Taut: The Ford Book (Rook and Ronin Spinoff 2)

“Oh, shit.” Ash winces. “Mrs. f**king Pearson. Let’s get the hell out of here.” She holds her hand up like I just did. “Sphere of privacy, Mrs. Pearson. We’re in the sphere.”

I laugh and pull on her. “Not so fun when you’re the target, is it? Just start walking. They’ll leave us alone, I’ve perfected the detached getaway. It’s my signature move.”

“I guess it is. Can we ride that gondola? I’d like that. To see the mountain.”

“Sure, we need to drop the stroller off at the van and take a bus over to Lionshead though.”

“Is it far?”

“No, a few minutes’ ride. We can go. Might as well see the place since you’re here.”

We get on the bus after dropping off all the excess crap and I look at Ashleigh with her bundled baby in her arms as we ride over to Lionshead. “See, that snowsuit was a good idea. Otherwise you’d have to bring all those stupid blankets.”

She sighs. “What would I do without you, Ford. You’re a genius.”

I smile. “Damn right.”

The walk to the gondola is short—this place is not big. And when we get there I have no Vail ID to prove I’m local and no one I recognize is working the lift, so I end up having to pay anyway. Our car is packed, the full capacity of ten people.

Ash sits by the window facing backward and I sit across from her facing forward. We’re squished by some rowdy teen boarders. “You look tired,” I say. “This ride might make you fall asleep.”

“It just might, because the baby’s getting fussy and she needs to eat. And that’s like my sleep button.”

“It’s a seven-minute ride up, and then these guys will get off and we’ll have the car to ourselves on the way down. The baby can eat then.” No way is Ashleigh nursing with these ass**les in here.

She rests her head against the cool window and I turn to look down at the mountain. We’ve gotten a lot of snow this year, so it’s nothing but white and green.

“It’s beautiful,” she says softly.

“Very,” I say back. Her cheeks are flushed red from the cold and her eyes are heavy. She’s prettier than I first thought. And she’s smart. I like smart girls. I’ll f**k a dumb one, but I prefer them smart. Her hair is very dark, almost black. But unlike Rook, she has dark eyes to match. I like that too. Her lids slowly close and I stare at her until we get to the top. She jolts awake when the doors whoosh open and the boarders get off. The baby is sleeping again, so even though we have the car to ourselves for the ride down, the privacy is not necessary.

“You’re missing the view, Ashleigh,” I tell her when the doors close again and we start the descent. “Come sit on my side so you can see it going down.”

She hugs the baby and settles on the bench next to me, totally within my sphere. “I like it here. I bet it was fun growing up in such a beautiful place.”

“It was. Where’d you grow up?”

“Hong Kong.”

“No shit?”

She laughs. “Yeah. My dad is half Chinese and he worked there until I was twelve. Then we came back to the US and lived in a bunch of different places.”

I chew on that for a few minutes and the next time I look, her eyes are closed again. Her head slumps over on my shoulder and instead of freaking out and pushing her away, I let her stay.

She’s warm.

And it feels kinda nice.

By the time we walk back to the van and she gets the baby belted in and is settled in her seat, she looks completely wiped.

“Too much excitement for you today?”

“I’m boring, I know,” she says with her eyes closed.

I pull out of the parking lot and get on the freeway and then get off a few seconds later at our exit. When we get to the house she’s already asleep but the baby is just starting to realize she’s hungry. Ashleigh pulls herself awake and grabs the baby. She heads straight to the bedroom when we get inside, not even a see you later for me. I stand in the kitchen for a few minutes, just listening. She talks in a low voice to the baby as she does something that is not well-received. Changing a diaper maybe. Then I hear the bed creak and everything goes silent. Must be nice to have someone with you at all times like that. I see the toll it’s taking on her, but still. That baby just loves her. No questions asked.

I grab a beer and go downstairs and stretch out on the couch. I wonder what Rook is doing. I wonder what Ronin thinks? I take out my phone and press Spencer’s ugly face.

“Yeah.”

“Spencer,” I say.

“I’m sorry, do I know you?”

I roll my eyes. He is such a child. “What’s going on?”

“You mean besides the fact that you broke my Blackbird’s heart? What was that, Ford? I mean that was low, even for you. So she’s not interested in you. Get over it.”

“She is interested in me, Spencer. That’s the problem. If I stick around I might—”

“Whatever. She’s upset and I don’t like it. You handled it all wrong, dude. There are better ways to get your point across. You could’ve just said, Hey, we need to take a break. I can’t handle this right now. But I’m still your friend and I’ll be back when I figure this mess out. I mean, what the f**k, Ford? You just talk shit to her and leave?”

“That’s not what happened.”

“No? Well, those words came out of her mouth. So that’s what she thinks happened, regardless if it did or not. She said you told her hurtful things to make her go away. And it’s f**ked up. You don’t do that to her, of all people. And now she’s worried you’re not gonna be around for the trials. If you leave us hanging, Ford, I swear—”