Ashleigh could slice through her baked potato easier then the tension that was simmering around the table currently.  She tried to discreetly look at her watch. What? Only twenty minutes have passed!  She reached for her water glass and gulped down her water. She was desperate to find anything to fill the time. Even Melissa, who could make conversation with a rock, was failing to get a conversation going. Where did it all go wrong?

Earlier that day

After enjoying the snack that Tommy had prepared for her, Ashleigh decided the best course of action was to take a nap. The unpacking can wait. I'm just too tired.  

The nap was the right decision. She awoke refreshed and ready to tackle the unpacking. By the time Melissa arrived home from work, Ashleigh had worked up an appetite.  When Melissa suggested they go out to eat, Ashleigh didn't hesitate. 

The mood was light as Ashleigh and Melissa got ready to go out to dinner. The easy camaraderie they fell into helped dissipate the knot in her stomach. It felt like old times. Ok. Maybe not quite like old times. They had both matured and they could now share the same space without arguing. She felt increasingly convinced that she had made the right decision coming to Forever.  A knock sounded at the door. Ashleigh offered to get the door as Melissa was still getting ready. With a spring to her step and a smile on her face, she opened the door. 

"Hello, come on in." Ashleigh's smile faltered when she saw that Seth had brought his brother, Caulder. Judging from the scowl on his face, he was less than pleased to be here. Do I have something on my face? What's this guy's deal? He was grumpy earlier as well. It appears he has been sucking on a lemon. If he isn't careful, his face will get stuck like that.  She instantly felt remorseful for her unkind thoughts.  She had heard a little from Melissa about the family rift regarding Caulder. She didn't know the full story yet and would strive to reserve judgment about him until she knew him better.

Her resolve to think kinder thoughts was sorely tested in the coming hours. In the car, Ashleigh hopped into the back with Caulder so that Melissa and Seth could be together in the front. Melissa turned around in her seat and addressed Caulder.

"I'm so glad you were able to get the time off to come for the summer. How was your school year?"

Caulder visibly stiffened and turned to face the window, "Um, it was fine," He mumbled.

"Ok." Melissa, not easily discouraged, tried again. "What was your favorite class this year?"

"Um, they were all good I guess." Caulder said noncommittally.

Melissa taking the hint that maybe Caulder didn't want to talk about school began to talk about her favorite classes in college. Ashleigh simmered inside. How rude! It wouldn't hurt him to say more than ten words at a time.  Can't he see that Melissa is trying to be nice! 

By the time they got to the restaurant the conversational well was dry. They had gone to a neighboring town to try something different in honor of Ashleigh's arrival in town. Ashleigh was regretting they hadn't stayed home and eaten there. Seth, who was normally very talkative, had been silent the whole ride. The tension around the brothers was palpable. Neither brother seemed inclined to break the ice. 

After prolonging eating her baked potato as long as she could, she excused herself and went to the washroom.  Melissa volunteered to come with her. 

As they were washing their hands in the sinks, Ashleigh turned to Melissa.

"So Caulder and Seth don't get along." Ashleigh stated.

Melissa rolled her eyes and said, "That's the understatement of the century."

As they exited the bathroom, Ashleigh tired of giving Caulder the benefit of the doubt, blurted out, "Caulder is such a party pooper. Why did he come with us tonight if he was determined to be miserable?"

The words were barely out her mouth when she ran smack dab into a wall of human flesh. Please don't let it be Caulder. Please don't let it be Caulder. Ashleigh closed her eyes praying for divine intervention. But God apparently wanted her to reap what she had sowed.

Ashleigh's gaze traveled up to meet Caulder's. "Um, hey Caulder." Even though she had drank three glasses of water this evening, her mouth suddenly couldn't get enough moisture to eek out any words. "Fancy meeting you here. Not that I don't think you won't need to use the washroom." Ashleigh stopped before she made it worse. Melissa excused herself and made a quick exit. Traitor.  She took a deep breath. She could be blunt at times but she wasn't afraid to admit when she was wrong.

"Caulder, forgive me.  I was out of line. I shouldn't have called you a party pooper." 

Caulder's mouth twitched.  "I can't remember the last time I heard the word party pooper. Maybe grade school?"

Ashleigh rolled her eyes, "Well, I will have to work on my insults in the future. I'm so sorry."

"I accept your apology. I also need to apologize. I haven't been in the best of moods tonight and I ruined your celebration."

Ashleigh reached out her hand to shake on it. "Let's call it even shall we?"

Next day

Ashleigh wiped the sweat dripping into her eyes and glanced over at Caulder. If she wasn't mistaken she thought he might be smiling. She did a double take to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. No. That definitely is a smile. 

Ashleigh and Caulder had begun the arduous task of cleaning out the barn. She was glad they had cleared the air last night. It was much more enjoyable working together today as a result. Agnes had to run over to The Pony to fill in for her sister, Bernadette, for a few hours but she promised to be back this afternoon. She was quickly realizing that Caulder was a man of few words. He seemed content to work in solitude. 

