* * *
MASON HAD FELT his phone vibrate a text when he was talking to Brianna. He pulled the phone out of his pocket the second the littlest Thomas turned her back, needing to focus on work if he was going to get out the door and back to the life waiting for him.
He didn’t kid himself. Whatever results came from the DNA lab, whenever they came, his life would go on unchanged, as far as anyone would ever see. He and Harper had agreed. No matter what the test showed, he wasn’t going to play a key role in Brianna’s life.
He wasn’t going to do that to his brother.
Or to the little girl who adored her daddy.
All these years he’d been waiting for Bruce to grow up, to become the man he’d always known he could be, and his younger brother had finally gone and done it. In some ways... By all accounts he was a great father. Brianna had shown confidence, pride and security when she’d mentioned him. Her tone. The look on her face.
He’d thought, when he insisted on the paternity test, that he’d need to protect the child from Bruce, from his manipulative behavior.
He’d been wrong.
Thank God, he’d been wrong.
He’d touched his screen, was typing in his password, when Harper caught up to him in the hall just outside the classroom door.
“You okay?”
“Fine,” he said, typing the password a second time.
“Mason.” They weren’t even out of the building yet, but she stopped him with a hand on his arm. “It’s okay to feel things,” she told him.
“She’s a great kid,” he responded, giving his voice enough strength to convince her that he really was fine. “I’d like to be a regular part of her life...assuming Bruce is okay with that.”
It had to be up to Bruce.
“We’ll work it out somehow,” she said. “You’re her uncle—”
She broke off and they stared at each other. “No matter what, you’re related to her, part of her family. I’ll tell Bruce that since you and he are talking, it’s time for Brianna to get to know her uncle. If he wants that to happen on his schedule, in his presence, that’s okay, but at least you’ll see her.”
Every time he tried to shut the door on things he couldn’t have, she opened it up again. Did she know how much she was messing with him?
Or how grateful he was to her?
Nodding his thanks, he started to walk again. And to type in his password for the third time. Plenty of people had his number and would text rather than call. All people associated with work.
He got into his phone. Saw the time. “I’m due to get Grace in another ten minutes. I’ll head up there now,” he said, leaving Harper to get on with her day.
Too much time with her and he was going to do something he’d regret. Like take her in his arms and kiss her in a way that showed her there’d never be another woman for him.
“I’ll walk up with you,” she was saying, beside him on the sidewalk. He opened his text app.
The lab had texted. Probably either telling him the results would be in later that afternoon, or that they might not have them until Monday. Wallace, the tech who’d said he’d put Mason’s job first, had told him he’d pass on the results as soon as possible. He wasn’t going to make him wait any longer than necessary.
Mason had known the man a long time. They’d worked together on several cases—one involving a psycho who’d turned out to be a serial killer of young women. And Mason had told him what the current test was for. Who it was for.
He clicked to find out when he’d know.
Read the message.
Hand shaking, he almost dropped his phone.
“Mason?” Harper was looking at him. He’d stopped walking, staring at his phone. He could see it all happening as though watching himself from outside. Could hear Harper’s voice.
There were residents in the distance. He saw two of them walking together, while another, on a different path, was walking alone.
Harper touched his hand—the one holding the phone. Her hand was soft. Warm.
“Mason, what is it?” He would have showed her the phone, but didn’t want to dislodge her hand. He looked at her, not moving at all. Saw her as he’d never seen her before—connected to him.
Part of him.
The only woman he’d ever really wanted.
The one woman he could never have. Because his brother had loved her first. And loved her still.
“I just became a father,” he said.
* * *
SHE WAS AT WORK. With victim residents relying on her to keep them safe. As Harper’s reality receded, she focused on the hard sidewalk beneath her feet. On the job. The women moving around the shelter. On the warmth of the sun on her skin.
She started to walk. When she felt Mason move beside her, she stopped. Turning, she looked up at him and couldn’t prevent the pressure of tears in her eyes.
There was so much to say, none of which she felt she could say.
He pulled her into an alcove, and then another, the outdoor entry to a room used for music lessons during the week. They couldn’t be seen. Or heard. And she still couldn’t speak.
She could only continue to look at him, pouring her heart into that gaze. Keeping her needs to herself, as she thought about him.
“Congratulations,” she told him, not sure if he was glad or not. Not sure if the word was appropriate or not. She was congratulating a man who’d just found out he’d lost the first four years of his firstborn’s life.
He nodded. “It’s...surreal.” He seemed...almost lost, and it occurred to her that they were both in shock.
“How do you feel about this?” If she focused on him, she felt stronger.
“You want the truth?”
“Of course.”
“I’m thrilled to death. That little sprite...she’s mine. Mine and yours.”
Everything changed then. Got personal. She nodded.
“When I think of Bruce and the years I’ve lost and the future I’m going to lose... But for the moment...”
