Sassy Cowgirl Kisses by Kathy Fawcett
Chapter 56
Sassy didn’t show up for work the next day, or the next. Ash wanted to ask Freda where she was, but the girl wasn’t giving off approachable vibes, he thought.
“Brrr, is it cold in here?” He mumbled when Freda walked past with her coffee, making a big deal of avoiding his gaze.
The following Monday, Freda was also a no-show.
“She gave her notice,” Rowdy said. “Family business back in Lander. She offered to stay for two weeks, but I told her it wasn’t necessary.”
Ash felt truly anxious for the first time—Sassy had just been laying low, he thought, taking a few days to herself before returning to the ranch. Trying to give her the space she needed, he slept at the ranch house and buried himself in his work, showing up early and staying until every job was finished. Now he wondered if Sassy had gone to Freda’s house.
He had been chomping at the bit to talk with Sassy ever since their blowup. At last, when he was finally able to leave work, he turned towards town, and the bungalow.
Her car wasn’t in the driveway, he could tell as he pulled into his own, but the front door was ajar. With his window down, he could hear female voices coming from within the bungalow and felt a surge of hope as he half ran up the stairs to the porch.
“Oh, hello Ash!”
It wasn’t Sassy who greeted him, but Casey and her property management team.
“Both girls moved out,” she said, matter-of-factly, “we’re getting the house ready to rent again. Do you need something?”
“I need…”
I need Sassy.
As Casey held the door open, Ash imagined he could smell a tendril of Sassy’s perfume, or a faint waft of her shampoo. It smelled like summer—like Sassy.
I need to go back a few weeks and do everything over again,Ash thought to himself. I need to tell Sassy that I love her, and that nothing else matters.
But she was really gone. Ash shook his head sadly and said goodbye to Casey. Like a zombie, he let himself into his house next door and plopped down on a sofa where he fell asleep until late the next morning. Upon waking, his first thought was going to get bagels for Sassy—until he realized where he was, and where she wasn’t.
Grief and loneliness hit him, and he buried his face in a pillow.
What have I done?
A week later, Ash got up the courage to call Kat. “Have you heard from Sassy; is she alright?”
Kat told him just enough to put his mind at rest, but not his heart.
“Sassy,” Kat said simply, “has safely reached her destination.”
“Great,” he said with a heaviness where his joy used to be.
She went back to Illinois, it seemed, to her mother’s house. Ash didn’t even know where that was, otherwise he might be tempted to drive through the night to find her.
“Would you… like me to give her a message when she calls, Ash?” Kat’s voice was soft and compassionate, he thought.
Tell her I need her; tell her that no place feels like home without her. Tell her that I just might die without her kisses, and that I’m sorry for pressuring her the way I did. Tell her…
“Naw, but thanks,” Ash said with a sigh before hanging up.