Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Mason
M y shoulders felt tight as I pulled up to Ron’s house, already seeing him rocking on the front porch. It was never a good thing when he was waiting for me. Letting out a sigh, I slid out of my old Bronco, my boots crunching down on the railroad gravel.
“You really ought to retire that thing,” Ron called to me as I headed toward the old front porch of his place. He lived in a ranch style house but didn’t keep up with it anymore. The paint on the rails had long faded, matching the weathered siding of his house. I didn’t understand it, and had tried multiple times to fix it up myself…
But he fought me every time.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Ron eyed me as the stairs squeaked beneath my feet. “And no, I don’t want you to show up and play handyman. Everything works the way it should, and that’s all that matters.”
“You’re something else,” I grumbled, shaking my head. My phone buzzed in my pocket as I leaned against one of the rails, letting up as it gave more than an inch. “You really should fix this,” I added, shaking my head.
“Yeah, yeah.” He rolled his eyes at me.
“So what was the reason that you called me out here?” I asked, digging my phone out. I had texted Emma earlier in the day but hadn’t heard back. I was trying to be careful about being overzealous, given that I had told her I basically just wanted to take things slow. And the reason?
I was falling too hard for her.
“Well, I don’t know if you know this,” he cleared his throat. “But Lucas is missing more cattle.”
My mouth dropped open. “What? I was just out at the ranch. He didn’t mention anything like that to me.”
“Yeah, he’s staying real quiet about the loss, but one of his hands said he’s missing another fifty head.”
I shook my head defiantly. “There’s no way. That makes no sense.”
“I don’t know how you figure that,” Ron rubbed the gray stubble on his jaw. “I think that there’s something more going on with all these ranchers and their missing cattle. You know, I wrote off the fact that the others didn’t say anything, considering they didn’t have any insurance on ‘em, but…”
“But what?”
“Have you seen the new Hudson place?”
“Who?” I asked, nothing about the name ringing a bell.
“Graham Hudson built himself a very large mansion out on the Parson’s place. He got a deed to nearly a hundred acres and built a house in record time. I don’t know about you, but Bob wouldn’t have ever sold off acreage to some developer.”
“Maybe for the right price he would’ ve,” I said with a shrug. “I think maybe deep down everyone’s got a price that they might sell their land for.”
Ron grimaced. “You’re trying to rationalize it, and I get that, but I just think it’s mighty strange that some developer just swooped in and then suddenly all these ranchers are losing their cattle.”
“Yeah, I see what tree you’re barking up, and while I get it, I don’t see what motive there would be to steal cattle—developers have money, and I know for sure that Graham fella must have a pretty penny based on the way he dresses.”
“Well, just wait till you see his damn house.”
“I have no desire to see his house,” I grunted, glancing down at my phone screen. I opened the text from Emma, a jolt of excitement running through my body.
I have plans tonight, but can we have dinner on Friday?
Smiling to myself, I typed back an ‘okay’ and looked back up at Ron, who had a devilish smirk on his face. “What?”
“I ain’t seen you grin like that in a long time,” he chuckled. “Whoever it is, I’m happy for you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m trying to take it slow. I don’t want to get into anything that causes a big fuckin’ mess. You know what happened the last time I tried to date.”
“That’s because your choice in women is usually terrible,” Ron grunted, lighting up his cigar as he rocked in the same squeaky old chair he had owned for years. “But I think eventually, you’ll find the right one. You think you’re some kind of bachelor, but you’ve always been a family man.”
I took a deep breath, knowing that Ron was right. Ron had been single most of his life, and yeah, he had a daughter, but she was the product of a fling. For a while, he was married to the woman who was Beth’s mom, but at the end of the day, Ron just wasn’t cut out for marriage.
“Anyway,” Ron said to my silence. “I think you need to sit down and have a real talk with your best friend. You and Lucas have been best friends for a lot of years—and I know when he goes through shit, he has to have his space just like you do, but something is going on over there.”
“Jackson mentioned that one of the hands said something about insurance fraud,” I brought up, hating the fact that I was repeating hearsay that I didn’t believe.
Ron shook his head. “Lucas doesn’t always make the best decisions, but I don’t see him trying to break the law intentionally like that.”
“Me either,” I agreed but then hesitated. “But he’s also never acted quite like this. He’s really pulled away, and he ain’t calling on me the way he used to. He hasn’t asked for any help with the cattle since we found out where the hundred were taken.”
“Well, I know he’s hired a couple high school kids to help, so maybe he’s just giving you a break. You don’t have time to be ranchin’ all the time, anyway.”
I nodded, but the fact Lucas hired kids without my knowledge was still surprising. “I don’t know… Maybe I should pay him a visit.”
“I think you should take your lady friend some flowers first. If you wanna win her over, slow or not, show the woman that you see her. I ain’t ever been good at that shit, but you are.”
