As the camera panned by the crowd, she saw two men she recognized.
“You've gotta be kidding me.”
Mason and Brian stood in between a few reporters. Mason had a satisfied smile on his face while he leaned over and said something to Brian.
George and a few patrons sitting at the bar heard her.
“I know those guys,” she said, pointing at the television.
“I was on TV once,” George said. “I won a math contest when I was in second grade.”
Kelly smiled brightly. “I have a feeling they did more than add two and two.”
If Mason were in his body, his cheeks would have been red.
He watched Kelly walk across the restaurant to refill drinks for table ten. It was surprising she was still working. He was quite sure he wouldn't wait any tables if he were in her place.
He wrestled with guilt as he watched her lovely figure. He mind slid in the past for many shady reasons. He spied on the doctors in the lab. There was that time he was fifteen and found himself in a girls' locker room in England.
Now he was watching Kelly.
Mason always believed the times a person revealed the most about themselves was when they thought no one was watching.
When she took her breaks, she was always alone. She would wait near the front door before crossing the parking lot, always checking for her pepper spray. There had to be a crowd in the parking lot before heading to her car to relax.
Mason sat next to her during her breaks.
Kelly was very pleasant to look at.
He loved her skin. It was obvious she was embarrassed about her pale complexion. He thought she was gorgeous. He guessed she kept up her running hobby after high school. She was in great shape. Tone legs, curves in all the right places.
She was five minutes late from her last break. The parking lot was empty of people, and she wouldn't go back inside until there was a family of five to follow.
Her kidnapping had changed her. Not exactly for the better.
The lab did the same thing to Mason.
He took a deep breath as he sat at an empty table and watched Kelly from a distance.
Brian was right.
He was in a shell.
Both he and Kelly were.
“That will change,” he said aloud.
He had never seen a restaurant after closing time. Most of the servers gathered at a few tables and talked about their war stories for the evening, how they made out on tips. Kelly grabbed her purse and followed a few of the cooks who left as soon as they were allowed.
He pushed through the passenger's door of her car and sat next to her.
He wanted to ride home with her, be in her company just a little longer. Then tomorrow he would call her.
Kelly unleashed her hair from her ponytail and undid all the buttons on her collared shirt. It took all of Mason's willpower to keep his eyes forward.
She pulled out her cell phone once she was a block away and dialed a number at a red light.
Mason laughed. “Not the safest thing to do in the world, Kelly.”
He heard a ringing. He was confused for a moment, trying to figure out how Kelly's phone could dial and ring at the same time.
He laughed when he realized it was his phone, in the apartment.
The first thing he saw when he slid back into his body was the huge head of a ferret, looking at him upside down from the arm of the couch.
Mason let out a little shout.
“Lucy! You scared the hell out of me!”
Lucy ran across his chest and jumped off the couch.
He grabbed the phone from the coffee table.
“Hello?”
“Mason? Hi, it's Kelly. Did I wake you up?”
“No, not at all. I was just, uh...So how are you?”
She laughed. A very sexy laugh. “I just got off work. I wanted to call, see how you're doing.”
He sat up, and forgot all about the post mind slide nausea. He put a hand to his head and let a out a low groan.
“Are you okay?” she asked. “We can talk later.”
“It's okay. I'm fine. How did you get my number?”
She was quiet for a moment. He could almost see her turning red in her car.
“I looked you up. You have a website. You don't mind, do you? We never really traded numbers or anything last weekend.”
Mason felt his confidence go up. “Yeah. Sorry about that. I'll be honest. My social skills aren't exactly the best.”
“I know what you mean. Listen, what are you doing tomorrow?”
“What's tomorrow? Sunday?”
“Yeah.”
“Cleaning.”
She laughed. “Let's do something after you're done cleaning.”
“What are you doing right now?”
“Driving home.”
“Let's go get a midnight snack.”
She was quiet. “Really?”
“Sure, if you're not tired. I can come get you. We'll grab a quick bite. I'll drop you right back off.”
She thought it over. “That sounds like fun. Give me a half hour to get changed.”
She hung up.
Mason gave Lucy a look as she watched him from the dining room table.
“That wasn't as hard as I thought.”
*****
Kelly was excited as she stood in front of the mirror and brushed her teeth.
It wasn't only the fact that she was getting ready to ride in a Jeep with a good looking guy, although that certainly didn't hurt. She was actually doing something. She wasn't sitting back and watching everyone else have fun.
She knew there wasn't a good chance of romance happening between Mason and her. That was fine. But just to have someone to talk to, someone to laugh with. That was enough.
Still, she wanted to look good.
There was a knock at the front door.
“Just a minute!” she shouted, not sure if he heard her.
She adjusted her blouse one more time and jogged down the stairs to the living room.
She paused as she passed by the couch.
There was another knock.
