Mason’s hand rested on hers, a gentle touch that brought her frantic swipes to a halt. He put his beer down and tilted her chin with his finger, urging her to look up. “Don’t apologize,” he said, his hand moving to her cheek then stopping before his palm pressed against her skin.
“But that was foolish of me.”
“It was an accident. It happens.”
“But if I was more careful. If I thought before I did things accidents wouldn’t happen. Accidents can be prevented.”
“Cassie,” he said, his voice soft and soothing yet curious and unyielding. “That’s not you speaking, is it?”
His question froze her in place. His dark green eyes held her captive. “I don’t know what you mean,” she said in a poor attempt to deflect his inquisitive mind.
“I think you do.”
“I…” she stammered, searching for the right words, but the intensity of his gaze made her stop talking. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she didn’t want him to know the wretched truth either. Those were things that she never wanted to say out loud. What would he think of her? That she didn’t have the courage to run sooner and that she still lived in fear every single day that her ex would find her and drag her back to that miserable existence.
She was too ashamed, yet she couldn’t seem to look away from Mason like a part of her wanted her to tell him. Let someone else help her carry the burden that she’d been shouldering on her own for so long.
She had no idea how long they stood there, staring into each other’s eyes. It could have been seconds, it could have been minutes; time didn’t seem to exist between them.
“Um, Mason?” his older brother said from the other side of the bar. The entire tasting room had gone quiet, and everyone was staring in their direction.
There was one thing Cassie hated above everything else, and it was unwanted attention. She shifted awkwardly from one foot to the other, quickly moving away from Mason till she got her bearings, grabbing an empty glass off the bar, and making herself busy.
“What? She had something in her eye,” Mason said loud enough for the room to hear.
A few oh’s sounded around the space, and within seconds everyone was talking and laughing again like nothing happened.
Cassie wished she could go on like the rest of them, but unlike them, she knew it wasn’t nothing. It was something, and she had no idea what she was going to do about it.
Chapter 7
Cassie finished cleaning up after a long shift and grabbed her backpack, ready to head out. She wasn’t exactly looking forward to going back to the campsite. In the beginning, the fear of being discovered kept her hidden safely in her tent, but now as the weeks turned into months, she was starting to get restless.
She missed pointless reality TV that she got sucked into every time there was a marathon on. She missed the mouth-watering scent of a roast that was about ready to be pulled out of the oven. She missed the privacy of her own bathroom and cuddling up on the couch with a blanket after a long day. Most of all, she missed the feeling of being able to sleep without one eye open. The carefree life she once had when she didn’t live in fear or regret.
It had been so long she almost forgotten what it was like, but no matter how much time had passed, she always held onto her memories of the good times. It gave her hope to think that one day she would no longer be on the run, and she’d be able to live her life happily and peacefully free of the demons that still haunted her dreams.
She hitched her backpack into place and walked through the tasting room to the back area where all the tanks for beer-making were housed. Mason was checking a thermostat and jotting notes onto a clipboard.
For a moment, she watched him so intent on his work. It was obvious he loved what he did and put an extreme amount of care and detail into every aspect of the process.
He had slipped out of the hooded sweatshirt he’d worn earlier, leaving him in an olive-green t-shirt that was loose enough to keep her guessing about what lie beneath, but tight enough that it hugged his biceps.
She couldn’t help but imagine being wrapped in those arms, his hands roaming her body, but she couldn’t decide if his touch would be dominating and strong or restrained and gentle. With a smile, she thought the latter… at least she hoped; she never wanted to be dominated again.
“Hey,” Mason said, knocking her out of her wandering thoughts.
“Hey. Everything is done so I’m heading out.”
“If you give me five minutes, I can give you a ride.”
“That’s not necessary. I can walk.” Truth was she hated that she didn’t have a permanent address. She was afraid Mason would think less of her if he was constantly reminded of her situation. She didn’t want him to remember her as the girl he found soaking wet walking in the rain and she didn’t want his pity. She wanted him to see her as the hard worker she was. As the woman she was before her life totally fell apart.
