Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Mason
I stared at my phone in my lap, open to a text to Emma. I had gotten her number from Drew, making up some bullshit excuse about business owners in the area—like the number for the café wasn’t good enough.
“Is there a reason we’re just sitting here?” Jackson eyed me, his face littered with confusion. “You said you wanted to grab some breakfast, and we never do that…”
“I just forgot my breakfast,” I snapped, lying. Well, sort of. I had intentionally forgotten my breakfast, forcing myself to stop in and see Emma. It’d been nearly a week since our catastrophic horseback riding date.
And I hadn’t been able to let it go.
“You know you could just hit the send button on that message,” Jackson chuckled, leaning over the console. I jerked the phone from his view, and his eyes went wide. “Whoa, someone is being sneaky today. Whatcha tryin’ to hide? Are you finally indulging in some much- needed sex? Because I feel like an asshole like you could use the softening of a good woman.”
“Why are you so damn nosey?” I shot back at him, fire in my eyes. I glanced back down at what read like an awkward attempt at making amends with Emma—for the second time.
Forget it.
I shoved the phone back into my pocket and reached for the gear shift. I’d just have to starve.
“Hey now, I haven’t eaten this morning,” Jackson jumped into action, popping the door open. “We’re getting something to eat. We’ve been working nonstop on a damn case that’s not going anywhere. I’m over it.”
My stomach knotted up, thinking of facing Emma after a week of no contact. I didn’t want to bother her if she wanted to be left alone. She seemed to be very put off by everything I had said at the end of the date, and the last thing I wanted was to make her feel like I would keep trying to force something between us…
“Are you coming or are you going to just sit in here and sulk?” Jackson snapped his fingers and waved his hand to get my attention. “I don’t know why you’re so opposed to enjoying life sometimes.”
“I’m not,” I grunted, shaking my head and forcing the door open. No one knew about what had happened between Emma and me, and I knew it would have to stay that way. I never dated, and the town knew that. The last thing I wanted to do was give them something to talk about… Not to mention, I would have to talk over it with Jess—and she hadn’t ever had to deal with that when it came to our relationship.
“It’s just breakfast,” Jackson chuckled as I joined him on the sidewalk. “I know that you think it’s the biggest waste of time in the world, but really, you seemed to enjoy it the last time we were in here.” He nudged me with his elbow, shooting me a wink. “I think she liked you, too—just sayin’.”
I ignored the comment, opening the door for Jackson and letting him go first. My mouth felt like I had swallowed a shovel full of sand when I caught sight of Emma behind the counter. She had a couple girls working with her today, and I couldn’t decide if it was a relief that she wouldn’t be waiting on us or a disappointment.
“Good morning,” Emma said in a cheery voice, her eyes still on her pan of cinnamon rolls. “I have fresh…” her voice trailed off when she finally looked over, realizing who had stepped in. “Cinnamon rolls,” she finished, her voice quiet.
Jackson didn’t seem to notice. “Those look—and smell—amazing. I think I’ll have a couple of those this morning. What do you think, Sheriff?” He looked over at me, but it felt as though all the oxygen had been sucked out of the room as my eyes ran over Emma, sporting a loose black blouse and denim skirt. Bangles and necklaces added some kind of eccentric flair—one that I didn’t understand—but it still hit me.
“Mason?” Jackson looked over at me. “Are you feeling okay today? Because you look really out of it.”
“Didn’t sleep well last night,” I grumbled, considering just spinning around and leaving the café right then and there.
But that would only bring suspicion.
“Must be a recurring trend for you.” Jackson busted up in hearty laughter, heading to the back booth. I let out a sigh as I followed him, feeling Emma’s gaze on me as I walked past her.
And my intuition said she was glaring at me.
I swallowed hard as I took a seat across Jackson, leaving my back to the door. Anything to put more distance between Emma and me.
“Have you noticed that Lucas is acting strange?” Jackson began, his question drawing me out of my stupor. “It’s been a month since all that happened, and I thought maybe he was just dealing with the loss of the cattle—but I don’t know.”
“Who else has mentioned it?” I asked, unsurprised that other people were noticing the change. Time had been passing, and Lucas wasn’t showing up to his usual places. I needed to just bite the bullet and ask him about it, but the man was my best friend—and I knew he sometimes needed space—but this was pushing past that.
“Ron mentioned it, so did some of his hands. They think he’s acting suspicious. Jake told me about it at the bar last night. I think people are thinking that he was trying to commit insurance fraud or something.”
I fought the urge to come down hard on Jackson in defense of my best friend—but he was only the messenger. I kept my cool. “Nah, I don’t think so. I think if he was behind his own crime, he would be acting as normal as possible.”
“Yeah, and there’s other cattle missing.”
“But there hasn’t been any more in the county since the Lowe incident,” I added, just thinking out loud. “Maybe they were just working up to a big haul.”
“I don’t know…” Jackson’s voice trailed off as coffees were sat in front of us.
