Page 52 of The Baxters
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The ride home with her parents was light and full of a happiness Ashley had missed. The music of the evening still rang in her heart and soul. Ashley sat next to Erin, Cole strapped in his car seat between them. Their parents in the front seat.
Outside, another storm was building. Lightning flashed in the far distance, and on the radio there was talk of a tornado coming later that night. Ashley wasn’t worried. For now it wasn’t even raining.
She leaned back in her seat and sighed. “That was actually a lot of fun.”
“Kari looked happy.” Her mom angled herself so she could see Ashley. “Seems like it all worked out after all.”
“I knew it would.” Erin smiled. “Kari really loves Tim.”
“She does.” Ashley nodded. The idea was growing on her. “I always pictured her with Ryan Taylor. But maybe it was just me wanting that for her.”
Their dad grinned at them through the rearview mirror. “We all prayed for Kari, that she would know whether Tim was the one.” He returned his gaze to theroad ahead of them. “God made the answer clear. Tonight was proof.”
Even now, with not a bit of tension in the air, Ashley had to resist the urge to remind her dad of one thing: They weren’tallpraying. Ashley hadn’t prayed in forever. She still hadn’t found a reason to believe in God again. She didn’t need one. Life was better without Him.
But she kept that to herself. No need to spoil the moment.
“By the way.” Ashley’s mom looked back at her again. “I asked Landon to come by the house for the after-party.”
And just like that the mood was ruined.
Shock worked its way through Ashley. “Are you kidding?” She leaned forward. “Mom, why? You didn’t even ask me.”
On the other side of the seat, Erin looked out her passenger window. Cole was asleep, but he stirred at the sound of Ashley’s angry voice.Deep breath,she told herself. She forced herself to be quieter. Nothing about this was okay.
“Landon is like family, Ashley.” Her mother didn’t back down. “There was no time to catch up at the wedding. I asked him to stop by. It’s no big deal.”
No big deal?Anger seeped into her veins like a drug. “You know how things have been between us. I really can’t believe this, Mom.”
“Watch your tone.” Her dad’s voice remained calm. But he gave her a sharp look in the mirror. “Let the guybe your friend, Ashley. He never did anything to deserve the way you treat him.”
“The way I—?” She didn’t finish her question. What was the point? Landon was coming to the house and obviously expecting to spend the next few hours visiting. As if they hadn’t been apart nearly every day for the past three years.
A thick tension hung in the car now, the lighthearted air from earlier gone for good. Ashley looked out her window and dropped the conversation.
Her dad tried one more time. “Your mother is only doing what she feels is best, Ashley. You have to see that.”
“Fine.” She didn’t want to get into it. Her parents couldn’t understand how desperately she wanted to avoid Landon, how terrified she was that if they spent an evening talking, they might somehow wind up back together.
They got home before the rest of the family, and Ashley hurried upstairs to her parents’ room. How could this happen? Her mother should’ve known better. She laid Cole in his crib, then went to her old room and shut the door behind her.
Never mind the lights.
She found her bed, the one near the window where it had been ever since they moved to Bloomington. The room she had shared with Kari until Ashley moved out just before Cole was born. She sat on the edge of the mattress and stared out the window at the distant lightning.
What did Landon Blake know of the life she had lived in Paris? Or how it had been to come home pregnant? To the Baxter family, of all people? Her family was marked by a strong, consistent faith. Sure, as kids they made mistakes. They lied about finishing their math homework or cheated on an occasional test.
But those moments were big to the Baxters.
Each of those times eventually came to the surface with long talks and meetings and encouragement to be honest and kind, tell the truth and work hard. Every other kid in the family seemed able to do that.
Everyone except Ashley.
Okay, so Brooke was no longer the Sunday-school poster girl she once was. She had moved on to a more scientific understanding of life. Progressive, she called herself, which made sense. As children, they were all taught to believe in God. Blind faith, really. Based only on their parents’ beliefs. Brooke had simply made progress since then.
Kind as their mom and dad were, they were wrong about the existence of God. Ashley knew that now. The thoughts of His presence she had held onto in Paris were only because she was afraid and alone. Now? Now she could see life for what it was. She had no tangible reason to put faith in God. No proof, no reason to believe.
