Page 9 of Ashton’s Mountain Man (Men of Fire Mountain #5)
CHAPTER 8
West
The last few months of seeing how much pure focus and determination Ashton had been putting behind his rehabilitation had spurred the fight within me. It had led to a whole evaluation and change in both of our lives, making the future prospects seem brighter and exciting.
After that night, Ashton agreed to my idea of living at the mother of his child’s house. I’d assumed my life was about to spiral out of control, but it didn’t in the way I was expecting. It actually became the focus of new plans and opportunities, when the next day I arrived at the hospital to see Ashton had a lot to reveal to me.
You see, Maxwell and Cole had been discussing the expansion of Gratizé Accountants for a while now but never knew how best to take the next step, until my boyfriend— fuck, that sounds good— ended up here. Until he came back to where he belonged.
They had the perfect opportunity and person they trusted to help them do what they wanted. That was if it aligned with our plans.
I’d finally made the decision that after the outbuilding on Fire Mountain was completed, I was leaving and looking at a different career path. I wanted stability and a future and not something that brought the edge of fear to my mind every time I took a step near that area where that accident happened. I couldn’t stop thinking about what could have been—the fact I may have lost Ashton, and he could have lost his son, who had been a huge influence in my life. I would have never forgiven myself, knowing I was to blame for that day, and even now, I still have moments when everything overwhelms me and I need to take a second to think about how lucky we all are. That God had been watching over us all and listened to my prayers to protect and heal him. He’d shown his strength and the light to help Maisie and I through a traitorous period of time, and I would forever be grateful for that.
So, while we made our steps forward, Maxwell and Cole returned to Manhattan and the daily routine of their lives, eager and hopeful that the excitement my guy exhibited would turn into the reality of a cemented yes. That he would take on the new adventure and be their new right-hand man of a new accountant’s firm that they wanted to open at the opposite end of Manhattan.
The only issue was Wyatt and Maisie… I know he couldn’t leave them behind, but this opportunity was just too huge to turn down. I just hoped that something would come to light so that we could make it all work together. So that Ashton could have everything he wanted.
Fast forward to now…nearly four months of intense daily support and you would have never known that Ashton had multiple pins holding the bottom of his leg together. Occasionally, he got the odd twinge and knew he’d pushed a tad too far, but in terms of where he’d come from, he’d made a remarkable comeback. Wyatt adored him, and you’d never know they hadn’t been in each other’s lives the first few years. They were like two peas in a pod, and Maisie and I couldn’t help but watch on whenever the two of them interacted.
Maisie had been on tenterhooks all day today, and it was completely out of her normal, chirpy character, as she constantly reached for her cell and was checking the time of her watch. The moment her cell started ringing, she jumped out of her chair.
“I’ve just got to take this. Are you okay with—” she rambled quickly, looking at Wyatt playing away with his building bricks on the floor, trying to build a bridge that went across Ashton’s good leg. “I…”
“Yeah, he’s fine here,” Ashton responded as he looked at me and furrowed his brow. “Take as long as you need. I’ve got West here if…”
She was long gone out of the room, excusing herself to the caller before shutting herself away. A strange response to see from Maisie, when normally, she was so open with us.
The two of us hadn’t realized how in sync we were with our thoughts and actions until we finally began living together. It was as if it was written in the stars. The way we moved and watched each over, to notice the simplest notion of when something was amiss or wrong in the house. That was what was happening currently, and the strange aura that had been present over the last few weeks. Neither Ashton nor I could pinpoint the cause, and Maisie would instantly raise her back when questioned, which just roused our suspicions over what she was hiding from us.
We continued playing with Wyatt, watching, smiling, and laughing at his movements as he squealed each time the bricks fell down, and then he had to rebuild them back until he started to fidget and get bored. I slowly managed to get myself to the seat next to West on the sofa as Wyatt waited patiently, wanting a cuddle.
