Ashley's Hope Read online

  Ashley’s Hope

  Burnt River Book Four

  by Amelia C. Adams

  My thanks to my co-conspirators in this project—Peggy L Henderson, Shirleen Davies, Kate Cambridge, and Kay P. Dawson.

  I would also like to thank my beta readers—Amy, Erin, Jeene, Laurie, Mary, Renee, and Shelby for keeping me on track.

  ***

  Welcome to Burnt River, Montana! Five contemporary Western romance authors have come together to write a series set in this fictional, small Western town located in the heart of Montana’s horse and cattle country. Burnt River is a close community of characters who’ve been brought together for the memorial of a beloved teacher who inspired many of his students to follow their dreams and do their very best. In the Burnt River series, we get to meet some of these former students, and how the lessons from high school have shaped their lives a decade later…

  Click here to visit the series page and learn more about the books as they’re released!

  Available books in the series:

  Shane’s Burden

  Thorn’s Journey

  Aqua’s Achilles

  … and more to come!

  Table of Contents:

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Epilogue

  Chapter One

  Ashley Jacobsen glanced in her rearview mirror as she drove away from Evie’s Diner. Sure enough, just as she thought, some of the old crowd from high school were just pulling into the parking lot. She’d timed her meal perfectly. She wasn’t ready to sit down and reminisce about the good old days—seeing them across the room at Mr. Weiker’s memorial service earlier had been awkward enough.

  She turned off the main road and began threading her way toward the home where she’d grown up. She loved these green rolling hills fiercely. They spoke to her, called out to her in a way that nothing else ever had. Leaving them had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done, but it had also been necessary—at least, she thought so at the time. She hadn’t known at eighteen the things she now knew at thirty-two. Hard lessons. Painful lessons. Crucial lessons.

  Her phone rang, and she reached down to pick it up. A glance at the caller ID told her it was Phoebe Glenn, her best friend since she was fifteen. She touched the Bluetooth in her ear to answer. “Hey, Phee. Couldn’t get the time off, huh? I saved you a seat.”

  “Yeah, we had some people fly in from out of state to look at one of our houses, and it was either miss the memorial or miss the sale. My boss had pretty strong feelings about it. How’d it go?”

  “It was good. I mean, as good as memorial services get. They’re never exactly happy occasions.”

  The breeze kicked up as she turned the corner, and for once, she was glad that her window didn’t roll up all the way. She gave up on trying to keep her blonde hair out of her face and let it blow around, whipping against her cheeks.

  “I’m dying to see you, Ash. Will you be home around five? I can come over straight from the office.”

  “Of course. Can’t wait.”

  After Ashley hung up, she pulled in a ragged breath at Phoebe’s use of the word “home.” Home meant something entirely different to her now than it did when she was a little girl.

  Both her parents had died in a car accident when she was thirteen, and her father’s oldest sister had moved into the house with her. Aunt Vi was a lovable eccentric who had always seen to it that Ashley had everything she needed, but what she needed the most were the parents Vi couldn’t bring back from the dead.

  The white clapboard house stood on a few acres of land, just enough to keep some animals and grow vegetables for the farmers’ market. It was close enough to town that it wasn’t isolated, yet far enough out that her father had jokingly called it a ranch. That had always been his dream—to own a ranch that stretched as far as he could see. He never got that wish, but the property was paid for, and he had been happy here in Burnt River. Because he was happy, so were his wife and daughter. Things like that were contagious.

  Ashley pulled up in front of the house and cut the engine. She was surprised that her Hyundai had made the trip without any incidents. Driving from California to Montana wasn’t easy for any car, let alone one that had been through everything hers had.

  The front door opened, and Aunt Vi stepped onto the porch. She was leaning on a cane—that was new. She hadn’t said anything about it when Ashley called to tell her she was coming.

  “I can’t believe you’re here!” she said as Ashley got out of the car and headed up the walk. “I thought for sure I’d dreamed the whole thing.”

  “No, I’m really here.” Ashley climbed the porch steps and wrapped her arms around her aunt, breathing in deeply. Vi always smelled like lilacs and chocolate chip cookies. Ashley had never been able to smell either of those things without being transported back to this place. How long had it been since her last visit? Five years, and that was just a quick weekend too long ago.

  “How was the memorial? I wish I’d been able to go.” Vi held the door open for Ashley, who followed her inside. She’d get her bags later—right now, she just wanted to talk to her aunt and relax. Or maybe, drill her aunt to find out what was going on.

  “It was nice. He had a great turnout—I’m sure I’m exaggerating, but it was almost like every kid he ever taught was there.” Ashley sank onto the couch and kicked off her heels.

  “That must have been quite a crowd. I don’t even remember how many years he taught at the high school. One of the most well-respected science teachers we’ve ever had—I’ve never heard anyone say a critical word about him.”

  Vi had worked as a lunch lady in the high school cafeteria after she’d moved here to raise Ashley. She would have been in the perfect position to hear the scuttlebutt, if there had been any. “So, why weren’t you able to go, Aunt Vi? And what’s up with this cane? You’ve never mentioned it.” Ashley tried to keep her voice light to hide her worry.

