Asher (Ashes & Embers 6)

For a second, it feels like cheating.

“What’s wrong?” she asks when I slowly pull away.

“Nothing.” I fake a smile and smooth her hair back behind her shoulder. “We should probably go before they come looking for us.”

I hate myself for taking advantage of the fact that she doesn’t know me well enough to tell when I’m not quite telling the truth.

Silently, hand-in-hand, we walk across the street to our daughter’s house—such a simple thing but something I’ve been hoping for since the day I mentioned to Tor and Kenzi that the house was on the market.

They answer the door together, beaming with perfect smiles and hugging us excitedly, and the next thing I know, Ember is literally on the floor.

“Oh my God, I didn’t know he was here.” Kneeling, she throws her arms around their huge, white furry dog, who of course is loving every second of it. “He’s so beautiful.” She looks up at me with tears in her eyes as she runs her hands through his thick fur. “He’s like the clouds…I miss the clouds so much. This is an angel dog.”

Tor and Kenzi share a glance. Then their eyes flicker to mine. When I shrug with confusion, he leans closer to her, whispering something in her ear before kissing her cheek.

“His name’s Diogee,” Kenzi says in an upbeat tone. “He loves to be loved on.”

Ember stares at her with a blank expression, then presses her face against the dog’s head. “He might have a message,” she murmurs into his fur.

Kenzi doesn’t waver, and I’m proud of her for how she handles Ember’s random out-of-the-ordinary moments with poise. “Why don’t you come into the living room, and he’ll sit on the couch with you?”

“That’s a great idea.” I hold my hand out to Ember to help her stand.

She blinks rapidly. “I’m sorry,” she whispers as we lead her to the couch. “I think I got confused. I haven’t seen a dog—”

“It’s normal,” Tor assures her, sitting on the love seat across the room. “Everyone has that reaction when they see him. People go nuts over him.”

Ember smiles as she continues to pet the dog. “He’s so special.”

“Tor risked his life to save him from the middle of a busy highway,” Kenzi says proudly. “My heart was in my throat watching. That was the same day as our first kiss.”

“That dog is my good-luck charm,” Tor says, leaning over to kiss Kenzi’s smiling lips.

I put my hand up. “No trips down memory lane when Dad’s in the room, please.”

“He’s not good luck. He’s a guardian angel,” Ember says. “He was there for a reason.”

We all smile at her. Stray dog, good luck, or guardian angel—who knows? Something about the dog has a grip on her. Way more than the usual gorgeous-fluffy-loving dog attention.

Kenzi stands and pulls Tor up with her. “Dinner won’t be ready for about an hour. Why don’t we show you around while the baby’s napping? We finally finished painting and decorating.”

The tour of the house distracts Ember from the dog, even though he follows us. Kenzi’s excitement is palpable as she takes us into each room, telling us fun stories about decorating that specific space. This is exactly why I wanted Kenzi and Tor to have a new house with a fresh start to make their own.

“Your house is beautiful like Asher’s. I like your wall colors better, though,” Ember says when we all go downstairs to the kitchen. “The light colors are pretty.”

Right before the accident, we had a lot of dark accent walls painted in our house, and as much as I dig bold color, lightening everything up might be a nice change.

“We could paint your rooms if you want. We could do it together,” Kenzi offers. “Or, you could hire someone if you’d prefer.”

Ember’s eyes widen with intrigue. “I’d like it if you helped me paint. I’ve been thinking about paintbrushes for some reason. I don’t know why.”

“That’s because you watch HGTV all the time,” I tease, encircling her waist from behind and leaning in to kiss her cheek.

She laughs and leans against me, resting the back of her head on my shoulder. “You might be right. I just keep having this urge to go get a paint brush and paint something.”

Kenzi eyes us with a smile. “You two look cute together. Exactly how I remember you when I was younger.”

“Just older,” Tor teases.

“Look who’s talkin’,” I reply.

“I hope I inherited your genes,” Kenzi says to Ember. “You seriously still look like you’re in your twenties. Aunt Katherine looks amazing too.”

“You’re beautiful,” Ember says. “You were such a gorgeous baby. I’ve been looking at the pictures. I think Tia looks a lot like you as a baby.”

“I thought so too,” Tor says.

“I read in my diary that you bought Kenzi her first pet when she was little. A bunny?”