She slung her purse over her shoulder and kept it unbuttoned. Her pepper spray sat on top of her compact. She could grab it in a split second if needed.
She cracked the door open slowly.
It was only Mason.
“Hi.”
She breathed a sigh of relief.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Yeah. Sorry. I was just getting ready in the bathroom.”
Mason stole a look at her as they walked down the sidewalk. He spent three hours of his Saturday night watching her work, but that wasn't enough for him.
She looked great in a pair of tight blue jeans and a light blue blouse. The blouse had a wide neck, showing off her slender shoulders. He could imagine that beautiful skin under her clothes. She wore a little makeup, some eyeshadow.
They drove to a diner near Mason's apartment that was open all night. Kelly loved the open Jeep, the feel of the wind in her hair.
A waitress stopped by to take orders. Kelly noticed she gave an extra long look to Mason. She wasn't the only one who found Mason easy on the eyes.
After the waitress walked away Kelly gave Mason a smile.
“I saw you on TV at work.”
Mason tried to act surprised. “Really?”
“Yeah. At a news conference.”
He nodded. “A father tried to take his thirteen-year-old across the state line. He didn't hurt her. But he was a little...off-balanced.”
“And you saved her.”
Mason blushed.
Kelly thought he was so cute.
“I found her. I called Brian, and he and his boys did all the real work.”
Kelly wished someone like Mason would have looked for her when she was missing for two days.
As she drank her coffee, she felt small. Mason spent his day basically being a hero. She spent her day dreading work.
> “You must think I'm a sad little person,” she said. “Waiting tables. No plans on a Saturday night.”
He laughed to himself. She was no more sad than a man who spent his Saturday night watching the Discovery Channel and spying on a gorgeous woman.
“Of course you had plans. So did I. We planned to meet up and talk.”
She smiled warmly. After years alone, it unnerved her that she was so comfortable around Mason.
Why he was in the mental health center?
She was afraid to ask.
“I was always a loner, I guess,” she said. “Ever since my last few years of high school.” She shuddered at the memory of what changed her forever. “Something happened, and I kept to myself.”
Mason could see her fighting her emotions. “Kelly, there's nothing you could tell me that would surprise me.”
She loved it when he said her name.
“Don't be so sure.”
He smiled and took a sip of tea. “Try me.”
“I've hated you since I was nine years old.”
He choked on his tea. Kelly laughed.
“I take it back. Nine years old? I didn't even know you knew me.”
“I don't hate you anymore. My father would come home, and all he would talk about was you. It made me so jealous.”
Mason had to wonder what was said exactly. Hi Kelly. How was school? Today, I shoved a syringe into Mason and made him shoot his mind over to China.
“So, I was a bitter little kid growing up, all thanks to you,” she said with a smile.
Mason had to wonder where the humor ended and the seriousness began.
“I'm talking too much. I'm sorry. Tell me about your time in school.”
He laughed. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I want to get to know you, and I'm doing all the talking.”
“I only completed first grade.”
She lifted her eyebrows, but kept quiet. She waited for him to continue.
He was a little uneasy. He had only shared his early years with Brian.
He knew he was taking a chance in scaring Kelly away.
“My parents died when I was five years old. I don't remember it at all. We were hit by a bolt of lightning in the park.”
Kelly set her coffee down and leaned forward. She reached her hand across the table, but stopped short of his.
“Anyway, I don't know what Doc told you, but there was no in and out of Yingling for me. I was there from when I was seven all the way to eighteen. I never went to school at all.”
They were both quiet. Mason felt guilty. He shouldn't have dumped all of that on Kelly. The sad part was that wasn't even the half of it.
He probably came across like a lunatic. Only a crazy person would need to spend most of their life in a mental health center.
He wouldn't blame her if she got up and called a cab outside.
“I'm actually smart though,” he said, suddenly unable to take his eyes from the table.
He couldn't believe he was still talking. He willed himself to shut up.
Kelly's hand closed the space between them and grabbed his. He looked up to see her staring at him intently.
“You probably think I'm crazy, don't you?”
She smiled. “My father never said a bad thing about you. I don't think you're crazy at all.” She rubbed his hand before pulling it back to grab her coffee. “Don't take this the wrong way. But I feel like I've known you a long time.”
“I feel the exact same way.”
Seven years, to be exact.
They continued to learn more about each other as they laughed at their stupid jokes. Kelly liked action and romance movies, loved Italian food, especially lasagna. She loved tuna, running, and was allergic to cats. She didn't have a desire to travel, a fact Mason found ironic, since he could mind slide anywhere in the world. She also freely admitted to hating her pale complexion.
Mason smartly kept to himself how he thought she was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
Kelly had to laugh at Mason. She could tell he wasn't comfortable talking about himself, but he did open up a little. He talked about how Brian and Lisa basically adopted him when he turned eighteen. He slept on their couch for almost a year while he collected his first checks as a private investigator.
