For Better or Hearse

Chapter Twenty

T hey get to Rainbow Falls early the next morning. Despite their grumbles, Nathaniel’s siblings rallied, and everyone is on the bus. Ash sits by herself in a window seat, dark glasses hiding her eyes, arms crossed over her chest.

“Okay, so should I say it like this?” Delaney asks, clearing her throat. “‘You stupid idiot. I love you.’ Or like this? ‘You’re a big dummy, but I love you.’” She frowns at the script she has pulled up on her phone. “It’s really hard to know if I should improv.”

Tate snickers. “Isn’t that what you do every day?”

She socks him in the arm. “Jerk.”

“It’s an easy hike, Dad,” Claire says as the caravan comes to a stop in the parking lot. “Rainbow Falls is just over the hill. It’s supposed to be one of the five best Big Island waterfalls.”

“Think you can steer clear of rockslides, Bigfoot?” Nathaniel asks, keeping his attention fixed on the guidebook even though there’s no need. The hike’s short. The morning sunny. Prime position to catch a rainbow.

Ash scoffs. “So hostile. Your grandson needs a leash, Augustus.” She keeps her voice bored, her face turned straight ahead.

Augustus chuckles.

But the tips of her ears are bright red. Just like her lipstick.

That red fucking lipstick that came off all over his cock last night.

How is it that only four days ago, all he wanted to do was buy her a one-way ticket back to LA? He was obsessed with hating her, now he’s just plain obsessed with her. She’s so fucking beautiful and mean, it messes with his mind. She’s under his skin, and he isn’t ashamed to admit he wants her to burrow in deep.

Fuck the hikes. He wants to be fucking Ash in every room of the hotel.

He’s not sure he’ll survive her in bed again. But damn if he doesn’t want to try.

One night with her wasn’t enough. He wants everything about last night all over again. Including the conversation. She heard his thoughts; she understood him. It’s been so long since he talked to a person who truly listened. It’s unreal to him, that this woman gets it. Gets him.

“This is actually a below-average hike, Nate,” Don says. He thumbs through his phone, expression bland. “Cliffs. Water. Rainbows. It’s all the same.”

Irritation spikes inside him. His jaw grinds.

“Funny, that’s what the Yelp reviews about your practice say,” Ash says coolly, examining her sharp nails. “ Below average .”

Nathaniel smirks at the beet-red expression on his father’s face.

After disembarking at the parking lot, they begin the hike up the left shoulder of the falls. Only Don stays in the van to take a client call. Lush greenery surrounds them. Due to the early morning, the crowd’s small, making it a leisurely stroll up to the viewing platform.

Behind them, Delaney continues running her lines. “If you want to get out of this alive, trust me.”

Nathaniel stops. “Here, I’ll run lines with you.”

Delaney perks up, pink ponytail bouncing. “You will?”

When she hands him the phone, Nathaniel pockets it.

“Hey!”

Ignoring her, he strides ahead to catch up with Ash.

“Can’t stay away?” she murmurs. “Must be a glutton for punishment. ”

He sighs. “You’re somewhat intriguing. I hate myself for admitting that.”

Ash laughs and shakes her head. “You’re such a tall asshole.”

Chuckling, he moves his pack in front of him. Unzips it to deposit Delaney’s phone.

“Wait. What’s that?” Without breaking stride, Ash grabs the lip of his pack, drags it down to eye level. Spies the cache of granola bars, gel packets and peanut butter crackers he packed.

Shock creases her face. She throws him a puzzled glance. “Nathaniel…what?”

He swallows. Heat creeps up the back of his neck. “They’re for you. Just in case.” He can’t help but want to take care of her. Maybe it’s the doctor in him. Maybe it’s because he actually cares about this chaotic girl. The thought of her being without sugar terrifies him.

