Ashleigh's father had died the day she had been born, her birth mother only lasted two years before she died. Ashleigh had been dumped into foster home after foster home until two months after her tenth birthday when she had met Evelyn Mercer. Evelyn took in "troubled" kids, but she made an exception for Ashleigh. At the time Evelyn had brought Ashleigh home, she already had four foster sons; Bobby,23, Jerry, 21, Angel,16, and Jack,12. When Ashleigh met the boys she took a liking to Bobby and Jack. Bobby because of his looks and because he took her under his wing. Jack because he was so close in age to her. Over the years as she got older, her body developed and when boys started looking at her Bobby started to get mad and started beating up all the guys that even looked at her the wrong way.
"I remember one time, right after mom had taken me in. I always took my tooth brush with me 'cause I was used to having to steal everything and she told me, 'You don't have to do that anymore. . . you're part. . . of a family. . .'"Jack broke off starting to cry. Both Bobby and Ashleigh went to the podium to comfort him.
"Mom wasn't big on goodbyes. So thank you for coming and God bless." Bobby said as he put his arm around Ashleigh pulling her to his side as they all started to leave.
"You guys coming back to my house?" Jerry asked, his arm around his wife. Ashleigh looked up to Bobby, out of habit. Bobby nodded his head and continued to pull her toward his car.
"Bobby, I drove." Ashleigh said softly from under his arm. He looked down at her with his sexy smile.
"Give me the keys." he said. Ashleigh reached in her pockets, grabbed her keys, and handed them to him. "Here Fairy." he said tossing Jack Ashleigh's keys. "We need to talk." Those words made Ashleigh's stomach do a flip. Bobby and her hadn't talked since the night of her sixteenth birthday.
Bobby and Ashleigh got in his car and as it warmed up they sat there in silence, neither knowing how to start. Bobby turned slightly to look at Ashleigh, he reached across the console and tucked a piece of lose hair behind her ear.
"I'm sorry." Those were the first real words Bobby had spoken to her since he had left and shown back up this morning.
"It's ok, Bobby, you didn't do anything." Ashleigh said playing dumb.
"Leigh, you're not stupid, so stop acting. You know what I'm talking about." Bobby said with a small smile on his face.
"Bobby, you broke my heart. And I got over it. You don't have to tell me that you're sorry." Ashleigh said not looking in his eyes.
"I want to tell you why I left." Bobby said.
"No Bobby, I get it. I told you I loved you and you didn't feel the same way so instead of breaking my heart you did what you do best, you left." Ashleigh said.
Bobby couldn't take it anymore, he leaned over and grabbed the back of her head and kissed her. Ashleigh was so surprised that she pushed him away from her.
"Bobby, you can't play with me like that." Ashleigh said with tears in her eyes.
"Leigh, I'm not playing with you. I didn't leave because I didn't care. I left because I cared too much." Bobby said baring his soul.
"Jerry's going to be worried if we don't get there soon." Ashleigh said as if she didn't hear him.
Bobby didn't say a word. He put the car in drive and took off toward Jerry's house, his heart, unknowingly, broken by the person whose heart he broke many years ago.
"That's Jack Mercer. The youngest of the boys." Detective Green told his partner.
"Who's that?" Detective Fowler asked nodding toward the house. "Another upstanding Mercer?"
"No, Jerry's ok. Good person." Green said as a car drove by the parked, unmarked cop car. "Well I'll be damned. That's a face I didn't expect to see back here any time soon."
"Who?" Fowler asked.
"Bobby Mercer, grade A fuck up of the Mercer clan." Green told him handing over the file on Bobby.
"Who's the hot babe he's with?"
"Ashleigh Mercer, the baby of the family. She didn't start acting out till Bobby left right after her sixteenth birthday. But she has straightened out now. Been taking care of her mom and getting a college degree. Owns that bar on 36th." Green said as Bobby and Ashleigh walked by the car. Ashleigh wakled past the car and nodded. Green nodded back smiling.
Like every guy that lived around here had always had a thing for Ashleigh, but nobody could get near her back then. At first it had been because of Bobby, then it turned into her pulling away from everyone. It also didn't help that her heart had always belonged to Bobby, and by the look in her eyes it still did.
"Mom talked about you ladies all the time." Jerry was telling a group of ladies as Bobby, Ashleigh and Jack walked up the driveway. The ladies walked away and Jerry turned his full attention to his siblings.
"No smoking." Jerry said taking the cigarette out of Jack's hand and throwing it on the ground.
"Nice house Jerry." Bobby said patting the side of the house.
"Yeah, and it better stay that way." Jerry said with a laugh.
"What?" Bobby asked looking confused.
"My tree house when we were kids." Jerry said.
"I think this might stand up a little better then a house made out of wood." Ashleigh said as Jack grabbed her and pulled her under his shoulder.
"I remember that now, I wanted to see if it would blow up like in those action movies." Bobby said, trying not to look at Jack's arm around Ashleigh. Bobby knew there was nothing going on with those two it just hurt that Jack could hold on to Ashleigh, his Ashleigh. When did he start thinking of her as his?
"Yeah, I remember how Ma got so pissed when you and Jack came up to the house all covered in ash. But then all of the sudden she just stared busting out laughing." Ashleigh said with a laugh.
"Yeah, that pissed me off." Jerry said leading them out back to where the people where waiting.