Chapter Fourteen
Mason Collins was a dead man walking. Rodney was seething inside. He stood on a hill watching the laughing couple through his binoculars as they sat on a park bench throwing breadcrumbs at the ducks. Brandi was laughing as though she had just heard the funniest joke in the world. Collins leaned over and kissed her.
Rodney didn’t like the way Collins was touching his woman. He had to push back the urge to rush over and smash that bastard’s face in. Collins would pay.
He couldn’t figure out what Brandi saw in that cracker. It should have been him sitting there, holding her hand. If Brandi thought she could throw him over for someone else, then she was sadly mistaken. She belonged to him and he wasn’t going to let her go! For the past two months, she hadn’t returned his calls. She’d even changed her numbers and installed a new security system.
The final slap In the face was when she applied for a restraining order against him. It had cost him his job. That was okay. He had plenty of money to live on from his last foster mother. That old bitch thought he had actually cared about her, when what he really cared about were the extravagant gifts she liked to shower on him. Even better, she left him her all her money.
Rodney laughed at Brandi’s feeble attempts to keep him out of her life. As a former member of the police force, he learned a few things about home security systems and how to get past them. He still liked to watch her through the windows. Even with her inside the house he was able to get in without her knowing.
Every now and then, he would take the underwear from her dirty clothes hamper. She had plenty of under things. He was sure she wouldn’t miss a few articles here or there. Besides, she owed it to him after putting him through the hassle of sneaking around like this.
Sometimes when it rained, it poured, and Collins wasn’t the only problem he had to deal with. Somehow that little thorn in his side survived the fire. More than ever he needed to get rid of her. For now, she lay in a pediatric ward, an even bigger ball of nerves than she had already been. He chuckled to himself.
Little Tina would be totally insane by the time he was finished with her…that is, if he didn’t kill her first.
Brandi and Collins stood up, then walked down the trail holding hands. They were staring into each other’s eyes. It made him want to hurl.
You may think she’s yours now, but I’ll be watching and I’ll be waiting.
Rodney lowered the binoculars and dug into his pocket, pulling out a pair of unlaundered pink panties. He brought it to his nose and took a deep whiff. He felt calmer as Brandi’s essence filled his nostrils. He stuffed the panties back into his pocket and moved toward the unsuspecting couple.
“I can’t believe it’s five o’clock already. I’m supposed to pick up the kids in a half hour,” she groaned.
“I feel the same way, but I enjoyed spending time with you today. I have Ben next weekend and I was thinking the five of us could do something together,” Mason suggested.
Brandi looked at him warily. “Mason, it’s too soon. Remember, we agreed that we would take things slowly.”
“It’s been two months. We only see each other on the weekends when I don’t have Ben. How much slower do we have to go? You let me make love to you with no qualms, but you won’t bring our relationship in the open. Am I going to be your dirty little secret for the duration of our time together?”
Brandi looked away from the hurt and anger in his eyes. The past couple of months with Mason brought her more joy than she experienced in the past two years. She found herself looking forward to the weekends she could drop her children off with her mother or sister. Brandi realized her family suspected that there was a man involved. Her parents didn’t say anything, but she was subjected to knowing looks when she picked the kids up. Lisa, naturally, bluntly asked. She in turn, changed the subject immediately.
When she was with Mason, she felt like a teenager again. He made her laugh and he was easy to talk to. Their days were loaded with activities and their nights were filled with steamy passion. When she wasn’t with him, he was never far from her thoughts. The more time they spent together, the more she wanted to be with him, but Brandi didn’t know if she was ready to analyze her feelings any further than that. To do so would mean having to admit that she more than cared for him. What if her kids became involved and things didn’t work out? They didn’t need any more upheaval in their young lives.
“Mason, please try and understand this from my perspective. I’m a single mother trying to raise two children and I want to do right by them. I don’t want to set a bad example.”
“I’m not asking to spend the night with you while they’re there. I’m also a single father.”
“You don’t understand. Ben’s only with you every other weekend. My kids are with me all the time.”
“And?” he prompted, folding his arms across his chest.
“I already made a mistake. With Rodney.”
“How?”
“The kids caught us in bed together. Then the engagement was over just like that. I can’t imagine what would have been running through their minds. How is it going to look to them if I tell them you’re my boyfriend? How can they respect me if they think their mother is loose?”
He grabbed her hands and pulled her against him, giving her a long, deep kiss. When he lifted his head, she was breathless. Mason always seemed to make her forget everything when he kissed her like that.
“You’re not a loose woman; you’re a very passionate woman. Your kids will understand if you explained things to them.”
“Do you intend to tell your son about me?” she asked skeptically.
“Of course, I will. My son is always asking about you. He thinks you’re pretty. You might even be the object of his first crush.”
“You’re making that up!”
“I swear. He asked me just last week what I thought about Miss Brandi.”
She pursed her lips. “Now I know you’re making that up.”
Mason dug into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. He speed dialed a number and put the phone against his ear.
“Who are you calling?”
Mason didn’t answer; he seemed to be waiting for someone to answer the call.
“Karen, this is Mason. Can I speak to Ben, please? Thanks.”
Brandi’s eyes widened. “Mason, no!”
He ignored her. “Hi, Ben. How’s it going, champ?” Mason smiled at whatever the boy said.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” she hissed at him, but he held his hand up.
“Ben, I have a friend with me who wants to say hello.”
“No,” Brandi backed away from him when he held the phone in front of her.
“Take it,” Mason urged.
She shook her head. Mason gave her a knowing smile, then put the phone back to his ear.
