by Marie Force
They dug into breakfast while Mason waited for her to make her next move.
She didn’t disappoint. “What harm would come from inviting her to dinner with some friends? Everyone needs to eat, right?”
“You’re like a dog with a bone,” Quinn said, smiling at her.
“Woof,” Mallory said, returning his grin.
“I think it’s possible she’s been spending too much time with her siblings and cousins,” Quinn said. “She used to be such a nice girl until they ruined her.”
Mason laughed at the face Mallory made at him.
“They’ve taught me well about how to be a total pain in the ass.”
Quinn snorted. “They sure have, but I still love you, even when you’re being a total PITA.”
“Aww.” Mallory leaned in to kiss him. “Thanks, babe.”
Mason flashed them a teasing grin. “Barf.”
“Don’t change the subject,” Mallory said. “Ask Jordan to come to dinner.”
“It might be easier to ask Jordan than to put up with Mallory badgering you about it,” Quinn said, earning an elbow to the ribs.
“You might be right about that,” Mason said.
Mallory beamed with pleasure. “So you’ll ask her, then?”
“I’ll think about it. Now talk about something else.”
“I’d much rather talk about you and Jordan. I really like the idea of you two together.”
Mason signaled to Rebecca. “Check, please.”
Chapter 5
“You really ought to leave the poor guy alone,” Quinn said to Mallory when they were in his car on the way to work at the Marion Martinez Elder Care facility they ran together in an old school that had been converted into a nursing home.
Funded by Quinn’s obscenely wealthy brother and sister-in-law, Jared and Lizzie, the facility helped island residents remain close to their elderly loved ones who needed more care than could be provided at home. The facility was named for the mother of local businessmen Alex and Paul Martinez. Marion’s plight with dementia and her sons’ struggle to care for her had given Lizzie the idea.
“What fun would that be? He’s a nice guy. I want to see him as happy as we are.”
“Our kind of happiness isn’t for everyone. You know that by now.”
“I do know that, but Mason has been looking for someone for a long time.”
“And how do you know that?”
Mallory tried not to squirm. “I might’ve collected a bit of intel on him.”
“Mallory!”
“Don’t ‘Mallory’ me. He’s had some hard knocks on the dating front, and it seems he’s sort of given up lately. We can’t have that.”
“Has it occurred to you that maybe he’s happy by himself and prefers that to the hard knocks of dating?”
“No, that hasn’t occurred to me. Mason is one of the nicest guys I know. He’d do anything for anyone. He deserves to have someone who’d do anything for him.”
“You’re off the deep end on this, babe. He’s a grown man who can take care of himself. You don’t want to make him not want to hang out with us.”
“That is not going to happen. We’re friends. Friends look out for each other. That’s all I’m doing. And you mark my words—he wants to ask Jordan out. I just gave him a little push.”
“A little push,” he said, grunting out a laugh. “More like a shove off a cliff.”
“Would you consider a friendly wager on the outcome of my campaign to get him with Jordan?”
“So now it’s a campaign? I feel like I should call and inform him there’s been an escalation.”
Mallory laughed. “You’re very funny today, Dr. James.”
“And you’re seriously unhinged, Nurse Vaughn.”
“About that wager…”
He glanced at her before returning his attention to the road. “Hundred bucks and the sex act of the winner’s choice. Anything goes.”
“Way to make losing a win.”
Quinn laughed. “There’s no losing when it’s you and me.”
“That’s very true. I’ll take your wager.”
“Not that I want to bet against Mason, but I’m not sure I see him with Jordan.”
“I’ll bet you that within a month, they’re a couple.”
He reached out his hand, and she shook it. “No cheating to score a win. Let him figure it out on his own. Seriously, Mal. If you push him too hard, he’s apt to not even try.”
“True. I hear you, and I’ll try to behave. It’s just that I have a feeling about these two. I can’t explain it.”
“You don’t even know her.”
“Not personally, but I know about her.”
“You know what the media shares about her, which is probably mostly bullshit. She might turn out to be the worst woman he could possible hook up with, for all you know.”
“We know Nikki. She’s good people.”
“Yes, she is, but that doesn’t mean her sister is.”
“I know. You’re right—”
“Wait. Stop. I need to enjoy this moment. Could you say that again?”
She sighed with pretend exasperation. “You. Are. Right. But can you blame me for wanting all our friends to be as happy as we are?”
“No, I can’t blame you for that, and Mason won’t either as long as you don’t go too far in this matchmaking scheme of yours.”
“I hear you.”
He took hold of her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I love you for wanting him to be happy, and he does, too.”
“When Ryan died, I honestly thought I’d never be happy like that again.” Mallory had never completely gotten over the sudden death of her first husband and had long ago accepted she never would. “But when I met you, I realized it was possible to be truly happy again, even after the worst possible thing had happened. I can be happy and honor the love I lost at the same time.”
“You have no idea what you do to me when you say things like that.”
“I mean it.”
“I know you do. And I feel the same way. I’d given up on ever finding this kind of happy.”
