by Dorie Graham
“Tess, I know that you’re worried, but I simply can’t do that.”
“Well, why not? You don’t have to examine her per se, just give me your opinion on how she seems.”
“First of all, without a proper examination and thorough questioning, I doubt I could tell you any more than you already know. Second, as a doctor I live by a certain code of ethics and this falls way beyond the area I operate in. Lastly, even if it didn’t, there are all kinds of laws that protect a person’s health information. I could get into trouble on several levels.”
Disappointment weighed down on her. “So what am I supposed to do?”
He resumed stroking her back. “The best you can do is not worry until you know you have something to worry about.”
“Yeah, right.” She snuggled in closer to him and yawned. Maybe she was actually tired enough to finally get some sleep. She’d hardly been able to shut her eyes last night. “That’ll be easier said than done.”
He was silent a long moment and she was just starting to drift off when he said, “You know, I’d like to meet your family and your friends, even if they’re like the rest of the friends I’ve met—of the male persuasion. I’m sure I’d get all kinds of insights.”
“I’m sure you would.” She frowned.
Without a possible diagnosis for whatever might be ailing her mother as an outcome, her cookout plan had lost some of its appeal. The idea of Mason in the same room with her guys, not to mention her family, didn’t quite sit right with Tess for some reason.
“So, when do you want to do it?” he asked.
“Do what?”
“The cookout.”
“I don’t want to take up all your time off. We have so much to do to get ready for the ball and only a few more weeks to do it. I don’t know how we’ll get it all finished in time. Most of the marketing is done, but we have to get the programs to the printer’s. I should get with the teens. Cassie says the hotel wants us all to come in to sample appetizers, and we still have to decide on a band, and there’s all those last-minute details—”
“We can take time for this. It’s important. I really want to meet your family. Tell you what. I’ll make it easy on you. I’ll bring the steaks. How about Saturday?”
“Like in a week? That Saturday?”
“Yep. A week from yesterday, in the afternoon. I’m taking Rafe to the game that night, but I can be there the whole day with you.”
Her gut screamed at her to make up an excuse, any excuse, but the enthusiasm in Mason’s quiet words called to her in a way she could hardly resist. So he wanted to meet her family. What harm could come from that?
She leaned up to look at him, and the hope in his eyes would have convinced her if she hadn’t already made up her mind. “Okay, Saturday afternoon. My place. I’ll have the whole crew there.”
12
SMOKE CURLED FROM THE gas grill on Tess’s deck. Mason breathed deeply the scent of grilling chicken and steaks and did his best to relax. Why was he getting all tense? This was a simple cookout.
He’d asked for it himself. With all Tess was doing to help his teens—the closest thing to family he had—he felt obliged to run the gauntlet with her family. If they were anything like Tess, he was bound to love them.
And as far as all her male companions…well, best to have a clear idea of what he was up against. Seeing her interact with them here in her home should give him an idea of whether or not he had anything to worry about.
“Penny for your thoughts?” He slipped an arm around the object of his obsession and nuzzled her ear as she fussed over the grill. The apartment had already been teeming with people by the time he’d arrived. When Tess had slipped out he’d followed her to steal this moment alone.
She leaned into him. “Oh, just wondering if there’s enough food.”
Mason laughed. “There are casseroles, side dishes and desserts in there. Your friend Ramon is still busy in the kitchen, and it seems every one of your relatives brought a truckload of food. It’s going to take an army to finish it all off as it is.”
“I don’t know. We McClellans tend to have rather robust appetites.”
“Yeah, I remember, but I think your eyes are bigger than your stomach.” He rubbed his hand across her flat belly for good measure. “I don’t know where you put it all. I think you just like to order large.”
“We cook like we order.”
“Either way, you’ve got plenty of food.”
So something else was bothering her. Was she still worried about her mother, or was it the teens? Or could it be she was as tense as he was about him meeting her people?
