by Ava Grace
I stared at him, mouth agape. “Coop gave you Duke?”
“Yeah. You’ve got to understand something. Coop and I were always friends. We’d spend countless hours together when we were younger, talking about what we were gonna do with our lives. We had all these big plans. Big mutual plans.”
When I raised an eyebrow in query, Mason elaborated. “It was stuff like, own a bar together, buy a couple of houses, start a business, maybe give back to the community.”
“Those are a lot of plans.”
“Yeah, and we were on our way to achieving them all, too. Then I went off to college and Coop and Caroline got together, and things were never the same again. But despite everything, and maybe against all odds, we were still friends.”
I couldn’t imagine that scenario after the things that had separated them, but maybe it was a testament to how strong their bond had been.
“You know, Coop likes to make out that he’s this big, tough, macho guy, but in reality, he’s got a big heart. He cares about people. A lot.
“So, anyhow, he brought this damn puppy to my house and said he was on his way to talk to me about the bar when he found it at the side of the road. He dumped it on my couch then left.
“I knew it was a crock of shit, but I was drunk off my ass and that was the only reason I didn’t get in my car and take it right back to him.
“The damn dog climbed straight into my lap, curled up in a ball then went to sleep. I sat there for about three hours just looking at it. I was afraid to get up and get another beer because I didn’t want to disturb it.
“In that time, I sobered up then when the dog finally woke up, it started tugging on the hem of my sweater and growling. When I put the pest on the floor, it started in on the leg of my pants.
“It was only as I was looking through my cupboards for something it could eat, that I realized I hadn’t thought about Caroline once since Coop had left. Not for hours. It was a first.
“After that, any thought I had of returning the dog was pretty much dead in the water. For some reason, I started calling it Duke and he answered to it right away.
“I knew I was stuck with the damn dog then, but I didn’t care and not a day has passed since that I regret keeping him because he helped me to heal.”
I squeezed his hand on the tabletop. “I’m glad you had him,” I said. “You needed him.”
Mason smiled at me wryly. “Yeah. And so did you.”
When I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion, he explained. “When you showed up in my yard that first day looking for the cabin, you were like this broken person. Your smile didn’t make it all the way to your eyes.
“Duke took to you right away. I think he knew that you needed to be healed, just as he knew I needed it. He’s been glued to your side ever since and now when you smile, it lights up your whole face and when you say you’re okay, I believe it.”
Mason chuckled. “I’m not saying that Duke is some kind of angel or even a miracle worker, but I do think he was sent to us both to help us recover.”
“I think you might be right,” I said with a nod. “I think he has helped me.”
Mason nodded. “I’m sure he has and I’m glad.”
“Mason. Mason, is that you?”
We both looked up at the person who had addressed him and I recognized her as Jessica, the woman I’d seen call by Mason’s house that first day. She was even more beautiful up close. She was looking at Mason in a predatory manner and it made the green-eyed monster unfurl in my stomach.
“Hey, Jessica,” he greeted politely.
Mason gave her a thin-lipped smile and I wondered if he might have been more amiable to her if I hadn’t been there. She was so undeniably gorgeous that any man would be attracted to her. He’d have to be.
Now that we were side by side, we were like night and day. Like she was Cinderella and I was the Ugly Sister. My stomach plummeted. Did Mason wish he was with her now, instead of me?
I shook the thought away.
I was being silly and insecure.
Again.
Mason had had plenty of opportunities to be with Jessica yet he was out with me. That had to count for something.
Jessica flashed him a toothy smile. “I thought it was you! It’s good to see you out on the town. I was sat over near the bar with my girlfriends and when one of them said you were sitting here, I almost didn’t believe her. What are you doing here?”
My eyebrows practically hit the ceiling. Was she for real? We were in a restaurant, what did people usually do, if not eat? Fortunately, I refrained from rolling my eyes.
“I’m just taking my girlfriend to dinner,” Mason said casually.
Hearing him say that turned my insides to mush.
I could have kissed him, right then and there, but I made a promise to myself to save it all up for when we were in private.
Jessica turned to me for the first time as if only just realizing I was seated at the table. She did a quick scan of me, starting from the head down, then sneered.
“Her?” she asked frostily.
Her upper lip curled as she stared at me, making me feel like a lab specimen or something she’d just stepped in. She dismissed me then focused on Mason again.
“You could do so much better, Mason. What would Jessica think?”
I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me and I glanced around uneasily to see who else had heard.
Who the heck spoke about someone they didn’t know in such a way?
Mason got to his feet in a blur of movement. “How dare you! I don’t give a shit about what Jessica would think. You know why?
“Because she’s dead. And you know whose opinion I care about even less right now? Yours. Libby is worth a hundred of you, but you already know that that’s why you’re so upset.
“Jealousy never did look good on you, Jessica, so take your sour grapes back to your own table and leave me and my girlfriend to eat our dinner in peace.”
She huffed out a sound of indignation then turned on her heel and strode back to her friends.