She smiled at him, mesmerized as always by his beautiful face and the way he looked at her with such love and affection, even when they were locking horns at work, which they did often. “It’s your fault for making me into a total sap who wants to spread my happiness to everyone I care about.”
“I’ll gladly take the blame for that, but go easy on poor Mason.” Quinn pulled into the parking space designated for Dr. James and turned off the car. “You’ve planted the seed. That’s all you can do.”
“Of course there’s much more I could do, but I hear you. I’ll restrain my desire to sprinkle fairy dust and plant food on Mason and Jordan.”
“You’re more than welcome to sprinkle your fairy dust on me any time you’d like.”
Mallory laughed and reached for him, placing her hand on his face, turning him in her direction so she could lean across the center console to kiss him. “Thank you for all this. Our life is like a dream to me. I sometimes still can’t believe it’s actually real.”
“It’s very real, and it’s the best dream I ever had.” He kissed her back with the kind of passion they usually reserved for the privacy of their own home, rather than the parking lot at work where anyone might see them. “And PS,” he said when they finally came up for air, “I should be thanking you.”
“We can call this one a draw. We’re both thankful as well as old enough and wise enough to know a good thing when we’ve got it.”
His brows furrowed. “Who you calling old?”
“Countdown to forty-one is on, Doc.” They shared the same birthday on August ninth.
“We need to do something awesome that day. Like get married.”
They’d been so busy at work that they hadn’t taken the time to actually plan a wedding. “That would be kind of awesome.”
“Right? What better way to turn forty-one can you think of?”
“I c
an’t think of anything better, but let’s make it chill. Not a big deal—just like our engagement.” He’d put a ring on her finger one night in bed and said, “Let’s do this forever.” She’d been more than happy to agree to his plan.
“Sweetheart, I hate to tell you, but inviting your family alone makes it a big deal.”
“True, although I refuse to be annoyed by that, because I spent my entire life wishing for the family I have now.”
“I get it, and we need them all there. Maybe we can borrow Mac and Maddie’s yard and have a cookout and a wedding?”
“That’s an idea I can get behind. For sure. I’ll ask them.”
“So we’re really going to do this on our birthday?”
“We’re really going to do it.”
He caressed her cheek and gazed into her eyes. “I can’t wait.”
“Me either.”
After breakfast, Mason reported directly to Eastward Look, where his team was taking another look at the damage in the daylight. The roof was crawling with people when he pulled up, wondering if he would see Jordan while he was there. And why was he wondering that? Because of Mallory and her big ideas.
The last thing in the world he needed was her involved in his love life, not that he had a love life, per se. Which was the problem Mallory was trying to fix with her well-meaning meddling.
Near to the chimney, he could see a large scorched spot on the roof that hadn’t been visible the night before.
Mason parked next to another fire department SUV, removed his sling and tried to bend an elbow that wasn’t having it. “Ugh.” Fucking thing hurt like a bastard. He got out of his SUV and walked over to talk to Dermot Smith, one of his lieutenants. “Morning. How’s it going?”
“Hey, Chief. How’s the elbow?”
“Hurts like hell.”
“Dislocations are the worst. Will take a few weeks.”
Mason didn’t want to hear that. “What’s going on with the roof?”
“I wish I could tell you, but we can’t figure out what sparked the fire. The residents, Nikki and Jordan Stokes and Riley McCarthy, confirmed they haven’t had a fire in the fireplace in more than a week, so it didn’t start in the chimney. It’s baffling.”
“I had a thought. Have we checked the neighboring houses to see if anyone else had a fire or used a fire pit? Yesterday’s wind might’ve been enough to carry a spark.”
“I suppose that’s possible, even if it sounds like a stretch.”
“I agree. It’s a long shot, but worth looking into. The wind was out of the north, so check the neighbors to the north and see if any of them had fires.”
“Will do.” Dermot went off to see to Mason’s orders while Mason headed inside to get a closer look at the fireplace as well as the smoke and water damage.
Trip, one of the younger firefighters on his team, was working on cleanup. He stood up a little straighter when he saw Mason coming. “Morning, Chief.”
“How’s it going?”
“Good. I’ve managed to mop up most of the water, but the rug and furniture are a total loss. They’ll never get the stink of smoke out of them.”
“I’m sure they’d say that’s a small price to pay for saving the rest of the house.”
“Yes, sir. How’s the elbow?”
“Hurts.”
“I dislocated my shoulder once playing hockey. Hurt like a motherfucker.”
“That about sums it up,” Mason said, amused.
“How come you aren’t out of work?”
“Because I don’t need to be.”
“Hell, I’d be on the beach with a beer if I were you.”
“And that, my friend, is the difference between you and me. I gotta show up regardless.”
“That kinda sucks. I don’t ever want to be chief.”
Mason laughed. “You probably don’t need to worry about that.” Honestly, these kids were too much. They had hardly any ambition and needed constant supervision. “Finish in here, and then check with Lt. Smith to see what he needs.”
“You got it, boss man.”
Mason sighed. “It’s chief. Not boss man. Chief.”
Trip flashed a shit-eating grin. “You got it Chief Boss Man.”
