Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Emma
M y heart pounded out of my chest as I made my way to the front porch of Mason’s house. It was just past seven, but only by a little. I ascended the steps, keeping my breaths steady. I had opted for a loose T-shirt that hid my stomach, though I had to admit that when I was naked, it didn’t seem like I was showing all that much…
I just had to keep reminding myself not to touch my stomach.
“Hiya!” Jess greeted me as she swung the door open. Her dark hair was pulled up into a bun on the top of her head, and she had on an oversized T-shirt and a pair of jean shorts. “I’m glad you came tonight.”
“Well, thanks for having me,” I said, smiling at her. I stepped inside and let her close the door behind us. I pulled my phone out and silenced it, not wanting my mom to call in the middle of the evening. I had reached out to her earlier, but she had been busy, promising to call me when she got a chance.
“Hope you like pork chops,” Mason said to me as I sat my purse down on the entryway table, catching sight of him in the kitchen.
“Dad is actually a good cook,” Jess commented, laughing. “Dara thinks that he’s better than Lily, and that’s hard to beat.”
“You’re not wrong,” I agreed, doing my best to keep my nerves under wraps. Mason and Jess seemed relaxed—both working with smiles on their faces. Jess was setting the table for the three of us, and Mason was busy sauteing vegetables. It was homey and cozy…
The opposite of my empty house.
There had always been a sense of longing in me to have a full house, coming home to smiling faces and the warmth of company. However, it had just never panned out for me.
“Do you wanna watch something while Dad finishes up? Or can I show you my room?” Jess teetered on her white Hanes socks, a look of pleading in her eyes. It was touching, and I glanced back to Mason, who had a soft look on his face.
“I’d love to see your room,” I said to her, gesturing that I would follow her. I found her attitude welcoming, rather than I’m too cool for this , and as I followed her down the hallway, I found myself relaxing.
“I redid it last summer, and Dad let me paint it whatever color I wanted. I love to paint, so I actually did a mural on one of the walls. My dad is really good at art, but he won’t admit it,” she added, looking back at me and laughing. “You should try and convince him to paint a picture of you. He did one of me when I was a baby. I’ll show it to you.”
I nodded, following her through the door into her room. I caught my breath as I took in the detailed mountain mural painted on the wall behind her log framed bed. “Oh my goodness… This is absolutely amazing.” The crests of the mountains were shaded with white, and the trees were detailed beyond anything I had imagined for a sixteen-year-old. “You’re incredibly talented.”
“Thanks,” she beamed before grabbing an eight by ten frame from the top of her matching dresser. “Here’s the picture that my dad painted.”
I took the wooden frame from her and scrutinized the painting of baby Jess with her big blue eyes and dark hair. She had a bright one tooth smile, and it was as if it was a photograph—that’s how detailed it was.
“It’s really good, huh?” Jess urged as I found myself lost in the portrait.
“Oh yes,” I agreed, my heart swelling at the sight of Jess as a baby on top of everything—would my baby favor her? I blinked back the emotions and handed her the picture back. “It’s clear where you got your talent from.”
“Thank you,” she said softly, her eyes sparkling under the light. “Cody never pays any attention to my art—he says it’s nerdy.”
“Well, that’s not very kind of him, first of all, but also, he’s insane not to recognize the talent you have. You deserve someone that sees all of you.”
She nodded, letting out a sigh. “You’re right. I don’t really know if I still wanna be with him to be honest.” Jess looked up at me, meeting my eyes. “He never shuts up about how much money his dad has, and how he’s gonna own the whole town. He doesn’t care about anything but himself.”
“Sometimes people are just… selfish,” I said, trying to choose my words carefully. I didn’t want to sa y anything that might cause her to feel like I don’t support her. Being a teenager was such a fragile time in someone’s life—and I wanted to tread lightly with her.
“Yeah, they really are,” she agreed, before shrugging her shoulders. “Maybe he’ll grow out of it one day, but I don’t have high hopes for him.”
“Dinner!” Mason called from the dining room.
“Coming!” Jess replied, grabbing my hand and leading me out of her bedroom. “Hopefully you like it. Dara is coming over to study for a test tomorrow in like an hour, so we have to eat fast.”
I chuckled as I let her lead me to the table, meeting Mason’s curious gaze as we entered the dining room. “She showed me that portrait you painted of her when she was a baby,” I said to him.
Mason raised his brows. “Really? I haven’t painted in a long time. I don’t have a lot of time for it.”
“Or maybe you just don’t have any inspiration,” Jess said, sitting down and grabbing up her fork. “I think you need a new muse… Someone like?—”
“That’s enough,” he cut her off, his cheeks growing a slight shade of crimson. “We don’t have to play matchmaker tonight.”
