Rocky Mountain Freedom (39 page)

Pretty much nothing interesting though. The woman needed a new vocabulary as she seemed stuck on
filthy
,
horrifying
and
morally
disgusting
.

Only Ashley was disgusted and horrified herself when the conversation took a turn in direction.

“I’m not surprised, though,” Mrs. Leigh continued. “That Marion Coleman has always considered herself above the rest of us. And see where it’s gotten her? Sons who are attracted to the worst possible elements of society. One as good as a whore—breaks my heart to think of that sweet, young Joel tying himself to that Hansol creature. And Matt, well, sleeping with one sister before marrying the other?”

“Blake Coleman and Daniel have good strong marriages,” another woman protested.

“Beth Coleman is a saint, and Daniel, but they got themselves off that cursed Six Pack land as soon as they could, you notice? And that Jaxi acts just as high and mighty as Marion, putting on airs and bossing around better women than her. I told Marion years ago she was setting up for a fall, and now she has. I called her last week and told her again. That lot will come to be nothing but trouble, and this new one is the worst to date. Sleeping with two men.”

The whispers dropped to a scandalous hush. “I heard the two men are…
involved
…as well.”

“Marion’s not going to be welcome anywhere in town. Or Mike. There’s talk—”

That was enough. Ashley slammed open the door and simply stood there in the doorframe, all her indignation hopefully clear and visible. “You know, shit-talk me all you want, but leave Mike and Marion Coleman out of it. They don’t run their children’s lives, and they’re good people. Far better than those who thrive on nasty comments and dirty innuendo.”

The women fled, dismay on a few faces, but mostly disgust—there was that word again. She figured if they had a scarlet letter with them they would have slapped it on her chest right there and then.

“And it’s pretty incredible sleeping with two men at one time,” she called after them, “but I won’t bother to describe it because you’d probably just stroke off wishing you were me.”

Soft arms slipped around her waist and hugged her tight again, but this time Vicki’s good intentions couldn’t push aside the coldness inside.

Ashley twisted, staring into indignant brown eyes and a flushed freckled face. “You heard that crap?”

Vicki nodded. “The stinky attitudes are familiar, but you know what? They are getting better.”

Ashley’s face must have shown her shock because Vicki shrugged.

“Well, they are. It hurts and it’s horrid, but…there were only a couple women talking dirt this time. For the most part they felt guilty when they realized you’d heard them. I bet they’ll be thinking harder in the next while every time someone mentions you in a positive way. I mean, consider at the raffle booth. Katy Thompson loves you, and she’s going to be singing your praises all day long. She’s also got a ton of big brothers who she will have trained in no time to behave.” Vicki held her close, lowering her voice. “I don’t like it either when people are catty, but it cuts far less now that I have Joel who I know loves me, and the rest of the family.”

“That’s the part I don’t know about,” Ashley muttered. “Good
God
, no wonder Marion is giving me the cold shoulder. If she’s being set on by bigots like Mrs. Leigh with rotten attitudes…” Ashley shook her head. “I never intended to upset the Colemans. None of us did—Travis and Cassidy and I just want to be together. We’re not trying to tear the world apart.”

“I know.” Vicki gave her a final squeeze.

After considering all that she’d wanted to accomplish, this was the final straw. “I’m going home.”

“But the guys are at the ball field. And…” Vicki sighed. Nodded. “…you want to go home. No problem. You need a ride?”

“Please?”

The fifteen-minute ride home was fairly quiet. Vicki stopped outside the trailer, engine still running. “You change your mind and want to come back you call me, okay?”

“I will, but I think I’ll work on some of my pictures. Get my mind off the stupid people and back on the good ones.”

“That’s it.” Vicki touched her hand. “
You’re
one of the good ones. You really are, okay?”

Ashley laughed. “Thanks. You’re a sweetheart, and if Joel hadn’t already snapped you up, I’d fall in love with you myself.”

