9

 

Mason shook sawdust from his hair and grimaced. It was nearly noon and Josie had yet to show at Posts and Pages. In fact, she hadn’t shown for three days running, but had relegated tasks to her college help, instead. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was avoiding him.

Maybe she was, and he guessed he deserved it. He’d had the chance to move forward with her, and he’d failed miserably, letting her slip away once again. But he refused to lie to her, and the truth was that he just didn’t know what he planned to do when he was finished with the job in Willow Lake. So much played into the mix, with most of it beyond his control. A guy didn’t just pick up stakes and leave a business he’d built from the ashes because he wanted to. He had bills to pay and customers waiting. He had to make a living.

The bell over the front door jangled as Ryder strode through, carrying Rory in his arms. “Hey, Mace.”

“Hey yourself.” Mason drew a carpenter’s pencil from his back pocket and used it to scribble a note on a small pad of paper. “What’s going on?”

“I finished a job this morning and had to run by the pediatrician for Rory’s check-up. I noticed your truck out front so I thought I’d head in to see if you need any help.” Ryder smoothed a hand over the counter of the new information kiosk that Mason had just finished installing. “The place is really shaping up. It looks amazing in here. What does Josie think?”

“How should I know?” Mason tossed the pencil and pad onto the kiosk. “She hasn’t come around in three days.”

“That’s not like her.” Ryder’s gaze narrowed as he jostled Rory onto one hip. “I’ve never known her to miss work for more than a day at a time. What did you do?”

“Me? Why do you assume I did something? And, your kid’s drooling.” Mason pointed toward the baby’s puckered mouth as he jammed one fist between his lips and gnawed. “What’s up with that?”

“He’s teething.” Ryder wadded the hem of his T-shirt and swiped the tiny mouth. “It comes with the territory and makes him fussy as all get-out.”

“Well, I didn’t do anything to Josie.” He studied Rory, who gazed up with dark, innocent eyes shadowed in a wave of chocolate curls. The kid was cute, even in his fussy mood. Mason couldn’t help but smile. “Why is it my fault?”

“Who said anything about fault?” Ryder jostled the baby gently on one hip as he began to squall. “But since we’re on the subject…”

“She started pressuring me.”

“Pressuring? That doesn’t sound like Josie, either. Are you sure you didn’t misunderstand?”

“Of course I didn’t misunderstand.” Mason reached for Rory. “Let me take him for a few minutes. I think you can use a little help.”

“Have at it.” Ryder handed over the baby, grinning as he wiped his spittle-slimed hands along the thighs of his jeans. “Maybe you have the magic touch.”

“Of course I have the magic touch. Kids and dogs…they both love me.”

He paced in a small circle, pausing to gaze through the display glass as a cardinal flitted by. The burst of red captured Rory’s attention. The baby’s squall stilled, and he sighed as he gobbled his fist, his head lolling to rest on Mason’s shoulder. “Why are you taking her side, anyway?”

“I’m not taking anybody’s side.” Ryder ambled over to the coffee counter and poured himself a cup. “I’m just asking questions.”

“Well, I don’t have any answers.” Rory felt warm in his arms. Mason splayed one hand along his back and felt the slight rise and fall of each tiny breath. “And that stinks, because Josie’s asking questions, too.”

Ryder drew a sip of coffee, grimaced. “Ugh, this brew is terrible, and cold.”

“I know. No one makes it like Josie. Talk about a magic touch.”

“So, what has she been asking?”

“I don’t know. I was at her place the other night, grilling steaks and enjoying the conversation. Everything was good…more than good. Then, suddenly she shows me this rose bush she planted in memory of my mom. I have to admit, it got me a little choked up. We started dancing—“

“Wait a minute. You danced with her, out on the deck?”

“Sure. Why not?”

“Just getting all the facts straight. OK, continue.”

“And out of the blue she starts asking me stuff that I can’t answer…What do I want? What do I plan to do when I’m finished here?”

“You’re gonna dance with a woman on the deck, beneath the stars, I think she has a right to ask questions like that.”

Mason dumped the ruined coffee into the sink and tossed the foam cup into the trash.

“Sounds fair enough, all things considered,” Ryder said.

“It’s not fair. It’s…tough.”

“Nobody ever said relationships were easy.”

“Right.” A glance to the side told Mason that Rory had fallen asleep with his fist stuffed into his tiny mouth. “The kid’s out cold.”

“I see that.” Ryder grinned. “OK, maybe you do have the magic touch. But you’ll have to get one of your own, because he’s mine. So why do a few questions have you so riled?”

“I’m not riled. I’m just…frustrated.” Mason felt like picking up his hammer and pounding a box of nails, one by one, into a two-by-four. “I can’t just drop everything in Atlanta and move back here because I’ve fallen in love.”

“Wait. Whoa. What did you just say?”

“I said, I can’t just drop everything in Atlanta and move back here because—” Realization dawned like a punch to the gut. “Oh, no…oh, great…”

“Easy there. Don’t wake my son.” Ryder burst into easy laughter. “But you’ve got it bad, Mace.”

Mason felt as if he’d just leapt from the ledge of a high rise. He clung to the baby, who was a perfect fit bundled in his arms. It gave him pause. “What am I going to do?”

“I suppose that’s something you will have to decide.” Ryder reached over to take Rory from him. “And sooner better than later, my friend.”

 

****

 

“I feel terrible.” Josie grabbed the kettle from the burner as it began to shriek. She splashed steaming water into the teacup Ali handed her and dipped a bag of Earl Grey. “I haven’t been to Posts and Pages for three days. That’s a record for me. With the pace that Mason’s been working, he’s probably finished with the project by now.”

“There’s only one way to find out.” Ali selected a bag of chamomile and poured a second steaming mug. “You can’t stay away forever.”

“I know. But I feel like such a fool for letting him in again. I should have known better. It’s just, we were talking, and then he asked me to dance—”

“Right out there?” Ali pointed to the sliding glass door. “On your deck? How romantic.”

“It was…nice. At least until he kissed me. And then I jammed my foot firmly in my mouth—”

“Wait. Whoa. Back up.” Ali’s tea sloshed over the rim of her cup. “He kissed you?”

“Yes. Twice…or maybe three times. I lost count.”

“You lost…oh my.” Ali slipped into a chair at the kitchen table. “Did he tell you for sure that he’s not going to stay here when he’s finished at Posts and Pages?”

“No. He said he didn’t know.”

“Well, in Mason’s defense, he has a life in Atlanta and a business to run, with employees who are depending on him. If the situation was reversed, would you be able to walk away from Posts and Pages so easily?”

“No, but—”

“Then it’s not fair to expect that from Mason.” Ali sighed and sipped her tea. “Would you consider moving to Atlanta?”

“I don’t know…I’m not sure. I love it here, with all of you.” Josie picked up a teaspoon and added sugar to her cup, stirring briskly. “Oh, it’s just so hard.”

“You have to talk to him, Josie. It’s the only way.”

“I suppose you’re right. And I can’t stay away from the shop any longer. Inventory is due, and I have orders to place and the book club about to start. Audrey’s losing her mind trying to hold it all together. She called me half-a-dozen times today.”

“There’s your sign.”

“I’ll go…tomorrow.”

“Good. You two definitely need to talk this out and sooner, better than later.”