Page 22 of For Your Consideration

“Why not?”

The man of few words was making me a little angry.

“Because I can take care of myself and my daughter! You didn’t need to buy me stuff. Especially from that place you did. I know it wasn’t cheap. The stuff I had here the other day was just fine. And I can’t pay you back for it. Schedule a pickup and have it returned.”

“I’m not looking for you to pay me back.” He sounded offended. “Just because I bought shit doesn’t mean I think you can’t care for your daughter.”

“You didn’t have to do it.”

“I did have to do it.”

“Asher…”

“Sutton…”

“Ugh! Are we going to get anywhere?”

“No,” he replied.

I would almost bet he was smiling, even if it was super small. From the frowns I’d seen, I’d thought he’d forgotten how.

Too bad I couldn’t see it.

“Thanks. It was really thoughtful,” I muttered quietly into the phone. Accepting help or gifts was not something I knew how to do. “Even though you shouldn’t have done it and I would rather you return it.”

It was part of the reason I was mad at him. This was very thoughtful and yet we had only met a handful of times. He had just ensured that I could bring my daughter here easily. It would be super helpful to not have to lug her stuff with me if I needed to bring her in again. And the swing would be the perfect place to park her while I worked.

“It was nothing, sweetheart.” His voice was soft and low and I may have melted into a puddle. He really didn’t understand that it wasn’t nothing—he had thought about me and decided to do something that would make my life easier. He’d considered not only me, but also my daughter, and that was just about everything. “Save my number. Call me if you need anything.”

He hung up before I could say goodbye. I fell back into my chair.

He called me sweetheart after calling my daughter sunshine on Friday. He’d bought me stuff without even thinking about it. He was gruff and sweet to me all at the same time.

It had been a long time since someone had cared for me, selflessly. I didn’t even know what to do about that.

8

Asher

After I hung up on Sutton, I pushed back in my chair. More of the puzzle fell into place when I met Sophie. She had a daughter, a young one at that. That explained the exhaustion I’d seen on her face.

It was admirable that she seemed to be raising her on her own. I would love it if that had closed the door on her and my brain was able to move on. But it hadn’t stopped me from thinking about her or having that tightness in my chest.

Shaking off my feelings about Sutton, I tried to get a few hours of work done but of course my phone started buzzing, meaning the group chat was kicking off.

Quinn

*sent photo*

*sent photo*

*sent photo*

I know you were all on the video call with us but I just wanted to send a couple photos.

Noah

I can’t believe you said yes.