The sliding door opened, spilling assorted house-guests onto the deck. Tess’s sister, Nikki, whom he’d just met, greeted them with a smile, her brown eyes warm with what seemed genuine welcome. “There they are.”
“Mmm, smells great.” Max, whom Nikki had introduced as one of Tess’s minions, lifted the lid on the grill. “Hey, want me to flip these?”
“Thanks.” Tess handed him the tongs as Nikki and their aunt Sophie closed in on Mason.
A bolt of apprehension raced through him, then Tess’s aunt winked and the worry seemed to drain from him.
“Hey, everyone, let’s go back inside and see what the rest of them are doing.” Tess moved beside him, taking his arm in an endearingly protective gesture. “Has Erin gotten back yet? She said she’d work just half a day today, so she could join us.”
Sophie waved her aside. “She called to say she’s on her way. And we are not going back inside just yet. It’s finally cool enough out to draw a decent breath, and for once there’s a bit of a breeze. We’re sitting right here for now. Isn’t that right, Mason?” She gave him a measured look and motioned him into one of the wrought-iron chairs at the table.
Mason drew himself up tall and favored Sophie with his best smile as he held a chair first for her, then for Nikki. “Yes ma’am, it’s not bad out here at all.”
Tess didn’t wait for an invitation. She scooted into the seat beside him, before he could pull out her chair. If Sophie meant to question Mason, it seemed Tess meant to stay beside him. He took her hand and squeezed it to reassure her. He got the feeling from her aunt that she’d already taken his measure and he’d passed.
Tess held on and he tossed her a sideways glance. She was nervous about this. Did her fretting over whether or not he’d cut it with her family have anything to do with her own reaction to the Project Mentor kids? He straightened as that now-familiar feeling of warmth expanded his chest.
Whatever apprehensions she had over working with the teens, he planned to stick by her side through it.
“Tess, dear, why don’t you get us all something cold to drink?” Sophie smiled sweetly at her.
Tess opened her mouth to protest, but Mason gave her hand another squeeze. “I could use a beer, if you have one.”
“Oh, me, too,” Nikki said. “Would you mind?”
“Make that three,” Sophie instructed. “And please send that mother of yours out here. How can we have a proper interrogation without her?”
Nikki laughed, but Tess’s eyes rounded. “Aunt Sophie, you can’t. That isn’t why I invited all of you.”
“Of course it is. We’ve never had a big cookout for any of your other minions—”
“I hate that word.” Tess stood and clenched her fists. “If one more person calls them that—”
“Settle down, dear. We mean Mason no harm. He obviously isn’t like the others, which is why we need to determine exactly what is going on here.”
Tess stood tense and livid for a moment, seemingly too overcome to speak. Mason patted the back of her thigh. So, he was different from the rest? Somehow, that knowledge gave him a boost, had him sitting taller in his seat.
“It’s okay, babe. You go on in and send out your mother. I’m sure it will all be okay. Nikki will protect me if things get out of hand.” He grinned at Nikki and she smiled at him, her eyes sparkling.
“T
hat’s right, Tess. You can’t be objective here,’ Nikki said. “That’s why you need us. I’ll report everything. I promise.”
“No.” Tess stomped her foot and remained at Mason’s side. “This is intolerable. I will not allow you to perform some kind of interrogation in my own home. It’s uncalled-for. Not to mention completely humiliating.”
Max waved the tongs from his spot by the grill. “Hey, Ramon and I can sit in, if you want a full panel, Sophie.”
“What?” Tess stared at him, her mouth gaping. “Max, how could you turn on me like this?”
“Your aunt has a point. You just haven’t been yourself lately.” His gaze moved to Sophie. “Should I get Ramon?”
“Oh, no, dear—”
“Well, thank you.” Tess looked with relief at her aunt, her shoulders relaxing.
“Ramon is making those little crab cakes I love. Could you see if one of the others is available? Thomas is busy helping Ramon, but how about Todd? Is he still here?”
“What?” Tess’s face took on a bright hue.