And Ash—she amazes him. After the story she told him last night, he cursed himself a hundred times over for giving her grief about her boots. The entirety of this trip, he’s seen it. She’s a lesson in strength. Resilience. Knocking down obstacles. But he’d expect nothing else from her. Not after he’s witnessed the way she puts everyone first. How deeply she cares. How she’s perfect just as she is. That’s not his opinion, it’s a fact. Anyone who disagrees with him can fuck off into the ocean.

Her cheeks stain with color. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“Think of it as making me feel better,” he says around the lump in his throat.

She considers him, lips pursed. “I’m truly split between adoration and complete violence.”

As they continue along the path, silence ripples between them. The only sounds the crunch of their boots on the hard rock path, birdsong. His arm swings side by side with Ash’s. Every few seconds, their pinkies touch, sending a shockwave singing down his spine. It’s painful how close she is. Her heat. Her scent.

Jesus .

His fucking dick twitches. He clenches his teeth, racks his brain for a topic that will force it back into playing dead.

“Truth,” he says, and Ash’s eyes bounce to his. “Sunsets or sunrises?”

“Sunsets,” she answers. “They’re like nature’s last scream.”

Nathaniel pushes a branch out of their way, letting Ash pass. Over her shoulder, she asks, “Would you rather wear a fedora every day for the rest of your life, or for every beverage you drink for the rest of your life to contain two drops of pee?”

He snorts, catching up with her. “I’m not answering that.”

“Why not? The answer is obviously pee, and you know it.”

“What’s this?” Delaney’s curious voice carries. “What are you doing?”

“It’s Ash’s game,” Augustus says.

Ash turns around and walks backward. “It’s a question game. One person asks a question. The person who answers it can either tell a truth or a lie.”

Nathaniel adds, “It doesn’t make sense.”

With a grunt, Ash shoves him into a palm frond. “Ignore him. Here. For example, does or does Nathaniel not look like a highly trained assassin in his all-black hiking attire?”

Claire’s face pinches like she’s trying to hold in a laugh.

Augustus laughs, big and boisterous.

Nathaniel rolls his eyes. Fights a smile.

“Yes, he does, and that is the truth.” Delaney howls in laughter. “Okay, okay, my turn. Does anyone else think Dad’s just been holding in his farts his entire life?”

“Delaney!” Claire exclaims, eyes wide.

“What? I’ve never seen him let one loose!”

Nathaniel’s mother looks scandalized, but they’re laughing. Everyone’s laughing. Like some invisible wall has come down. Nathaniel takes each one of them in. Something inside him lightens. Relaxes.

“My turn,” Tate says, shoving his phone into his pack .

Even their mother gets in on the action. For the remainder of the short hike, the whole group plays multiple rounds of Ash’s game. Finally, they reach the top of the viewpoint.

“Whoa,” Ash breathes as they pass a massive banyan tree. Fig vines hang like delicate curtains. She looks up, boots slipping as she turns in a circle to take in the lush tropical rainforest.

Steadying her, Nathaniel places a light hand on the small of her back. Then he guides her up the trail. Now that he’s started touching her, he can’t stop. Her creamy bare skin, her tattoos, the way her long wild hair falls forward over her shoulders, is a rush of the senses. He’s powerless against her. He’d commit arson if she asked.

When they get to the special viewing platform, they all gasp. The scenery is stunning. Water rushes over the falls at great speed and erupts in white water below. Mist and water droplets pepper their skin. Thanks to the rising sun, a dazzling rainbow hovers in the falls like a mirage.

Ash laughs and holds out her hand to the mist. She stretches out on tiptoes, on those squeaky black boots of hers, like she can touch the sky, and Nathaniel almost believes she could.

Augustus grins. “Now that’s a wonder.”

Nathaniel’s gaze sweeps over Ash’s face. In bright sunlight, her eyes are more green than gray. Like shards of sea glass he’s found on his dives.

She’s beautiful. The most beautiful woman he’s ever seen.

