Ashley

By Robert E. Bryant

Why I named the first story Ashley?

There are four events in my life that set me to encounter the name Ashley in the most memorable manner. The first three events happened in EAA Sun‘n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland Florida, Fantasy of Flight in Auburndale Florida, and National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough Tennessee several years ago. I attended these events due to my love of flying and writing and I gave out postcards of my first four books to many people. Most of the ones who received my postcards also asked me to sign it for them and to my surprise the name Ashley kept popping up.

The one that really struck me was when I was in Lavonia Speedway in Lavonia Georgia about a year ago after I completed the untitled story (that would become Ashley). Mostly, I like being there as I love dirt track racing. Now, there was a couple who was taking up money for a lady who got paralyzed from the neck down due to a car wreck on a road. They showed us an article about it on a newspaper and a photo of the young lady while she was in a hospital. There’s always a room in my heart for helping the needy so I gave a donation to this poor young lady. But when the couple was about to leave I realized that I didn’t ask for the young lady’s name so I could keep her on my prayer.

And guess what… It was Ashley.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781665568630

Robert E. Bryant

Born in Royston (Franklin County), Georgia, Robert E. Bryant moved to Greenwood, South Carolina in 1958 and has called this quiet Southern town home ever since. He has been interested in aviation all of his life and began flying when he was just twenty-nine years old. Later, at age forty-one, he received his pilot’s license (the same month his daughter, Yvette, received hers). Though he is a welder and welding instructor by vocation, he is certainly a pilot by avocation. His experience with aviation has afforded him to meet a number of interesting individuals, most notably Robert Morgan, pilot of the Memphis Belle; Charles Duke, Apollo 16; Charles Boland, Shuttle Commander; Jan Davis, Missions Specialist; Robert L. Scott, author of God Is My Copilot; the living members of the Tuskegee Airmen and the Black Sheep Squadron; and General Charles E. “Chuck” Yeager, first to break the sound barrier. Another life-long passion is storytelling. His stories come to him with such powerful imagery and meaning that he believes they must be divinely inspired. When the stories come to him, he feels compelled to share them. “They must come out,” he says. “They must be told.” He truly hopes his readers will enjoy the stories and be blessed and inspired by them as much as he has been blessed of God with them.

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© 2022 Robert E. Bryant. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or

transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents,

organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products

of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

Published by AuthorHouse  08/24/2022

ISBN: 978-1-6655-6864-7 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6655-6863-0 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022915254

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or

links contained in this book may have changed since publication and

may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those

of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher,

and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

WHY I NAMED THE

FIRST STORY ASHLEY?

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T here are four events in my life that set me to encounter the name Ashley in the most memorable manner. The first three events happened in EAA Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo in Lakeland Florida, Fantasy of Flight in Auburndale Florida, and National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough Tennessee several years ago. I attended these events due to my love of flying and writing and I gave out postcards of my first four books to many people. Most of the ones who received my postcards also asked me to sign it for them and to my surprise the name Ashley kept popping up.

The one that really struck me was when I was in Lavonia Speedway in Lavonia Georgia about a year ago after I completed the untitled story (that would become Ashley). Mostly, I like being there as I love dirt track racing. Now, there was a couple who was taking up money for a lady who got paralyzed from the neck down due to a car wreck on a road. They showed us an article about it on a newspaper and a photo of the young lady while she was in a hospital. There’s always a room in my heart for helping the needy so I gave a donation to this poor young lady. But when the couple was about to leave I realized that I didn’t ask for the young lady’s name so I could keep her on my prayer.

And guess what… It was Ashley.

CONTENTS

Ashley

The Ship

Toby

Kitt

Sunglasses

Sylvia

Bulletproof

Street Rod Drag

Wheelchair

Jasmine

Just Believe Me

About The Author

ASHLEY

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BY ROBERT E. BRYANT

S onny and Denise have left Greenwood, South Carolina and have been traveling for ten hours. Sonny tells Denise, I know you want this plant manager job. I know that you have been fighting for it for four years and that you never take a vacation. Ever since we left at six this morning, you have been bombarding me. We have got four nights and five days to spend in Orlando, Florida and seven miles to go. It seems that you won’t let it go and enjoy yourself. Denise replies, I need to be working because if anything comes up, I am the one in charge and the plant manager knows that I am. I told you four years ago that I could help you out. Now that Ashley is married, I can help her and Bobby out. I know how much you love tractors including the one you have now, but I can buy you two or three of them. I make more money than you and I need to be single. I am going back to school and I need to finish this year of college so I can have my four year degree. I need that job and I am plant manager material. Every time the plant manager and ware house manager are out, I run the whole plant and everybody comes to me. Without me, that plant cannot run. Every year I have to complete an application asking if I am married or single. It also asks if I can leave at a moment’s notice to go to Texas where the ware house is located or if I can go to the company we have in California or anywhere else I need to go. Sonny, I need to be there! I need to be single so I can help you and Ashley. Here I am just a few minutes away from Orlando and I do not need to be here.