  “Oh, this?” Vi nodded toward the cane that she’d rested against the arm of the recliner where she sat. “I didn’t want to trouble you. Dr. Stone says there’s some rheumatoid arthritis in my hips. There’s not much he can do—I’ve got some pain pills and whatnot, but it’s not a big deal.” She waved her hand as though erasing the whole subject. “I’d much rather talk about you. Have you come home to stay?”

  Ashley paused for a long moment before answering. She didn’t want the conversation to shift so quickly, but she supposed Vi would talk when she was ready. “California wasn’t what I hoped,” she said at last.

  “And neither was New York,” Vi added.

  “Or Paris, or Milan . . .” Ashley sighed. “I’ve chased that silly dream all over the world, and I’m tired of chasing. Besides, I’m too old now. All the best models are around twenty-one. The only jobs I could get these days would be ads for wrinkle cream or adult diapers.”

  Vi reached out and swatted her arm. “I happen to enjoy those ads very much, I’ll have you know. You’re not old, Ashley—you have plenty of time to move on to something else. What other things interest you?”

  “That’s just it. I’ve wanted to be a model for so long, I don’t know what else I want to do.” When she was a little girl, all her Barbies were models. She’d spent her allowance money on f
ashion magazines, which made her parents laugh because there really wasn’t a lot of call for fashion magazines in Burnt River, but the drugstore owner made sure to have some on hand just for her. She’d even gone to beauty school as a way to learn more about the industry, and practiced every kind of haircut on Phoebe. All the decisions she’d made had been with her end goal in mind, and she didn’t know who she was apart from it.

  “It sounds like it’s time to find yourself,” Vi said gently. “Will you do that here or somewhere else? I’m trying hard not to be pushy, but I’d love it if you came home.”

  The warmth of the invitation nearly did Ashley in. “I’d love to come home,” she replied. “It just feels . . .” She didn’t have the words.

  “It feels like failure,” Vi finished for her. “I understand, sweetheart. When you left town, you planned to set the world on fire, and you weren’t going to come back until your name was in every magazine and on every television set. That didn’t happen, but it just means that this one particular avenue didn’t pan out for you. You have so many other talents—so many things to explore.”

  Ashley nodded. Failure. That’s exactly what she was feeling. “I worked so hard, Aunt Vi. I really did.”

  “I know you did, honey. This wasn’t for lack of trying.”

  “Then what was it for lack of?” Ashley tried to be funny, but she still sounded whiny, and if there was one thing Aunt Vi couldn’t stand, it was whining. She braced herself for the inevitable lecture.

  But it didn’t come. Instead, Vi merely said, “I think you accomplished everything you were meant to.”

  Ashley didn’t feel the same way, but she was ready to introduce a subject change of her own. “Phoebe wants to come over after work, if that’s all right.”

  Vi raised an eyebrow. “Since when has that girl ever needed permission to come over? Now get yourself into the kitchen. I made some chocolate chip cookies.”

  ***

  After washing down her cookies with some milk, Ashley carried her bags in from the car and changed into some jeans and a T-shirt. Her room was exactly the way she’d left it, except that it had been dusted—she’d hated to dust as a teenager and only did it when Vi lost her patience. She pulled on some sneakers and headed outside, needing to see how much the place had changed and to breathe the fresh country air.

  She knew Vi had hired different people over the years to come in and help run things. The front yard and the flowerbeds looked nice, but now it was time for the real test—the little outbuildings, the shop and shed, and the animal pens. It would be easy for a hired hand to sweep things like that under the rug, but no, everything looked just as it always had—neat and tidy.

  She stopped at the corral that once held the ranch’s one and only horse, Butternut. She’d loved that horse. Her father had given it to her for her birthday and she’d ridden it for hours every day, but after the car accident, she couldn’t bear to ride anymore—it reminded her too much of her parents. They’d wanted her to go on a Sunday drive with them, but she’d turned them down because she’d planned to take Butternut along the river. When she got back home, she’d found the sheriff on her front porch, along with the pastor and his wife, to give her the bad news. The pastor had helped her find a good home for Butternut that fall.

  “You seem a little lost in thought.”

  Ashley whirled at the sound of the voice, her hand flying to her heart. “Thorn! You startled me.”

  He chuckled and took off his cowboy hat. “Sorry about that. I just wanted to stop by and welcome you back to town. Are you staying or just here for the memorial?”

  “I think I’m staying. I’ve missed this place too much.”

  “That’s a good choice. There really is nowhere else on earth like Burnt River.”

  “I’ve been learning that.” Ashley swallowed a few times. She’d had the biggest crush on Thorn Macklin in high school, not that they’d ever dated or anything. He’d always been with Grace Jackson. She thought for sure they’d end up together, but something had happened that pulled them apart. She’d never heard what that was, but figured it had to be pretty major. If any two people had seemed cut from the same cloth, it was Thorn and Grace.

  “How’s Vi getting along?” Thorn rested his hand on the rail near Ashley’s.