“It’s amazing.” Her voice is husky, honeyed. Leaning in, she slings her arm around Augustus’s shoulder. “Legend is an ancient Hawaiian goddess named Hina lives in the lava cave below the falls.”

Augustus’s smile is wide. “Legends are the best things we can leave behind.”

“I concur mightily with that statement,” Ash says.

His grandfather pulls Ash into a hug. The familiarity between them tightens Nathaniel’s throat. He turns away, moving to the railing to let them have their moment.

And then Ash is pulling out of Augustus’s arms and heading toward him. “I have something for you.”

“Let me guess. A noose.”

That gets him a grin. “Here.” She slips a hand into her pocket. When she pulls out a rock, his heartbeat turns irregular. Eyes gleaming, she holds it up. A shiny, jagged black rock.

At his quizzical look, Ash laughs. “Don’t worry. Gift shop rock. I don’t want to be cursed the rest of my life.” A shy smile crosses her face. “I figured the sentiment was the same. A rock. It’s for you.”

He can’t get the words out. She remembered. Found a way to do this for him. His chest damn near burns from the gesture. At his silence, she wrinkles her brow. Tilts her head. “You collect them, right? You’re in a new place, aren’t you?”

His gaze skims her lips before settling on her face, soaking in her beauty. “Yeah.” He swallows through his suddenly dry throat. “I am.”

That’s what he feels like with Ash. Like he’s in a new place. He’s a new him. Or maybe this is the him he’s always been. Maybe it’s Ash and her chiseling gaze that have chipped away at him until he’s just as shiny as that rock she holds.

She lowers her hand, hesitant. Uncertain. “Do you want it?”

“I do.” He rallies his cool, even as happiness rattles inside him. He doesn’t want her to think the wrong thing. To fuck this up.

But what is this ? There’s nothing to fuck up, is there?

She drops it into his palm. “There.” Her lips curve into a soft smile. “All yours.”

All his.

Before she can pull away, he captures her hand. Every inch of him is hot and tight. “Thank you.”

Ash is quiet for a long moment before she finally says, “You’re welcome.”

His heart roars in his ears.

Better. This trip has been better because of Ash.

He’s been better.

A crunching on the ground startles them both.

Nathaniel drops Ash’s hand. Delaney appears. She holds up the phone Nathaniel returned to her when they made it to the top, her face damp from the mist. “C’mon, big brother. The selfie light is insane.”

“Here.” Ash slips her cell phone from her back pocket. She waves at Tater and Claire. “Let me take it.”

As Nathaniel’s family lines up against the railing, backdropped by the waterfall, Augustus beckons to Ash. “Get in here, my dear.”

Shaking her dark head, she steps back. Positions her phone. “This is a family photo.”

“You should still get in here,” Nathaniel demands, fighting that burn in his chest. To be consumed by the voice in his head that tells him she belongs here.

Ash eyes him, pupils flaring. “Fine,” she sniffs. “If it’s my doula duty.”

She affects the cold expression she’s so fond of, her shield, as she settles beside him. She lifts the camera as they all crowd in tighter.

At the last minute, he wraps an arm around Ash’s shoulders. Pulls her close. All of his focus narrows when he realizes she isn’t stiff like he expects. She’s soft, leaning into him. Her breathing jagged. Swear to God, it turns him on. Ash, uninhibited. Because of him.

“Try not to look so miserable,” he whispers. It takes everything in him not to bury his face in that cloud of hair.

“Next to you,” she hisses back, “absolutely impossible.”

“Little liar.”

There’s a pinch to his ass, the sharp bite of pain making him jump. Beside him, Ash maintains her placid smile.

The camera flashes.

“You play dirty,” he tells her, rubbing his right ass cheek .

She bares her teeth. “That’s how I like it.” Then she gives him a wink. Drops her phone into his hands.

He dips his chin, his heart hammering in his ears as he looks at the photo.

Invisible claws dig their way into his lungs.

They’re both smiling.

That’s when he knows he’s in fucking trouble.