The Blackstone She-Bear: Blackstone Mountain Book 7

by Alicia Montgomery

  Amelia tried to ignore the pang in her heart at the words. Where was the girl’s mother? What the heck was going on?

  Mason knelt beside them, placing an arm on Cassie’s small shoulder. “I’m sorry, baby. I told you, Mommy’s gone. She’s … taking care of her aunt in New York. You’ll be staying with me from now on.”

  Tears began to form in Cassie’s eyes. “But I want to go home!” Her mouth twisted as she broke into a sob.

  Mason rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Let’s just pick some sheets and go, okay? You need it for your new bed.”

  Amelia didn’t know why, but her heart ached, seeing more tears pour down the girl’s cheeks. “Wow, a new bed? That sounds like fun. And new sheets! Are you going to pick a princess one?”

  The girl stopped sobbing, and then turned to Amelia. “Eww, no.” Cassie grimaced. “I hate princess things. And I hate pink.” She looked down at her dress. “Daddy packed only my pink clothes.”

  She gave a little laugh. “You know, I hated pink too when I was growing up.”

  “You did?”

  “Uh-huh,” Amelia said with a nod. “My mom would always buy me pink everything. And I was kind of a tomboy. I loved going camping with my dad and my brother. Fishing, swimming, stuff like that. But Mom would always tell me to act like a lady and put me in dresses.” She laughed.

  “Does your mom still make you wear pink?”

  “What? Nah. When she realized I wasn’t going to ever like pink and princess stuff, she helped me redecorate my bedroom into something I liked.”

  “She did?”

  “Yup. She let me pick out my own bed, my bedsheets, and my furniture.” Amelia smiled fondly at the memory, and she missed her mother even more.

  “Could you help me?” Soft brown eyes looked up at her. “Please, ’Melia?”

  “Cassie,” Mason began. “I don’t think—”

  “Sure.” The words were out of her mouth before she realized it. She cleared her throat and stood up. Cassie immediately grabbed her hand, and Amelia couldn’t ignore the way her gut clenched. “Now, what’s your favorite color?” She clutched Cassie’s palm into hers.

  Cassie thought for a moment, then shouted. “Green!”

  Amelia laughed. “Mine too. Maybe we could start with some sheets.” She looked back at Mason, who was staring at her, his mouth open. She realized she must have overstepped her bounds. “I’m sorry,” she said, letting go of Cassie’s hand. “I probably should go—”

  “No!” Mason said quickly. “Please. I—we could use your help.”

  She gave him a weak smile and nodded. “Okay, well, why don’t we get those sheets?”

  Amelia didn’t notice the time, except that it seemed to go by quickly. She helped Cassie pick out some sheets, pillows, a blanket, and even some towels. Mason didn’t say anything; she hardly noticed he was there, except when she turned to make sure he was okay with her selection. He seemed relieved, only nodding and agreeing with whatever she suggested and following them around with the cart.

  Somehow, bedsheet shopping turned to clothes shopping, and she helped Cassie with a few outfits too. By the time they finished, Mason’s cart was overflowing.

  “Looks like we did good,” she said. “Right, Cassie?”

  The girl giggled. “I can’t see Daddy from behind the cart.” She looked around to make sure that Mason indeed was behind the cart.

  “Did you have fun, baby?” Mason asked as he looked around the mountain of stuff.

  Cassie nodded. “’Melia’s really good at picking colors and stuff.”

  “I’m glad to help. Now—oh no!” She realized that she had been so busy, she had abandoned her own cart.

  “Your stuff,” Mason said. “Sh—I mean, oh no. Sorry,” he said sheepishly. “Let me go find it—”

  “No, it’s okay.” She glanced around. “I’ll go get it. You guys go ahead and pay.” She ran off toward where she last saw her cart. Thankfully, it was still there, untouched. Amelia got behind it and pushed, then walked to the cashiers. It was Sunday and so it was quite crowded and she saw Mason up ahead of her. She got into the shortest line she found and waited.