  “She’s doing all right, I guess, but I wouldn’t really know. It’s been too long since I’ve seen her to compare, and she hasn’t opened up to me yet.” Ashley sighed and turned to lean on the fence. “How does time go by so fast, anyway? I mean, it wasn’t that long ago that we were all sitting in Mr. Weiker’s science class, and now he’s dead and Vi’s using a cane and everything’s just so different.”

  Thorn looked out across the yard and then back at her. “I don’t know. I have to say, though, that you don’t look any different. It’s like time stopped where you’re concerned.”

  She laughed. “Oh, come on. I’m not a cheerleader anymore—I couldn’t do any of those moves again even with a week to warm up.”

  “Well, you look good to me. Take care, Ashley, and welcome back.” He gave her a grin and a nod, put his hat on, and headed back out to where he’d parked.

  Ashley watched him go. He’d said some nice things to her, but he wasn’t there to flirt or ask her out, as much as she would have liked that. He was just being friendly because he was a friendly kind of guy. She guessed that was her final answer—there would never be anything between her and Thorn Macklin, not that she’d ever thought there would be.

  Chapter Two

  Josh Wright grunted as he hefted his suitcase into the back of his truck. He didn’t think he’d packed all that much, but what he had packed must have weighed a ton. With any luck, he’d be coming back for the rest of his things in about a week and he could leave this dismal apartment building behind him forever. In the meantime, he’d leave the concrete gnome in the flowerbed on guard duty.

  Gnawing in the back of his mind was the fear that Burnt River wouldn’t work out for him either—that he’d constantly be going from place to place looking for what he once had with Melody. But he’d never find it. That was an impossible wish. She was gone, and that piece of himself was gone too. Now what remained was to figure out how to keep moving forward despite all that.

  He’d gassed up on his way home, and a sack of overpriced convenience-store snacks sat on the bench seat of the truck. He was as ready as he’d ever be, and if he wanted to get a good night’s sleep before his job interview the next morning, he’d better head out now so he wouldn’t be reaching his brother’s house in the middle of the night. Something seemed to be holding him back, though, some invisible force. He knew he hadn’t forgotten anything—it was just the fear of the unknown, and the only way to combat that was to face it head-on and make it familiar. With a deep breath, he climbed into the cab of his truck and started the engine. It was time.

  Before he pulled out, he sent a quick text to Walt. Leaving now. See you soon. Thanks again.

  Thank goodness for family.

  ***

  Ashley threw open the front door with a squeal and caught Phoebe up in a tight hug. They rocked back and forth for a second before Ashley stepped back to let her friend into the house.

  “I’m so glad you’re here,” Phoebe said, wiping tears from under her eyes. “It’s been so long, and emails just aren’t the same.”

  “I know.” Ashley wrapped her arm around Phoebe’s shoulders and gave her another hug. “Come say hi to Aunt Vi—she’s been asking about you for the last half hour.”

  “I’m sorry I’m late—I had some paperwork to finish up before I could leave.” Phoebe tossed her purse on the couch and walked through to the kitchen, very familiar with the house and where everything was. “Hey, young lady.”

  “Phoebe!” Vi set down the knife she was using and accepted a hug. “You haven’t been to see me in a month. What have you been up to?”

  “I wish I had an exciting answer, but I’ve just been working.” Phoebe pulled out a bar
stool, sat on it, and began to peel the cucumbers that were sitting on the counter. “I have sold two houses, though, so that’s good.”

  “Two houses? So, you’re a gazillionaire now, right?” Ashley grabbed the tomatoes out of the fridge and pulled another knife from the block. This felt right, the three of them working in the kitchen together like they had so many times before.

  “Not quite, but I’m not complaining, either.” Phoebe glanced over at Vi. “What did the doc say last week, Vi?”

  “Just to keep doing what I’m doing, and to stop doing what I’d really like to be doing,” Vi replied. “I wish he had something new to say. He’s boring me to tears.”

  Ashley concentrated on chopping the tomatoes so she wouldn’t send Phoebe a death glare. So Phoebe had known something was going on with Vi, but hadn’t said anything either. Had they signed some sort of pact to keep Ashley totally out of the loop?

  “Thorn Macklin stopped by a little while ago,” she said, knowing Phoebe would want to know about that.

  “He did? What did he say?”

  “Just wanted to welcome me home. It was good to see him.”

  “Yeah, those Macklins grew up nice, didn’t they?” Phoebe’s face went dreamy. “I didn’t get a lot out of sophomore year because of them. They were pretty distracting.”

  “I always thought Del was the nicest-looking out of the bunch,” Vi said. “He did good things to a pair of jeans.”

  “Aunt Vi!” Ashley paused mid-chop. “What on earth?”

  “You think you girls are the only ones with eyes?” Vi grinned. “Of course, now that Del’s our sheriff, I show him a lot more respect. That’s only fitting.”

  Ashley shook her head and finished the last tomato. “I think we’re going to have to keep closer tabs on you. Can’t have you wandering off in the night in the hopes that the nice sheriff will bring you home in his squad car.”

  “Now there’s an idea I hadn’t thought of,” Vi said. “I’ll jot it down for future reference. I need to sit for a minute, girls. Can you finish up the salad? The lasagna’s almost ready to come out of the oven. It’s just a frozen thing, I’m afraid.”