Sophie rose and touched Tess’s arm. “You go in with Max. We’ll be in shortly. Don’t you worry about a thing. I promise we won’t hurt him.” She handed Tess over to Max. “Now, have Ramon keep her busy. And don’t forget to bring Maggie and Todd when you return.”
“And the beer,” Nikki reminded.
“Yes, beer for everyone.” Sophie gestured to the group at the table. “Unless you’d like something a little stiffer, Mason?”
“Ah, no, thanks, a beer will be just fine. I have a feeling I’d better keep my wits about me.”
“Good choice.” Sophie turned back to Tess. “See, he’s doing great already. Smart man.”
As Max escorted her inside, Tess threw Mason a glance that said she was sorry and mortified and wished him luck all at once. Then he was alone with her sister and her aunt and not even a beer to fortify him. Still, as he glanced at her aunt she again winked reassuringly.
He relaxed and smiled at the two. “So, Nikki, I hear you’re marrying an architect.”
She tilted her head. “He’s not quite an architect yet, but he’s working on it. You’ll get to meet him. He’s just gone for ice.”
“Dylan was a lawyer when my niece met him, but he was not a very happy lawyer. You’re a doctor, aren’t you?” Sophie regarded him with raised eyebrows, her interest seemingly genuine.
“I’m an internist. I have a practice in Pembroke Pines.”
“And that free clinic in downtown Miami, right?” Nikki asked.
“I helped to found it with a number of colleagues. I volunteer one day a week down there and take a night on call.”
“And you’re happy with your work?” Sophie turned and smiled as Max returned with a newcomer Mason hadn’t yet met, but who, with her flaming waves, could be no other than Tess’s mother.
“Where’s Todd and the beer?” Sophie waved them toward the table. “Oh, there he is. Come on, everyone. Todd, drop those beers and get a couple of chairs from inside.”
She helped pass out the drinks, while Todd dragged out a couple of heavy chairs from the kitchen. He shook his head as he sat. “Tess is fit to be tied. I’m not sure if Ramon and Thomas can handle her.”
“Maybe I should check on her.” Mason pushed back his chair.
“Oh, no you don’t, young man. We haven’t been properly introduced.” Tess’s mother smiled at him from across the table, her eyes the same blue as her daughter’s, though they somehow lacked the luster that shone in Tess’s.
“Maggie McClellan, Dr. Mason Davies.” Sophie made the introductions.
Maggie offered her hand and Mason took it, noting that her fingers were icy to the touch. He mentally filed away the information. He had no intention of assessing her the way Tess had asked, yet he couldn’t help but note that she did look rather tired. Not that it detracted from her beauty.
Mason settled again, as he faced what, indeed, seemed a panel of Tess’s friends and family ready to interrogate him. It dawned on him that he very much wanted to make a good impression.
Sophie clasped her hands on the table. “Mason was just telling us whether or not he’s happy in his work as an internist.”
He nodded. “Yes, actually, I’m quite satisfied in my work.”
“What is it that you like about it?” Maggie asked.
“Well, medicine isn’t an exact science, but there are certain procedures and precedents one can count on. I like that when a patient comes to me I have a protocol to call on to determine what might be the cause of his or her complaint.”
“So you like the order of the medical world?” Todd narrowed his eyes. “That’s interesting. It’s like he’s almost an opposite to Tess.”
Several heads nodded in agreement, and Mason fisted his hand around the beer bottle. Did he sound like some heartless baboon they wouldn’t want Tess involved with? “It isn’t just the order. I like the people. I meet people from all walks of life at my practice and particularly at the free clinic. I’ve met some amazing kids through Project Mentor. They’ve taken my life in a direction I hadn’t anticipated.”
“Kids?” Maggie’s eyebrows rose. “Did you just say that you work with children?”
“Yes, some children. Mostly teens.” He shrugged, not sure how to sum up the nonprofit work. “We’re helping them to find their way.”
