for you both.” She wrapped her arm around her husband Garth’s waist. “We’ve been waiting for Asher to settle down for years, and I know he wouldn’t be dating you unless he thought you were the one.”

Her words warmed me, although not enough to dispel the ache from my fingers.

“This is lovely and all,” Nate said, looking like he thought it anything but, “but we need to get down to the police station and take statements. Asher and Summer, you’ll both need to come. “Parks, I’ll catch you later today.”

Parks nodded.

“Can we come along and wait for them to be done?” Brenda asked, clutching a handful of Garth’s jacket. “I don’t want to leave my baby alone during such a stressful time.”

“You can come to Mum and Dad’s place,” Liam said before anyone else could reply. “Invite Frannie too. We’ll all wait there together.”

Brenda hesitated. “Heather won’t mind? I’d hate to put her out.”

Nate snorted. “Mum loves guests. Liam is right. You should wait there.”

“Okay, then.”

Asher snapped to attention and looked at his mother. “Could you take Cookie please?”

Brenda softened. “Of course.”

He shifted the cat into her arms, and then he and I followed Nate off the property.

“I’ll drive,” I told Asher.

“Thanks.” He passed me the keys. “I think I’m experiencing symptoms of shock.”

I got into the driver’s seat—the door was still open—and turned the key in the ignition. He circled the hood and got in the other side.

“Once we’re at the police station, I’ll get a hot drink and a snack from the vending machine. Hopefully that will be enough.”

“Hopefully.” I kind of wanted to wrap him in a blanket and coddle him, but I doubted he’d appreciate that. “I’m glad your mum was so happy to hear we’re dating.”

I waited for Nate to pull out onto the road, and then followed close behind him.

“Me too.” He laid his hand on my thigh. “I knew she would be though. She adores you, and if you give her a chance at getting more grandchildren, she’ll love you even more.”

“Thank God.” The last thing we needed was for any other family members to kick up a fuss. “I’m sorry my brothers haven’t been as accepting.”

He grunted. “I wouldn’t expect them to. I knew I wasn’t what they wanted for you, and I started dating you anyway, so I have to be prepared to face the consequences. Besides, it’s fair enough for Liam to point out the fact that you having a crush on me for years does make it a little imbalanced. But I’m so far gone on you, you never have to worry about me taking advantage of that.”

“I know.” I felt a pang at the reminder that he hadn’t always returned my interest, but I tamped it down and focused on the part I could do something about.

Apparently, my brothers thought I needed a boring, predictable man in my life. That didn’t surprise me, considering I’d intentionally used my dating life to aggravate them in the past. I was just so tired of them thinking of me as their baby sister.

I was a grown woman with a thriving business and my own home. If they wanted to talk about what I needed, I’d be happy to enlighten them that the only thing I needed was for them to respect my right to make my own decisions.

---