Jess shot him a dirty look, but then looked down at her plate. “I like Emma.”
I smiled to myself but dropped my head to hide it.
“Well, I happen to like her, too. Maybe more than you,” Mason said to Jess. “But we don’t have to make it awkward for her.”
“Good point,” Jess laughed before turning to me. “Sorry for making things awkward for you. We keep doing that.”
I waved her off, cutting into the pork chop. “Well, I don’t mind. A little awkwardness isn’t so bad.”
“Good to know that’s how you feel, because things are always a little awkward with us, I think,” Mason laughed.
We spent the next forty-five minutes eating and laughing—mostly about unimportant things. Jess told me about her strange art teacher, her class work, and where she wants to go to college. Mason didn’t really talk much, spending it talking about Jess and the things she’s interested in. It was… nice.
The three of us worked together to clean up the dinner that Mason prepared, and by the time that Dara burst through the door of the cabin, we had finished all of the dishes, having put them away.
“Whoa!” Dara said when she saw me, her eyes going wide. “I was not expecting you to be here.”
Jess rolled her eyes but smiled anyway. “I told you she was coming tonight.”
“Did you? Because all you said was that your potential new mom was coming over tonight,” Dara teased her, and I pretended not to really hear.
“Shut up,” Jess mouthed.
“Well, you ladies have a nice time studying,” I said, shaking my head at the two of them.
“You wanna sit out on the porch?” Mason asked me, grabbing a couple of beers out of the fridge. “I was thinking we’ll let those two have their time—and we can maybe have some time to ourselves.”
“Of course,” I nodded to him, but then hesitated. “Could I have water though? I’m parched today.”
“Yeah, sure,” he said, putting a beer back and grabbing a water bottle. I took it from him, following him out the back door. He took a seat on the wooden porch swing, and I did the same, breathing in the crisp evening air .
“She’s trying a little hard, isn’t she?” Mason said with a chuckle, looking over at me. “She just likes you a lot.”
“Jess is a good kid, and she’s sweet. I think she just wants you to be happy. I can tell it’s important to her.”
“Yeah, I just…” his voice trailed off as we met gazes. “I don’t want to rush things. I ain’t been in a real relationship in a long time.”
I felt like I was sitting on the edge of my seat, about to get the answers I needed about the future of our relationship. “So… What do you want?”
“Well, I think we’ll go as a couple to this gala.”
“As a fake couple?” I clarified, having the courage to correct him.
“Yeah… About that…” Mason rubbed the back of his neck, a flash of guilt on his face. “I didn’t feel like that was the time to really mention that I might want it to be a real couple. I saw the look on your face—and I don’t want to rush you.”
A slight smile tugged at my lips. “I get it, and I also get how busy you are. It’s hard to balance it all.”
He let out a heavy sigh. “You have no idea. It’s been so damn crazy lately, and now we’re looking for a cow.”
“Well, lots of cows,” I pointed out, leaning back in the swing.
“No—I mean, yeah, but here, I’ll just show you.” Mason dug his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through the pictures before stopping. “See, this cow.”
I took in the sight of a red colored cow with a strange white marking on her face. “Is there something special about this one?” I asked, not quite able to connect the dots.
“Well, not really—I mean, to Annie Calvin, this cow means a lot. She bottle fed it and I think she’s special to her. But honestly, it’s the only thing we have to go off of to find the dang missing cattle.”
“Annie Calvin…” I repeated the name, thinking of an eccentric older woman who dressed in the cutest little floral-patterned dresses. “She comes into the café sometimes. She’s a hoot.”
He made a face at me. “She’s a mess, is what she is. I think she’s the crankiest old woman I’ve ever met. I got a dose of being on her bad side, and I have to admit, I am not a fan.”
“Oh, I would hate to be on her bad side,” I laughed, my dark hair bouncing as I shook my head. “It’s people like her that make the town so special though.” I took another look at the cow, sympathy rolling over me. “I sure hope you can find her cow. Whoever is doing this is heinous in their own way. It’s almost like they’re trying to cripple the ranches around town—but the Calvins were such a low blow.”
“I know. There was no reason to take their cattle. The only thing they did was take away their income. Just really messed up.”
“Yeah,” I bobbed my head, letting out a sigh before taking a sip of my water. It didn’t hit quite the way the beer would’ve, but that was something I needed to start getting used to.
“But Emma,” he said, his voice careful. “You know what’s not messed up?”
“What’s that?” I asked, chuckling as I turned to meet his gaze.
“Whatever is going on between you and me,” Mason replied, reaching out and grabbing my hand. His blue eyes held mine, the tension rising between us as the lightning bugs flickered in the dark of the yard. Mason leaned in, planting a soft, sweet kiss on my lips.