She had been looking every day in the paper for a place, but there was nothing she could afford.
The days were getting shorter and colder, but the date when the campgrounds would close for the season was coming faster. She needed a plan, but without the funds, her hands were tied.
“You could walk, but why walk when you can take a ride in my chariot?” Mason teased.
She laughed and the stress from worrying that had been weighing her down began to slip away. It felt good. “Hate to break it to you, but that Bronco is far from a chariot.”
“It has wheels and a fancy two-tone paint job.”
“Are you sure that two-tone isn’t rust?”
He shrugged, and she tried not to get lost in the adorableness of it. “Maybe.” He picked up another clipboard, wrote something down, then rested it back on a hook. “Done. Let’s go.”
“Mason, I can walk.”
“Then I’ll drive alongside you the whole way.”
She planted her hand on her hip. “You wouldn’t.”
“Try me,” he said, his green eyes twinkling with humor. She was tempted, but she wouldn’t put it past him. He had driven alongside of her that first day and even jumped out in the deluge to insist she let him give her a ride. He’d have no reservations about following her the entire two miles to the campgrounds.
Deciding not to argue any further, Cassie jumped up into the Bronco outside and placed her backpack on her lap.
Mason climbed into the driver’s seat and put the truck in motion. At the end of the driveway he made the right. It wasn’t the first time he had given her a lift, and she was happy that he never questioned her living situation.
“Any new batches you working on?” she asked, looking forward to him having something new for her to try soon.
“Getting the dark beers ready for the winter. I have a chocolate stout I’m really excited about.”
“Mmm… sounds good.”
“Hopefully. I’ve experimented before on a smaller scale, so I hope I got all the proportions right.”
Mason had taught Cassie during her training that any tweak to a recipe, including too much or too little of an ingredient, could alter the taste of the final product. He was a stickler for precise measurements.
“I’m sure you did. You don’t make mistakes.”
A laugh rumbled out of him louder than she’d ever heard, and it was glorious. His smile touched his eyes, the strong lines of his face softened, making him even sexier if that was at all possible.
“Now that’s funny,” he said.
“Tell me one.”
He turned his head toward her, his eyebrow arching toward his thick brown hair. “A mistake?”
“Yes, tell me a mistake you’ve made. I bet you won’t even be able to think of one.”
“That’s not true. Everyone makes mistakes, and I promise you I have made my fair share.”
“I’m waiting.” Up until this point, she was pretty much convinced he was perfect, even if the voice in the back of head was telling her not to believe it, but she ignor
ed the voice and listened to her gut. Mason Hayes was as close to perfect as one could get. So she was more than curious what mistakes he could have possibly made in life. It might even make her feel a little less like a failure.
“I’ll tell you, on one condition.”
She tilted her head. “I’m listening.”
“I’ll tell you one, maybe even two, if you tell me one of yours. And nothing silly like I forgot I was boiling water on the stove and set the pot on fire.”
“Wait, did you do that?”
“Maybe. Or maybe it was my baby sister.”
“That would be Daisy, right? The one in New York?”
“That would be the one. Hopefully she’ll be visiting soon, and you’ll get to meet her.”
Cassie had spent so much time hiding and not interacting with people that she actually found the idea rousing. Everyone in Mason’s family had been nothing but sweet and welcoming. His brother Matt put her a little on edge, but it was probably the uniform more than anything.
“What’s she like?” Cassie asked.
“The type who forgets she’s boiling water and sets the pot on fire.” He smiled, rubbing a hand over his face. A cheerful look tugged at his rigid features. “She’s the youngest, so she was used to always having someone to look out for her. Least responsible, impatient, manipulative at times, and rebellious, but she’s also kind-hearted and sweet. Everyone loves her. It was a huge shock when she up and left for New York.”
“Was it not planned?”
“We woke up one morning, and she was gone. Left a note saying she was going to New York and don’t try to stop her. She’d call us when she got there.”
“Did she?”
