Chapter 31
Chapter Thirty-One
Talking to the girls helped tremendously, but when I wake up the next morning, I decide there is someone else I want to get input from.
My mom offered to talk to me about Logan when he first got back and maybe I’m ready to take her up on it. I’m sure she’s up so I don’t bother to message her before driving to her house.
I can’t get the kiss out of my head. It feels like it would be so easy to just pick up where we left off. He’s changed and matured. Our connection feels the same as it always did.
As I pull into mom’s driveway and put my jeep in park, I freeze at the site of a police SUV already here.
The feelings of déjà vu hit instantly. My heart begins to race wildly, as I gasp for breath.
There is no good reason for it to be here unless it’s an emergency. This can’t be happening. Not again.
I barely remember to turn off my vehicle before I jump out, slam the door, and run towards the house.
Taking the steps two at a time, I rush through the front door and come to a halt.
Yes, Officer Mason Kent is clearly here, but there doesn’t appear to be an emergency as I watch him walk down my mom’s stairs in bare feet, pulling a T-shirt over his head wearing only grey sweats.
His hair is tousled like he just got out of bed.
Oh my god! This was not on this year’s Bingo card.
Pausing in surprise, his blue/grey eyes grow large when he sees me standing here. Slowly, I shut the door behind me and lean back against it. I can feel my cheeks burning with embarrassment. This was the very last thing I expected to find this morning. But I’m a grown ass woman; I can handle it.
Mason finds his voice before I do. “Good morning, Hannah.” He pulls the shirt down over his toned stomach and continues his descent down the stairs and points towards the kitchen. “I’m just going to make some coffee; do you want some?”
Okay, so this is how we are going to play it. We will just pretend that it’s completely normal for him to spend the night with my mom. But hell, maybe it is, and this is just one more thing I don’t know. Awesome, this is so awesome for me.
Clearing my dry throat, I step away from the door and follow him. “Sure, I will have some coffee.” Weird, this is fucking weird. Never have I ever seen another man in this kitchen this early in the morning besides my dad and that was years ago. “Umm, where’s my mom?”
Lifting his head towards the ceiling, he replies, “Getting dressed. She will be down in a minute.”
Cool, cool – totally normal. I watch him move about the room, collecting what he needs to make coffee.
I lean my hip against the counter and try not to fidget as he takes out three mugs and sets them down beside the coffee pot.
It’s obvious that he’s comfortable in this space, and he has been doing this for a while.
Not brave enough to address the elephant in the room without my mother present, I decide to fill the silence.
“So, how’s work going?” I ask, looking anywhere but at him.
“Good. Good,” he replies, pouring hot coffee into the mugs, sliding one across the counter towards me. “How’s the gallery?”
“Good. Really good.” After adding cream and sugar I take it to the table and sit facing him. Leaning back, I steeple my hands in front of my face and watch him prepare a cup for my mom and himself.
After a moment, he clears his throat and mutters, “So, this is awkward.”
“You think?” Biting my lips I nod, this is so uncomfortable.
Air rushes from my lungs when my mom walks into the room freshly showered and ready for the day. Thank fuck she’s here. The instant look of relief that washes across Mason’s face is comical.
She immediately smiles when she sees me. “Good morning, sweetie. I thought I heard someone come in.” She gives Mason a reassuring grin before walking to the table and sitting down across from me. Gently touching my arm, she asks, “I didn’t expect to see you this morning, is everything okay?”
“Yeah, yeah, everything is fine. Good.” I nod my head, eyes bouncing between Mason and my mom.
Mason brings mom her coffee and bends to kiss the top of her head. “I’m going to go up and get ready. Give you a chance to talk.”
“Thank you,” Mom beams up at him. “We have to leave by 10 if we are going to be there on time.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be ready.” He smiles softly at her before his gaze shifts to me. “It was nice to see you, Hannah,” he says softly before picking up his coffee and leaving the room.
I watch him go before I lean towards Mom and whisper shout, “What’s he doing here? What’s going on?”
Chuckling, she shakes her head and pats my hand. “I think that’s quite obvious, darling.” Standing, she walks over to the counter and picks up a pastry box. Setting it on the table in front of me she opens the lid and slides it towards me before returning to her spot. “Donut?”
Leaning my elbows on the table I cup my hands over my mouth, inhaling and exhaling deeply. “Not everything can be fixed with donuts, Mother.”
Snorting, she pushes the box a little closer. “Don’t be dramatic and pick out the one you want.”
I pat my lips a couple times while I stare at the woman before me. “Speechless. I am absolutely speechless,” I say as I reach into the box and choose a chocolate with rainbow sprinkles.
“You, my dear, haven’t been speechless a minute in your entire life. What do you want to know?” she asks, humming her approval as she sips her coffee.
Leaning back, I raise one foot and put it on the seat of the chair and let the other swing back and forth. “Let’s start with Mason. What the fuck, Mom?”
She gives me a stern look. “I’ll let that slide. Mason and I have been friends forever and over the past few years we have become closer.” She shrugs like it’s not a big deal at all.
“Apparently,” I mumble before picking off a piece of the donut and shoving it into my mouth.
Rolling her eyes, she continues, “We have similar interests and enjoy spending time together. Our friendship developing into something more felt very organic.”
“I see.” No, I totally don’t see. This news is bigger than Logan suddenly moving home. Putting another piece of donut in my mouth, I chew before asking, “How long? How long has this been going on?”
“This? As in how long have we been sleeping together?” She reaches over and pats my back when I start coughing as I choke on my donut. Shaking her head, she whispers, “So dramatic.”
With watery eyes, I sit up straight and say, “Yes, Mother, how long have you been sleeping with your good friend Mason?”
Ignoring me, she shrugs one shoulder. “A few months.”
Jumping from my chair, “A few months?!” I wail. “You have been in a serious relationship for a few months. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was going to tell you soon, I promise. I just needed time to adjust to the newness of it. I haven’t been with anyone in a long time and neither has Mason.
” Standing, she takes the pastry box back to the counter.
She turns back to me, takes my hands in hers and meets my eyes before saying, “As you know, much of my life has been very public. Some things that should have remained private, including my mental health, were often a topic of local gossip. This relationship is just for us, and we enjoy the discreetness of it.”
I’m absolutely dumbfounded as I let go of her hands and begin to pace.
When I don’t say anything, she continues, “At first, I didn’t want people to judge him for getting tangled up with a crazy person.
” She raises her palm when I come to a sudden stop with my eyes wide and mouth open.
“Let me finish. I no longer feel that way, but you know sometimes my brain lies to me. Mason’s job is very public, and he appreciates his privacy as well.
It’s not a secret; we just aren’t advertising it.
Normally, he parks in the garage, but he didn’t get here until late last night.
I’m sure people will be talking about it before the end of the day. ”
“Now that I think about it, I did hear a rumor that Mason had a secret girlfriend – I just never dreamed it was my own mother.”
She just laughs. What the fuck, Mom? I’ve had enough surprises in the past few weeks to last me a lifetime.
Mom and I continue to visit while Mason gets ready to go to brunch.
Seriously – they are going to brunch. She tells me about some of the dates that Mason has taken her on and about how much she enjoys spending time with him.
I should be mad that she’s kept this from me, but it’s hard to be when she is so obviously happy.
By the time I had to leave, I realized that I’d gotten so caught up in her joy, I’d forgotten why I went to see her in the first place.