Chapter Seventeen
“You…you still love me?” she asked uncertainly.
“Of course, I still love you. I could never stop loving you. Come inside. Ben and I were sorting through some baseball cards.”
“Ben is here? I’m sorry, I didn’t realize--”
“Don’t worry about it. Karen dropped him off with me because her mom is ill.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to come in. You know our sons will talk and--”
“So what? They’ll talk. Does it really matter? Come in and stop being silly.” He took her hand and led her into the house. “Hey, Ben, look who’s come to visit.”
The child looked up from his baseball cards. His eyes lit up. “Hi, Miss Brandi. Did you bring DJ?” he asked hopefully.
“No. Just myself. I’m sorry. He’s at his cousin’s birthday party today.”
“Oh, well, do you want to help us sort these baseball cards?”
“Champ, Miss Brandi and I need to talk. How about you work on those cards and I’ll be back out to help you, okay?”
“Sure.”
“Come on, Brandi, let’s go to the sitting room. Would you like something to drink?”
She shook her head. Seeing him so at ease with his son, she wondered how it was possible that Mason was all the revolting things she thought he was. She took the seat he offered. He sat across from her.
An awkward silence filled the room. Not knowing exactly where to begin, she looked down into her lap. Mason was the first to speak.
“Brandi, I’m so glad you came. This past week without you has been hell.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I want to start by saying that I’m sorry you had to find out those things about me the way you did. I should have been upfront with you about my past. I suppose I kept it from you because I was scared of losing you.”
Her eyes widened. Was he sitting there admitting what he had done? Had she wasted a trip?
“I can see your doubts, but please hear me out.”
“That’s what I came for.”
“Thanks.” He drew in a deep breath. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my past, and some of those mistakes were inexcusable. I won’t sit here and try to justify all that I’ve done because I can’t. I don’t like the man I used to be. How I even looked myself in the mirror is still a mystery, but I will say that I’ve changed. I’ve tried to make amends with the people I’ve hurt. My mother and I are working on rebuilding our relationship. I want to be a better father to Ben, and I only want one woman in my life. I was definitely no saint and I don’t think I ever will be, but I’m a different man now.”
She raised an eyebrow. More than anything she wanted to believe him, wrap her arms around him and forget the past week’s torment without him… But could she believe him?
She wanted to forget the lonely nights when she woke up with her body drenched in sweat, longing for him, wanting and needing him. Brandi had known then that she hadn’t stopped loving him, either. It was obvious from her observations of Ben that the little boy worshiped his father and vice versa.
Brandi also had to consider her source. Rodney was a man scorned. She wouldn’t put it past him to have embellished a few things, “Mason…I’m sorry for not listening to you. I was just so upset with Rodney and when you didn’t deny his words, I felt like an idiot. I can’t say that I’m not uneasy about your past and that it doesn’t give me pause, but a wise person told me that I might have been too hasty in judging you.”
Mason smiled. He stood and held his hand out to her. Brandi took it and let him pull her into his arms. She felt as if she had come home.
“Who was this wise person? I’d like to thank them.” He caressed her hair.
“Believe it or not, it was my daughter.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“That’s one smart kid. Remind me to send her flowers.”
Brandi smiled up at him. “She would be thrilled.”
“So, where do we go from here?”
She could see the worry in his eyes and she laid her hand on his face.” I would like to try again, but I want you to know that if I think you’re lying to me or if you withhold information from me again, there won’t be any more chances.”
“I understand. Thank you.”
“What for?”
“For loving me and giving me another chance,” he replied before lowering his head to hers. It was as though no one else in the world existed except her and this man.
Brandi’s lips parted under the insistent probing of his tongue. She returned his kiss enthusiastically. He tasted so good. She’d missed his warm mouth over hers. Her breasts were crushed against the hard wall of his chest and she could feel a stirring between her legs. She wanted him; oh, how she wanted him.
Mason’s tongue circled hers, sampling, teasing, worshiping. His cock pressed against her. Brandi felt a burst of lust course through her body. Mason’s hands slid up her ribcage to cup one taut breast in his palm. Brandi thought she would cream herself right then and there. She missed his intimate touch and she needed this right now, more than she needed air to breathe.
His palm rubbed the aching mound, sending shivers of delight up and down her spine. Brandi’s hands roamed down his back to cup his ass in her palms. She loved the way his hard body felt beneath her hands.
Mason lifted his head to look at her, making her whimper at the sudden withdrawal of his lips. There was a hunger in his gaze that sent a shiver of delight up her spine.
“You have no idea how much I’ve missed this,” he whispered.
“I think I do because I’ve missed it, too. Please kiss me some more.” She pulled his head back to hers. Brandi took charge of the kiss, exploring his warm and moist mouth, reveling in the taste of him. The scent of his cologne filled her nostrils, making her head spin with desire. She wanted him so badly.
Brandi pulled back slightly to flick his lips with her tongue. “Mmm, you taste just as yummy as I remember.” She smiled at him before pressing her lips against the pulse on his neck. His hand was still on her breast, squeezing and kneading it. Brandi could feel the dampness in her panties; her pussy ached and contracted with need for his cock.
“Dad, I have a quest--”
Brandi and Mason pulled apart in horror. Brandi wanted the ground to swallow her up when she spied the open-mouthed astonishment on Ben’s face.
“Uh, Ben, what is it, champ?” Mason tried to sound natural but failed miserably. His face was beet red.
“Umm, never mind.” Ben left the room in a hurry.
Mason turned to her with an apologetic look on his face. “Damn, I’m sorry about that. I guess I got carried away.”
Brandi was mortified. “I did, too. It was just as much my fault. What will you tell him?”
