“Damn, I like fooling around.” But she was right. It was time to get serious. Stringing the barbed wire at the top of the fence was going to be the biggest pain of all. Doing it in the rain would be even worse. The prospect didn’t faze him, though—not as pumped as he was to conquer this obstacle.
A half-hour later, the rain came, at first in scattered drops, but quickly increasing to a steady shower.
“Grab our jackets.” Mason gestured toward the truck as he tightened the come-along on the wire he was installing. Regan raced off to fetch them and was back in a moment. Mason was glad he’d had the foresight to bring them along.
The rain picked up its pace as they fastened the wire to the posts and tied the individual metal ties. It took longer now that everything was slick. Mason sped up his motions as best he could, but Regan was slowing down as evening drew in.
“Just the barbed wire to do now.” He’d had them string all the plain wires around the entire pasture first, saving the barbed wire to do all at once. “We have to be even more careful now, okay? Gloves on all the time.”
Regan nodded. Strands of her auburn hair had straggled out of the practical ponytail she wore. Water dripped down from them onto the collar of her raincoat. She looked small and serious. Mason longed to take her home and warm her before a fire, but he wasn’t going to quit until they finished this pasture. It had become a milestone to him in almost a superstitious manner. If they completed it, then they could do anything else that the ranch threw at them. If not—well, he didn’t want to consider that. Once more they approached a corner post. The barbed wire went above all the others on the fence, so Mason looped it around up high and attached the staples that held it in place. This spool was heavier than the others had been and Regan staggered as they walked the length of the pasture to the next wooden post.
“You can do it,” he cheered her on.
“I know.” But Mason heard the strain in her voice. They were long past joking around with each other now. As the day had lengthened, all conversation and kidding around had stopped. Now they had to save all their strength for the work at hand. Regan was breathing hard by the time they put the spool down and she looked thoroughly spent. He eyed her warily and took over without a word, looping this end and attaching the come-along. Once the wire was tight enough, they moved along its length again, attaching the ties. Regan was lagging far behind by the time they were done. Mason didn’t blame her; the rain made a difficult job even harder and she was tired, but he also knew they needed to kick up the pace or they’d run out of daylight.
In the distance, thunder rumbled.
Regan’s gaze met his. “We’d better head back to the house. We can finish this up tomorrow.”
Mason shook his head. “You go. I’m staying and finishing this today.”
“Mason—”
“I said I’m staying.” Her eyes widened at his sharp tone, and he was instantly sorry. “Honey, I have to.” He willed her to understand. He couldn’t give up now. If he did, he didn’t know how they’d catch up again.
After a long moment, she nodded and got back to work.
“You should go back to the Hall. I can do the rest myself.”
“If you’re staying, I’m staying.”
“Then let’s get going.”
*
They were out of their minds working on a metal fence in the middle of a thunderstorm, but she refused to leave Mason’s side—not when he’d half worked himself to death already. Night after night he’d gone back to work after bringing her home and grabbing a quick bite to eat. Even when she could barely walk up the stairs to their bedroom, he’d worked long into the night until the whole ranch was pitch black except the tiny pinprick of his flashlight. He was up again at dawn. She didn’t know how he remained on his feet.
With the rain falling harder and thunder rumbling in the distance there was no way she’d leave him alone now. Her only hope was to work fast enough to know they’d get the job done before the lightning came close. Mason attached the wire to the corner post and they started down another length of the pasture, trailing out the barbed wire from the spool they carried between them.
“As soon as we’re done we’ll get a hot bath and a good meal,” Mason said.
“Great.” She squinted as the rain fell in sheets around her, stumbling in the mud as they went. This was beyond ridiculous—this was crazy. Thunder rumbled again. A flash of light far off in the distance caught her eye.
They reached the far end and she waited for him to attach the wire to the corner post and use the come-along to tighten it. Then it was back to tying the barbed wire to the metal uprights in between.