Max crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. “And Tess is getting involved with this?”
“She’s organizing the teens to help with the fund-raiser and she participated in a beach cleanup with them.”
“Wait a minute.” Nikki frowned. “Tess was at the beach and she picked up trash—with kids?”
“That’s right.”
A grin burst across Nikki’s face. “Unbelievable. I would have liked to have seen that.”
Sophie gazed at him with her keen gray eyes. “Mason, you do realize that this is all rather unprecedented for my niece?”
“No. I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”
“Tess’s normal outing to the beach usually includes an entourage of guys—” Nikki gestured toward Max and Todd “—carrying her cooler, setting up her umbrella, then entertaining her with antics.”
“Well, sort of.” Max shifted in his seat. “But we always have a good time.”
“Yeah.” Todd nodded. “Tess has a big heart and she’s lots of fun, but it’s hard to picture her hanging with a bunch of kids.” He turned to Max. “So she’s dumped us to hang with this guy and help the community.”
“Really can’t argue with that.” Max turned to the rest. “Maybe Sophie is right. Tess hasn’t been herself lately, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.”
“No, not at all.” Sophie’s eyes shone. “She has this rather enchanting glow about her, especially when she’s with you.”
“Really?” Mason smiled, that warm feeling spreading through him. “You think I make her glow?”
“Oh, definitely,” Max said, and murmurs of assent rounded the table.
Tess’s mother leaned toward him. “It was the same with Nikki when she met Dylan.”
Nikki nodded. “And she does nothing but gush about you.”
“Gush?” he asked.
“Yes, gush. She can’t say enough good about you.”
“And glows,” Todd added.
“Gushes and glows?” Mason lifted his beer, smiling. For an interrogation, this seemed to be going quite well.
More nods and murmurs of assent.
“It’s very un-Tess-like behavior.” Sophie took a thoughtful sip. “And look how she defended you just now. You’re obviously very important to her.”
“I hope so. She means a lot to me,” Mason said slowly, and set down his beer.
“Of course she does.” Max shrugged, while Sophie cocked her head and assessed him with a new intensity.
“What exactly does that mean—that she means a lot to you?” she asked, and the others looked at her questioningly, before turning to Mason.
&
nbsp; His gut tightened and he took another swig from his beer. What had happened to all the talk of gushing and glowing? He had the distinct impression that he was missing something important. “It means that I’ve really come to care for her. I care a lot for her. I want her to be happy, just like the rest of you do.”
Max screwed up his face as though he was trying hard to understand something. “You care for her?”
“What’s with that?” Todd asked.
Mason blinked at him. What was he supposed to say? That he didn’t care for her? “I’m sorry, I’m not sure I understand what you’re all getting at.”
“He can’t say it, can he?” Max’s eyes rounded, the whites of his eyes showing.
Mason squirmed, the seat of the chair suddenly harder than he’d realized. “Can’t say what?”
“Don’t you see?” Sophie smiled as though she’d figured something out. “He’s in denial.”
Maggie nodded and Nikki pursed her lips. “So that’s his thing, that he’s kind of closed himself off?”
“It’s a defense mechanism of sorts, I think.” Maggie cocked her head and Mason had that feeling of being observed through a magnifying glass.
“Hey, you don’t have to talk around me like I’m not here,” he said, unable to resist the urge to defend himself. “Whatever you have to say, you can just come out and say it. I can take criticism.”
“No criticism, dear,” Sophie said. “Just an observation. I find all this quite fascinating.”
“Yes,” Maggie added. “It’s as if they’re breaking all the rules. What with the way Nikki has stayed with Dylan.”
“I’m very law-abiding, I assure you.”
“Of course you are.” Sophie smiled at him. “I’ll bet you follow all the rules.”
“I certainly do. I pride myself on always doing my best to do the right thing.”
“You colored inside all the lines as a child, follow standard safety rules, vote and floss on a regular basis.” Tess’s mother gestured matter-of-factly with both hands as she spoke.