“Stop flirting,” Vicki scolded, shaking a finger at her. “I’m setting up a dinner with you guys and us this coming week, you got it?”

“Got it. And hey, I’m turning off my phone to work, so tell the guys I’m at home, will you?”

Ashley watched the truck disappear into the distance before heading into the barn. If her mind was going to be filled with anger and confusion, she might as well use the energy productively.

High one minute, low the next. It really wasn’t right, in so many ways.

The love she felt for Travis and Cassidy hadn’t changed, but moving back to Rocky had turned everything on its head. Maybe they had been in an idyllic setting before, cut off from the world. Had the isolation changed the truth? Blurred her vision and caused her to see things that didn’t exist? Or was it
this
world that was wrong, cutting and cruel, where people were mistreated not for their actions but because of the judgmental opinions of others?

Marion Coleman might not have been on the top of Ashley’s kissy-kissy list, but she was a good person. Travis had shared again and again how accepting and loving she’d been, and all the family clung to her as a solid pillar of support.

Hurting an innocent woman indirectly put a whole new twist on the situation. Ashley could stick to her guns if it was just her being called names, but this…

She tossed paint at her canvases for a solid hour before climbing into the attic area and lying in the hammock Travis had hung for her in the eaves.

The gentle sway of the material cradling her helped her to slow down, her breathing settling even as her mind raced. Outside the window were green dusted fields, the meandering trail of Whiskey Creek visible by the line of trees following its banks.

Her eyes closed, and she saw Travis’s bold grin, Cassidy’s gentler beam. Felt their firm touches and caring actions. Like a beautiful scene painted in her mind, memories of time with them rose as sleep rolled in to silence the chaos. She swore she could smell the aroma of the campfires where they’d lingered each night, the hazy scent of wood smoke part and parcel of everything she’d experienced that summer.

Everything she cherished was a piece of a paradise, and the rest a touch of hell, and she wasn’t sure how she was going to survive making a decision.

At what point did being in love mean she shouldn’t stay?

Chapter Twenty-Eight

It wasn’t up front and obvious, whatever was itching Cassidy’s nerves, but it was enough to make him wary. He sat in the lawn chair next to Travis while Blake Coleman and a slowly growing group gathered to talk about nothing.

The
looks
were there at times—not from Travis’s family, but from the other guys. As if they were waiting for that moment when he or Travis would turn into something unnatural and come racing after them.

Or maybe he was being overdramatic and should get the hell over himself.

Blake shook his head. “I still say it’s not likely we’d have a zombie apocalypse in our part of the country.”

“What, the air is too clear or something?” Matt teased. “Hate to tell you this, but those stories are fantasy. They can happen anywhere the writers want to put them, and Rocky is as good as any other spot for the end of the world to descend into a pile of rotting limbs and flesh-eating crazies.”

“But we’d deal with them far faster than the idiots on TV,” one of the guys snapped. “I mean, seriously.
Shoot, shovel and shut up
works in more ways than one.”

“You’re such a class act, Mitch,” Travis drawled. “You probably think you could simply outrun them.”

Mitch shrugged. “Don’t have to be the fastest runner, you know. Only have to outrun you.”

“You can try. You. Can. Try.”

Mitch shuffled to his feet and waved his beer bottle in the air. “I’ll round up the rest of my team and we can hit the field.”

“Deal.” Travis frowned at Blake as Mitch disappeared. “Although how you plan on playing ball with three kids in tow is beyond me.”

“Jaxi is coming to grab them. Trust me.” Blake scooped up the smallest of the lot from the blanket he’d spread at his feet and wiggled her in front of him. “Although you, little princess, could be a fine distraction, couldn’t you?”

He blew a raspberry on Lena’s belly, which started all three girls shrieking as the twins crawled off their uncles and attempted to get to their dad in mock terror of being tickled.

A hand landed on Cassidy’s forearm. “Welcome to kid central,” Travis apologized.

