One strong finger went over her lips. “Stop arguing,” he said softly, resting his forehead against hers. They stayed like that for several minutes. “Can I make you some breakfast?”
“I normally just have some tea and toast,” she replied, burrowing close to him.
“I can do that.”
It was her usual, but…she wanted something different right now. “Do you have any eggs?”
He nodded. “Want me to scramble some?”
It was a possibility. “Do you have the makings for pancakes?”
Laughing softly, he nodded again. “I do. And syrup so…you want pancakes?”
Did she?
Mason’s hand stroked slowly up and down her back and it felt so good, so hypnotic…so damn sexy.
Shifting in his arms, Scarlett placed a small kiss on his chest. She wished he hadn’t put on shorts and a t-shirt, but it would have been awkward if he hadn’t–considering he’d been standing here just a few minutes ago, arguing with his mother.
Her hands skimmed down his chest and slowly snaked under his shirt. His skin felt so warm and wonderful.
“Scarlett…”
But she wasn’t really paying attention. She was sure he was trying to stop her, trying to be a gentleman, but that was the last thing she wanted right now. For right now, she wanted them to be the way they were a month ago. She wanted to pretend that all the bad, all the negative stuff, never happened. It was foolish of her to think that way, but in this moment, all she wanted was the right to touch him and be touched by him.
“You really should have some breakfast,” he said weakly, but her hands were busy exploring and his breath hitched slightly.
She loved when that happened.
“I will,” she said. “Later.” Her hands moved up until his shirt was almost off. Mason whipped it over his head right before scooping her up in his arms and carrying her back to the bedroom.
Placing her gently on the center of the bed, he studied her for a long moment before lying down beside her. “How am I supposed to take care of you if you won’t let me?” he asked, even as his hands skimmed her legs that were now exposed. “Nice robe, by the way.”
Smiling impishly, Scarlett pulled open the tie and quickly shimmied out of it. “I figured I’d try to be proper.” Then she laughed. “Of course, it was before your mother arrived.”
“Ugh…don’t remind me…”
Reaching up, she caressed his cheek, his jaw. “How about I remind you of this?” Then she guided him close until their lips touched and kissed him. It went from a sweet touch to full-on heat and need in the blink of an eye.
I’ve missed this…
After that, there was no need to remind anyone of anything. What little clothes they were wearing were quickly stripped and thrown aside and when Mason’s body covered hers, Scarlett was beyond ready. Beyond turned on.
He paused and looked down at her. “I promised myself we weren’t going to do this. Not yet,” he said, his voice low and gruff and oh-so serious.
Again, it was on the tip of her tongue to make a sassy comment, but…she knew what he meant. “Yeah. Me too.”
Just then, he moved–just a little–and Scarlett knew there was no way they could stop now.
“I’m okay with breaking this one promise,” she said, her back arching so she could press against him. “How about you?”
His smile was slow and sexy and it made all her girly parts sigh with happiness. “Just this once,” he said, right before capturing her lips with his.
Thirteen
The days that followed were insanely busy, but Mason and Scarlett spent all of them together. It was a little surreal to her because they were on the same page on just about everything. He had taken time off of work to deal with the insurance companies regarding the bar and he also wanted to make sure he was in constant contact with her grandfather to see how he wanted to proceed. Every time she watched the two of them together, Scarlett’s heart felt ready to burst with love.
It didn’t take long for her grandfather to decide it would be best if Mason simply demolished what was left of the building and used the property for something that would benefit the community. The conversation had been beyond emotional–for all of them–but in the end, they all agreed to honor his request.
The more Scarlett thought about it, however, the more she realized that Mason never really commented on what exactly his plans were. She wanted to push, but she had things of her own to deal with.
Mainly, figuring out what to do about his family.
Yeah, she never brought it up with him, but the argument she’d overheard between him and his mother was never far from her mind.
One day led into another and soon they were taking her grandfather home from the hospital. Her brother Kyle was going to stay with him for a few days to make sure he was truly doing okay and that gave her a little peace of mind. Volunteers were busy working on the north end of town and Scarlett had been putting together a proposal to send out to several businesses to help spread the word about the work. At the end of every day, she and Mason either crawled into her bed or his and she was starting to feel a little better physically. While she knew it couldn’t possibly be because she had Mason beside her, there was a little part of her that hoped it was.
Now, as they sat in an exam room in her OB-GYN’s office, she wondered how Mason was feeling.
“You okay?” she asked, noticing him studying the posters on the wall.
“I know we learned all of this in health class, but…holy shit there’s a lot to know,” he said, with a small, nervous laugh. “I mean, look at all this.”
“Believe me, I have. The day I found out I was pregnant, I started reading all kinds of stuff online. I fear I have too much information now.”
Looking over his shoulder, he smiled at her. “You’re going to kick ass at being pregnant.”
That made her laugh out loud. “I don’t know about that. I kind of got off to a very wimpy and weepy start.”
“Totally normal.”
She arched a brow at him. “Have you been reading up on pregnancy, Bishop?”
“Let’s just say I’ve been Googling a few things.”