  Amelia sighed and gripped the cart’s handle. What had she been thinking? Well, she wasn’t. It wasn’t like she was just going to breeze past Mason and Cassie when the child was obviously in distress and Mason was at his wit’s end. Really, she should have done that, but she wasn’t a stone-cold bitch. And, seeing Cassie’s face light up as she talked and smiled made her feel better, too.

  But she shouldn’t be feeling this way. She needed to stay away from Mason, not push her way into his life. He had made his choice long ago, that was obvious, and even if he was already divorced, it shouldn’t matter. He currently had his hands full.

  It seemed like she had waited forever, but finally, it was her turn. Mason and Cassie were probably long gone by now. The cashier rang her up and ran her credit card, and Amelia filled her cart with all her bags and headed out.

  As soon as the doors slid open, she got the shock of her life. Mason, with Cassie in his arms, stood there, blocking her way. God, did the man not have any bad side? In his leather jacket, beanie, and white shirt—carrying a toddler, of all things—he looked even better, giving off that hot single dad vibe.

  “Mason?” she asked. “I thought you’d left.”

  He gave her a sheepish smile. “Cassie wouldn’t let us leave until she thanked you.”

  Cassie pouted. “It’s not polite. I told Daddy that.”

  “You didn’t have to wait for me,” Amelia said as she pushed her cart out of the way to let the shoppers behind her through.

  “She said it couldn’t wait.”

  “And also, we should thank you by buying you dinner. Right, Daddy?”

  “Right.”

  “There’s no need for that, I didn’t do anything,” she insisted.

  “You like tacos, right?” Cassie said. “Daddy said you love tacos and that one time you ate ten in one sitting.”

  Amelia went red. “You remembered,” she whispered to Mason.

  “Of course I did.” He flashed her a smile that made her heart flip-flop. “So, there’s a taco place next door. We can help you load up, and then have dinner, then drive back to Blackstone. What do you say?”

  “Pwease, ’Melia?” Cassie pleaded.

  It was obvious what her answer would be. “All right.” She grinned at Mason. “I never could resist tacos.”

  Dinner went as well as Amelia could hope for, or even better. She didn’t know if having Cassie there as a buffer helped, but surprisingly, she didn’t feel any awkwardness or unease being around Mason. He was attentive to Cassie, making sure she was okay, getting her a high chair and ordering for her. In fact, he was the perfect father, and Amelia couldn’t help but admire him. Mason may have been a lying asshole, but it was obvious he cared for his daughter.

  But she’s not his daughter.

  Amelia was still confused. But, if Mason wanted to go on pretending that Cassie was his, then it was none of her business.

  “Wow!” Cassie exclaimed. “You really can eat ten tacos!”

  Amelia smiled as she wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Girls can do anything, you know.” Never mind that Mason ate twice as much as she did. “Did you like all the stuff you picked out for your bed?” she asked.

  “Yeah!” She raised her fist in triumph. “And once we get the bed and my stuff set up, that mean dragon lady won’t try to take me away.”

  “Mean dragon—” Amelia only knew of one dragon lady in town. What was going on?

  Mason cleared his throat. “Cassie, baby. Looks like you finished your plate, even your veggies.” Mason reached over to release her from the high chair. “Why don’t you go play in the kids section?” He nodded to the corner in the restaurant, which served as a play area for children.

  “Yay!” Cassie, happy to be released from the constricting chair, ran off toward the play area.

>   “I owe you an explanation,” Mason began as soon as Cassie was gone. He kept glancing over to where his daughter was playing, keeping an eye on her.

  “You don’t owe me anything,” she said. “But I am curious as to why Cassie thinks Sybil’s going to take her away from you.”

  “And you’re probably wondering why she’s human.”

  She shrugged. “Again, that’s not my business.”

  He let out a sigh. “When I … went back to see Jenna, my CO and her uncle, Admiral Peters, ‘encouraged’ me to do the right thing,” he scoffed. “And so, I married her.”

  Amelia felt her throat close. This wasn’t what she wanted to hear right now, and she considered getting up and leaving, but when she looked at Cassie as she was on a rocking horse, the girl waved at her. She flashed her a tight smile back.