She worked as fast as she could, but the rain made her fingers clumsy and it was difficult to attach the little pieces of metal to the wire and poles. When she dropped her pliers twice in a row, she swore and had to take deep breaths to keep from chucking them into the next field.
Mason, on the other hand, seemed to be catching a second wind. He nearly vibrated with energy as he worked down the line, and she wondered if this crisis reminded him of his time with the SEALs. Maybe life on the ranch had been too slow and easy for him. Maybe he needed the adrenaline of a tense situation to get him through the day. As they tied the barbed wire to the uprights, the storm moved closer, until she could count the seconds between the flashes of light and the roar of thunder.
When they finished the second side of the pasture, she went to help him with the spool of wire again. Just like before, he looped one end around the wooden corner post and stapled it on tight. She couldn’t believe he meant to continue working with the storm nearly overhead.
“Mason, we have to go!”
“We’re nearly done. Go on—I can do the rest myself.” He turned back to the work before she could protest and there was nothing for it but to follow his lead. In another moment they were hobbling down the slick muddy pasture to the third wooden post. Not an inch of her was dry anymore. Her hair straggled into her eyes and water streamed down her neck into her clothing. She was cold, tired and every muscle in her body ached. When they reached the far end, she dropped her side of the spool. A bolt of lightning zig-zagged across the sky and fractured it into pieces. The thunder that followed on its heels shook the ground beneath her feet.
Mason had attached the come-along and was cranking it like a madman, tightening the wire until it went taut.
“Go home,” he bellowed over his shoulder. “Get back to the Hall.”
“You have to come too!”
“The storm will be past in a minute—I’ll be fine!”
Another stab of lightening split the sky. Thunder roared over their heads.
“God damn it, Mason! We’ve got to go!”
He gave the come-along another few violent cranks. “Go, Regan—I’ll be right there!”
“Mason!”
He cranked it one last time just as she ran to his side and grabbed his arm. The wire snapped with a sound like a whip cracking—the end skimming by barely an inch from both their faces. Regan shrieked. The come-along clattered against the fence post.
Mason stood stock still—his arms outstretched to shield her—his face blank with shock.
Regan stared back at him, all too aware of how close both of them had just come to being hurt.
“Regan—”
She knew what he meant to say—knew this moment would etch in his mind forevermore. Knew that as single-mindedly as he’d just tried to finish the job, he’d never meant to hurt her. Never meant to put her in danger.
But he had.
Regan began to sob in a delayed reaction to her fear. She was so tired. So overwhelmed. She tried to scrub the tears from her face but they kept on coming. “I’m sorry. I’m fine,” she babbled, but Mason still stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time in days.
She used her sleeve to wipe her eyes, then laughed at the impossibility of it. She was soaked through. Not one inch dry enough to dry anything else. Her laughter turned in
to another sob.
To her horror, Mason’s knees buckled and he sank into the mud.
“Mason—” She lunged for him.
He held up a hand to fend her off. “That wire could have sliced you to the bone. Jesus—it could have killed you.”
“But it didn’t. I’m fine.” She pushed her hair roughly out of her eyes. Mason’s face was twisted in anguish and she knew him well enough that he’d blame himself for the accident. The rain continued to bucket down, but she didn’t care anymore. The only thing that mattered to her was getting that expression off of Mason’s face.
“What the hell am I doing?”
She knew he was referring to more than their current working conditions. Above them, lightning flashed again and thunder shook the ground beneath her feet. “We can do this. Even if we don’t finish the fence today, we can still do this.” Helplessness filled her as she saw the impossibility of their task overwhelming Mason. She couldn’t stand the pain etched on his features.
“No, we can’t.” He was shaking his head. He was in shock, she knew it. Knew too that this day of reckoning had probably been a long time coming. Mason was fresh out of the military. Fresh out of a war zone, for heaven’s sake. He’d made the transition home so seamlessly until now. Was it any surprise that it would all come crashing down?