“Why does that sound just a little dirty?” she teased and was about to say more when Dr. Jackson walked in.
For the next twenty-minutes, Scarlett fought off mortification as Mason stood by her shoulder while she was examined. They had argued about it before they even left the house, and he was adamant about wanting to experience everything with her.
Every. Single. Thing.
“Okay, let’s see if we can hear a heartbeat,” Dr. Jackson said, smiling as she poured some gel on Scarlett’s belly.
“We can hear one already?” Mason asked.
She nodded. “If your calculations are correct, Scarlett’s eight weeks pregnant so it’s the perfect time to detect a heartbeat.”
The gel was cold and the wand rubbing over her stomach tickled slightly, but Scarlett reached for Mason’s hand more for moral support than anything else. And as she looked up at him from her spot on the exam table, she could tell he was holding his breath, just like she was.
A minute later, Dr. Jackson’s smile grew. “There it is,” she said softly. “That’s your baby’s heartbeat!”
It was the most amazing thing Scarlett had ever heard in her entire life. Mason squeezed her hand as he leaned in and kissed her. “We did that,” he said with a hint of awe, and all she could do was nod.
They listened for a few more minutes before Dr. Jackson explained what appointments she needed to schedule next and the things she needed to be doing to help with her morning sickness. By the time they left, Scarlett felt like she was floating on a cloud. Out in the parking lot, she noticed the goofy grin on Mason’s face.
“Should we go grab something to eat?” she asked, her own smile firmly in place.
“I wish I could, but I really need to go into work for a couple of hours today. How about tonight? And som
eplace other than the Sand Bar,” he quickly added before she could even suggest it. Now that her nausea was more under control, she was starting to have cravings. For burgers. All the time.
With a dramatic sigh, she said, “Fine. Whatever. Take me out for real food, I guess.”
Kissing her soundly, Mason dropped her off at her place and promised to call her later. Scarlett watched as he drove away and contemplated what she was going to do next. She had work to do–that was a given–but she had too much on her mind to sit down and focus. So she did the only thing she could…
She got in her car and decided to go share her news.
Thirty minutes later, Scarlett let out a long breath and placed her hand over her nervous stomach.
“Don’t throw up,” she murmured right before she climbed the steps and knocked on the door. She didn’t have to wait long for it to open.
And come face to face with the disapproving glare of Georgia Bishop.
Don’t throw up…
“Can I help you?” Georgia said, her expression pinched.
Scarlett knew several things about herself: first, she had a terrible poker face. If she was thinking or feeling something, it showed. Second, if someone didn’t like her, it didn’t really bother her so…screw them. And lastly, she was raised to be polite to her elders.
Plastering a serene smile on her face, she said, “Good afternoon, Mrs. Bishop. I’m Scarlett Jones and…”
“I know who you are,” she replied, her pert nose wrinkling ever-so-slightly.
Doing her best to ignore every instinct that was telling her to just say what she had to say and then leave, Scarlett kept her smile in place. “Yes, well…I was wondering if you had a few minutes to talk.” And for the life of her, she truly believed the older woman was going to tell her no and ask her to leave. But to her surprise, Georgia opened the door and stepped aside for Scarlett to walk in.
Once through the door, a little of her confidence faded. The house was like something out of a decorating magazine and she was afraid to touch anything. Georgia led the way to the kitchen and offered her a seat at the table. Everything was white and shiny and expensive-looking and she said a quick prayer of thanks that she hadn’t worked in the garage for a while now.
If she expected the woman to show some manners by offering her something to drink, she was sadly mistaken. Taking the seat opposite her, Georgia Bishop simply stared at her expectantly.
And that’s what did it–that one little act of defiance from that woman. Everyone in the South offered a guest something to drink! Every. One. So if that’s the way it had to be, then so be it.
Her smile went from serene to cocky as she shifted to get more comfortable in her seat. “I thought I’d come here today so we could get to know each other,” Scarlett began. “It bothers me how you and Mason aren’t speaking and I honestly thought I might be able to help with the situation. But now, I don’t think it’s the right thing to do.”
One perfectly blonde brow arched at her, but other than that, Georgia’s expression didn’t change.
“You see, I was raised to respect my parents. When I met Mason, one of the things I most admired about him were his manners.” She paused just as Georgia was starting to look smug. “Clearly he learned them from his father.” Rising, she added, “Be sure to thank Mr. Bishop for me. He raised a great son.”
She’d gone no more than three feet when Mason’s mother stood. “Who do you think you are coming in here and speaking to me that way? I knew you were nothing more than…”
Scarlett whipped around and faced her. “I’m nothing more than the woman your son loves! The woman who loves him back!” She took a menacing step forward. “And the woman who is going to have his baby.”
Georgia’s eyes went wide and it was good to see she clearly hadn’t had Botox.
“We had that confirmed this morning,” Scarlett went on, grinning with triumph. “Heard the little heartbeat and everything. So here’s the way I see it–you can apologize to Mason for being an overbearing pain in his ass and apologize to me, too, because you’ve been incredibly rude and judgmental where I’m concerned–or you can miss out. I know my grandparents loved being involved in my life. Some of my greatest memories of when I was growing up involve them.”
