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Harper shivered slightly, holding her brush up so the movement didn’t affect her stroke. It was still a little chilly in the evenings, and she should have brought a jacket with her, but the sun had been out when Harper had left her house and she stubbornly refused to act as if it was still winter.
“Idiot,” she mumbled to herself as she stiffened her hand and continued adding another layer of color to her canvas. She was going to have to call it quits. Stupid weather.
With a soft sigh, she dipped her brush into the cleanser and began to get ready to pull everything down. She was sooo ready for summer. Even spring wasn’t cutting it anymore, though she was grateful for the markets. They helped keep the winter blues away.
She smiled to herself as she packed up.The first market of the year had been a dream come true. The customers had been happy to buy and Mason had spent an entire meal at her side. It had been lovely, but she knew better than to try and encourage anything. She still had so far to go with her business and despite bringing her dinner, Mason hadn’t spoken to her since that day last week.
For a bit she had thought that maybe her crush had been returned, but if that was the case, then why hadn’t he spoken to her since? Why hadn’t he texted? Or at least stopped by to say hi? It’s not like she was a world traveler or something. It wasn’t hard to get a hold of her.
“Maybe he’s been busy?” she asked the evening air. The excuse sounded lame even to her. If Mason wanted to speak with her...he would.
She sighed. Apparently, their little connection had been completely in her head. Nothing had really changed and nothing should change. Imagined connection or not, Harper just wasn’t in a position to date.
“It’s a little chilly out here, don’t you think?”
Harper jerked upright. She recognized the voice, but hadn’t been expecting to hear it. Spinning, she put her hands on her hips and did her best to fight the flood of pleasure pouring into her system. “I do believe that’s twice you nearly scared the living daylights out of me,” she scolded, though there was no real bite in her tone.
Mason chuckled. The low rumbly sound was glorious to Harper’s ears. “I’m sorry.” He put his hands in the air. “I really don’t know how you don’t hear me coming. I’m huge.”
Harper looked him up and down. “True enough, but geez.” She shook her head. “You’re going to give me a heart attack.”
“I’ll stomp extra loud next time,” he teased.
Harper laughed. It was then she noticed that his hands were full. “Taking a walk?” she asked. He held two steaming cups and Harper realized he was probably meeting someone. She had parked herself at the beach today in order to paint in real time, but there were several walking paths along the wild grass border, and a little closer to town was the boardwalk, which couples strolled all the time.
The pain of the revelation hurt more than she would have expected it to, since she held no true expectations in regards to a relationship with him.
Mason held up one cup. “I happened to see your car parked along the boardwalk while I was heading home from dinner and a little birdie told me you like hot chocolate.” He smirked. “Unless you’re different from every woman I’ve ever met, then you’re probably freezing right about now.” He offered the drink.
It was amazing how the human body could go from the depths of despair to the soaring freedom of the sky in less than a second, and Harper was shocked she didn’t have whiplash from the swift turnaround.
Slowly, she reached out to take the offering. The cup was warm and felt nice on her chilled digits, but it was the brush against his fingers against her own that sent enough heat to light a fire rushing through her veins. She just hoped that in the waning light, he couldn’t see it on her face. “Thank you.” She inhaled the scent of sweet chocolate and moaned. “Oh my gosh, I love hot chocolate.” Just friends, just friends...career, career, career.
Mason chuckled again. His eyes went to her canvas. “Is it alright if I look?”
Harper nodded. She used to be shy about anyone seeing an unfinished project, but she’d gotten over that. She might not be Rembrandt, but she was proud of her work, even if that meant it had to look chaotic before it looked finished. As an artist himself, surely Mason understood that.
Mason tilted his head, studying the painting. “It’s beautiful. Are you done?”
She shook her head. “No. I’d like to add a few waves in the water and some clouds over the moon.”
He nodded. “It’ll give it a deep and mysterious look. I like it.”
Harper smiled, pleased with his kindness. “Thanks.”
