Riptide

➳5

Chapter Five

Asher throws down his bag of supplies onto the ground near the barn and I look away when he looks up. It's been a week since that day.

I think back to his hand on my skin, his gentle eyes—

I shake my head, clearing my thoughts. Stay away Rosie, I tell myself. Since then, Asher and I have barely spoken aside from the few necessary pleasantries.

"I'll be in later today to start clearing the mess in that room so I can lay the foundation for the new walls later."
I jump, surprised to hear Asher behind me. when I turn around, he's looking at anything but me, his face stony.

"Alright," I say.

He nods and turns around.

"Do you want to come in for lunch?" I call out before he can disappear around the barn.

He stops for a few moments, his shoulders tense before he shakes his head. "Thanks for the offer but I am going to work through lunch."
And then he's gone.

My heart sinks and I scold myself for feeling disappointed.

You're the one pushing him away I remind myself.

I stand up, brushing the dirt off my knees. Tossing in a few potatoes into the basket beside me, I try to surreptitiously watch Asher from the corner of my eye.

He picks up the hammer from his little pile of supplies, his gaze trailing over the tattered barn.

"We've got some more bolts somewhere up in the back of the barn I think," I call out, biting the inside of my cheek nervously when he turns his head to look at me. his handsome face is scrunched up from the brightness of the sun in his eyes as he rubs the back of his neck.

"Alright, I'll get it as soon as I unbolt this door," Asher says, turning away.

I stand there uncertain for a moment before straightening my shoulders. "I'll grab it. You just work on that door."
I stride across the dirt, close enough to see beads of sweat dropping from Asher's forehead.

"Don't bother. You've gotta climb up a ladder to get to it," Asher says, kneeling on the ground to unscrew a bolt from the door. He doesn't even look at me.

I roll my eyes, pulling my hair into a quick pony tail. "I'm perfectly capable of scaling a ladder."
Asher looks up at me with pursed lips at my sharp reply.

He shakes his head as I stride into the barn, stepping over knocked over supplies and broken pieces of wood.

Decades ago, this barn used to be functioning with actual animals like cows, chickens and pigs. When my father and mother moved in, there was no way my mother was ever going to learn how to milk a cow or deal with actual farm animals, so my father decided to get rid of them.

Now, the barn serves more as a storage unit.

Pulling the ladder out from the corner, I drag it over to the side of the wall. Propping it open, I step up the ladder until I'm at the highest shelving. I brush off some dust from the containers, searching for the screws.

My hand brushes over something smooth and soft and I pause for a moment, gingerly pulling the object out.

I scrutinize the book, brushing off the dust from the cover. It's leather cover is smooth with wear against my fingertips, like someone's ran their fingers over it many times.