“Well, it seems that my friend is shy all of a sudden. Maybe another time.” He winked at her. “Yes, I’ll make it to your soccer game. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He laughed at something else Ben said. Mason chatted for a few more minutes before ending the call. “Okay, kiddo, see you then. Love you.” He replaced the phone in his pocket.
“That was a dirty trick.”
“You are the one who accused me of lying. I was only trying to prove my innocence.”
“Mason, you’re not making this easy for me,” she groaned.
He lifted her chin so their eyes met. “It’s not my intention to make this hard on you, but my feelings for you are very real, Brandi. I love you.” Mason let out a deep breath. “There, I said it. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to tell you.”
Her eyes filled with tears. The tender look in his eyes told her that he meant it. Her heart began to race because she knew then that she loved him, too. It wasn’t the grateful-friendship type of love she once felt for Rodney; this was real and much more intense. It was also the kind of love she had felt with Damon, and it scared the hell out of her.
“Mason. I…I love you, too.”
His eyes lit up and he took her into his arms. She melted against him and opened her mouth to the welcome invasion of his tongue. She didn’t know if she would ever get tired of his kisses. Mason could make her come with just the flick of his tongue.
Mason lifted his head. “Those words are music to my ears.”
“But we still need time.”
“Time for what? We love each other. What do we have to wait for?’
“I…I just want to run things by my kids first and get their take on things. I mean, I love you, but they are my priority.”
Mason looked like he wanted to argue with her but thought better of it.
“Just give me enough time to get them used to the idea of you and me.”
“Okay. For you, I would wait an eternity.”
Her heart fluttered. She stroked his cheek. “You say the sweetest things. Now, I really should get going. I promised Mya I would take her to the mall on the way home.”
“By all means, you don’t want to keep the young lady waiting.” He chuckled.
“No. My daughter can be pretty tough when she wants to be.”
“How quaint.” A malevolent voice spoke from behind her.
Mason’s face went beet red. “What the hell are you doing here? You know you’re not supposed to be within one hundred yards of Brandi.”
Brandi turned to see Rodney standing behind her. What was he doing here? A couple of months ago she would have never suspected him of stalking her, but after the night she broke their engagement, she took the necessary precautions to keep him away from her and the children. She been very careful in the way she told her children about her broken engagement, letting them know that no one was to blame, but that she felt it was for the best that she and Rodney separate. Surprisingly, they both seemed fine with it, DJ especially.
Since then, he left hundreds of messages on her answering machine and cell phone. It had gotten to the point where the children were questioning why he was calling so much. If the sheer volume of the calls didn’t give her cause for alarm, then the nature of the messages did.
In the beginning, the messages had been apologetic in tone, then they progressively became more belligerent. “No one will love you like I do. No one.” That message chilled her to the bone. The very next day she changed her numbers.
She also received daily deliveries of flowers at her office with equally chilling messages. Why had she never noticed that Rodney was like this? From his reaction to the breakup, she wished she kicked him to the curb sooner.
Who knew what would have happened had she gone through with the wedding. Any gratitude she felt because he’d been there for her during a tough time in her life flew out of the window with his actions.
“This is a public park. How was I to know you would be here?” Rodney’s hazel eyes surveyed her face and she shivered at the possessive look he shot her. “You look beautiful, Brandi.”
“Rodney, you know I have a restraining order against you. If I call the police, you will get arrested. We need get going. Come on, Mason.”
Mason never took his eyes from Rodney. “Sure.” He put his arm around Brandi’s shoulders, and they would have walked away if Rodney had not stepped in their path.
“Move!” Mason growled.
Brandi tried a more reasonable approach. “Please leave us alone, Rodney.”
Rodney’s nostrils flared. “You stand there and tell me to leave you alone as if I don’t matter? As if we didn’t have something special?”
She opened her mouth, but Mason jumped in before she had a chance to speak.
“Brandi has asked you to leave her alone and I suggest you do so.”
Rodney advanced on them, and Mason moved in front of Brandi.
“And what are you going to do about it, white boy? You have no idea what I can do to you. Stay out of this; it’s between me and Brandi.”
“Are you threatening me?” Mason asked, showing absolutely no fear.
“I don’t make threats, pal. Threats are for people who don’t plan on following through. I make promises.”
“Rodney, what the hell is wrong with you? You’re acting crazy!” Brandi couldn’t believe this exchange.
“Brandi, I’m only crazy in love with you. Can’t you see this guy is no good for you? He’s not good enough to wipe your feet on.”
“I’m warning you, Rodney.” Mason’s teeth were clenched.
“Warning me? I should be warning Brandi.” Rodney smiled. “You seem to think Mason Collins is such a paragon, but did you know that he was a deadbeat dad? I have it from a very reliable source that as rich as he is, he has been late with his child support payments on several occasions.”
“You’re making that up!”
“Am I? It’s in the public records if you want to check for yourself. If that doesn’t bother you, then how about what he did to his poor sweet mother? Right after his father died, he put her in one of the worse nursing homes in the state. And let’s not forget that he’s a serial cheater.” Rodney smirked triumphantly. “Mason, why don’t you tell her how your first wife committed suicide? I guess she got fed up with the way you treated her.”
Brandi gasped. Why was Rodney making up lies about Mason? She knew in her heart he was a good person. He just wasn’t capable of these things.
“Rodney, I don’t know what you think you’ll gain by making up these lies, but you need to get the hell out of my face before I put my foot up your ass.” She placed her hands on her hips and tipped her head back to so he could see the anger in her eyes.
Rodney gave her a satisfied smile. “You’re even more beautiful when you’re angry. If you don’t believe me, then ask lover boy if everything is true or not.”
Something in the way Rodney said it made her look at Mason. Her heart sank when she noticed his stillness and how pale he had gone.
“Mason, tell me he’s lying.”
“I can’t.”