Mason sucked in a deep breath. “Can I help you carry things to your car? You looked like you were putting things away...” He trailed off as if unsure.
“That’d be great!” Harper chirped. Geez. She really needed to get a hold of her emotions. Just because Mason was being nice didn’t mean he wanted more than friendship with her. Right? Even as she thought it, the words felt false. She wasn’t the only one to feel this pull between them. What was she going to do?
Ten minutes later, they were trudging through the sand toward the parking lot, each holding something under one arm and a cup of cocoa in the other. “I’m starting to think I need to invest in a cart or wagon,” Harper said breathlessly. The loose sand was difficult to walk in at best. When she’d arrived earlier, she had made three trips to get her stuff out into a good spot. Hauling it all at the same time was a much heavier load and she was one-handed this time around. Oh well. This should help me have nice-looking calves, right? Maybe I’ll burn off a few of the calories from the hot chocolate.
“I’m not sure the wheels could handle the sand,” Mason said as he waited for her at the top of a small hill. Now that they had reached the grassy areas, it was much easier going.
“True enough.” Harper sighed. “I guess I’ll just keep getting decent workouts, huh?”
Mason’s smile could be seen even in the semi-dark. “Let’s look on the bright side. By the time we get to your car, the hot chocolate will be cool enough to drink.”
“Thank heaven for small mercies,” Harper agreed. Mason was right. After loading everything in her trunk and backseat, the hot chocolate was at the perfect sipping temperature.
“Mmm...” she murmured, letting the sweet drink slide down her throat. “This was really thoughtful of you. Thank you.”
Mason looked at the ground, shrugging. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. Just being friendly.”
The warm drink forgotten, the words were like a splash of cold ocean water to the face. Why? she scolded herself. Why should that hurt? You CAN’T have him. It’s as simple as that. A guy is a distraction that will only take you farther from your goals, not closer. “Well, it was really nice of you. Thanks.” Harper had the sudden desire to wash her own mouth out with soap to get rid of the bitter taste of the lies.
“Want to walk down the boardwalk?” Mason asked. He held up his cup. “So you don’t have to drink and drive?”
*****
MASON HELD HIS BREATH while he waited for Harper to answer. He wasn’t the type to do anything rashly, but when he’d seen her car and realized she must have been on the beach, he hadn’t even thought it through. Simply stopped, grabbed the drinks and hurried over the grassy rise.
He shouldn’t have done it. It was stupid and reckless and was probably sending the exact message that he didn’t want to send. The lack of information about his sister, however, was starting to drive him batty and Harper always helped him forget his worries. She was an angel and trying to avoid her pull was nearly impossible, as evidenced by his spending all his free time at last weekend’s exhibit with her.
He’d gone home with a wide smile on his face, unable to wipe it off for a full twenty-four hours. Even speaking to the private investigator hadn’t gotten rid of all his energy. It was utterly ridiculous.
“I’d like that,” Harper said with a smile.
Mason tried to keep his chest from puffing up with pride, but it was harder than he would have expected. “Great.” He tilted his head down the boardwalk and waited for her to start. The breeze was slightly chilly, but the drink helped keep him warm, though he worried about Harper. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all. “Are you warm enough?” he asked.
Harper held up her cup. “This is keeping me perfect at the moment.”
He let out a breath of relief. “Good.” He cleared his throat and put his focus back on the boardwalk. Now what? He had a stunning woman by his side, a warm cup of cocoa, the sounds of the crashing waves... Could anything really be more romantic? Or any worse of an idea? He mentally smacked his forehead. This wasn’t fair to Harper. Anybody could see that he had an interest in her, but only he knew that he wasn’t going to act on it.
Harper deserves better than that.
He cleared his throat again, regretting his hasty decision. “It’s getting colder. Maybe we ought to head back.”
Harper gave him a sad smile, as if she knew exactly what was going on. “I think that’s a good idea. I think the temperature is dropping a little too much for comfort.”
