Read Online Anchor of Hope by Kiah Stephens - Free Book Online Page B

his check—and I wanted to let you know, if you ever need anything—and I mean anything —delivered to him, you'll have to do it yourself.”
    Bryan handed Ashley a cappuccino. She laughed when she saw he had created a little peace symbol in the foam on top.
    “You want anything to eat? We still have the breakfast menu going, but if you want an early lunch I can get Dean to whip something up.” Dean was the chef.
    “No, thanks. Mom made me some of her gluten-free raisin toast earlier. Tasted like cardboard.”
    Bryan laughed and returned to preparing a sandwich for one of the customers. Ashley flicked through the local paper. There were several pages were covered with photos and featured different articles about the upcoming Country Music Jamboree. She remembered back to a time when she dreamed about working for the Sweet Home Gazette.
    “Well, I'll be.” A loud voice boomed from the entrance of the cafe.
    Ashley looked up to see a familiar face. It was Sam, Jay's father.
    “Little Ashley Harper, all grown up!” He smiled as he walked over to greet her and gave her a hug, cutting off her oxygen supply.
    “It's good to see you, Ash. How's the Big Apple treating you?”
    He hadn't changed a bit. He was tall, with thinning hair. He wore his regular attire—old jeans, leather belt with a big buckle, and a button-down shirt. He used to wear a cowboy hat and Ashley was glad to see he still had it, as he carried it in his hand. Ashley's father and Sam had been lifelong friends. His face was full of lines most probably from smiling too much.
    “I'm well, Sam. The city is great; keeping me busy.”
    “Good, good,” he said. “I suppose you're back for your Mama's wedding?”
    “Yeah, back for the week.”
    Bryan watched on with interest as he listened to their conversation.
    “When do you go home? You should go and pay Jay a visit. I'm sure he'd love to see you.”
    Ashley choked on her coffee and began coughing and spluttering. Sam patted her on the back.
    “You all right?” He frowned.
    “I'm OK, I'm OK.” Ashley insisted between gasps for air. Finally she cleared her airway enough to speak. “Uh, yeah. I might stop by and see how he’s going.” She gave a thin smile, knowing she had no intention whatsoever of returning to Jays property.
    “Here you go, Sam.” Bryan interrupted and handed Sam a white paper and a large drink in a takeout cup.
    “Thanks,” Sam said and shot Ashley a quick smile. “Best organic, free range, non-GMO, tree-hugging sandwiches in town.” He winked.
    Ashley laughed out loud, gaining the attention of several of the patrons.
    Sam paid and began to walk out. “I'll see you on Saturday, Ash,” he called.
    Ashley waved, ignoring the fact that Bryan was struggling not to laugh.
    “What?”
    “Why didn't you tell him you already saw Jay?”
    “And say what? Oh yeah, I did visit your son and he did love to see me. So much, in fact, he told me to get off his property.”
    “Did Jay really tell you to leave?” Bryan asked, now serious.
    “Not in so many words, but that was pretty much the gist of it.”
    “That doesn't sound like something he'd say. We're pretty close and he's never said anything bad about you, even after everything that happened-”
    “Everything that happened? What do you mean? I never did anything wrong.”
    “I didn't mean it like that.” Bryan raised his hands. “I'm just saying after you left, it broke his heart. And I'm not saying it's your fault, or that you did it intentionally; I know you had to go and so did Jay, but it was hard on him for a long time.”
    “We were kids. It wasn’t like it was anything serious.”
    Bryan raised his eyebrows.
    Ashley opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. She had learned in New York that sometimes in life it was better to say nothing and let it go rather than cause conflict. She sipped the last of her coffee.
    “Are you mad?” Bryan asked cautiously.
    “No. I guess we're even now