stay in Pinewood Springs, and with Smokey. Ashley had no idea how she and Smokey could continue their relationship when she went back to Denver.
Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, she secured it with a blue scrunchie. Time to stop thinking about what-ifs and start working. Bending over, she picked up her large burgundy leather tote and plopped it down next to her on the couch. As she rummaged through it, a tremor of panic shot through her. Frowning, she emptied the contents on the cushion, then checked the inside of the bag again. Where the hell is my MacBook Pro? Ashley stood up and retraced her steps several times, but she couldn’t find her business computer anywhere.
Grabbing her phone off the coffee table, she called the restaurant to see if anyone had found a MacBook. No one did. She then tapped in Whitney’s number.
“What’s up? Whitney answered, concern lacing her tone.
“This is crazy, but I can’t find my work computer. I called the restaurant, but it wasn’t there. I’m wondering if it dropped out of my tote in your car. I’m kind of freaking out here, because all my spreadsheets are on it, and I have an important meeting tomorrow afternoon.”
“I’d be freaking out too. I’ll get someone to cover for me and check.”
“Thanks. I’ll wait for your call.”
Twenty tense minutes later, Whitney called to tell her she’d found it on the backseat floor.
The stress washed away. “That’s great. What a relief.”
“The only problem is, I can’t get away. We’re slammed, and there’s only two of us right now. Can you come and get it?”
“I have a conference call soon, so maybe after that.”
“I can have someone drop it off to you. Eric told me he’s going into town. I can ask him.”
“If he doesn’t mind. When’s he leaving?”
“I’m not sure. If that doesn’t work, I can ask someone else if you’re cool with that.”
“Yeah, sure. It saves me a trip.”
“I’ll make sure it gets to you.”
“Sounds good. I appreciate it.”
Happy that the crisis was resolved, Ashley went into the kitchen for a cup of coffee. After the heavy lunch, she’d need a shot of caffeine to get her through the rest of the day.
With cup in hand, she ambled back into the family room, took out the Kenmore folder, and looked it over in preparation for the conference call.
Two and a half hours later, she stood up and stretched, kneading her shoulder muscles with her fingers. After doing a couple of yoga positions, she headed back to the kitchen to get some water. I wonder what’s taking Eric so long. She sighed. I’m going to have to work late tonight, for sure.
She walked over to the window, hoping to see Eric turning onto her street, but instead, she spotted Brady’s car driving past her house. What the hell? Jumping away, she plastered herself against the wall and waited. The pulse in her temple pounded, and her mouth went dry. Why is he on my street? As the seconds ticked away, she gathered her courage and inched closer to the window to peek out. Brady was sitting in his car, looking over at the house. Standing sentry, she watched him for what seemed like an eternity, until he pulled away from the curb and drove away. Taking deep breaths, she closed the curtains and slumped against the wall.
Ashley hadn’t seen Brady since the day he’d come into her office over three weeks ago. After that encounter, she’d gone to the shelter to say goodbye to the kids when she knew Brady wasn’t there, and then she’d left a message on his machine, telling him she would not be returning. Brady never contacted her, and she hadn’t bumped into him, so why was he in front of her house that day? Whitney’s right. I need to call Smokey and tell him what’s going on.
As soon as she picked up the phone, the doorbell rang. Is that Brady? No, she saw him drive away. It was probably Eric dropping off her MacBook.
Looking out the small window at the top of the door, she turned off the alarm, then turned the lock and opened the door. Jared was standing there, holding her computer.
“Hi,” she said, unlatching the screen door. “I thought Eric was coming.”
“Someone called off again, so he stayed to cover. I just finished my shift, so he asked me to drop off your computer.” Holding it out, he handed it to her.