Ties That Bind

Ashton Fox was twenty years old but would turn twenty-one sometime this week… like he cared. Maybe he would throw him a birthday bash and let him get so drunk that he puked all over Angel… maybe that would help break their ties enough to get her to come home. If not, then he was sure between him, Hunter, and Ray… they could come up with something.

Tristian kept trying to think of more reasons not to like Ashton. He had even asked his uncle Robert, who was a lawyer, to give the guy a thorough background check. Robert Hart had confirmed that Ashton came from money… just not as much money as they did. Still, Tristian had to admit that it was enough to keep him from dating his sister just for her wealth.

He did however find out that Ashton Fox had a criminal record of some kind… but it was sealed tight. Robert had said it was probably something minor like drunk driving as a teen or something. Ashton was also going to school to be a doctor, even though he looked more like a walking ad for Calvin Klein Jeans with his platinum blonde hair tied back, tanned skin, and ice blue eyes.

Tristian frowned thinking if Ashton and Angel’s ages were closer, they could almost be twins… except for the fact that Angel’s hair was longer. Even now, they were both doing that smiling thing at each other and it was really starting to grate on his nerves. Tristian slumped in his seat and decided to look out the window.

He growled silently wondering which view was worse.

*****

Isabel Hart set her teacup down as she heard her private helicopter in the distance. She wanted to rush to the window and watch them come home but she stilled herself knowing she had a part to play this week… the frail grandmother that needed her family home with her.

She’d recently had a minor heart attack and it had been enough to persuade Malcolm and Angel to come home… even if it was only for the Fourth of July vacation. It almost made the frightening experience worth it. She’d even closed the resort down to outsiders and agreed with Tristian to allow the staff to take the week off so it would seem more like home for her family.

If she had her way, she would get her missing child and grandchild to move back to Sanctuary for good… even if she had to pretend she was dying just to get them to do it.

Her children had always lived here with their families. It was a tradition that Malcolm's divorce had broken. Her oldest son Robert had become a lawyer, marrying his high school sweetheart Dianne. They’d had twin boys Devin and Damien, who were now twenty years old and worked for her as trainers in the gym that covered a huge area of the ground floor of the resort.

She had to keep her eyes on Robert because he was a lot like his father… greedy and calculating. She was aware that he was already setting it up to dispute her Last Will and Testament when she died, even though she knew he wasn’t completely sure what the Will stated.

Little did Robert know that it wouldn’t do him any good… that Will was concrete in every way. She’d also stopped him from handling the paperwork for the resort when she’d caught him cooking the books and siphoning off some of the profits into one of his own accounts. He had become quite a disappointment to her over the last couple years.

Her second oldest child, her only daughter Carley, and her three children also lived here. But Carley was nothing like Robert.

Her little family was full of spoiled brats who thought they were better than everyone else because they lived off the trust funds she had set up for them. Tiffany was seventeen, Paris twenty-two, and Jason twenty. But she couldn’t really blame the children for their lazy ways when their mother was nothing but an alcoholic. Between the four of them, they’d run Carley’s poor husband off years ago.

It had been three years since her husband John had passed away, and then she lost Malcolm and Angel only a year later. John had been an overbearing man with a heavy hand and the truth was… she didn’t miss him at all. But with everyone else in the family so busy with their own lives, it had left Isabel lonely in her old age.

The only ones who really paid her any attention were Tristian and the two Indian boys that he and his sister were so fond of… Hunter and Ray Rawlins.

She didn’t really care what the rest of the family did… it was Angel and Tristian that were important to her. It didn’t bother her that one of the siblings wasn’t true blood… it was the heart that counted. When Tristian had been adopted, she had warned the other family members that if they ever told him about the adoption, they would be cut off and kicked out of Sanctuary without a second thought. So far the threat had held.

Tristian and Angel had no way of knowing it, but Sanctuary would one day belong only to them.

Glancing up, Isabel smiled inwardly seeing Lily Hart standing stiffly out in the flower garden. She had allowed Lily to continue living here when her son Malcolm had moved across the country. The only reason she had consented to the woman staying was to keep Angel returning as much as possible, and to keep Tristian living here.

As far as Isabel was concerned… it served Lily right to be unhappy. Malcolm had loved her but she acted cold and unbearable… pushing Malcolm away but not telling him why. She figured Lily had only stayed here because she was stupid enough to think that one day she would own part of Sanctuary.

Malcolm had always been a playboy before they had married, sleeping with half the Indian staff that worked at the hotel before moving on to bigger game.

He stopped his roguish ways when he’d married, so she knew that wasn’t the reason for the divorce. He’d always loved the girls but Isabel knew he did love Lily the most because of her beauty… she still was very beautiful. Cold and beautiful… so emotionless that she never bothered to be a real mother to her children… even when they were little.

By the pained look on Lily’s face, Isabel could tell Malcolm was finally here. She had told the pilot of her helicopter in no uncertain terms, that he would be fired if he dared to return for anyone before the end of the weekend. She had also paid Ray to disable every vehicle on the property in one way or another so no one could leave.

