34. Callie
Chapter thirty-four
I shriek, clutching onto the ladder, when Mason slaps my arse as he walks past.
“Hey! That’s a safety risk. I could have fallen.” I laugh.
“Don’t trust me to catch you, Trouble?” Mason winks as he dips his long-handled paint roller into the tray. We’ve almost finished painting the entire primary suite in a pleasing, warm white. Most of the house will have the same colour.
It’s so close to being finished now. The tiling in the bathrooms is all that’s left before the cabinets can be installed next week.
At this point, it’s impossible not to imagine this house as my own. Mason’s included me in the whole process from day one. It doesn’t just feel like a house; it’s going to be a home. I hope it’s everything he wanted, what he was searching for all those months ago.
“Was that your plan all along? I fall, and you catch me?”
He smirks, dipping a finger in the paint tray, then draws a heart on my exposed thigh which is perched almost at his eye level as I stand on the ladder. His eyes find mine, one green, one blue, both full of devotion. “Absolutely.”
I swipe my fingers through my paintbrush, collecting what’s left, and lean down, bringing my face close to his.
I draw a heart of my own on his cheek. My stomach flips, and I laugh as Mason pulls me off the ladder, scooping me into his arms. I still have my paintbrush in hand, and in my effort to latch on to Mason, the wet bristles have coated my arm and left streaks through the ends of his hair.
“Are you making a mess?”
“You started it.” I laugh, but the way he looks back at me isn’t playful or flirty. It’s thoughtful. Deep and searing. I want to know what he’s thinking… but my phone chooses that moment to ring.
Mason puts me down with a kiss on the tip of my nose as I drop my paintbrush into a tub of water and pull my phone from my back pocket. Mum flashes across the screen.
“Hi, Mum,” I answer with a smile. “How are you?”
“I’m good, sweetheart. Just thought I’d call to say hello.
Is now a good time?” Mum’s been reaching out more and more as she slowly heals from everything that happened with Dad.
It started with joining calls when Caspian checked in with me, then she’d text me every few days, and now she calls.
Never with anything major, just checking in.
“Now’s great. I’m just about to stop for lunch.” I look at Mason and point at the door where I’m headed, and he gives me a nod. “What have you been up to?” I ask as I make my way through the house to the front porch.
“I think I need to get away for a while.” Mum’s timid voice comes through the phone. “Out of town.”
“Have you heard from Dad?” I ask as I cross the deck to lean on the railing that overlooks the front yard.
Mum takes a deep breath. I can feel the weight of it even through the phone. “Yes. He called a few days ago. I almost didn’t answer.”
“What made you pick up?”
“I needed to hear it from him,” she says with conviction. “Wanted to know how much of an arse I was for being strung along by him.”
“Mum.” My voice cracks with heartbreak. “You thought you were being supportive. We know so many shift workers in our town. It wasn’t unusual to see partners go away for long stretches of time.
And you had children together.” I can see now how she tried to keep our family together for Caspian and me, not wanting us to grow up in a broken home.
My mother’s heart is so fragile; she only ever wanted to love and be loved, but she didn’t realise she was giving it to the wrong person.
“Do you want to come to the city for a bit? You haven’t seen Navie in a while.
I’m sure she’d love that. I’d love it, too. ”
“You would?” Her voice wobbles.
“Yeah.” I look up, trying to force the tears away before they have a chance to form. “I really would.”
Mason jogs past me and down the porch steps as a car comes down the driveway.
“I’m sure Caspian would love having his place back. I really need to look for somewhere of my own.”
“I’m pretty sure he doesn’t mind,” I say. “We both know he’s a mama’s boy.”
Mum chuckles, and it brings a smile to my face. I’m sad for her heartache, but I’m so grateful that it’s allowed us to grow closer. Dad never deserved her loyalty, but I’ve always craved her love and attention. It feels like I’m in a place to have a deeper relationship with her now.
“I’m so lucky to have you both.”
Mason comes back with a take-out bag in hand, and I join him at the table.
“I know you never got married, but you lived in that house for almost thirty years. I’m sure you should get some sort of compensation from the relationship.”
Mason bumps his knee against mine, stealing my attention. When I look at him, he’s nodding his head vehemently and pointing to his chest.
“What?” I whisper, amused.
“The house technically belongs to Grandma,” Mum says as Mason mouths, “I’ll sort it,” while tearing up a napkin.
I cover the mouthpiece with my hand. “Sort what?”
“What was that, sweetie?”
“Nothing, Mum. Mason was just saying something.”
“Oh, yes. Tell me about this boy. I’ve only heard bits from Caspian, who’s heard things from Westley.”
“Those two gossip worse than when Grandma used to come home after bingo.”
Mum bursts out laughing. “I hear he’s wonderful with Navie,” she says.
“He is.” I smile at him. “He’ll feed her and change her. He always makes time for the both of us.”
Mason leans over, holding up a rose he’s fashioned from his napkin.
“Well, I think I should definitely come to the city and meet him. And, I would love to spend time with you and my granddaughter.”
“Put it on speakerphone,” Mason whispers.
“Just a sec, Mum, Mason wants to say something.” I change it to speaker and hold the phone between us.
“Hello, Miss Moore.”
“Hi, Mason. Please, call me Elena.”
“I just wanted to let you know how much I’m looking forward to meeting you in person, and if it’s alright with you and your daughter, I’d love to treat you to a nice hotel stay while you’re here.”
“My goodness. How very sweet.”
“We can go out to dinner. I have a boat too! Oh, and you can meet my parents.”
My chest fills, almost exploding, as Mason keeps listing all the things we can do together when my mum comes to visit. I always wanted a big, uncontained love, and Mason shouts his from the rooftops.
“Looks like I may need to stay a while.” Mum’s voice is beaming with happiness.
“Whenever and however long you need, Mum.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. I should let you two go. I’ve got the late lunch shift at the pub.”
“Okay, text me later.”
We hang up, and I step off my chair to sit on Mason’s lap.
“You are so incredibly generous,” I say, looping my arms around his neck. “With one of the kindest hearts I have ever known.”
His hands rub back and forth up my arm. “My plan is working then—make you think I’m so sweet that you just can’t live without me.”
“It’s totally working.” I chuckle, then touch my forehead to his. “You are sweet.”
“Should we see what Florence and Greyson are up to?” he asks, and I lean back, snatching another letter from the open tin that lives on the porch table whenever we’re here.
I settle against Mason’s chest as I unfold the worn paper.
My dearest Florence,
A week has passed since I’ve seen your beautiful face, since the sound of your voice has settled my soul, and the lavender soap that clings to your skin has infiltrated my lungs.
My prayers are all that keep me warm in the dark nights that reside with your absence, that my efforts are not unavailing.
Come morning, the answers I seek will be fulfilled.
I shall hold your heart even if time has granted me no kindness, and I am destined to remain in the shadows with my affection.
Fate will deliver what was always meant to be. Your happiness from daybreak to nightfall is all that will grant me solace in the end.
Inescapably yours, Greyson.
“I wonder what he was doing.” I refold the letter, my brows crinkling in thought. “How was he trying to be worthy of her? Surely if he asked, she’d tell him she loved him exactly how he was.”
Mason is silent as he stares at the letter in my hands.
“Maybe he was scared.” His gaze flicks to mine, his fingers pressing into the skin at my waist. “He thought he was going to lose her if he didn’t do more.”
Mason’s green and blue eyes look tired, almost troubled, before he looks past me to the garden. I run a hand through his hair, pushing back the pieces that always gather over his blue eye, and I feel his chest inflate as soon as I make contact.
“Whatever it was, I hope it worked.”