  “I went back to my deployment after the wedding. Like, right after the ceremony. I was gone for months, not taking any leave. I couldn’t stand her and what happened. Finally, I went back when Cassie was born.” His eyes glinted like hard ice. “Jenna acted all normal, I knew something was wrong the moment I looked at Cassie. She didn’t smell right.”

  Although most shifters didn’t start turning into their animals until they were about three or four, it was always easy for a shifter to tell if a baby was one of theirs. The smell of fur or feathers was one sign, but generally, shifters had that immediate instinct that they could just tell if someone was a shifter or not.

  “I confronted her right then and there. She didn’t realize that I would be able to tell that Cassie wasn’t mine.”

  Amelia’s heart began to race. And she wanted to feel angry. She clenched her fists under the table as the implication of what he was saying was sinking in.

  “I hated her. Hated everything. I ran, but my CO and the Admiral, plus Jenna’s parents, came to me. They told me I had to do the right thing again. I told them to go stick it where the sun don’t shine. I went back to get my things at the house and I wanted to just leave. But”—his eyes tracked back to Cassie, happily playing and oblivious to what was going on—“when I laid eyes on her again, I knew I had to do the right thing. Not for Jenna, but for her. Without me, Cassie would have been neglected and abused. But it happened anyway.”

  Her breath caught in her throat, and despite the maelstrom of emotions within her, Amelia managed to keep it together. “What happened?”

  “Remember the other night at The Den, when I said I had to go?” She nodded. “That was CPS calling.”

  Mason relayed to her what had happened in the last couple of days. About Cassie’s mom going on the run and abandoning her. Oh, rage was coursing through Amelia’s veins all right. Rage towards that selfish bitch.

  “And now, I need to get my act together before the social worker from the welfare office—Sybil—comes for her first home visit.” He looked down at his empty plate, eyes somber.

  “Sybil’s strict, but fair,” she said. She wanted to reach out and reassure him, but instead kept her hands in her lap. “You show her you’re doing the best you can, and she’ll understand.”

  “That’s what Tim said, but that’s just the first hurdle.” Mason clasped his hands on the table. “I need to get a job—a real one—and then get someone to look after Cassie. Money won’t be tight anymore, but I’m not swimming in it.”

  “Did you try to get a job at the mines? You know my brother—”

  “That’s why I didn’t go,” he confessed.

  “Well, that’s a stupid reason,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “You’re going to let the authorities take her away because of …” Because what? Ben didn’t know what happened to her or had even met Mason.

  “Amelia … about that. We need to talk about what happened four years ago. I wanted to tell you—”

  “Daddy!” Cassie ran back to them, barreling into her father’s arms. “Daddy, I’m tired. Can we go home now?” She lay her head on Mason’s shoulder, her eyes struggling to stay open.

  “Sounds like a great idea.” Amelia’s knees felt like jelly, but she managed to stand up. “I have an early day tomorrow. Cassie, I hope you like the bed sheets. I promise you, that dragon lady isn’t mean at all. Thanks for the dinner, guys.” She didn’t dare look at Mason. The whole time, as she exited the restaurant, she could feel his stare, which only made her walk faster.

  She made it to her car, managing to keep it together until she locked herself inside. When she was finally alone, she let out a sob, and she laid her head on the steering wheel.

  All this time … Mason didn’t have to … She couldn’t think straight. There was a roaring in her ears that was deafening and the tears came harder. The icy feeling inside her broke, replaced with pure, white-hot rage.

  But she wasn’t mad at Mason or his mistakenly thinking that Cassie would be his. No, the truth was, she would have respected him less if he didn’t step up. He did what he thought was right at the time—the decent thing to do. Just like her dad did with Ben.

  Amelia calmed herself, wiped the tears away, and started her car. Mason was getting his life back together, and so was she. She supposed Blackstone would be big enough for the both of them, and she could avoid them or at least pretend that nothing bothered her. Besides, what was she expecting? A happy ever after with Mason? He had a lot on his plate and she wasn’t sure she could even feel anything again after what had happened.