Georgia’s mouth opened and closed multiple times, but no words came out.
“I’m not looking for us to be friends, but I just thought my child might want to know his or her grandparents.” She paused and cursed how choked up she was getting. “My mom died when I was four so…you’ll be the only grandmother he or she has and…I thought that was important. So…”
In that moment, Georgia’s entire demeanor changed. “I didn’t realize you were so young when she died,” she said quietly. “It must have been very difficult for you.”
Nodding, Scarlett agreed. “It never gets easier. I love my dad and my brothers, but…there’s definitely something to be said about a girl needing her mom.” Swallowing hard, she knew she’d said all she came to say. “Anyway, I just really wanted a chance to talk to you face to face. You judged me without even taking the time to know me. But I love your son and I see what this rift between the two of you is doing to him and it bothers me.”
Looking a little meeker than she did moments ago, Georgia replied, “It bothers me too. I…I didn’t realize just how harsh I was being.”
“I think you did,” Scarlett said, not caring how unsympathetic she sounded. She had a feeling Georgia was used to playing for sympathy and that wasn’t going to fly here. “I think you like pushing your children into falling in line with what you want. The only problem with that logic is how all you’re accomplishing is pushing them away. Is that really what you want?”
“Well…I…”
“I mean, Mason is an incredible man,” she went on. “And Peyton is a pretty amazing woman. I haven’t met Parker yet but I’m pretty sure I’m going to think the same about her. Why would you want your own kids not to want anything to do with you?”
“That’s not how it is! My daughters…”
“If you do to them even half of what you do to Mason, trust me, they’ll walk away too! Take some advice, and learn from your mistakes!” Letting out a long breath, Scarlett took a step back. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have puppies I need to find homes for. Have a good day, Mrs. Bishop.”
Again, she hadn’t gone more than three feet when Georgia asked, “Are you…are you talking about the puppies over at Happy Tails?”
Unable to help herself, Scarlett’s eyes went a little wide. “I am. How do you know about them?”
“I’ve seen the posts on social media about them and…” She smiled and let out a soft laugh. “They’re all just so cute. I can’t believe anyone would abandon them.”
“It happens all the time. I’m so thankful for Ed and Christine and the service they provide but it’s really turned into a full-time job for them. They need a lot of help and they get a ton of volunteers, but what they really need is more land and more funds. I do what I can with my time–helping feed and bathe and play with the dogs–and I do handle most of their social media stuff for them, but some days it doesn’t even feel like a drop in the bucket.”
“What type of funding do they need? Where do they get their supplies from? Do they get any help from the county?”
And that’s when an idea came to mind that might just accomplish more than Scarlett could have done on her own. “Why don’t you come with me?”
“Excuse me?”
She nodded. “Come with me. Meet Christine and the staff and see for yourself what their setup is like.”
“Oh, I’m not…I’m sure I wouldn’t know what to do. And look at me. Am I dressed to walk around a…a dog farm?” she laughed nervously.
“Well, I’m sure you have something a little more casual to change into and a pair of tennis shoes, don’t you?”
Georgia nodded.
“So go change and I’ll take you over with me. It’ll be fun!”
“Fun?” Georgia repeated with another laugh. “Ask anyone in my family and they’ll tell you I don’t know how to have fun.”
“Well, now’s your chance to prove them wrong!”
Meet me at Happy Tails. There’s something here you have to see.
Mason stared at his phone and smiled. Actually, he hadn’t stopped smiling all day. Every time he thought about hearing the baby’s heartbeat he would stop and wonder how he got to be so lucky. Was everything perfect right now? Hell no! Their lives were crazy and hectic and complicated, but at the end of the day, he got to go home to his girl and that made it all okay.
This weekend, he planned on asking Scarlett to marry him. It was fast, he knew that, and people didn’t need to get married because they were having a baby, but…it’s what he wanted for the two of them. And, he felt it was something Scarlett wanted too.
At least, he hoped he was reading her right.
As for meeting her at Happy Tails, that was a little puzzling. They hadn’t talked about it earlier and while he did go there a couple of times with her, it was primarily her thing. What could he possibly need to see?
A knock on his office door pulled him from his musings and he looked up to see Richard McClellan standing there. Mason stood and shook his hand. “Hey, Richard. What can I do for you?”
“I drew up those papers you asked me to.” Reaching into his briefcase, he pulled out a folder and handed them to Mason.
“Thanks. That was fast.”
“Well, I figured there might be a bit of a rush in order,” he replied, taking a seat. “I stopped and saw Tommy on my way here. He’s damn near giddy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile so much.”
Yeah, Mason felt pretty good about that. Tommy was healing well and it was a big relief to everyone. Then he and Scarlett told him about the baby and he was over the moon at the thought of becoming a great-grandfather again. But the biggest contributor to his good mood was…
“I have to admit, Mason, I didn’t think you’d really do it,” Richard stated, but there was a very pleased smile on his face.
In Case You Didn’t Know Page 19