"Hey Caulder." Ashleigh ventured.

"Hmm." Caulder grunted from the horse stall next to her. 

Ashleigh took up a pitch fork to move the moldy hay out of the stall in front of her. "How did your Aunt Agnes convince you to come back for the summer?" She wasn't sure if she would get a response. But she was curious to know why he came back.

Caulder turned to her and smiled. "I guess it was too much to hope to come back into town with little fanfare. I figured there would be questions since this is such a small town and everybody knows each others business. But I didn't figured I would be grilled by people who didn't grow up here as well."

Ashleigh winced. "Sorry. I didn't mean to pry."

"No, it's ok." Caulder took a deep breath and stared off into space as if recalling a memory. "Aunt Agnes and I love horses. Horses are a shared passion of ours.  I have many happy memories trail riding with her. I guess that is why I have always loved working with horses." Caulder seemed to catch himself.

"Sounds like you really love horses.  Did you ever think about working with horses as a full time job after you graduate?" She asked innocently.

Caulder flinched and seemed to retreat back inside his shell. "Yes. Well." He cleared his throat and awkwardly changed the subject. "This barn won't clean itself. I'm hoping we can get the stalls cleaned out before lunch. Our next project should be the storage room. I heard it is a real mess. I heard your sister Melissa found her cat, Cookie, in that room."

What are you hiding Caulder? She groaned and rolled up her shelves to get back to work.  They had a long day of work ahead of them. 

A few hours later

Ashleigh leaned against the wheelbarrow and glanced at her watch. Only 3 o'clock? I must be more out of shape then I thought. 

As if reading her mind, Caulder came around the side of the barn and said, "I think we made good progress today. Let's call it a day."

"Thank goodness."  Ashleigh wheeled the wheelbarrow into the barn and parked it inside the first stall on the right. She exited the barn and called out "See you tomorrow Caulder." She was looking forward to a warm shower and tucking in with a good book. One look at Caulder's face made her second guess her plans for the evening. He looked so lonely.

"See you in the morning." Caulder waved and turned to get into his vehicle.

She knew she would regret this but she had soft spot for people who were lonely. "I don't know if you have plans this evening. But how about we meet up for dinner tonight. Maybe meet at The Pony at about 5:30?"

Caulder looked like he was going to outright refuse but he caught himself and said slowly. "Yeah. I guess that could work."

"I guess I will see you there then." She teased back.

After a long hot shower, Ashleigh felt like a new person. She sat on the couch in the living room and let her mind wander for a bit. The next thing she knew her sister, Melissa, was shaking her awake. 

"Hmm, what?" Ashleigh mumbled still groggy from her nap. Her left arm felt numb. She looked down to discover Cookie had used her arm as a pillow.

"I said it's time to eat." Melissa said. "You must have been really tired. You didn't even stir when I was cooking."

At the mention of food, Ashleigh bolted up.  Cookie jumped off the couch and went to look for another sleeping spot. "What time is it?"

"It's after six."

"Oh, no. I told Caulder I would meet him at The Pony for dinner."

"Oh, so you and Caulder must really be getting along. I wasn't sure after our dinner the other night." Melissa quickly turned to head back into the kitchen but not before Ashleigh detected a small smile on her face.  Slow your roll matchmaker. 

Ashleigh had told Melissa that she had apologized to Caulder. But Ashleigh had also said that she didn't think Caulder and her were be more than coworkers. They would be cordial at work because they had to but she didn't think they would be fraternizing after work.

"Yeah. He is not a bad guy. He is clearly hiding something and that is why he is keeping his family at a distance. Speaking of which I need to call him and apologize again." Ashleigh overturned the couch cushions looking for her phone. "Hey, Melissa can you call my phone? I can't seemed to find it."

Apparently, Ashleigh's phone had decided to take a vacation and not tell her. After fifteen minutes of searching,  Ashleigh called off the search.  Melissa offered to call Seth to tell him to call Caulder to let him know what had happened.

Awhile later, Melissa and Ashleigh sat down to dinner. Melissa had prepared a simple meal of soup and salad. Ashleigh gingerly took a sip of the soup. She tried to hide her grimace. 

"How's the soup?" Melissa asked.

"It's . . . " Ashleigh racked her brain for a suitable adjective. One that would be truthful but also kind. Before she could come up with a suitable answer, Melissa took her first sip.

Melissa quickly reached for her napkins. "Whoa, I must have put more than a dash of lemon in the soup. I always forget that lemon concentrate is more potent than a regular lemon. I guess we will have to add this to my cooking mishaps." Melissa chuckled. Melissa was always the first to laugh when her cooking went awry.  She could cook but sometimes she got distracted or would forget to add an ingredient.  Some of Melissa's cooking escapades were legendary.  One of the most recent ones was the time she made 16 servings of cooked multi grain cereal instead of two servings. She had eaten multi grain cereal for a week. 

"It's not too bad. Maybe if we dilute it that will help." Ashleigh laughed, rose from her chair and went into the kitchen to see what she could do to help make the soup more palatable.