  She put the gear into drive, but before she could step on the gas, her phone rang. She frowned at the unfamiliar number. “Hello?”

  “Amelia, are you okay?”

  Mason? How did he … oh right. She never changed her number. She deleted his, but apparently, he still had hers. “I’m fine.” Act normal. “What’s up?”

  “I was trying to tell you—”

  “Hey, you know what? I have a great idea!” She had to deflect the conversation. This was not happening. She didn’t want to talk about what had happened four years ago. “For Cassie. Sybil will approve, I promise you.”

  “Oh. What’s that?”

  “Well, Lennox Corp. has this excellent day care facility. Super safe and Cassie can be around other kids. It’s great, my cousin has his kid there.”

  “But I’m not an employee.”

  “You will be if you get a job at the mines. Mason, there’s really no reason for you not to work there, if you need the job.”

  “You don’t have to do me any favors,” Mason said. “Not after—”

  “Don’t worry about it okay? I’ll take care of it, and I’ll have them call you. You won’t even have to talk to Ben. Oops! My red light turned green, gotta go!” She hung up, heaved a sigh, then stepped on the gas, driving out of the parking lot.

  Her grip tightened on the wheel. She wasn’t sure why she offered to help. Ben wouldn’t mind of course, especially if he knew Mason’s circumstances and that he was Tim’s nephew. She knew she didn’t have to help him, in fact, anyone else in her position would have said “tough luck” and gone on their way.

  “It’s for Cassie,” she said aloud, trying to convince herself.

  Chapter Eight

  Mason walked through the modern glass doors of The Lennox Corporation headquarters, located just at the edge of Blackstone. He waved to the receptionist as he walked by and the young woman returned the gesture, recognizing him. He headed straight to the elevators that took him to the second-floor day care facility.

  It was hard to believe that two weeks had passed. There was still no word on Jenna and Doug. The detective on the case had given him an update, saying they suspected they had snuck across the border. But, Mason didn’t give a fuck. Jenna and Doug could stay in Mexico, drink Mai Tais on the beach or whatever the fuck they want. He had Cassie, and that was all that mattered.

  The one person who he did want to hear from, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. After that night at the restaurant, Amelia didn’t call or message. He contemplated calling her, but the way she ran out at the restaurant, it was obvi
ous she needed the space. He shouldn’t have told her everything and there were still so many things left unspoken between them. Mason didn’t want to hurt her more than he already had.

  But, as she promised, someone called him and asked him to come in for an interview at the Blackstone mines.

  Mason decided to swallow his pride, for Cassie’s sake. As Amelia promised, he was interviewed by another manager, and not her brother. He started work the very next day, helping with the processing of the blackstone. He had yet to see the actual mining, as that part was reserved for the more senior employees. It was part-time for now, but it was work. Plus, he also worked the bar at The Den. Tim helped him find someone to look after Cassie during the evenings, an elderly wolf shifter lady who lived not far from their place. It was only on weekends and a couple hours, but it was extra money, so he couldn’t say no. He was just glad he would have enough money to rent a two-bedroom apartment soon, possibly by the time Sybil Lennox came for her second home visit.

  Just as Tim and Amelia had said, Sybil Lennox was firm, but fair. She came in, all business-like, and acted professionally. She was extra nice to Cassie, which he appreciated and treated Mason like they had never met before. She said everything seemed to be in order, but did say she would be making regular visits, at least for the next six months. For a moment, he thought he saw her face soften and even wished him good luck. It was probably because as Cassie’s caseworker, she knew everything that had happened. He wasn’t looking for sympathy, but he’d take them if it helped him score points with the she-dragon.

  The elevator doors slid open and Mason walked toward the Lennox Day Care Center, signed in at the security desk, and then walked through the glass door when he heard the buzz.

  The waiting room was empty, as it was still early. He wasn’t working at the mines today, so he thought he’d sign Cassie out before five and have an early dinner before dropping her off at the babysitter’s.

  “Mason, how nice to see you.” Irene, the woman in charge of the day care center, came out to greet him. “Cassie’s just getting her things together. She’ll be—”