Screw waiting until later, I launched myself at Mason then kissed him soundly. I only pulled back when the sound of clapping reached my ears. I frowned, turning to see Coop stood beside us, a huge grin on his face.
“Bravo,” he said to Mason with a nod. “That insufferable woman has been asking to be put in her place for years.”
Mason acknowledged the comment with a nod of his own.
When Coop looked at me again, his grin took on an almost predatory glint. His eyes lowered, lingering on the scars on my chest for a few moments before he met my gaze again.
“You’re looking good tonight, Libby,” he drawled. “You should dress like that more often. That outfit suits you.”
An answering grin spread across my lips. “Thanks, Coop.”
Mason let out a little growl of annoyance, before rounding on Coop. He leaned in close and asked, “Do you and I need to have another talk?”
Another talk?
I wondered where the first could have taken place when I remembered the time that Coop had showed up at my house in the morning after everything had happened with Brandon.
What exactly had Mason said to him?
I tried to decide if the caveman, jealous boyfriend routine was one I liked and decided that Mason’s protectiveness of me was welcome.
Coop raised both hands in front of him in a placating gesture. “No, not at all.” He shook his head. “We’re good, I swear. I reckon we’ve fought over women enough to last us a couple of lifetimes. What do you say?”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Mason muttered.
Coop reached out a hand and Mason studied it for a long moment as if it was something that could bite him. Eventually, he reached out, took hold of it and gave it a good, strong shake.
I beamed at them both. Couldn’t help it. When they caught my expression they wore mirroring looks of confusion.
“What’s up?”
�
�What’s that look for?” they said in unison.
I pretended to look innocent.
“Nothing,” I lied.
The truth was, their exchange was everything.
From the conversations I’d had with Mason, it had become obvious that he and Coop had been good friends for their entire lives, minus the last few years.
For a long time, they’d been best friends.
It was difficult to walk away from a friendship like that no matter what had come between them. I hoped that this uneasy truce I was witnessing was the beginning of a few mended bridges. Mason needed a good friend in his life. Didn’t everyone?
“I’ll let you get on with your meal,” Coop said.
I was still grinning as we feasted on steak that had been cooked to perfection. It practically melted in my mouth. My smile stayed in place on the car journey back to the cabin then pretty much all night after. The only time it slipped, in fact, was when Mason did something to me later that put a different expression on my face and made my toes curl at the same time. But afterward, when he pulled me back against his chest into the warm embrace of his arms, the smile returned tenfold.
Epilogue
I was bummed that I had to work at The Shack and miss out on dinner with the girls, but the fact that it was my last shift ever before I left to start my soft furnishing business made the pill a little easier to swallow. My meeting with Faith’s cousin had gone far better than I’d expected or even hoped for. As soon as she saw the throw pillows I’d made, she put in an order right away.
She said she sold hundreds to tourists in the summer months and as long as I could produce them, she would buy them. That was all well and good and while I appreciated the business more than she knew, I’d been worried about what I would do in the winter months.
As it turned out, Faith had been my savior yet again. The quiet, unassuming woman worked at home on her own graphic design business and part of that was designing websites. One night over drinks at The Shack, she offered to build me a website where I could showcase my work.
Because of the line of work she was in, Faith had an endless supply of contacts who could help me with marketing the website and she offered to put me in contact with them. We hashed out all the details then I was ready to go. After my last shift at The Shack, I would officially be self-employed. I was overwhelmed and scared but also incredibly excited at the same time. It was what I’d always wanted and I couldn’t have been happier.
My last shift was on a Sunday and, as Sunday nights went, it was a busy one, probably because it was one of the last weekends of the summer season so the tourists were out in force—a last-ditch attempt to grab a vacation before the colder weather set in. Being one of only a few bars in town, naturally, The Shack was always pretty busy, but on that night the place was rammed more than usual.
I made sure that I filled all of my orders and worked the room as often as was necessary, but every chance I got, I drifted back to my girlfriends’ table to catch up. If I didn’t get to eat with them then I would be darn sure I didn’t miss out on any of the gossip.
After seeing me hover near the girls for what had to have been the tenth time that night, Coop rolled his eyes then got up to get his own drink from the bar instead of asking me to go and get it for him.
“Bring back Arlene, all is forgotten,” he muttered as he passed by me.
I barked out a laugh. “You say that now, but it’ll be a different story when she’s been back here a couple of weeks.”
Coop paused to consider that then shrugged. “You’re probably right. That Damn woman always knew how to rile me up. I must have lost my damn mind when I agreed to take her back.”
“And only now you’re realizing it?” I quipped.
He pointed at me and glared. “You. Less of your lip or I might be inclined to fire you on the grounds of insubordination.”
I checked my watch. “Is there any point seeing as how my last shift ends in about two hours?”
When he grumbled something about waitresses who were getting too big for their boots before grabbing his beer from the bar, I smiled wryly.
I’d been shocked at first when Coop had told me he was going to give Arlene a second chance, but when I thought about it, I realized that it was a typical Coop thing to do. He might like to hide it, but he had a big heart, just as Mason had said he did and he went out of his way to help people, even, sometimes, when they didn’t deserve it.