“Hey, it’s a part of spending time with your family. I don’t mind much.” He couldn’t keep his eyes off the kids, in fact. Daniel’s sons were older, but they too seemed content to hang around, the youngest taking total advantage of being small enough to have crawled into Daniel’s lap. Robbie gloated as if he’d claimed prime real estate.

Family. Cassidy’s soul soaked it up like a sponge.

Conversation wrapped around them. For the longest time Cassidy didn’t realize that Travis was still holding him. It was so comfortable and easy. All Travis’s brothers were there except for Jesse who had put in a brief appearance before vanishing.

Matt’s gaze stalled for a moment where Travis had continued to absently stroke his thumb back and forth on Cassidy’s arm. Cassidy met Matt’s eyes and waited on edge, ready to look away in self-defense if he saw any condemnation or disgust.

All that happened was Matt glanced at Travis, then back to Cassidy as one side of his lips twitched upward in a smile.

Every step forward brought Cassidy more hope.

Higher-pitched women’s laughter drifted toward them, and Travis’s fingers tightened briefly before slipping away, both of them twisting in their chairs, eager for a sight of Ashley.

She wasn’t in the group of women blending in and grabbing on to their men.

Jaxi nabbed the baby from Blake. “You done riling up your women?”

Blake caught her close, and cradling Lena between them, he dipped her, kissing her soundly to the wild applause of the rest of the group.

When he finally stood them up, her cheeks were flushed. “You feel riled enough?” Blake asked.

Cassidy was out of his chair, looking around to see if Ashley was bringing up the rear. “Where’s Ash?”

Vicki stepped forward, Joel at her side, his arm looped around her waist. “She decided to head home early. I dropped her off.”

“She okay? Why didn’t she tell us?” Travis pulled out his cell phone.

“She turned off her cell phone,” Vicki warned. She wiggled on the spot before spilling the rest. “Ashley’s okay. A little…pissed. Couple of women were talking out of line, and some kids pulled a prank on her. Nothing terrible, but she’d had enough.”

Travis pulled out his keys. “I’m going to—”

“Travis.” Blake shook his head. “Give her some space,” he suggested.

“I think he’s right,” Vicki added. “She said she was going to get some work done.”

“Play a game, then you guys can head home.” Joel patted Travis on the shoulder. “Gives her time to cool off, and you’ll still get out of clean-up here at the picnic. We’ll do your share.”

Travis glanced at Cassidy. “What do you think?”

He didn’t like it, but it made sense. “If we leave right after the game.”

Travis nodded, and the rest of the clan cheered.

The opposite team was assembling, and in spite of his concern over Ashley, Cassidy had to smile. “We’re playing the Thompson boys?”

“And a few others. Gage Jenick, some of the volunteer firefighters.”

The guys he’d been working with daily rambled in, and the dirt talk picked up.

Cassidy grinned at Clay. “Didn’t know you guys played ball.”

Clay shrugged. “We play anything to pass the time. Should have said you wanted on the winning team. We could have invited you to join our side.”

“Ha.” Daniel jabbed him in the chest, seeming unconcerned Clay towered over him by a good four inches. “We’ll see who wins.”

Matt and Clay eyed each other warily as they passed, and Cassidy was once again reminded these people had years of history together. It was going to take time to become a complete member of the community. Both he and Ashley had a long way to go, and the lack of instant acceptance wasn’t really anything against them personally. At least, he could hope.

A couple of innings passed smoothly enough. The scowling man from Traders a few weeks earlier, the one dancing with Katy Thompson, had turned up on Clay’s team. Simon hadn’t gotten rid of that chip on his shoulder, either, although he seemed to turn on and off the shit talk like a tap when any of Katy’s brothers were around. He saved his muttered insults for when Cassidy ran by first base, or when they passed on the field changing sides between innings.

Cassidy tapped Gage on the shoulder as they waited on second base for Gage’s team to get another hit. “What’s the story with him?” Cassidy asked, tilting his head toward Simon. “He’s got that Jekyll-and-Hyde thing going on.”