They were silent as they walked the short distance back to the cars. Mason wasn’t sure how Harper was feeling, but a sense of mourning had overtaken him. He was positive he and Harper could have had something beautiful. Something worth fighting for...but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it.
In his gut, he knew something had happened to his sister. Something horrific. She reminded him of Harper, in a way. Both were bright, beautiful beacons of light, making everyone in their presence smile.
But Aimee’s had been snuffed out when she’d run away after high school graduation. The day after the big celebration, she was gone. Only a small note, saying not to look for her and that she would be in touch when she was ready, had been left behind.
At first, Mason had honored her wishes. He’d been hurt, but had wanted to give his little sister her space. As time went on, however, he’d started to grow worried. Both Mason and Crew had started asking around, looking for her trail. It had been too long and she had been too quiet.
He hadn’t blamed Aimee for leaving. Their mother wasn’t the easiest person to get along with. Mason had survived by quietly going about his business, Crew had bulldozed his way through, ignoring their mother’s proper Southern teachings, but Aimee...Aimee had taken the brunt of it. As the only daughter of Mrs. Patricia Turley, Aimee had been expected to become yet another woman in the long line of Southern belles.
And she’d wanted nothing to do with it.
Aimee was much more like Crew than Mason. She enjoyed life to the fullest and flung happiness around like confetti, but whenever their mother was near, it all faded. She became quiet, subdued and someone that Mason barely recognized. Her desire to escape had come from too many years of not living up to their mother’s standards of perfection.
But it had been four years. There was no way she would stay away from her brothers this long unless something had happened. A year ago, Mason had finally given up on the idea that he could find her himself, and he’d hired a private investigator, but every lead had ended in disappointment.
She’d done a very good job of falling off the face of the Earth.
“Thanks for the cocoa,” Harper said as she unlocked her car door.
Mason blinked. He hadn’t realized they’d already gotten back. Heat crept beneath his beard as he understood he’d been stoically silent the entire walk. Well, that probably sent her the right message. He nodded and smiled. “We’ll see ya around.”
He waited until she had pulled out, then trudged to his truck. For the first time ever, he found himself angry. Truly angry. He didn’t want to let this thing go with Harper. He was tired of going home to an empty cabin, of spending his Sundays pouring over internet articles of unidentified female victims, of scrolling through countless social media profiles... He wanted his life to begin, and he wanted it to begin with Harper and him going out to dinner.
His cabin was dark when he got home, just another visual example of how he felt on the inside. His growling stomach only emphasized his heavy thoughts. “Why did you do it, Aims?” he whispered. “Why didn’t you tell Crew and me where you were going?”
He let his forehead fall to the steering wheel, his misery swallowing him whole. For just a few minutes tonight, he had basked in light and joy, but reality had quickly set in, forcing him to step away from the warmth of it.
“Where are you?”
No one answered him. Of course not, he mentally snorted. Get a grip.
Taking a fortifying breath, he went inside, turned on all the lights, flipped the switch to light the fireplace and headed to the kitchen. His place wasn’t glamorous. It was slightly rustic, with wood beams across his ceiling and Western-style blankets draping his couches, but it was his, and it was warm and homey. And right now, it was all he had. His sister was still missing and Harper was nothing but a distant dream.
Not even his best friend, Ethan, knew about Aimee and it would have to stay that way. Nothing said I’m crazy like having a perfectionist mother who drove her daughter off the deep end. It wasn’t exactly the type of conversation one shared over a warm bonfire.
Mason cracked a couple of eggs into a sizzling pan and began stirring them into scrambled eggs. They weren’t much, but they’d at least take the edge off. Not to mention he didn’t have the energy for anything else. Tonight he just needed to make it all go away. Aimee’s silence, Harper’s beauty, his mother’s pride...Mason wanted it all gone.
A few bites of dinner and a soft bed. He’d face his demons again tomorrow, but at least by then he’d have the strength to do what needed to be done.