She knew what he meant. What lay ahead of them, keeping their secret, going on as though nothing had changed, was going to be impossible. Already guilt was filtering through the initial state of shock.
“We’ll set up regular visitations,” she said now. “She’ll get to know you, to spend time with you. You can teach her things and come over for dinner. I’ll call you every day with school updates...”
“And what if Bruce catches wind of it and thinks we’re starting something between the two of us?”
He was right, of course. “So we’ll make it more sporadic,” she said. She owed a loyalty to Bruce. But she owed Mason, too. He was the father of her child. “No one will know if we talk every night, if you call for updates.”
His intense stare made her reconsider the world she was creating. If they talked every night, they’d be playing with fire. And Bruce was the one who’d get burned.
Again. He’d hurt her, but he’d never cut her as deeply as this would cut him.
What about Mason? She studied him, the father of her child, and needed to wrap him in her arms and hold on for life.
“We should get back,” she said instead. “It’s time for you to pick up Grace.”
He kept looking at her, searing her with emotion.
“Are you okay?” he asked, standing his ground.
She nodded.
“How do you feel? Are you disappointed?”
“No.” Tears filled her eyes then, as shame swept through her. “I was hoping it was you.”
He seemed to settle into a calmer state, and motioned for her to lead the way back to the main building.
They weren’t lovers. Would never be a couple with Bruce, their feelings for him and Bruce’s love for Harper, standing between them. And yet she felt as though th
ey’d just gotten married.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
APOLOGIZING, CITING WORK as his reason for barely taking time to say goodbye to Gram, Mason accompanied Grace out to his SUV. He vowed to get back to Santa Raquel as soon as possible and make it up to her. Gram had been there for him all his life. She was floundering and it was his duty to be there for her now.
First, he had to deal with Elmer Guthrie.
And get himself back in line.
He was a father. And couldn’t tell anyone he cared about—particularly not Gram. She’d never mentioned the night he spent with Harper; it was possible his brother had kept his word and never told her about it. From what he understood, Bruce had simply explained that the brothers had had a falling-out and that it was between the two of them.
Gram would definitely not approve of what Mason had done. Infidelity was one thing, and bad enough. Sleeping with your brother’s fiancée was something else entirely. Especially since he’d been on a mission for Bruce—sent to comfort Harper, to make sure she was okay, until she calmed down and Bruce could talk to her.
Made from the same cloth as his grandmother, Mason didn’t approve of what he’d done, either.
Thankfully Grace talked, and did whatever she was doing with her yarn, most of the way home. She and Gram had a great visit, she said, and they’d caught up on so much. Gram hadn’t offered any insights that could help Mason’s investigation and Grace hadn’t pushed. She hadn’t wanted to lose Gram a second time. She’d apologized, on first getting in the car, for not learning anything new regarding Gram’s injuries.
“I really do think she fell off a stepladder,” Grace told him again as they approached Albina. “She looked me straight in the eye when I asked her about it. I don’t know, maybe I should have pushed harder, but that’s what caused our problem to begin with. I just kept hoping she’d tell me something, but... I didn’t ask her about that man you mentioned, Elmer Somebody. I figured if she didn’t bring it up, I shouldn’t, either.”
The older woman’s wrinkled forehead was furrowed as Mason glanced at her.
“You think that man hurt her? And not Bruce? I feel awful blaming him if he really didn’t do anything, but I know what I heard that one day on the phone, and I just put that together with everything else and drew my own conclusion. No wonder she was so upset with me for maligning him.”
“You weren’t the only one who suspected him,” Mason pointed out. There’d been valid reason to suspect his brother. That reminder was one he needed.
“So you think this other guy did it? I mean, like I said, I think she really fell off the stepladder, but you said the breaks in her arm weren’t consistent with that...and the bruises on her face... So it must be this guy.”
“It’s possible.”
“I should’ve asked her about him. I probably didn’t do enough...”
“You did fine,” Mason assured her. “Great. It’s my job to take care of the criminal situation. She needs you just to be her friend. If she tells you something, then by all means, I hope you’ll help us by sharing it, but if she doesn’t, that’s okay, too.”
He wasn’t as desperate for Gram’s confession anymore. He expected to get one from the abuser himself that afternoon. Much better than Gram having to testify.
They’d quietly take care of Guthrie, make certain he never had the chance to hurt Gram again, and Gram could move home and resume her old life.
“I asked her to come back to the choral group when she gets home,” Grace said.
“Did she say she would?”
Grace shook her head. “She said she didn’t want to tire herself out. That she had a lot to take care of at home.”
He glanced her way. Saw her frown. He wished Gram’s answer had been different, but thought it might take time to get her confidence back.
“I wonder if maybe I pushed her too hard there. We’re in the second half of our seventies, heading toward eighty. I do my housekeeping, but not like I used to. I don’t have anyone else to clean up after or cook for, and I still tire more easily than I used to. Stands to reason that keeping house for someone else, doing all the cooking... She’s probably too tired to handle a full social schedule, too.”