“Love you. Dadda. Love you, Dadda West,” he blurted out, just as Maisie rounded the corner, and he noticed her smiling widely at the picture before her eyes. “And you too, Mamma.”
“Now let’s get you down for your nap and then I need to talk to you two. If that’s okay, and you have the time, of course?” Maisie asked us as we looked between one another and knew instantly nothing was planned. “It’s just…”
“Of course,” I blurted out, knowing that Maisie was about to try to justify her reasons, and she had no cause to do so. It was more the fact that Ashton and I were hopeful that the two of us may get some answers. “We’ll be here. I’ll go and make us all something to eat while you just settle the little man,” I uttered, standing up and gently kissing Ashton, then placing a kiss on Wyatt’s and Maisie’s heads before excusing myself from the room. The two of them were quickly on my heel and heading straight for Wyatt’s room as Ashton rested and gained his strength for the moment.
I wonder what had suddenly changed Maisie’s personality and attitude. It was as if a magic spell had been cast over her.
The moment I heard Maisie’s heels clicking against the wooden flooring along the hallway leading to the kitchen, then the sigh of relief as she paused in the doorway, taking a second before walking over toward us, I knew Wyatt had pushed every little thing to avoid that nap today. It had been a discussion of late whether he could be at the stage where he was growing out of these daily naps, and I think after today’s shenanigans, the decision had been already made for us.
“I’m glad he’s finally asleep,” Maisie admitted as Ashton passed her a drink of her latest favorite drink of apple juice and a pastry that had just cooled from the oven. “I’m sure you have noticed I have been a bit all over the place lately.” She raised her eyebrow at the two of us as we both looked at one another, and then just shrugged our shoulders. “It’s okay. I’m not trying to test you or anything. I know what I’ve been like.” She continued as the two of us sighed loudly, making her chuckle. “I have something to admit, and I hope you both understand I was doing this for us all…”
“Maisie…” Ashton uttered, leaning forward and grabbing my hand. “It’s not our health or Wyatt’s, is it? I mean…”
“Oh no.” Maisie gasped out loudly. “It’s nothing to do with anything like that. I overheard the two of you talking about Maxwell and Cole’s offer about the new accountants at the other end of Manhattan and how amazing it would be for you both,” she whispered, dropping her head, unable to meet either of our gazes. “I heard how you were worried about the two of us and how you didn’t want to be apart from us both, and how Wyatt is starting kindergarten in the near future. It was a lot for you to decide.”
“You should have talked to us,” I exclaimed, feeling guilty. No wonder she’d looked so withdrawn, and like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She literally was. She must have been so concerned over the future and what was about to happen. “We haven’t made any decisions, and if we were about to make any changes, we’d talk to you first.”
“Well…” Maisie paused, peeking at us for a moment before allowing tendrils of her hair to cover her eyes again. “I couldn’t help but think and do some research about what opportunities could exist for us all there. I saw the perfect kindergarten with fantastic reviews, and then a position was advertised at a nearby hair salon. That was them on the phone—they wanted to offer me a chair.”
“What are you saying, Maisie?” Ashton asked in confusion, blinking twice as tears formed in his gaze. “I… West…” he stuttered.
“Baby, I think she’s saying that she wants us all to be happy and have the lifestyle that we’d all be happy with,” I slowly relayed back to him. “I guess that’s the bottom line here. Am I right?”
“Yep,” Maisie excitedly admitted. “I want us all to have the life we desire. Wyatt needs all three of us in his life. Ashton, you have the opportunity of a lifetime here, and West, you can be finally closer to your stepbrother and build that relationship too.”
“It sounds perfect,” I agreed. “To have more time with Zane would be amazing too.”
“I guess we better ask Maxwell or Cole if they know of any realtors in the area?” Ashton replied before picking up his cell and searching in his contact list for their details. “I mean, there's no time like the present, is there?”
The two of us chuckled as I stared deeply at him, realizing in that moment how perfect life was and that I loved him with all my soul.