Sonny just shook his head and said I cannot believe this. I just wanted you to come down with me and relax. Maybe I should turn around and take you back to Greenwood. I don’t know. Denise just sat there with her arms folded until they drove up to the huge hotel. The hotel had gambling, restaurants, and everything else for entertainment. Sonny gets out of the big van he has been driving and starts stretching after the ten hour ride. He looked at his watch and it was four pm. He heard the door slam on the other side of the van and Denise grabbed her suitcase from the back door. She then hollered Sonny, you can have half of the house. I am going to get an apartment near Ashley and Bobby. You stay here and have your fun. I am going to go back to work today! She opened up the taxi driver’s door that was standing nearby and told the driver to head to the airport.

Sonny just stood there watching her drive away with the cell phone to her ear. He knew she was calling Ashley to pick her up at the airport. Sonny said I can’t believe this! He gets back into the van and pulls into a parking lot. He just sat there for a while until his phone rang and it was Ashley. She said, Dad, she’s done it. He said I know. She would not leave me alone the whole way. She was focused on that job the entire way. Ashley said that she had to pick her up at the airport and find her an apartment beside us. She said that mom was going straight to work and was not coming back to the apartment until ten at night. She said that she could not believe it. She then said that her mom was over focused on that job. He said I don’t know what’s going to happen. Maybe I can get her back on the rebound. Maybe I can get two jobs to get her back. I don’t know. Go ahead and get the apartment so that you can keep an eye on each other. Ashley interrupted and asked if he was going to drive back immediately. She was afraid he would fall asleep at the wheel if he did. Sonny said that he would stay at least two days. She made him promise to get some sleep and come back. She said that she would stay in touch. Sonny said to Ashley, Promise me one thing. Promise me that you will love her and love me. Ashley said Dad, you know I do. I love both of you. She has just got it in her mind to make it to plant manager. I have to go now and I’ll keep in touch with you. After they told each other they loved each other, they hung up.

Sonny sat there in the van getting mad until he saw it. He put his keys in his pocket and slammed the van door. He walked inside the building and it was the same branch of bank they had in Greenwood. The teller was eating a hamburger and had a big hamburger sack behind her. He laid his debit card and his license down and said that he had $13,000 in this bank and he wanted every bit of it. She typed in the debit card number and said that he had $13,077 instead. He told her to leave the $77.00, but give him the rest. He told her to put it in cash money and place it in the hamburger sack behind her. She said What? He told her that he did want the money in the sack and said that he was going to blow every bit of it. The supervisor over heard what was going on and asked Sonny if he was sure he wanted to carry $13,000 out of the bank. He said Yes, I am going to blow it all and have me a time. The supervisor and teller talked about it and finally said that it was his money and to give it to him. She gave him the bag and he rolled it over and stuck it up under his arm and walked out of the bank. He walked straight into the gambling casino. He never gambled before. There was this wheel that turned and a ball dropped off it. He gave that a wary look. He also saw people pulling levers at machines. There was not too many people there at that time of day. It was only a quarter until 5:00. He looked over to the left and saw a sign that said $22 million dollar lottery. Numbers will be drawn tomorrow.

He went over to the man and woman leaning against the counter and said There’s $13,000.00 in this sack. Please put this all on the lottery tomorrow morning. The man said What! You have all cash in there! Are you crazy man? Sonny said that he wanted to blow it all and that it was his. He said Give me $13,000.00 worth of tickets right now. The man said that the machine only spits outs tickets a handful at a time, so Sonny said that he’ll read the newspaper while he waits. Nobody heard as the transaction was finished between Sonny and the man as they exchanged the tickets. They banded all the tickets and placed them back into the hamburger bag. Sonny stuck the bag under his arm and walked out of the gambling casino. He went back to the van and placed the bag inside his suitcase. He was still so angry, he started to throw away the tickets.

He then went on up to the second floor of the hotel and laid his suitcase on the bed and locked the doors. He sat on the side of one of the beds and thinking that one of the beds is going to be empty. It was getting late and he wasn’t hungry. He knew if he could sleep just a few hours, he was going to head back to South Carolina. Time rolled by just thinking never believing that his wife would ever walk away from him for a job. The phone rang at 9:30 and it was Ashley. She said that she picked her mother up from the airport, got her apartment key for apartment ten,