Jennifer had jumped when a man's voice followed a knock on the door to Ash's suite of rooms. He left quickly, scowling as he did so. She had shrunk back out of the line of vision when the door was opened so his father would not notice her in there.<br/><br/>While she waited she folded and unfolded her new clothes. She dumped out the items in her bag which was travel bag size. The new clothes fit inside neatly as did her few bits of makeup and the lovely wallet that Ash had stuffed with money.<br/><br/>The bulldog lay on the bed next to her, stretching out long to snuffle her meager possessions. She just had this sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that when Ash came back he would make her  leave, not his wishes, she was sure, but his old man's.<br/><br/>The day was not chilly, but Jennifer felt chilled to the bone. She put on the black and silver hoodie, covered her tangled black curls with the matching ball cap and then slid the hood over that, pulling the drawstrings tightly. She paced the room, pausing to look out from the balcony. Her hands twitched. She picked up the packed bag and ducked under the strap. The weight across her chest and on her shoulder were reassuring. Clutching the strap with one arm, Jennifer thought about slipping away, saving Ash the trouble of telling her to go. She bit her lip. She told herself that just because he was kind and honorable did not mean that she could really love him in the short time she had been here.<br/><br/>Jennifer fought back tears. She didn't want to hurt him. He had asked over and over would she stay. But how could she stay? His family was already being drug into the turmoil that was her life. Tears were freely running down her face. Damn. she did love him and didn't know if she was strong enough to stay or wise enough to go.