“So you knew you wanted to find children even when you were eighteen?”
Mason took a long drink of his tea to stall for time. He could see where this was headed.
“Yeah.”
“I have to ask. What got you into that? What eighteen-year-old wants to be a private eye?”
“Wow. Would you look at that?” He pointed behind her.
She turned to see a nearly empty diner. “What?”
“The clock on the wall. It's almost two in the morning.”
Kelly took that as it was time to leave. She flashed him a smile.
“You can't play mysterious forever.”
“Sure I can. I can't tell you all my secrets in one night.”
They left the diner. He held the door open for her, then opened the passenger's door to the Jeep. She rubbed the tops of her shoulders as he circled to the driver's side.
“Cold? Want me to put the top up?”
She shook her head. “It's a short drive to my house.”
“I'll go slow, so the wind doesn't kill you.”
That was as good a lie as any for driving slow.
He liked spending time with her.
They both climbed out of the Jeep after he parked in her driveway. She gave him a puzzled look.
“Just walking you to your door,” he said. “Not trying to make any moves or anything.”
Kelly nodded. At least his intentions were finally clear. No romance. She knew it was ridiculous, but she was relieved and disappointed at the same time.
“My front door's ten feet away.”
He smiled. “A lot can happen in ten feet.”
He walked her to her front door. There were goosebumps on her shoulders. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do. Did they just have a date? It didn't feel like a date. Were they really friends? Were they supposed to shake hands or bump fists or something?
He settled for a simple nod of the head.
“I had fun,” he said. “Have a good night.”
Kelly stared at his back as he walked away. He was the most strange, and most interesting, man she'd ever met.
“So,” she said. “Give me a call tomorrow after you're done cleaning?”
He turned around, confused. They had spent two hours together, and she wanted to see him again. Rather soon, as well.
“Really?”
She laughed. “Yeah, really. My number should be on your cell phone from when I called earlier.”
Mason smiled and waved as she disappeared into her house. She didn't know Mason already had her number in his memory after seeing it on a piece of paper in Barry's office.
He would definitely call her.
Chapter 14
Mason had every window in the apartment open. The breeze blew through his sanctuary. A string symphony played quietly on the stereo. He vacuumed the carpet, and was in the middle of wiping the coffee table when an annoying ferret jumped on the side he just finished spraying.
“Lucy, are you kidding me? Do you not see me cleaning?”
He could have sworn he saw Lucy smile before jumping from the table and running into the bedroom.
The phone rang. He checked the caller ID to see it was Brian.
“What do you want, old man?”
“Funny, funny. Hey, Lisa saw us on the news yesterday.”
Mason laughed. “She wasn't the only one.”
“Kelly?”
“Yeah. She noticed us.”
“She probably noticed me more than you. Listen, the game is coming on in two hours. Lisa is making homemade lasagna. You're coming over, right?”
“Believe it or not, I might actually have plans today. Kelly and I might do something.”
&nb
sp; There was a pause. “Seriously? You're actually chasing her? Good for you.”
“I'm not chasing anybody. We're just friends. But she's nice. She's fun.”
“Bring her on over. Does she like lasagna?”
“Yeah, she does.”
“Perfect. I'll see you later.”
Brian hung up before Mason could say anything else.
He shook his head, and wondered if Kelly would mind some time at Brian's house. She seemed to get along well with his family the one time they met.
He thought about his newest friend.
He had some feelings for Kelly. He could freely admit that to himself. If he was honest, he had a crush on her ever since they were sixteen.
She seemed to like him. Did she have feelings for him? He honestly couldn't tell. She didn't exactly flirt, unless a short touch of the hand was flirting.
As much as he wanted to simply reach out and hold her hand, he remembered her life was going through a blender. The loss of her father, her new house, her money. She needed time to adjust.
She definitely didn't need a guy drooling all over her.
He smiled as he called up a picture of her in his memory. He thought back to moving day, the only time he'd seen her recently in shorts. There were times he loved his exact memory. Standing in his living room, thinking about Kelly, qualified as one of those times.
Tone legs, sculpted arms, beautiful hair, creamy skin, just plain sexy. What was obvious from watching Kelly at the restaurant was she didn't believe she was sexy. It was odd to watch customers flirt with her, stare at her as she walked away, and she was oblivious to all of it.
How would she act if he flirted with her?
Would that make her angry? Would it be inappropriate? Just a little innocent flirting.
There was only one way to find out.
*****
Mason parked his Jeep in front of Brian's house. He made sure to keep a reasonable distance from Kelly as they crossed the street.
She stopped on the sidewalk, looking over the house and neatly cut lawn.
He turned to look at her. She looked great in her jeans and low cut blue tank top. She had a talent for making the simplest outfits look good.
She was obviously nervous. She talked the entire drive, which Mason found adorable.
Mind Slide Page 10