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Chapter Eighteen

ASHER

A sher watched as Sunny’s eyes got heavier, and she settled into him. He had forgotten how good it could be. Sex with other women had been good—some great, even—but it had never held a candle to the way it felt when he was with Sunny.

They were meant to be together, and their bodies knew it. They fit together so perfectly, and the magic igniting in them every time they connected this way was almost forgotten.

He held her a little tighter.

The moonlight filtered into her room as Sunny fell asleep. He melted into her, watching her, until, at some point, sleep overtook him.

The sunlight through the window woke him hours later. Sunny hadn’t left his side all night long. In fact, she had snuggled in closer and had thrown her leg over him. He buried his head in her hair, breathing deeply, taking in a long hit of her intoxicating scent.

Knowing Sunny, he knew she would be asleep for a while longer. Asher had always been up with the sun, but Sunny, despite her name, was a late riser.

Carefully, he extricated himself from her and made his way downstairs. He got the coffee maker going and then started on some pancake batter.

When she got up, he would have breakfast waiting for her. As hurt as he had been when she left, it felt good to let all of that go and be with her again like this. Nothing felt as good as making sure Sunny was happy and safe... and, well fucked.

A smile crossed his face at that point as he cracked an egg into the mixing bowl. After sifting the dry ingredients and adding them, he was about to pour the first batch onto the griddle when he was startled by a loud scream.

Sunny!

As he turned to bolt up the stairs, the radio on the living room started blaring “Coal Miner’s Daughter.”

His brain didn’t have time to comprehend how crazy that was because all he could think and feel was Sunny. After their connection, he was keyed into her system and could feel her panic. It almost felt like she was choking.

He almost tore down the banister trying to rush to her. In less than a moment, he was flinging open her bedroom door with a loud thud to find her sitting up in bed, her face covered in panic as she coughed and gasped for breath.

“Sunny,” he cried out, running over to the bed and gripping her shoulders. “What is it?”

She continued to cough and sputter while the music blared up the stairs.

“What are you listening to?”

“I don’t know... Your radio just turned on.”

She threw off the covers and set off down the stairs.

“Sunny, are you okay?”

She made her way in the living room and turned off the radio.

“Was it a dream?”

She nodded before collapsing on the couch.

He came right to her side and sat with his hands on her knee. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She nodded. “It was the same dream I’ve been having.”

“About the accident?”

She nodded again. “This time, I was walking through the woods, and there was a heavy fog in the air, but as I came to the bend, I saw that it wasn’t fog.

It was smoke. It was as if everything was paused, and I could see the car about to drive off the road.

But I could see a big black truck running the car right off the road.

But then I saw these big red eyes glowing in the distance.

The moment I saw them, it was as if I felt its gaze turn on me.

Then everything picked up speed, and the truck ran the car into the ditch before it went up in flames, all while the red eyes watched in the distance. ”

Asher rubbed her knee.

“Then I woke up coughing from the smoke, and that damn song was playing again.”

“We don’t speak ill of Loretta Lynn in these parts, you know that.”

“I know,” she said, holding her hands up in a defensive gesture. “It’s just that radio keeps playing that song.”

Asher cocked his head, assuming it was an electrical short. “What do you mean?”

“That is the second time I’ve woken up after a dream to the radio blaring that song. It did it after I got the vision when I was in my mother’s parlor, too.”

“Hmmmm. That is strange.”

“I know... It’s like the house is trying to tell me something.”

“This house has always been a bit strange,” he said, giving her hand a small squeeze.

“I know, but it’s even worse than it used to be. It’s like it wants me to pick up where my dad left off. I don’t know why, but that scares me.”

“I’m here with you. I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” he said as he pulled her in close for a hug, kissing the top of her head.

At that moment, a creaking door flung open and hit a wall upstairs.

Sunny’s eyes got big as panic overtook her features again.

Asher was off in a flash, taking the stairs two at a time.

How could an intruder have gotten in?

But he didn’t find anyone or sense anyone...

“Ummm... Sunny,” he called as she climbed the stairs.

“What was it?”

“Didn’t you say this door was locked?”

She climbed the stairs and cocked her head. “Yeah, I couldn’t get into that room, and the last time I tried, that song played again.”

“What is going on with your house?”

“I don’t know... It’s weird, right? We should probably talk to Bridget.”

Asher nodded and peered into the room. “Do you want to go in?”

She paused and looked up at him. Something about her gaze made Asher want to pick her up and whisk her away to somewhere safer.

Fuck. She was everything.

He put his hand on the small of her back, which seemed to give her enough confidence to enter the room.

“What is all this?” she said, eyes wide, taking in the room.

They entered her father’s office. One wall was covered in newspaper clippings all about the accident.

A large corkboard displayed pictures and papers stuck up with red strings connecting them.

A bookshelf held binders and stacks of folders, and the desk was covered in mounds of paper, all caked in dust.

“So... it looks like your dad had a murder board?”

Sunny joined in and slid her arms around his waist as they both took in the board.

Alongside a letter from VenDeer Coal and the name Nox Whittaker connecting his name to the side was a picture of the accident.

Another name, Bradford Wilkes, had a long red string connecting him to VenDeer card.

There was a letter attached to both VenDeer and Bradford Wilkes.

From the letter, another set of strings stretched to two other names.

There was so much to take in, but his eyes kept being pulled back to the wreckage. That crumpled-up, upside down, smoking car. That was how both of his parents died. They never had any answers, but maybe there were some to be found.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice, pulling Sunny close to him.

She held him tighter and nodded.

He kissed the top of her head. “Do you think there are answers here?”

Sunny shrugged. “I don’t know. This is what slowly drove him into madness, trying to figure it all out.”

“Do you think that maybe fresh eyes would be able to solve it?”

“I don’t know. Let’s not think about it until we’ve had coffee.”

“Oh. I made coffee and was just about to make some pancakes. Are you hungry?”

She looked up at him, trepidation lining the creases on her forehead. “I could eat. This is all so overwhelming.”

“Well, why don’t we go get some breakfast before we tackle anything in here so you can decide what you want to do with all of this stuff.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

He bent his head, dropping a sweet kiss on her lips.

They made their way downstairs.

Asher turned for one last look into this room, his eyes stuck on the accident.

Grief is a funny thing. They’d been gone for years, and he missed them every day. But every now and then, something would happen that made it feel fresh.

“You coming?” Sunny asked from the top of the stairs.

Asher nodded, and they settled at the table, each with a steaming cup of coffee and a warm stack of pancakes.

“What are your plans for the day?” Asher asked.

“I think I might try and go through some of the paperwork in my dad’s office.”

“Do you want help with it?”

Sunny sighed. “Maybe. What are your plans? Do you have to go do some work with Abe?”

“No, I’m here.”

“Asher, if you need to go get some work down at your shop, it’s fine.”

“No, I’m not leaving you... not when your house is being strange.”

“It is strange, right?”

“Yeah, I’ll call Abe and see if we can track down Bridget. She’s the only one I would know to talk to about this stuff.”

Sunny nodded. “Okay, well, that sounds good.”

“After I do up the dishes, I’m going to fix the sink,” Asher said, slipping his hand into hers.

“Sounds like a plan.”

They finished their breakfast in a comfortable silence, one of an old married couple who’d been together forever and didn’t need to fill it. With Sunny, he could just exist, and after the night before, it was like everything was back to how it should be.

Yes, some things were still up in the air, but the bond between him and Sunny was back.

The sight of her taking her last bite resonated deeply within him.

Yeah, life was good.