RUSH (Montgomery Men #1) - C.A. Harms Page 0,24

We didn’t have much and my father’s health kept us indoors most of the time because couldn’t move much beyond the couch or his bed. But we were happy then. In those days, we would just talk for hours. At times we would get into debates about politics or something random on the news. My father and I were both hardheaded about our views of how the world should be. We’d get so lost in our conversations that we hardly noticed how much time had passed before we realized it was the middle of the night.

It was still hard for me to believe that he was gone. And it was hard to fathom that I had no idea where my father was buried, or if he was even buried instead of being cremated. I just wanted to imagine him sitting on the couch beside me, laughing at how deeply I had gotten into learning about the recent presidential candidates. It was easier not to face the fact that I’d never see him again.

Maybe this was wrong on my part, but it helped me survive, and somehow I knew my father would be okay with my choice for now if it helped me.

I had to keep my head above water, and if I started mourning my father I knew I’d be lost. And then I would be weak.

I couldn’t give Jase that. I would continue to fight against weakness because I refused to fall.

ASHTON

IT WAS SATURDAY EVENING, AND I was yet again thrown into the party scene.

Normally an outing such as my current one wouldn’t bother me. It was for a good cause. Raising money for those less fortunate than myself had always been a must for me. But tonight, my mind was still completely wrapped up in some damn stubborn-ass brunette.

The waiting was fucking killing me.

I knew I would soon have to come up with a way to find myself coincidently in the same place at the same time as the beautiful Kiera. But I still hadn’t come up with a plan.

“Why on earth are you hiding all the way over here in a dark corner?” My hand froze in midair with my tumbler of scotch pressed gently against my lips when Sloane, my ex, approached.

I’d seen her when I arrived over an hour ago, yet I chose to ignore her. We shared the same friends and attended the same functions, so I knew we’d eventually run into one another again. I did my best to avoid it, but it was inevitable.

“Maybe I was hoping the night would pass without you seeing me,” I said, disdain lacing my words. I fucking hated this woman. She was evil, she was conniving, and she had a heart of coal. All she cared about was herself.

“Well, it looks like that tactic failed,” she said, taking the chair next to me, being sure to rub her pert breast against my arm in the process. She had a body made for fucking, and she knew it. The woman used sex as a ploy to get her way and I had fallen for her shit.

But not tonight.

“I guess so,” I said, ignoring the way her hand now rubbed my thigh.

“You’ve been avoiding my calls,” she whispered as she moved her hand higher. “That’s not very nice of you, Ash. After the time we’ve spent together, you can just toss me away that easily?”

“Yep,” I said, tipping my glass up to finish off my drink.

“What do you say we get out of here and talk?” she asked as she brushed her fingertips over my cock. “I’ve missed you.”

Just then the bartender approached and asked if I needed a refill.

“No, I’m good,” I assured him.

I stood from the barstool and Sloane’s hand fell away as she gave me a little pout.

“But if you give this one enough attention, she’ll blow you behind the bar,” I told the bartender as I motioned with my thumb in her direction. She narrowed her eyes at me, and I ignored her evil glare. I was immune to it. “And if you offer to buy her something real pretty and expensive, I bet she’d even fuck you in the storage room.”

I didn’t wait for him to respond. But I heard loud and clear the displeased response of the whore I left sitting at the bar.

She slept around the entire time we were together, lied about it, and didn’t once give a fuck if she was hurting me in the process. And now she