When I asked him why he would hire her again after he’d caught her stealing from him he said that Al had told him she was off the coke and that he intended to keep an eye on her to make sure she towed the line. I thought that he was being overly generous, but Coop said that everyone deserved a second chance and I suppose I couldn’t fault that logic.
I would like to think that if I made a mistake, however big or small, I would have someone like Coop fighting in my corner—someone who would be willing to give me a second shot.
“Hey look, there’s Jackson,” Andrea said.
When Faith and Violet both looked towards the door, I followed suit. A tall, handsome man strode into the bar then got in line to buy a drink. He was the typical blond, tanned, all-American boy next door. He had a killer smile, all big white teeth, and boyish exuberance.
He looked our way and his smile widened.
“Oh, crap, hide me,” Faith said.
She lifted her menu to try to cover her face, but it was too late, he’d already seen her and his smile became practically euphoric.
“Did he see me?” she asked.
“Uh, negative,” Andrea said with a chuckle.
“Liar,” Violet added. “Incoming, incoming.”
Faith cursed again and Andrea spluttered a laugh.
My eyes narrowed. “Is he going to be a problem?”
I looked across the room to check that Coop was still seated at his table before returning my gaze to the man who was heading our way.
“No problem,” Andrea said. “Unless you count the fact that he’s got it bad for Faith.”
Violet let out a peal of laughter. “Yeah, he’s in luurve.”
I frowned. “And, that’s a bad thing?”
“Yes,” Faith hissed. “Very bad. Very, very bad.”
“Hi everyone. Hey Faith!” the man said as he approached the table.
Faith lowered her menu then offered him a polite smile. “Hey Jacks,” she greeted. “How are you doing?”
“Great! We’ve been real busy over at the ranch. Just got a bunch of new tourists in this morning. They’re staying ‘till the end of next week.”
“Oh,” Faith said with what appeared to be an attempt at enthusiasm. “That’s great.”
“It sure is.”
“Jackson’s family owns a guest ranch on the outskirts of town,” Andrea explained.
I nodded in understanding. “I see. Must be busy at this time of year,” I commented.
He shrugged. “This is usually when it starts to get quieter, but this prolonged hot spell we’ve been having means we can stay open for business longer.”
“Yeah? That’s great.”
Faith had started to lift her menu again as if hiding behind it could make her invisible to him, but Jackson would not be deterred.
“If you’re not too busy next week, maybe we could grab some dinner together,” he asked.
Coop passed by our table and let out a chuckle that was poorly disguised as a cough. What was that all about?
Faith’s eyes got about as wide as saucers. “Dinner?” she squeaked. “Uh, that’s nice of you to offer, Jackson, but I’m helping my mom redecorate next week so I don’t think I could make it. Maybe some other time.”
He looked disappointed by her rebuff, but he quickly recovered. “Okay, sure. I’ll leave you girls to yourselves. Good to see you again, Faith.”
“Yeah, you too,” she said. “See you Jacks.”
I waited until he was out of earshot then rounded on Faith. “Why did you say no? Don’t you wa
nt to go out to dinner with him? He seems nice.”
“He is nice,” she said. “Too nice.”
I scowled. “Hey, don’t knock nice. There are enough assholes in the world who don’t treat you right. There have been plenty of times when I would have killed for nice.”
“I like nice,” she said. “I just wish he was more…”
“More what?” I asked.
“Rough around the edges?” Andrea prompted.
“Wild and spontaneous?” Violet questioned.
Before I could add anything to the conversation, Mason, who I hadn’t even seen arrive, grabbed me around the waist, tipped me back then kissed me, his tongue pushing its way into my mouth. He kissed me like he hadn’t seen me in a month, not just a few hours, taking my mouth with a savage intensity that I felt in every part of my body. I wasn’t shocked by the hunger he displayed, just that it was so unexpected. I was breathless by the time he pulled back and set me upright on my feet again and my mouth was burning with fire.
I wished we were someplace private so that we didn’t have to stop.
“I missed you,” he said, his eyes smoldering with fire.
“Wow,” Andrea said.
“Holy cow,” Violet added.
“More like that,” Faith said on a sigh.
No one could have described Mason as being too nice that was for sure, but for me, he had just the right combination of rough, tough mountain man and sweet, sensitive soul. The more time I spent with him, the more I fell for him and yes that was exactly what this was, I was falling for him hook, line and sinker. The good thing was, it appeared the feeling was mutual. I didn’t know what the future had in store for us, but the one thing I could be certain of was that I was looking forward to spending it every moment of it with him.
The End
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About the Author
Ava Grace is a full-time writer who specializes in erotic romance and erotica, but she dips her toes in the waters of other genres too. She is British, but has lived in several countries and has yet to determine where she will finally settle. She shares her home with two very large, very boisterous cats. Ava appreciates each and every person who has taken the time to read one of her stories. If you have enjoyed something she’s written then please leave her a review, however brief. She’ll be eternally grateful.