“Emma says today is on the house,” Sarah, a younger woman, said to us, a big smile on her face. “She says thanks for all your hard work.”
“That’s—”
“Tell her thanks,” Jackson cut me off, giving me a smirk as Sarah walked away. “Tell me, Mason, why is it that every time you’re with me, our meal is free? I think Miss Fisher has the hots for you.”
I shook my head. “Maybe she’s just being nice to law enforcement.”
“I feel discriminated against then,” Jackson chuckled, taking a sip of his coffee. “Because my meal is never on the house—not after the first couple of times.”
“That’s because you eat here almost every day for one of your meals. She’d go out of business if she gave you all your meals for free.”
“Touché. That’s a solid point.”
I nodded, sipping my own coffee. It was perfectly brewed, and I could only imagine waking up to a cup like this every morning. My heart flipped in my chest at the thought of Emma in my kitchen, the sunlight streaming through the window. Moments of daydreams like that were happening more and more often—and I was not a fan.
“You should consider asking her out,” Jackson said in a low voice, one of his eyebrows raised.
“What?” I asked, setting my cup down.
“You know what I’m talking about. I’m not an idiot. I know something is going on between the two of you. Besides, Lucas said you took her on a ride last week.”
I’m going to punch him in the face the next time I see him.
“I just think that you should consider something real,” Jackson continued, like he was a wise old man—not a twenty-something-year-old walking boner. “You’re not getting any younger, and Jess can’t take care of you forever.”
“As much as I think you’re a good kid, I don’t think you know what’s best for me.” I tried to be as pleasant as possible, knowing that Jackson was just… trying to be helpful. “I’m not going back down that road.”
“Is that because you’re worried about having another accident?”
His question was not what I was expecting, and I went silent, trying to push that memory back to the dark hole I kept it in. Sarah reappeared, setting a plate of cinnamon rolls in front of us, but my appetite was gone.
“You know, a woman like Emma would know what she was getting into if you and her were to get together. She strikes me as being strong enough to handle a man with a job like ours.”
“Maybe,” I muttered, stealing a glance in her direction. She was sitting on a bar stool behind the counter, her eyes meeting mine for a second. Her gaze quickly diverted after a moment though, leaving my insides craving more from her. “It’s just not a good idea for me to be with anyone.”
Jackson looked over to Emma, obviously having caught the exchange between the two of us. “You know, love is worth the heartbreak.”
Who is he today? Confucius?
“Thanks for the advice.” I grabbed a cinnamon roll, not wanting to be rude—even if it meant I had to force feed myself.
“Man, these are so good,” Jackson said with a full mouth. “I swear she’s the best thing to happen to this town. I don’t know how I haven’t gained fifty pounds since I first started coming here. I seriously could eat every meal here.”
I smiled, mostly at how dramatic Jackson was being, but also… He had a point, and that was made even more clear as I took a bite of the sweet, savory bread. It melted in my mouth, and I fought to hold back a groan.
Damn, she was good .
“Yeah, see, it’s worth it,” Jackson chuckled, his eyes full of amusement as he watched me swallow. He leaned across the table, lowering his voice. “Now, just imagine if you married the woman. You’d be so happy… and fat.” He burst into another fit of laughter while I rolled my eyes.
Sometimes I wondered why the hell I had decided to take the kid under my wing.
“I take it you’re enjoying breakfast?” The voice came from nowhere, and I nearly choked on my coffee.
“It’s amazing,” Jackson answered Emma, who was suddenly standing right there at the booth. “Like I swear you’re the best at everything you make here.”
“Thank you,” her cheeks grew red at the compliment. A pang of jealousy hit me, knowing that Jackson had been the one behind her reaction. “I enjoy baking for a town full of people that are so appreciative and kind.” She didn’t look at me as she spoke, keeping her eyes focused on Jackson.
And it burned.
“Well, you know, it was actually Sheriff Hewitt’s idea to stop in here today. He was in the middle of typing out some very long text to you, but he decided to just stop in here instead. Very kind of him, huh?”
Panic began to rise in my chest as Emma looked over to me, her brows raised. “Oh?”
“Yep,” Jackson answered. “And I gotta use the bathroom, so now’s a great time for him to tell you whatever it was that he was gonna say.”
I’m gonna murder that kid.
“I didn’t think you had my number,” Emma said, her tone flat as she folded her arms across her chest. I wondered if she was using that as an excuse as to why I hadn’t reached out.
Oof. I was just digging myself a deeper hole. “I, uh, just wanted to make sure you were okay after the other night—and I had no idea that Jackson noticed I was texting you. His eyes are better than I thought,” I added, trying to make the whole thing no big deal.
But she was not bending.
“Hmm,” she replied, looking unenthused. “Well, good to know, and I’m just fine, thanks. Enjoy your breakfast.” With that she spun on her heels and headed back to the counter, brightly greeting a customer walking in the door.
Well, I’ve fucked this up.