“Let’s get you home. Let’s get you dry.”
“You go.” He braced his palms on his thighs, his shoulders hunching. The rain streamed down over him. Over her, too. There was no way she was leaving him like this—all but drowning on solid ground.
She fell to her knees in front of him. “We’ll work harder tomorrow. Faster. When the rain’s gone. We’ll get it done.”
“It isn’t just the fence.” Lightning shot across the sky again, revealing his hollow eyes and taut face, but the pause before the thunder came was longer than before. The storm was already passing.
“Then what is it? Tell me—I can help.”
He shook his head again. “You asked me once what my nickname was. I didn’t want to tell you. I didn’t want you to know what I could be like.”
“I don’t understand. What is it?” She was frightened for him. She’d never seen him like this, full of shame and self-loathing.
“Straightshot. It’s because of the way I accomplish missions.” His voice was rough. “Because of the way I always know the fastest way to get from here to there. To get things done. Give me any objective and I’ll tell you exactly how to accomplish it. Whether or not it can be accomplished. I’m always right.” He broke off. She could hear his ragged breathing. “It worked—in the Navy it worked. I got things done. I got the men through, we did what we had to and we got out again. Alive. I bullied them, hounded them, taunted them—pushed them to the edge of their limits. Whatever it took to keep them moving when things got tough. Their lives depended on it. Sometimes they wanted to give up and die. I couldn’t let them. I didn’t let them. I did anything—said anything—I had to do or say to keep them going. I was good at finding the shortest distance from start to done. The best. But now—”
Regan’s eyes filled again as his voice cracked. She knew what he meant to say. That he’d left behind the world he knew. That what made him a star in the military didn’t work here on the ranch. It didn’t work with her.
“If I’d lost you—because I fucked up—”
“You didn’t lose me. You’re not going to lose me.” What could she say to stop him from losing faith?
“Yes, I am.” He paused, hands braced on his thighs, his head bowed. “Regan, I did something.” He turned a hopeless gaze on her and she went cold.
What had he done? The thunder and lightning were farther away now, the rain beginning to taper off.
“I didn’t tell you everything. Heloise has more conditions.”
She started breathing again. This she could handle. She touched his shoulder, felt his muscles hard and cold beneath his wet jacket and shirt. Nothing he could say about Heloise would change her mind about the way she felt about him. “What are they?”
“Austin, Zane, Colt and I—we all have to get married within the year.”
Regan blinked. The wife wanted ad. Now it made perfect sense. “Okay, so you needed to meet someone fast and you placed an ad. So what? I wouldn’t have met you if you hadn’t.”
“There’s more.”
“Tell me.” She wanted to take him into her arms and tell him all was well, but she sensed he wouldn’t accept that comfort. Not until he’d come clean.
“We have to have a baby. Before the year is up. That’s why I’ve been pushing so hard. That’s why I rushed you into this.”
She heard the self-reproach in his voice, but that wasn’t why she pulled back. “You don’t love me? Tell me right now if you don’t love me, Mason Hall!”
“Of course I love you.” His lethargy fell away as his gaze snapped to hers and he cupped her face in his cold hands. “Regan, honey—” He didn’t waste time on words. He kissed her, and as thunder rumbled again in the distance, Regan leaned into his kiss, tasting all that was sweet about Mason, all that she craved.
Of course he loved her. She knew that better than she knew her own name, but—
“You don’t want a child?” She pulled away to ask the question.
“I’ll give you a child right now if that’s what you want. Anything to be with you.”
It was almost enough. Almost.
“You have to want it too.”
He sank back, letting her go. “I don’t know how to be a father. I don’t know how to be a husband. Look at me.” He rose to his feet and tugged her up, too. Their pants were coated with mud, their clothing soaked. “How can I get you pregnant when I don’t even know if we’ll have a place to live?” He surveyed the fence, the barbed wire slack by their feet. She could tell all his late nights and early mornings had caught up with him. The strain of paying Zeke’s debts and watching his careful budget fall apart. Mason was only a man.
