Chapter 8 - Mason
I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing, but at least I'm being frontal and honest.
No more holding back. No more burying my feelings so deep they never see the light of day.
I already poured my heart out about my past: about my father, my mother, the military, the nightmares that still wake me up screaming.
Might as well go all the way. Might as well tell her the truth about why I slept through the night for the first time in weeks, why I can't seem to stop thinking about her.
"What do you mean by 'just me'?" Lily's voice is cautious like she's afraid of the answer.
I stumble over my words, trying to figure out how to say this without sounding like a creep or making her feel pressured. "I mean... since you're staying in Blackwater Falls, maybe we could see each other often. Maybe even go on a date, if that's something you'd be interested in."
Her eyes widen, lips parting in surprise.
Fuck. I'm doing this all wrong. Making it sound like she owes me something, like the shelter and the food and the job recommendation come with strings attached after all.
"But I don't want to pressure you," I add quickly, the words tumbling out too fast. "I don't want you to feel like you owe me anything.
You don't. The cottage, the food, the help with Sarah…
None of that has conditions. Either you want to go out with me, or you don't. And I'll respect your decision either way. "
Lily's speechless. She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. Just stares at me with those wide green eyes, her face flushed from the heat and maybe from something else. Fear? Attraction? I can't tell.
I have no idea if she's too afraid to say no, worried I'll rescind my help if she rejects me. Or if she's too shy to say yes, uncertain whether this is real or just another man trying to use her.
Either way, we're both clearly distracted.
Too focused on each other, on this fragile moment balanced between us.
I'm not paying attention to Daisy anymore, my grip on the lead rope loosening without me realizing it.
And Lily's hands have gone slack on the saddle horn, her body language no longer communicating calm to the horse.
Daisy feels the change. Feels the sudden lack of direction, the tension crackling in the air between Lily and me. Her ears flick back, and she shifts her weight, growing restless.
I should notice. Should see the warning signs. But I'm too busy staring at Lily, waiting for her answer, my heart pounding in my chest like I'm back in combat waiting for enemy fire.
Daisy rears up like a majestic fucking horse, her front hooves leaving the ground, her powerful body twisting.
Lily screams.
The lead rope slips completely from my hand as I launch myself forward. No thought, just pure instinct and training. I'm moving before my brain fully processes what's happening, my body acting on muscle memory from years of working with spooked horses.
Lily's already sliding sideways off the saddle, her hands grasping at nothing, her body tilting dangerously toward the hard-packed dirt of the corral. Daisy's coming back down, and if Lily hits the ground, those hooves could catch her skull, her ribs, any part of her soft body.
I reach her just in time, my arms wrapping around her waist and yanking her clear of Daisy's descent.
The horse's hooves slam into the dirt where Lily would've landed, missing us by inches.
I stumble backward with Lily's weight in my arms, her body pressed against my chest, both of us breathing hard.
She's in my arms. Fully in my arms, her head still bobbing from the momentum, her chest heaving, her breasts jiggling with each gasping breath.
Fuck. Even now, even with adrenaline spiking through my system and Daisy dancing nervously a few feet away, I notice her curves.
Notice how perfectly she fits against me, how soft she is, how good she smells despite the sweat and fear.
Her eyes are closed, her face buried against my henley, her fingers clutching at my shoulders like I'm the only solid thing in the world.
"Lily," I rasp out, my voice rough. "You okay? Are you hurt?"
She opens her eyes slowly, and her gaze meets mine. We're so close. Too close. My head is tilted forward, my face mere inches from hers. I can see the individual freckles scattered across her nose, the way her pupils have dilated, the slight tremor in her plump lower lip.
"You saved me," she breathes out.
"I only did what was necessary."
My arms are still wrapped around her, holding her against my chest even though she's no longer in danger. I should let go. Should set her on her feet and put proper distance between us. But I can't seem to make my body obey.
A smile tugs at her lips, and there's something playful in it despite the fear that just coursed through her. "How can I say no to you now when you're my knight in shining armor?"
The tension breaks slightly. I can't help the grin that spreads across my face. "For a knight, I have the shittiest armor. Just a dirty henley and jeans covered in horse shit."
She laughs, the sound bright and genuine and so fucking beautiful it makes my chest ache. "Still counts."
I help her get back on her feet, steadying her when her legs wobble slightly. My hands linger on her waist longer than necessary, and she doesn't pull away. Just looks up at me with those green eyes that seem to see straight through all my defenses.
"Mason," she says, and this time her voice is serious. Clear. "I'd love to go out with you."