Mason sighed. “The truth. I’m going to tell him that we love each other and he will have to learn to deal with it.”
“But what if he doesn’t accept it?”
“Ben likes you. Don’t worry about it.”
“I guess this means I should tell my kids, too; otherwise they’ll find out at school tomorrow.”
“I’m sorry that it had to come out like this, but we have nothing to be ashamed of. Let’s go and have a talk with my son.”
“No. I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to be here when you talk to him. Besides, I really should be getting back to my sister’s house. I told her I would help out with my niece’s party. Lisa is already mad at me for bailing on her, but I had to see you.”
Mason ran his thumb across her bottom lip, causing her to shiver. “I’m glad you did. When can I see you again?” he asked eagerly.
“On the weekend…if you have Ben, the five of us can do something.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. I think the kids would enjoy it. Call me and we’ll make plans.”
“I will.” He gave her a long, lingering kiss before leading her to the living room where Ben sat sorting through his baseball cards as though he hadn’t witnessed her and his father in a passionate embrace.
“It was nice seeing you again,” Brandi said to the little boy.
“Yeah, okay.” He sounded less than enthusiastic, and his attitude took her by surprise. What was wrong? He seemed so friendly when she had come.
Brandi looked to Mason, who shrugged. He seemed just as confused as she was.
“I’ll talk to you this week,” she said before leaving them.
Mason saw her to the door, but she insisted that he stay with Ben. As she drove to her sister’s, she wondered if she was doing the right thing.
Mason sensed something was wrong the minute he and Brandi walked back into the living room. After seeing Brandi off, Mason wanted to know what was bothering his son.
“Ben, are you okay?” He sat down next to the boy.
“Yeah.”
“What did you want to ask me?”
“Nothing. It wasn’t important,” Ben muttered.
“If it was important to you, it’s important to me. Tell me what’s on your mind, kiddo.”
“I was going to ask how valuable you think this card is.” Ben handed it to him.
Mason examined it. “Hmm, I don’t think it’s very valuable. This guy only played one season in the majors before getting sent to the minors. This card is probably more valuable to the player and his mother than it is to you.” Mason attempted to joke, but Ben didn’t crack a smile.
“That’s not all that’s on your mind. Tell me.”
Ben’s lips pursed to a thin line, and he shook his head.
“Come on. You know you can tell me anything.”
The little boy’s eyes narrowed, but he didn’t speak. Ben turned back to his baseball cards. Mason closed his eyes with disappointment. Ben obviously wasn’t happy at what he witnessed in the sitting room.
“Ben, about what you saw earlier--”
“I don’t want to talk about it!” Ben snapped.
Mason looked at the child in astonishment. Ben was usually laid back and accepting, but his attitude now was baffling.
“Well, we’re going to talk about it. Look, I just want you to know that no matter what, you come first in my life.”
Ben looked disbelieving. “It’s the truth, son.”
“You better not hurt Miss Brandi. She’s my best friend’s mom.”
Mason was taken aback. “Ben, why would you think I would hurt her?”
“Because you do it to all your girlfriends. Mom says so. If you hurt Miss Brandi then DJ will stop being my friend. I don’t ever want to see you again if that happens. I love you, Dad, but I don’t want to lose my friend.”
Mason tried to push back the wave of anger he felt toward Karen. She had to stop poisoning Ben’s mind this way.
“Now you’re mad at me, aren’t you?” Ben asked.
“No. I’m not mad, just a little disappointed that you would think that I would hurt Miss Brandi. I care about her very much. Sometimes, your mother says things about me that may have been true in the past, but they aren’t anymore.”
“Are you mad at Mom?”
“I’m not mad at anyone. I just want you to know that no matter what is said, I love you and I would never do anything to hurt Miss Brandi. She’s very important to me.”
“More important than me?”
“No one is more important than you, but you know, champ, a person can love more than one person at a time.”
“I know. I love you and Mom. What if you and Miss Brandi stop liking each other; does that mean I would have to stop liking DJ?”
“No, I’m sure that won’t be the case.”
“Really?”
“Let’s not worry about the what-ifs, Ben.” He ruffled the boy’s hair with affection. “I take it that you don’t mind Miss Brandi and me dating as long as I don’t hurt her?”
Ben paused to think. “Well, I hope you two get married and then me and DJ could be brothers.” Ben gave him a big grin.
That’s what Mason was counting on, but he knew it wasn’t a good idea to get Ben’s hopes up just yet. “What do you think of Miss Brandi? Forget about DJ for a moment.”
“Well, she’s nice and pretty. I like her.” Ben seemed to give this a lot of thought. “Maybe she’s what you need.”
“Oh?” Mason lifted a brow.
“Yeah. I worry about you all alone in this house. You need a woman to take care of you. If you had a woman, she’d cook for you and rub your feet and all that other junk.”
Mason laughed. “If only things were that simple.”
“Of course they are. I saw it on TV.”
“I see. Well, I’m glad I have your seal of approval. Your mom won’t be here for a few hours, so how about we go get some ice cream?”
“Sure!”
“Okay, get your jacket, and we’ll go.”
Mason was relieved that Ben was willing to accept Brandi, but it still bothered him that Karen was still sounding off against him. He didn’t know what it would take to stop it, but he had to figure out something because it was affecting Ben.
The trip to the local Dairy Queen was uneventful, but on the way back, as the car coasted down a hill, Mason tapped on the brakes only to discover that they weren’t working.
He didn’t want to worry Ben so he tried to stay calm as he continued to tap the brakes without result. His anxiety increased. As he rolled through a stop sign and saw another car coming straight at him, it finally dawned on him that someone had tampered with the brakes.