Free Love's Someday by Robin Alexander Page B

“Did any of them seem pissed?”
    “Not at all.” Drew shook her head emphatically. “Chantal acted a little put off when we had barely sat down and the redhead…Jaclyn asked about you. I think Chantal was a little embarrassed that Jaclyn was so abrupt.”
    Ashleigh smiled genuinely then. “Jac hasn’t changed. Did Alex…what did she ask?”
    “Nothing really, she just listened intently. I watched her eyes as we all talked. Her face was expressionless, she’s very hard to read. I got a pretty good idea about all the other personalities,” Drew said. “Vicki is kind of like me, never meets a stranger. Chantal reminds me of Kaitlyn, a little more reserved, but friendly. I can tell Jaclyn is high energy, and Lindsay, even though she was nice to us, I sensed that she’s a bit bitchy. But Alex, I couldn’t read her, that’s why I’m curious.”
    “They all sound the same,” Ashleigh said wistfully.
    Drew poked Ashleigh in the arm. “So paint a picture of Alex for me.”
    “Alex,” Ashleigh said as she began toying with the string on her pants again. “Is…or was…extremely good-looking.” Ashleigh raised a brow at Drew.
    “Still so,” Drew said too enthusiastically for Ashleigh’s liking.
    “But arrogant. She could turn on that charm and have any woman she wanted eating from her palm. She could be caring and sweet if it got her what she wanted. Alex always zeroed in on a person, then grew bored very quickly…like she did with me.”
    “Then what did you see in her, besides the good looks and great body?”
    Ashleigh let out a long sigh. “I was a kid, just a stupid kid.”
    “So there’s no chance that you’d…”
    “Oh, God no, Drew. Even if I didn’t love Erica, there’s no way I’d allow myself to get caught up in her again.” Ashleigh glanced up at the clock and was shocked to see how much time had passed. “Erica should be home soon. I need to go.” She pulled on her shoes eager to be away from Drew’s scrutiny.
    Drew slipped a dish of chicken salad into a bag and handed it to Ashleigh as she waited by the door. “Thank you for forgiving me,” she said with a hug.
    “I’m still working on the forgiveness part, you little shit.” Ashleigh pushed the door open and stepped out. She looked over her shoulder and smiled. “I love ya, though.”

Chapter Eleven

    Erica yawned as she tabbed through the ever-growing list of intra-company e-mail. She lifted the cup to her lips and gulped the lukewarm coffee that she hoped would give her a much-needed push. She couldn’t remember a time when she’d been so tired. She’d not been able to rest. Work was going at a hectic pace; she felt she had to be on top of her game every minute of the day. She felt that way at home, too. She and Ashleigh had settled back into a routine, but she couldn’t allow herself to relax.
    Ashleigh was uncharacteristically moody. She’d said many times that she wanted things to be “normal” between them. Erica wasn’t sure what “normal” was anymore. Unspoken words seemed to hang between them; she kept waiting for Ashleigh to put a voice to them.
    Lost in thought, she hadn’t noticed that her father had slipped into her office. He was sitting in front of her now, running his forefingers over the cuticles of his thumb, a nervous habit they both shared. “Good morning, Dad, I didn’t see you come in.”
    He smiled over at her and took a deep breath before speaking. “I’ve made a decision this week. I think it’s time for me to step back and let you take the reins.”
    “You bought the fishing boat, didn’t you?” Erica felt her stomach twist into knots.
    “I did better than that. I bought the boat and a camp on Bell River. Your mom is there now getting it all fixed up.”
    Kaitlyn waved from the hallway as she passed by the open door. “Katie,” Erica called to her. A few seconds later, Kaitlyn appeared in the doorway. “Would you close the door for me, please?”
    “Mornin’, Dad…um,