For once… the family would all be stranded here together… whether they liked it or not.

*****

Ray Rawlins heard the sound of the helicopter in the distance as he closed the hood of the last car in the parking garage. He looked around at all the expensive vehicles that were now useless with a sense of satisfaction. Isabel Hunter could be just as ruthless as her dead husband when she wanted to be.

Stepping outside the brick building, he swung his long dark hair out of his eyes while watching the chopper slowly descend to the helicopter pad. His thoughts turned to Hunter, wondering if his brother would be able to keep it together now that they’d found out Angel was bringing her California boyfriend to Sanctuary for the week.

Ashton Fox didn’t have a clue about the web of spiders he was about to walk into.

In his opinion, most of the people that were born on top of this mountain deserved to fall off of it. Angel and Tristian were the exceptions. When they were growing up, he and Hunter had taken them under their wings and protected them as much as possible from the wickedness they had been born into… even their sweet grandmother could be treacherous when she wanted her own way.

He leaned back against the brick of the wall remembering their childhood. He and Hunter were only a couple years older than the siblings, but the four of them had always been inseparable. Together, they'd gone out into the woods of the mountain almost every day, with him and Hunter teaching them Indian survival techniques… although Tristian and Angel thought it was all fun and games.

His vision of the past melted away when Angel sprinted away from the helicopter with her boyfriend in tow. He shook his head as the wind from the chopper sent her platinum hair flying as if she were standing in the middle of some unseen storm.

He glanced up at the massive estate known as Sanctuary. He knew the people inside that claimed to be her family were about to play a new game… one far too dangerous for the little girl to play alone.

Ray pulled out the little flask Hunter had gifted him with and took a drink trying to clear his mind. He would need all his concentration if he was to keep Angel out of harm’s way.

*****

Tristian waited until everyone was out of the helicopter before leaning toward the pilot, getting his attention. “Remember what Isabel Hart said,” his face lost its smile as his green eyes narrowed in warning. “You go have yourself a holiday and don’t worry about us. We won’t need you this week, understand?”

Angel smiled happily as Tristian joined her and they all ran away from the wind of the propellers. She felt so much better once she turned to watch the evil machine flying away and taking its loud whop… whop… sound with it.

“Good riddance to the tornado.” Angel gave it a mock salute. If she knew no one would laugh at her, she would have placed her hands on the ground and thanked it for her safe return.

Ashton ran his fingers through her silky blonde hair, loving the feel of it. “Oh, you’re just mad because it messed your pretty hair up,” he smirked, wondering how his fingers were running through it without hitting a single tangle. She was the closest thing to perfection he had ever found and when she said she was going home for a visit, he had been smart enough not to want her out of his sight.

Noticing her father and Felicia had already gone inside, Ashton slid his arm across her shoulders as they started up the hill toward the estate.

“So, little red riding hood, are we off to see your grandmother first?” he remarked, trying not to seem overwhelmed by the size of the mansion. He had listened to her father bragging about it but now that he was here, he realized it had really been understated.

Tristian winked at Angel before interrupting. “I think it’s time to show Ashton to his room and let him get settled in, don’t you? There’s no need to tempt the big bad wolf too much. Grandmothers’ already had one heart attack… I think introducing her to your boyfriend the minute you arrive might just send her over the edge.”

Angel’s smile wavered at the mention of her grandmother’s heart attack. She’d almost flown home the second Tristian had called and told her about it, but her father had agreed they would come spend the Fourth of July week visiting, so she had waited. Tristian had told her on the phone that it was Hunter who’d found their grandmother just in the nick of time and probably even saved her life.

Her own heart pounded for a second as she pictured Hunter in her mind… Hunter Rawlins. She’d always thought of him as her best friend, but when she’d moved to L.A., Angel had slowly realized they’d been more than just friends… a lot more. She’d missed Hunter just as much as her own brother.

“Oh come on,” Tristian nearly growled as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a tender hug. “I didn’t mean it like that.” He pulled back and cupped her cheeks, making her look up at him. “You promised only smiles this week,” he reminded her with a level stare.

“I know,” Angel put the smile back on her face but it didn’t feel quite the same. “I’ll be all right once I’ve seen for myself that Grandmother’s okay. You take Ash and go have fun. I’ll catch up with you two later.”

She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed Ashton on the cheek before turning and heading toward a side entrance where she knew her grandmother would be.

Ashton watched Angel walk away, not liking the fact that they were being separated almost the same minute they had touched the mountain. While staying in L.A., her dad had never needed her for anything, so he’d had her all to himself. He didn’t share well with others.

*****

Hunter shook it off as he pushed himself away from the doorframe he had been leaning against. Seeing Angel give her boyfriend even that innocent little kiss had left a really bad taste in his mouth along with an itch to hit something… preferably Ashton Fox. It took all of his self-control to prevent himself from following her as he watched her walk away from the others.

He could tell the moment Tristian noticed he was standing there because his steps quickened.