Page 139 of Wish You Were Mine

I scrunched my nose. “But I thought he practically disowned her after she ran away with Rocky?”

“The legend says he came to regret the estrangement, and he tried to make contact but never found her, so he left her a sizable inheritance in his will. But—and here’s the intriguing part—she never claimed the inheritance. Her family believes it’s hidden somewhere in Destiny Falls.”

“That’s fascinating.” I struggled to sit upright, and Grace helped me. “Do you think it’s true?” Could there be a secret treasure right here in our little town?

“I doubt it.” She fluffed my pillows. “It’s an interesting story, though.”

The latch on the front door clicked, and I flinched instinctively, my heart leaping. I inhaled slowly and released my breath as I mentally counted to six. I’d been jumpy since I’d woken in the hospital, but hopefully, I’d stop jumping at every noise soon.

“Summer?” Asher called.

“In the bedroom!” I didn’t know why he’d expect me to be anywhere else. He’d asked me not to leave the bed while he delivered a box of “thank you” baked goods to the fire and police stations, and I’d promised I wouldn’t.

He strode in, wearing a peculiar expression.

“What is it?” I asked.

His eyebrows knitted together. “I just had the strangest conversation with Lionel Lowry.”

My gut tightened. “Oh?”

If that grumpy old man had been harassing Asher at a time like this, I’d—

“He apologized.”

My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”

He looked as bewildered as I felt. “He asked after you. Told me you were a good girl and that what happened to you wasn’t right. He said it had forced him to re-evaluate a few things. He’s still angry about what happened but he’s going to try to stop taking it out on me.”

“Huh.” I’d never expected the old farmer to have it in him to see the error of his ways. “Well, that’s good, right?”

“It is.” But Asher seemed uncertain.

“You delivered the treats without any problems?” I prompted, in case he needed something to take his mind off Lionel Lowry.

He nodded distractedly. “I also saw Ashley having a coffee with one of the schoolteachers. They looked pretty cozy.”

“Hopefully, she won’t bother you anymore.” If she did, we’d have to have serious words. I understood being hung up on Asher, but that didn’t excuse poor behavior.

“Yeah.” He visibly pulled himself together and sent Grace a strained smile. “Thanks so much for visiting. Sorry, my head is a bit of a mess at the moment.”

“No problem at all.” She stood and straightened her designer sweater. “It was lovely to see you both. I’d better go pick up Finn.”

She bent to hug me, then touched Asher’s arm on the way out of the bedroom. He took her place on the bed, and for a long moment, he and I just looked at each other.

For some reason, I giggled. He barked out a laugh, then covered his mouth. I giggled again. A stream of laughter burst from him, and he curled over, his shoulders shaking.

“Why are we laughing?” I gasped, unable to stop.

“I have no idea.” Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes. “Maybe all the craziness has finally gotten to us.”

I pressed my lips together and tried to gather myself. Asher did the same, but his forced seriousness only made me start again.

When we finally caught our breath, Asher took my hand and kissed the back of it.

“I love you,” he said. “And I’d really, really like to date you. Without any fires, or gunshots, or poisoning, or excitement. Just you, me, and a nice dinner. What do you think?”

Warmth settled deep within me. “I’d love nothing more.”

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