The rain began to tail off as the thunder receded. “Are you afraid your brothers won’t marry?”
“I don’t know. And I don’t know if we can get the ranch ready in time for the cattle we need to have. What if we don’t make it? We could do everything right and still lose it all if Colt doesn’t come through.”
Now she understood why he wanted Colt to come home so badly. She let his words sink in. If she married Mason, there were no guarantees. They could end up pregnant and penniless.
Well, not penniless.
Regan realized she’d been holding back. Even though she thought she wanted to marry Mason, she hadn’t committed to him or to the ranch all the way. But now she was ready to. She’d never find a man she loved more than him, and she’d never find a man more dedicated to his home and family. Mason thought more about those topics than any man she’d ever met. It was time for her to put her money where her mouth was and meet him halfway.
“We’ll get the ranch ready in time,” she assured him. “And we’ll make those brothers of yours get married. We can do this, Mason. I know we can. And if we blow all of your money trying, there’s always mine. I have savings, too. And I have my weenie apartment—at least for now. In a pinch, I could get my old job back.” She let her lips curve up, hoping he got the joke.
He shook his head. “Why don’t you hate me?”
She reached up to plant a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Because I love you too much. I don’t need a ranch, Mason. I don’t need a big, old mansion, either. All I need is you. We’ll make a home for ourselves wherever we go.”
He was silent a long moment, searching her face as if trying to decide whether she was speaking the truth. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Yes, you do. Let’s go home.”
She held her breath while he surveyed the soaking pasture, the snapped wire and the storm clouds dissipating overhead. “You go on. I need to take a walk. I need to clear my head.”
Regan peered at him worriedly. She obviously hadn’t
convinced him. But Mason deserved to make up his own mind about what to do next. “Come get changed first. Then take all the time you need.”
“Okay.” They walked back to the Hall in silence, leaving the truck and the tools behind to retrieve in the morning. Regan’s concern grew with every step. Mason was quiet—too quiet. He changed swiftly, leaving his wet things in the bathroom draped over the tub, and kissed her before leaving again through the back door, but she could almost feel him wrestling with his inner demons. Regan trailed him into the kitchen to watch him go.
“Don’t wait up.” Shoving his hands in his pockets, he headed down the track toward the creek.
Regan’s heart broke for him as she watched him walk away.
*
When Mason reached Chance Creek, the storm clouds were breaking up and the last rays of the sun colored the flowing water a deep orange-gold. He paced the banks, sorting through his tangled thoughts. He wanted Regan more than he ever had—was sure she was the one he was meant to spend his life with.
But not on the ranch.
He finally let his brothers’ protests sink in. He’d been pushing all of them to conform to his dream of reestablishing his family here where they’d always lived. They’d tried to tell him the terms were too rough.
He hadn’t listened.
Austin and Zane loved the place as much as he did, but neither of them wanted to rush settling down. Colt didn’t even want to get married—or return to the ranch, for that matter. Why should everyone around him be miserable just so he got what he wanted?
And why should he risk Regan’s future—and the future of any children they might have—on a hurried trip to the altar and the chance that his brothers wouldn’t come through?
It was time to give up Crescent Hall—as much as it cost him to admit it. Time to figure out another way to make a living so he could afford a wife and family. He’d still marry Regan—if she’d have him—but first he’d make sure he could provide for her. They’d have a long engagement, and they wouldn’t start a family for a while, but they’d get there.
Somehow.
As the dusk bled into dark, Mason turned around and headed toward home. He was nearly undone again when he saw the lights of the Hall blazing forth. Welcoming him back. Giving up his home a second time would be hard to take. But he’d still have Regan, and that was more than enough.
SEALs of Summer: Military Romance Superbundle - Navy SEAL Style Page 46