“Ash?”
I lick my dry lips. “You said... Yesterday you said you wanted to know more about me. That maybe you can help me. I—”
“Audrey?” A woman’s voice comes from the hallway behind me, startling the crap out of me. “Who’s there?”
“Just a friend, Mom.” Audrey rolls her eyes.
The reason for the general disquiet is now clear. “Your mom’s here?”
“Yeah. She wasn’t supposed to come, but decided to drop in unannounced.”
“Okay.” I straighten where I sit. “You must be happy to have her around.”
I haven’t seen Audrey’s mom in
many years, but she always seemed like a nice lady.
Audrey ducks her head. “Sure. I missed her.”
Her reply leaves me frowning. She doesn’t sound as excited as I expected her to be. “You get along fine, don’t you?”
“Oh yeah.”
Good. It’s none of my business anyway. Not all parents are like my dad. I need to remember that.
I lean toward Audrey again and brush red curls out of her face. “Want me to come another time?”
She sighs. “I think that’d be—”
“Audrey.” Her mom stands at the door of the room, squinting at me. “Who’s your friend?”
She hasn’t recognized me. Not sure how I feel about that, I stand up and stick out my hand. “Asher Devlin, ma’am. We used to be neighbors. I don’t know if you remember—”
“You.” Audrey’s mom takes a step back, the blood draining from her face. “Your father... What are you doing here?”
My stomach drops. I don’t know what to say. I’ve let my defenses down because Audrey confessed she doesn’t blame me for this. I never thought how her mom must feel about me—and now I know.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Morrison, I meant no disrespect—”
“Get out.” Audrey’s mom points a trembling finger at me. “Get away from my daughter.”
“Mom!” Audrey stands behind me, fists clenched at her sides. “Stop it.”
“You stop it, Audie. He’s the son of your father’s killer.”
“And he’s my friend.”
In my shock, I let her step in front of me. I reach for her arm. “Auds...”
But Audrey’s on a roll. “You always say to forgive people and move on, and besides, it wasn’t his fault.”
“That’s different. Nothing against the boy, but dating my only daughter? My baby girl? No.”
Shit.
“We’re not dating,” Audrey says, glancing back at me, her eyes uncertain.
Not dating. Right. We haven’t talked about that. We made out, started talking. And now...