My stomach knotted up, wondering what Emma would think if I randomly stopped by with flowers. Would it be too much? Or would she appreciate it?
I guess I’ll just have to see.
For the first time in a long time, I double-checked my appearance in the rearview mirror—and I looked a hell of a lot older than I thought I did. I shuddered at my graying stubble and fatigued complexion before forcing myself to get out of the truck, a bright arrangement of lilies, daisies, and roses put together in a pastel green vase in hand. The florist swore Emma would love them…
And I sure as hell hoped she was right.
I stepped out of the Bronco, hoping like hell I wasn’t about to make myself look like an idiot. It was nearing closing time, and as much as I wanted to ask her to spend the evening with me, I couldn’t. I promised Jess that we would get pizza and watch some teenage show that she swore I would like.
Carrying the flowers in the most awkward way possible, I made my way to the door, hoping that the café was as empty as it had been the last time I stopped by. However, as soon as I stepped in, my jaw hit the floor.
You’ve got to be shitting me right now.
“Mason Hewitt!” Brittany exclaimed, looking just as devious as ever. “I never thought I’d run into you again.”
I blinked a couple of times, trying to process the fact that my ex-girlfriend was standing in the shop owned by the woman that I was planning to pursue something with. It had been a long time since I had seen her…
“It’s been five years !” My ex-girlfriend threw up her arms like she was coming at me for a hug, her black high heels clicking across the tile.
Why is she here?
Craning my neck around the incoming toxic woman, I saw Emma, standing there with a spot of flour on her cheek and hair a mess, looking just as beautiful as ever. “Hey,” I said to her, side stepping around Brittany’s attempt to hug me. “These are for, um, you…”
“Oh my god,” Brittany gasped. “I totally almost just got in the way of such a sweet moment.” She flipped her dark hair over her shoulder before pushing more of it behind her ear. In the process, I noticed her bright—and very large—diamond ring on her left finger.
She finally trapped some poor son of a bitch.
I stepped toward Emma, placing the vase on the counter. “I don’t know if you’d like these, but Dorothy said they were your favorites.”
Emma smiled, her cheeks growing red. “Thank you, that’s really thoughtful of you. Makes my day.” There was something in her tone that made me wonder just what had happened to her on this particular day.
“You two are just cute, ” Brittany cut in, completely ruining the moment. “I had no idea that you were dating again, Mason.” She turned to Emma, giving her one of those wretched, fake smiles. “We,” she motioned to me, “have a history.”
Emma’s smile faded. “Oh? I had no idea…” She looked at me, waiting for me to say something, but before I could, Brittany was at it again. In truth, we never had much of a relationship at all... She just kept inserting herself into my life, despite me making it clear after two months that we were not compatible.
“Yes, we dated for almost three years—well, off and on, anyway.” Brittany then turned to me. “I was just here dropping off some recipe ideas for some low carb options. You know how I feel about carbs… They’re basically the devil.”
I nodded, my stomach knotting up as I glanced back to Emma. She looked wounded, her eyes lacking their usual glimmer as they fell to her clasped hands. Had Brittany said something to her? Because I had no problems going up against the manipulative woman. She was nothing but bad news.
“We didn’t date for three years,” I clarified, clearing my throat as the shock of seeing my ex wore off. “I just had contact with her for about three years.”
“Details,” Brittany rolled her eyes at me. “I think we can both admit that you were getting more than just contact from me.”
I clenched my jaw as the anger began to build beneath the surface. This was the kind of woman Brittany was. She kept her tone light and playful, but her words were pure venom. She was dangerous, and if it were my guess, she was more than likely married to a doormat or a man just as lethal as she was.
“Anyway, I hope you enjoy those recipes. I’ve made some of them myself, and I would be more than happy to come by any time and give you some pointers,” Brittany beamed, leaning against the counter and giving Emma an imposing smile.
“Thanks,” Emma muttered, setting a damn near book worth’s of papers on the bar stool. “We’re not looking to change the menu for a while, but I’ll keep it in mind.”
“Oh, I definitely think you should,” she said, before pushing herself off and heading for the door. “Good to see you, Mason. I figured I’d run into you around here one of these days.”
I nodded, breathing out a sigh of relief as the door closed behind her. However, the silence that hung in the space between Emma and me was unsettling. I could only imagine how uncomfortable the conversation had been for her—on top of Brittany bringing her recipes? What the hell was that about?
“Thanks for the flowers,” Emma said in a soft tone, meeting my gaze. “I need to get things closed up. Can I get you anything?”
“Nah,” I said, hating to see the defeat on her face. “I just came by to drop those off.” I waited for her to say something about Brittany or go off about how rude she was—something that would give me a chance to explain everything…
But Emma just nodded. “Have a good night, Mason.”
And then disappeared into the kitchen.