The words hit me harder than Daisy's hooves hitting the ground. Harder than any punch I've taken, any explosion I've survived. She said yes. Actually said yes.
"Yeah?" I need confirmation, need to hear it again to believe it's real.
"Yeah." Her smile is soft, almost shy. "I mean, assuming you can keep me from getting trampled by horses on a regular basis. That might be a dealbreaker."
I'm about to respond, about to tell her I'll do whatever it takes to keep her safe, when voices call out from the direction of the fence.
"Everything okay over there?" Tucker's voice carries across the corral, concern evident even from a distance.
I turn to see him striding toward us, Emma and Rosie running ahead of him. Rosie's face is scrunched up with worry, her little legs pumping as fast as they can.
"Mama!" she cries out, her voice high with distress.
Lily immediately drops to her knees, opening her arms just as Rosie crashes into her. "I'm okay, baby girl. I'm okay. Mama just got a little scared, but Mason caught me."
"The horsie was bad!" Rosie declares, glaring at Daisy, who's now standing calmly a few feet away like she didn't just nearly throw Lily to her death.
"The horse wasn't bad," Lily corrects gently, smoothing Rosie's wild curls. "Mama just wasn't holding on tight enough. It was my fault, not the horsie's."
Emma appears at my side, studying Daisy with the critical eye of someone who's grown up around horses. "She got spooked," she observes. "Did something startle her?"
"No," I admit, running a hand through my sweat-damp hair. "I wasn't paying attention. Let the lead rope go slack. My fault, not the horse's."
Tucker reaches us, his eyes scanning both Lily and me for injuries. "Anyone hurt?"
"No," Lily says, standing up with Rosie still clinging to her. "Mason caught me before I hit the ground. I'm fine. Just shaken up."
Tucker's gaze shifts between Lily and me, and I can see him putting the pieces together. The way we're standing too close. The way her cheeks are flushed and my breathing is still uneven. The way we can't quite stop looking at each other even with him and the kids standing right there.
A knowing smile tugs at Tucker's lips. "Well, that's good timing then. Emma and Rosie were getting hungry, and I promised them lunch. Thought maybe you two might want to join us at the main house? Meet the rest of the guys?"
Meeting the rest of the guys. My brothers. Who will absolutely give me shit about bringing a woman to the ranch, about the way I'm looking at Lily, about everything.
But Lily needs to meet them anyway if she's staying here. Needs to know the people who'll be part of her life if she accepts the job at the saloon, if she sticks around Blackwater Falls, if we actually go on that date she just agreed to.
"What do you think?" I ask Lily, giving her the choice. Always giving her the choice. "You up for meeting three more idiots like me?"
She glances at Rosie, who's already chattering with Emma about horses and flowers and whatever else seven-year-olds and two-year-olds talk about. Then she looks back at me, and something soft and warm fills her expression.
"Sure," she says. "Let's meet your family."
My family. She called them my family. Because that's what they are.
Wade, Tucker, Rhett, Boone, Colt, they're my brothers in every way that matters.
The family Frank built for us when we had nothing else.
And now I'm bringing Lily into that. Bringing her and Rosie into the fold, hoping like hell they'll accept her the way they accepted Sierra, the way they accepted Marley, the way they accepted Nicole and Harper.
"Fair warning," I tell her as we start walking toward the main house, Tucker and the girls already ahead of us. "They're going to ask a lot of questions. Probably tease me mercilessly. Definitely make jokes at my expense."
"I can handle it." Lily's walking close enough that our arms brush with each step. "I've dealt with worse than some good-natured teasing."
I smile and catch Daisy's lead rope on the way past and guide her toward the barn.
Can't leave her in the corral unsupervised, not after what just happened.
Lily walks beside me, and despite everything that just occurred—the near-accident, the confession, the agreement to date—the silence between us is comfortable.
Natural, even. Like we've known each other longer than twenty-four hours. Like she belongs here, walking beside me through the ranch that's been my home for over two decades.
"Mason?" Her voice is soft.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you." She looks up at me. "For all of this. The cottage, the breakfast, the riding lesson, the honesty about your past. For catching me. For asking me out. For everything."
I want to tell her she doesn't need to thank me.
I want to say I'd do all of it again without hesitation.
Want to explain that she's already become important to me in a way I don't fully understand yet.
But Tucker and the girls are waiting at the main house porch, and I can see Boone emerging from one of the other cottages, probably drawn by the commotion. This conversation will have to wait.
"You're welcome," I say simply. Then, because I can't help myself: "And for the record? I'm really glad you said yes."
Her smile could light up the entire ranch. "Me too."