~Pt. Eleven~

Everyone came in for breakfast- Jeff & Ashley kept trading looks- She wanted to talk to him, but there hadn't been a chance- Jesse noticed the looks, not liking it- He pretty much dominated the conversation-
The girls cleaned up after- The boys finished helping Jasper, then Jesse & Tom had to go with Jasper to run his errands & unload the truck-

Jeff was outside, cutting a piece of wood with his knife, (something they all did at Jaspers, he was always whittling something & would hand you a piece of wood & expect you to make something of it) Jimmy & Chris were throwing knives at a post- Jada went to shower, Ashley went out to Jeff, sitting next to him on the porch steps-
He smiled, handing her the piece of wood, it was a heart, Jeff = Ashley carved in- She smiled, leaning over, giving him a kiss-
"Thank you Jeff, I love it-" he grinned, then asked,
"So, how'd it go last night ?" she shrugged,
"You know Jesse, drunk & obnoxious-" he looked at her,
"He tried something ?"
"Of course-" she looked at him, "It didn't work. Soon as we got here, Tom put him to bed & he passed out pretty quick." she nudged him with her shoulder, "I missed you-" he smiled, raising an eyebrow,
"Yeah ?" she nodded, kissing him again, "Damn Ash, it was real hard lettin' you go last night-" she nodded,
"I know, it was for me too- I was thinking maybe tonight-"
"Really ?"
"Yeah-"
"We got that thing at the Community building tonight-"
"I know, I'm gonna be there-"
Jeff, Tom & Jesse were in a band, Jeff played guitar, Tom played bass, Jesse sang & sometimes played guitar, Rowdy played the drums-
"I have to get home & get the chores done-" he stood, helping her to her feet, she surprised him by hugging him, resting her head on his chest- He put his head on hers,
"You ok Ash ?" she looked up at him,
"I'm fine, I just wish we could be alone, but I have to get home-" he nodded,
"Jimmy, we gotta get Ash home-" Jimmy pulled the knive out of the post,
"Whenever you're ready man."
Ashley ran in to let Jada know she was leaving, telling her she'd see her at the gig-

They dropped her off at her house, her Mom was there, wanting to hear all about the Prom, so Ashley told her, leaving out the Jesse incident at the bridge, but telling her about the Kammie crap- Her Mom shook her head,
"Those two boys will be fighting for your affections forever sweetie. I know you'll make the right decision when the time comes." Ashley stared at her,
"How do you know that Momma ? I don't even know for sure what I want-" her Mom just smiled, patting her hand,
"Yes you do Ashley Adriana- It's in your heart, you just have to listen-" with that, she stood up and got ready for work-
Ashley went outside, collecting the eggs, feeding the chickens, milking the cow for Tom, then feeding her horse, giving him some oats, he was a Palimino, she'd had him 3 years, Dusty, he was 4 yrs old now- Then she watered the garden & went inside to dust & vacuum-
Her Mom kissed her as she left for work, telling her to have Tom stop by the bar before the gig- Ashley went up to shower, falling asleep right after-

*CONTINUED*

*Pt. 12*
*HOME*