Exasperated, Mason turned to go back outside as Jordan, Nikki and Riley were coming in. Mason’s gaze landed on Jordan. He was relieved to see some color in her cheeks this morning.
“Ladies, Riley.” Mason forced himself to sound normal when he felt anything but. How could one tiny woman have such a huge impact on him? “How’re you feeling, Jordan?”
“Much better, thanks.” She offered him a small, shy smile that made him want to beat his chest and protect her from all harm. And what the fuck was that about, anyway? “How’s your head and elbow, and what happened to the sling?”
“I’m fine, and the sling was pissing me off.”
“You need to do what they told you. Put it back on.”
Her bossiness was insanely arousing. “I, um, okay. I will.”
Nikki and Riley watched them with thinly veiled curiosity that Mason could almost feel coming from them.
“I’ll get out of your hair.”
“Would you like to come back for dinner?” Nikki asked. “We’re cooking Jordan’s favorite—pasta with veggies—as well as chicken Parm for us nonvegetarians, garlic bread and salad. It’s the least we can do to feed you after you saved my sister’s life.”
He glanced at Jordan and found her watching him with those big eyes that made him want to stare at her sweet face for the rest of his life. For fuck’s sake. He was off his freaking rocker, and it was all Mallory’s fault for putting ideas in his head that didn’t belong there. “Um, sure, thanks. That’d be nice.”
“Great!” Nikki clapped her hands. “It’s a date.”
Jordan rolled her eyes at her sister’s exuberance.
Mason loved that she could be sarcastic even when she didn’t say a word.
“Does six thirty work for you?” Nikki asked.
“Sure does. I’ll see you then. Oh, what can I bring?”
“Just yourself,” Nikki said. “We’ll take care of the rest.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you later.”
They moved to let him go past toward the front door.
“Put that sling back on,” Jordan called after him.
“Yes, ma’am.” He walked out the door smiling like a fool, which was always a bad sign that he was about to be played for one.
Dermot met him as he came outside. “You were right, Chief. The next-door neighbors to the north had a fire pit last night. Best we can tell, sparks from their pit landed on the roof and sparked the preliminary blaze. That put off sparks that were fueled by the wind that possibly landed in the chimney and ignited the creosote. I’ll be damned if I can come up with another explanation for how that chimney ignited.”
“It’s as good a theory as I’ve heard yet. Keep working the scene, and let me know what else you find. I’ve got a budget meeting with the mayor in twenty minutes that I need to get to.”
“I’ll see you back at the barn and will keep you posted.”
“Thanks, Derm.”
Mason got back in his SUV, put the sling on as Jordan had directed and headed for town while thinking about her, even as he told himself he had no business thinking about her. Women were a constant source of mystery to him and rarely behaved the way he expected them to. He’d been through so many heartbreaks that it was a wonder his heart still beat normally. And yet, he’d managed to somehow remain hopeful that someday he might meet a woman who wouldn’t stomp all over his heart.
In all likelihood, Jordan Stokes wasn’t going to be the one who changed his track record. She would be here only a short time before returning to her far more exciting real life. He couldn’t allow himself to be drawn in by her only to be left once again.
He’d had enough of that bullshit.
Chapter 6
“Let’s get you upstairs to bed,” Nikki said after Mason le
ft. When Jordan would’ve protested, Nikki added, “I promised David I’d keep you quiet today, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Because David had released her only on Nikki’s assurances, Jordan allowed her sister to usher her up the stairs, away from the pervasive smell of smoke that had hit her the second she crossed the threshold. After all the work Riley and Nikki had put into the place, to have it smell like that was heartbreaking to Jordan. She could only imagine how Nik felt.
“How bad is the damage?” Jordan asked.
“Not bad at all. A rug, the sofa and chairs will have to be replaced, but that’s nothing compared to what could’ve happened.”
“You leave me alone for one night, and I nearly burn the place down.”
Nikki steered Jordan into the room that had been hers since they were girls. “You had nothing to do with it.”
Not much had changed in there since then, which was actually comforting. Throughout a turbulent childhood in which she and Nik had been the subject of a fierce custody battle between their feuding parents and the many changes in the rest of her life, this place had remained constant.
The pink-and-white-striped wallpaper she’d chosen when she was ten matched the white eyelet duvet cover and the pink throw pillows she’d ordered from a catalog their grandmother had given them to decorate their bedrooms. She’d said they could have anything they wanted to make their island bedrooms feel like home. Gran had succeeded in her mission. Nowhere else had ever felt more like home to Jordan and Nikki than Eastward Look did.
“What’re you thinking about?” Nik moved around the room, picking up discarded clothing from the floor and folding it into neat piles the way she did every chance she got. Despite being identical twins, they certainly had their differences. Nikki was a neatnik, and Jordan was not.
“About decorating our bedrooms here with Gran.”
“I still get that catalog. They have the best stuff.”
Jordan changed into a tank and leggings and got into bed. Dr. David and Katie had checked on her repeatedly throughout the night, so she’d slept sporadically. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this tired. No wait, that wasn’t true. She did remember, and it had been the last time she got released from the hospital, after Brendan had beaten her up and broken her arm.