He didn’t like the sound of that any better. He thought of the dirty dishes in the kitchen of Gram’s house when he’d gone there to investigate. Bruce’s things strewn all over.
He thought of his daughter in that house, thinking Bruce was her father.
“Then I guess it’s time my brother learned how to do some of his own housework,” he said, focusing on keeping his voice even. “Not enough to make her feel less useful, but enough to give her time to spend time on other endeavors, as well.”
Grace’s expression cleared. She nodded.
Having a plan, Mason felt better.
* * *
IT WAS LATE afternoon when Tasha, who’d been assigned to Miriam for the afternoon shift, summoned Harper, saying Miriam wanted to see her.
Brianna was at the pool with a couple of residents and their kids for another hour. Thinking this was a day for miracles, hoping that Grace’s visit had changed something for Miriam, enabling her to testify regarding her injuries, she left the reports on her desk and hurried across the resort to Miriam’s bungalow.
Tasha smiled at her as she went inside. “She’s alone,” was all she said.
Expecting Miriam to be there to greet her, Harper glanced around the living room and then through what she could see of the bungalow. “Miriam?”
Dressed in blue capris and a matching short-sleeved top, with white sandals, Miriam looked her usual classy, put-together self as she came out of the kitchen, drying her hands on the burgundy towel she held.
“I’d like a word with you,” she said, motioning Harper toward a chair at the dining room table—out of sight of the front window, through which Tasha could see them.
Understanding Miriam’s need for privacy, she joined her, taking a seat. Looked at Miriam’s cast, and then saw the anger in the other woman’s eyes.
Had Mason told her about Brianna? That was unthinkable. He wouldn’t have.
All the way over here, she’d been imagining her phone call to him, letting him know about Miriam’s breakthrough.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“I want you to stay away from Mason.” Miriam’s tone didn’t carry the same anger Harper had read in her expression. It might have been there, but was veiled.
“I don’t...”
“Grace told me, when he was late coming back for her, that he said he had a meeting with you while she was with me. I thought he was waiting outside, or running an errand, or maybe having breakfast...”
With no idea where this was going and Brianna’s paternity heavy on her conscience, Harper didn’t respond.
“Bruce will be hurt all over again... Mason seeing you... I want you to stop.”
It was like a curtain of black gauze came down over Harper, a barrier, and yet offering no protection. The pain Miriam was inflicting came from within Harper.
“He’s investigating a case of abuse against you.” She chose her words carefully. “I’m the officer in charge of your protection.”
“Don’t try that one on me...” Miriam stopped and visibly gathered herself as her anger started to appear.
“Bruce has been in touch with me, too,” Harper added, to reassure her. “He called to let me know that he and Mason are working together to bring you home.”
“The boys are talking? Working together?” The light that suddenly appeared in Miriam’s eyes was a beautiful thing. Harper had loved Miriam deeply during her time in the family. There was no doubt in her mind that Miriam’s heart was good, that her entire life was dedicated to her family.
She nodded, as Miriam looked to her for confirmation, but didn’t say any more. The details of the case wer
en’t hers to divulge.
Disappointed that she hadn’t been called for a big revelation, she was nonetheless relieved that she’d been able to allay Miriam’s fears and started to rise, to get back to the work that was going to keep her sane over the coming weeks.
Mason was Brianna’s father...
“That’s even more of a reason. I’m begging you.” Miriam spoke again, and Harper settled back in her seat. “Leave Mason alone. I...” Miriam’s hand on Harper’s was weaker than she remembered. And a huge surprise. “Please, Harper, you’re a good mother to that sweet little girl, a good cop. Just...please...leave Mason alone. If you want to be part of our family, I will welcome you, but you belong with Bruce. He adores you.”
After her time with Mason in the alcove that morning, she was pretty sure he adored her, too. And knew she adored him. So what about him? Did he simply not matter because Bruce, who’d been unfaithful to her on many occasions, had met her first?
She’d slept with Mason before things had been fully resolved between her and Bruce. After she’d formally broken their engagement. And then she’d married Bruce anyway.
She’d made that choice.
“He told me about you and Mason.” Miriam’s tone was soft, but there was no disguising the anger brimming in it. “After you left...he told me.”
Harper had no words for that.
“I can understand how much it hurt you that he slept with that perp, but it’s acceptable, from a legal standpoint, for an undercover to have sex while undercover if he must do so to preserve his cover as long as it’s not entrapment, as in a prostitution case. While doing so as a married man carries other ethical concerns, at least he came right home and told you. But you—you who’d slept with his brother—couldn’t forgive him.”
Bruce had told Miriam about her and Mason?
Deflecting the blame from himself.
It was like Mason had said. Bruce used his own version of the truth, his own perspective, to keep himself in people’s favor. He hadn’t told Miriam about sleeping with Gwen, though.
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