Asher (Ashes & Embers 6)

“We’re very happy, Mom,” the girl whispers.

This must be wrong. The friend is in the pictures on the wall with the little girl and us. They’re not supposed to be together like this.

I stare at Asher, too confused to get the words out of my head. But I want to ask how he let this happen. How could he let the little girl marry his friend?

“Ember, everything’s good,” Asher says in his calming voice, which isn’t very calming right now. “At first, we had some rough times, but everyone is happy now. You’ve always trusted Tor.”

The friend’s eyes are deep and brown like a family dog—filled with loyalty and love.

Maybe he’s not bad.

“And we’re having a baby,” Kenzi blurts out.

My skull suddenly pounds with flashes of blinding white light.

“No,” I cry. “I can’t…”

I clutch at my throbbing head as the room twirls to a blur and then goes black.

Chapter Thirteen

Three Weeks Later

I’ve been looking forward to today all week. According to my calendar, it’s Friday, and Asher promised to take me outside to the courtyard. It’ll be my first time outside since I woke up. The past few weeks have been good to me. I feel clearer. Stronger mentally and physically. I haven’t remembered anything, but my general confusion is fading more each day.

Asher keeps referring to our outing today as our first “date.” That bothered me at first, but I can’t deny the fluttering feeling I’m starting to get in my stomach when I think about him. He’s sweet and funny. Not to mention, incredibly protective. As scary as it is to have a stranger for a husband, he goes out of his way to make the situation as easy for me as he can. I may not remember him, but I can tell that absolutely none of this is easy on him at all.

“Whoa.” He clutches his chest and lets out a low whistle, stopping a few feet into the room to stare at me. “There goes my heart again.”

I reach up to touch my freshly washed hair. “Sherry helped me do my hair and put some makeup on.”

“You tryin’ to kill me lookin’ so beautiful?” He steps closer, his mouth curving to a silly grin. “I almost had a heart attack in the doorway.”

Warmth floods up to my cheeks. “You’re crazy.” And I’m starting to like it.

“Only about you.” He winks at me as he moves behind me and grabs the handgrips of my wheelchair. “You ready to roll?”

I nod excitedly. “Yes.”

“Then hang on, baby.”

He wheels me out into the hallway to the elevator, past the nurses who smile and wave at us. I wave back as he spins my chair around to pull me into the elevator backward, so I’m facing the doors. I watch the floor numbers light up as we descend to the ground floor, wringing my hands impatiently in my lap.

He pushes me through the lobby area, saying “beep beep” as he swerves around people and steers us past leather chairs and plants.

Just a little more, through the automatic glass doors, and we’re outside.

Finally, I’m out in the world with the warmth of the sun on my face and fresh air filling my lungs.

Freedom.

It seems crazy to think I was in a bed in the same room for almost eight years, suspended between life and death, imprisoned in my own body.

The thought makes me shiver.

“Oh my God.” I squint up toward the blue sky. Has the sun always been so bright? “The sun feels amazing, and the world seems so big and endless.”

Asher wheels me to the courtyard and parks my wheelchair near a bench not far from a water fountain.

I can feel him watching me as I take in the billowy clouds floating across the sky.

“You’re glowing,” he says.

“I feel like I am.”

“You’ve been trapped inside for way too long.”

Inhaling a deep breath, I turn to face him. The breeze is blowing his long hair away from his face, and he looks so unexpectedly handsome that I forget what I was going to say for a moment.

“The air feels so good. Freeing, almost. Does that make sense?” It’s so nice to finally escape the walls and hallways. I’m not sure I’ll ever get the disinfectant scent out of my nose.

He nods. “It does.”

“Did I like being outside…before?”

“You’ve always loved it. We used to go for a lot of walks, hikes, and rides on my motorcycle. Our favorite place to go were the waterfalls.”

I wish my legs were strong enough for me to walk right now. I’d love to get up and walk through the grass. “That sounds pretty.”

“Yeah, it was.” He clears his throat and pushes his sweatshirt sleeves up. “Are you warm enough?”

“Yes. Did we have flowers in our yard?”

“We do have flowers in the yard. You planted them all yourself when we first moved into the house. We have a big four-season porch where we spent most of our time. We’d drink wine or lattes, write music, talk. It was your favorite part of the house.”