All Chapters of The Lansing House: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

AsherAsher clicked his tongue, and One Star shifted to the left, at the touch of the reins. Asher was at the back of the herd, guiding the cattle into the pen. They’d started early that morning, riding up to the higher pastures, and driving the cattle down to the ranch. They now stood at 600 heads of cattle, not counting the calves that had been born that spring.“Keep it tight!” he yelled, adjusting his hat. Sweat rolled down his back, but he was in his element. The herd moved steadily, and he guessed it would be another hour before they were all in the stockade, which led to the holding pen.Theo closed the gate when the last of the cattle entered the stockyard, and Asher rode around to the front of the holding pen. “Morning, Doc.”Mark Phillips, the town veterinarian, turned and nodded his head at Asher. “Asher. Welcome home.”Asher leaned his arms on the gate’s railings as the cattle moved through the chute one at a time. The dust swirled around their hooves, the cattle complaini

MaggieHer eyes widened when she looked at the shopping bags Asher brought into the living room, and placed at her feet. Melody was crawling on the floor, and every now and then, she would babble something and continue, following Asher from the front door to the kitchen, as he brought the groceries in.“Aww, look at these cute little jeans!” Eden’s voice had risen a few notches, as Maggie swallowed the emotion away. Asher was in the kitchen unpacking the obvious groceries he’d bought, and she felt more guilt slam into her.She was living in his house, eating his food, using his utilities, and he’d paid her hospital bill. She’d seen the amount on the business card, and then she’d seen that exact amount deposited by A. Fitzgerald. The fact that he was now buying clothes for Melody, just showed her how bad of a mother she really was.She couldn’t stop the tears forming in her eyes, and no matter how much she blinked, she couldn’t stop them from falling either.“Maggie? What’s wrong?” Ede

MaggieThe next four weeks sped by. Asher had been right; the mornings and evenings had started showing a chill, and suddenly, it felt like winter, then gradually warmed up again. A week earlier, Eden had taken her into town and helped her with winter clothes of her own.She smiled as she thought back to the morning that changed her life yet again. That morning, she’d opened the laptop and started working the moment Asher left to help his brothers. She had been so engrossed in her work, she hadn’t heard Eden.“Here you go,” Eden said, handing her an official-looking envelope.“What’s this?” Maggie took the envelope, and looked at it. It was thick, and she was clueless as to what it could be.“Your salary. What else would it be?” Eden said, laughing.“My salary?” Maggie frowned, as she looked at Eden.“You’ve been working for a month, Maggie. Did you think you were helping me for free?”Maggie chuckled. “Well, yeah. I didn’t expect to get paid.”Eden laughed loudly, and shook her head.

MaggieShe sat on the examination bed, watching Dr. Carmichael as he cut the cast off her lower leg. Eden sat on a visitor chair with Melody on her lap. There had been an emergency with a lame cow and Asher had rushed out of the house to help Blair.“Stand on up, Maggie, put your full weight on your ankle,” the doctor said.Maggie got to her feet slowly, and put all her weight on the leg. She took a few steps forward, and smiled. “It feels good.”“We’ll take another X-ray and make sure everything looks like it should,” he said.An hour later, Maggie left the hospital with a clean bill of health. She felt great, and she couldn’t stop smiling. Asher had said that her leg would be fine, and that he was taking her out on their first official date that night.She looked at her reflection in the mirror as she smiled. She’d straightened her hair, and had put on the nicest dress she owned. Her makeup was flawless, but she still put another coat of mascara on her lashes. She’d heard Asher retu

MaggieMaggie looked at the closed door, and wrapped her arms around herself. She turned her head toward the stairs, but Melody was quiet. She had no idea what was wrong, or why Asher was so mad. Things had been fine a few minutes earlier.She walked into the kitchen, and saw her phone now at the other end of the table. Hesitantly, she picked it up and pressed the button that brightened the screen. The phone fell from her hand, and the sound that escaped her mouth was between a gasp and a scream.Her heart hammered in her chest, her mouth was dry, and it felt like the room was spinning. She grabbed the edge of the table, and sat down. She closed her eyes and took deep breaths. When the spinning stopped, she opened her eyes, and picked her phone up again.She played the video but stopped it halfway. She rushed over to the sink, and vomited out her earlier cup of tea. Asher had obviously seen that video. There was no number with the text, but she knew exactly who had sent it.She had wo