I slowly walked the rest of the way down the stairs and put a smile on my face. Asher was in my house and he was here to see me, not to bring Momma something his mother had made for her, or to borrow a tool from Daddy. Asher was here for me.
“Hey,” I said, as I entered the living room.
Asher turned, a sexy smile appearing on his face with ease. “Happy birthday, Dixie,” he replied.
“Thank you,” I replied, beaming.
“I figured I’d give you a ride to school on such an important day. Was driving by and thought it would be nice to visit the birthday girl.” He paused and looked back at my parents. “That is, if it’s okay with the both of you?”
My mother’s eyes got that knowing light in them. I knew she was reading the wrong thing into this, but I couldn’t correct her in front of Asher.
“Reckon it is, if I can have your word that you’ll treat my girl like the lady she is. I’ve heard about that truck of yours. Dixie ain’t one of them girls.”
I blushed from embarrassment, wanting to crawl under the coffee table and hide there forever.
“Yes, sir. You have nothing to worry about. Dixie’s my friend, and I respect her. I like spending time with her, as a friend, only as a friend.”
Asher had just said I was his friend three times and that was all the wake up call I needed to stop me from getting silly ideas about him being here, picking me up for school on my birthday. He only saw me as his friend and that was all.
Daddy didn’t look very convinced. But he nodded, indicating he was buying it. “Known you since you were born. You’re a good boy, even if you’ve got a bit of a reputation with girls. I trust you’ll do right by my Dixie.”
Oh, good Lord, this was getting more embarrassing by the second. I hurried to the door saying, “we need to go or we’ll be late,” and opening it quickly. The cool morning breeze helped my heated cheeks, but it would take an ice storm to cool them.
“Have a good day, honey. Wear your seatbelt,” Momma called.
I nodded, and kept hurrying to his waiting truck. I feared that if we didn’t get away soon, dad would be asking Asher about his intentions and whatnot.
I climbed in the passenger side of the truck and it dawned on me then that the other Suttons weren’t here. Asher shared this truck with the twins and they rode to school together every day.
Asher got inside with a chuckle. “Don’t worry about them, Dix. They’re just parents being parents. No need to be embarrassed.”
“Where are your brothers?” I asked, wanting to forget that scene inside. I wasn’t looking at him, I couldn’t do that yet.
“They got another ride.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t want them in here to see me give you this.” I looked up from my lap to see a small silver box with a shiny pink bow on top. Asher was giving me a present. A boy had never given me a gift, not on my birthday at least, unless you count the white bunny Davey Miller gave me way back in first grade. It was the same bunny he napped with his entire kindergarten year which made me feel pretty special at the time.
I reached for it. My hand trembled a little and I hoped he didn’t notice. I was excited, part of me wishing he’d left it on my doorstep so that I could open it privately. I knew that even if it were a rock, I would love it. It didn’t matter to me what was inside that box. It was from Asher and that made it precious.
“You gonna hold it like it might bite you or go ahead and open it?” he teased.
“The wrapping is so pretty I hate to mess it up,” I replied, no longer able to contain the big smile tugging at my lips.
“Thanks. I did it myself.”
I wasn’t sure I believed that. “Sure you did.”
His eyebrows immediately shot up. “Hell yeah I did, ask my momma. She supplied the wrapping paper and the bow. But I wrapped it. Honestly, I did.”
Now I didn’t want to ruin the wrapping even more. I’d keep it like this forever.
“Open it, Dix,” he said, smiling.
Fine. But I wasn’t going to tear the paper. I unwrapped it as gently as I could. Sliding out the small box, I realized I was holding my breath. I quickly inhaled before I passed out in front of him and embarrassed myself even more.
I lifted the top from the box and my heart swelled even more from seeing what it held inside. It wasn’t because of the price of the gift or its beauty. It was because he’d remembered something about me that not many people knew.
“How did you remember this?” I held The Little Mermaid sterling silver charm that would now complete my Princess bracelet. They discontinued it when I was nine years old, before I could complete my collection. I’d cried that day when Momma told me she couldn’t find one anywhere. Asher had been borrowing a saw from Daddy and he’d seen me in tears. When I told him why I was crying, he had hugged me, assured me that one day this wouldn’t be a big deal to me. I cried that it would always be a big deal because The Little Mermaid had been my favorite. I’d wanted that charm from the moment I got my bracelet, but it was always sold out everywhere we looked.
I’d forgotten all about that, but he clearly hadn’t. That bracelet was still in my jewelry box, missing its last charm. Until now.
Tears stung my eyes and I smiled as I held it in my hand like the priceless treasure it was to me.
“When a beautiful girl cries, a boy never forgets why,” Asher replied softly.
Asher Sutton
DALLAS HAD LET his black hair grow long and it was now pulled back in a ponytail. When I came home for Christmas, he’d been tucking it behind his ears, but it hadn’t been pulled back yet. He had our mother’s green eyes and my grandmother’s Native American skin tone, also like mom. She always said Dallas was the prettiest of us all and we gave him hell about it. He was also fucking spoiled, being Momma’s favorite, her baby.
I took a big drink from the milk Momma fixed me and noticed my baby brother’s grin. Dallas was clearly looking forward to Steel getting back because he thought we would fight. And Dallas loved a good fight and placed bets on underground fights all the time, thinking I didn’t know it.
“You want another pie?” Momma asked, glancing over her shoulder as she dropped another pastry into the frying pan.
“No, thanks, I’m good,” I replied.
“I want one, Momma. Fighting makes me hungry,” Dallas drawled, Brent shoving him and causing Dallas to lean off, before he cackled with laughter.
“Ain’t no fighting going on around here. And you two stop rough-housing in my kitchen.” Momma spoke, frowning at them both.
“Can I still have another pie?” Dallas asked, seriously pouting. He was seventeen years old and pouting over a fucking fried pie.
“Of course. Go sit and be good,” she replied, Dallas winking at her, and causing her to roll her eyes before going back to frying the pies.
“You’re a dipshit, you know that, don’t you?” I said, as he pulled out a chair, turned it around and straddled it.
“Missed you, too,” he replied, trying his charm on me, like he did on the rest of the world. He could be a smartass one minute and a charmer the next.
“Your pretty face don’t work on me,” I said, taking another drink of my milk.
“He’s here,” Bray announced as he walked into the kitchen. “Just saw him drive up. You gonna play nice?” He was looking directly at me.
I wasn’t mad at Steel. I was angry because this shit was going to hurt him, too. He’d be changed forever, the same as I had been, and all I ever wanted was to keep them safe. But I’d failed. My leaving hadn’t helped anything. It had simply made it worse.
“I’m good,” I replied when I realized all four sets of eyes were on me.
The screen door opened again and this time it was Steel who walked in. He looked straight at me and stopped. He looked nervous.
“About time you finally got home,” I said casually, rising from my chair.
He took a step back, then froze, taking a deep breath. I’d eased him with my words.
“I haven’t seen you since Christmas,” I said, closing the space between us and pulling him into a hug. “Missed you, bro.”