6. Mason
6
MASON
“ W e Went” by Randy Houser blares through the speaker, and because I’m in a damn good mood, I’m singin’ along to every word as I spread the mulch around the flower bed.
It’s not until I turn around to grab the wheelbarrow that I find three sets of eyes on me.
“Somethin’ you’d like to share with the class?” Otto says, standing next to his twin brother, Case, both with matching smiles on their faces. They’d taken a chance on us when Bodhi and I had landed in Blackstone Falls, and we’d worked hard for them over the last couple of years.
Their landscaping business, Twinscapes, had gained notoriety in Tennessee, and the company’s reputation had us busier than we could manage.
Which is how we all managed to be on the same job site this morning. Sundown Realty had a couple of rental properties along Cedar Lake, and following the spring thaw, they needed an overhaul before they’d be available to the public.
“Hannah did say you hit it off at your photoshoot,” Case adds as his lifts the hem of his shirt to wipe his face. “Said there was some serious fuck-me energy happening.”
“She did not say that,” I say with a laugh, knowing full well that Hannah definitely said that.
“Well?” Otto asks, his baseball hat turned backward and his blue eyes sparkling. He’s the only guy to ever match my energy, and anytime we’re together, the people around us are most likely exhausted just by being in our general vicinity.
“I probably owe his wife one of those fruit bouquets they dip in chocolate.”
“Hell yes!” Otto whoops as his brother grins. Bodhi’s expression hasn’t changed, but there’s nothing unusual about that.
“So, you hit it off?” Case asks.
“She’s amazing,” I confirm as happiness bubbles inside me. Waking up with Lana had been the single best experience of my life. I’d never felt such peace before, and I’d wanted to bottle it up and hold on to it forever.
“Are you dating? When are you seein’ her again?” Otto asks in rapid fire.
“She’s a single mom so it will depend on when she doesn’t have her kids, but I’m hoping to see her when I can.”
“Single moms are so hot,” Otto says wistfully, making Case snort laugh and Bodhi crack a smile. Otto’s wife, Fallon, had been a single mom who landed in town right before we did with her son.
Otto had fallen fast and hard for her and her kid, and I’d honestly never seen someone so genuinely happy. It gives me hope that this thing I feel, this pull, between Lana and me is real and lasting.
I may be young, but I’ve seen a lot in this life and I’m ready for love with matching robes, lazy days, and the chaos that comes with being a family.
Having a family.
Case pulls out his phone. “I’m texting Hannah the good news. She’s so excited to be a matchmaker.” I laugh and shake my head, resting against the shovel as I stare out at the property. I love this, working with my hands—creating, building, growing something beautiful where it had been lacking.
It’s a dream come true.
Just like bein’ here with my friends, my brother, and now maybe, my girl.
It’s becoming home and it’s better than I imagined.
LANA
Pacing my kitchen early Monday morning, I reread the text Mason had sent me well before my own alarm had gone off. I’d read it a million times, committed it to memory, and it still had me grinning like a fool.
MASON: Good morning gorgeous. I hope your day is incredible. I haven’t stopped thinking about you.
There’s no way I’ll make it through work if I don’t tell someone.
I could text the book club chat. It’s something I’ll probably have to do eventually. Ellison, Cal, Nessa, and Bea would pitch a fit if they found out I’d been harboring something so spectacular from them.
But I’m not quite ready to share this.
It’s too new.
Too wonderful.
And if I’m lucky, it might be lasting.
That leaves my only other friend.
It was a friendship born from spite and nothing else. We were like that movie where the wife and mistresses bond together to gain revenge on the cheating bastard. But instead of that particular scenario, Jacob had married mistress number two and I’d gotten full custody of our kids and Ranger.
LANA: I went on a date
AMARA: With the guy from the photoshoot?
LANA: Yes
AMARA: That’s amazing! What’s he like?
LANA: Younger—a lot younger
AMARA: Good for you girl—how’s the sex?
LANA: Why do you think I’ve had sex with him?
AMARA: …
LANA: Fine, the sex was incredible—and he was so damn patient with me
AMARA: Not everyone is Jacob
AMARA: That asshole couldn’t find a clit if it jumped up and bit him
LANA: Thanks for that visual
AMARA: You’re welcome. You DESERVE to be treated like a queen
LANA: I forgot what that’s like
LANA: He makes me feel alive—I wish I was being dramatic but it’s true
AMARA: It sounds heavenly
LANA: You’ll find it
AMARA: Honestly, I’d rather not
AMARA: I settled for Jacob and I have no idea why
AMARA: No offense
LANA: None taken
LANA: I settled after a while
AMARA: But now you’re being rewarded with orgasms from a hot young guy
LANA: Silver linings
AMARA: Are you seeing him again?
LANA: Hopefully. It’s just hard with the kids.
AMARA: MAKE TIME
AMARA: Seriously, despite your tough exterior, you have such a soft center
LANA: Pretty sure that’s my slow metabolism from starting perimenopause early
AMARA: That’s a thing?
LANA: It’s definitely a thing, just wait.
AMARA: Okay, well, shut up and take the compliment—you deserve to have adult time where someone else takes care of you
LANA: He really was attentive
AMARA: See? Let him spoil you, girl—all the attention, affection, and orgasms
LANA: I’m going to try
AMARA: Do it. Do it for both of us. I need to know it can still happen.
I want to reply something snarky but I know she needs this—needs to know that what happened with Jacob wasn’t the last chance at happiness.
LANA: I’ll make sure of it.