“She did, but despite my parents’ insistence, she refused to come home. Matt almost drove to New York to get her, but my grandma talked him out of it. Though, I think he was kind of relieved since he didn’t really have good history with New York. It’s been four years now, but she’s happy, so that’s all that matters.”
“She sounds brave. I think I’ll like her.”
“I think you will, too. Now don’t think I didn’t realize the tangent you got me off on.”
“Damn, I thought you wouldn’t notice.”
“I notice everything.”
“I don’t doubt that. Okay fine. I’ll tell you one of my mistakes if you tell me yours.”
He held out his hand, and she cocked an eyebrow. Did they really need to shake on it? He didn’t waver so she finally accepted it, not expecting the warmth of his touch to surge through her like a hot breeze on a warm summer day, igniting her skin.
He must’ve felt it, too, because he didn’t drop his hand, just held hers for far longer than a normal hand shake required. Finally, she pulled back, resting her hand in her lap, the after-effects of his touch still running through her body in sweet, delicious waves.
“I shot my brother,” Mason said.
“What?” Cassie gasped, clutching her chest. She turned in the seat to face him, mouth hanging open in shock. “Which one? Why?”
“Cooper. My mistake. I forgot to put the safety on. Also, it was Matt’s gun, and he told me not to touch it.”
“But he’s okay? I mean I met him he seems fine. No permanent damage or anything, right?”
“That’s debatable,” Mason said. “Luckily, it was a BB gun so it didn’t do much harm.”
Cassie punched him in the shoulder. “You ass. I’m over here thinking you really shot your brother.”
“I did!”
“A BB gun doesn’t count.”
“It should! Those things hurt like a bitch and can do serious damage if you hit the right spot. Cooper still has the scar. Next time you talk to him, look at the bridge of his nose and you’ll see it. Missed his eye by an inch. The doctor said he was lucky—one inch and he would most likely have been blind in that eye.”
“Where were you hit?”
“What do you mean?”
“You said it hurts like a bitch so I’m assuming you speak from experience.”
“You caught that, huh?” He laughed. “Cooper got his revenge the next year. Same stupid mistake. Didn’t turn the damn safety on. Except he got me in the arm. Bled like a son of a gun, but didn’t require a trip to the ER like his did.”
“Your poor mother.”
“We did kind of put her through hell. Now, it’s your turn.”
Where did she even begin? She thought it over for a second, but there was only one mistake that kept popping in her head, and before she could think better of it, she let the words slip out. “Trusting the wrong people.”
Mason glanced in her direction, waiting for her to continue most likely, but she didn’t want to elaborate.
“You know you can’t say something like that and expect me to let it go.”
Damn it. Of course he’d want to know more. She basically blurted out a confession and left it on a cliffhanger. Any person would be curious.
She took a deep breath. Honesty, Cassie.
“I kind of make a habit out of it. You think I’d learn from my mistakes at some point and I’m trying now. So yes, there is more, but I’m not quite so sure I can trust you with it just yet.”
He pulled into the campsite and put his truck in park. He was quiet for a moment, the only noise coming from his pants rubbing against the seat as he shifted toward her.
She looked up, catching those dark green eyes boring into her and making her weak under their intensity.
“You can trust me.”
A nervous smile twitched at the corner of her mouth. “I want to think I can, but I need time.”
“Fair enough.”
“Really? You’re not going to push me until I blurt it out?”
“Why the hell would I do that?” he asked.
“Isn’t that what most people do?”
“No. At least not a decent one. A decent person would respect your wishes and wait until you’re comfortable enough to share. If you have any doubts about me, know this, I’m pretty decent. Besides, I have a feeling you’re worth the wait.”
Heat exploded in her cheeks, and she dropped her head, letting her hair fall forward and create a curtain between them, giving her a chance to get her bearings in order.
A chill ran down the curve of her ear, into her neck and down her spine when Mason reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. She wanted to savor the moment. To relish in his touch, the gentleness, but learned behavior had her jumping back in momentary fear.
For the most part she could control it, but every now and again she lapsed into old habits.
“Hey,” he said, holding his hands up clearly confused by her reaction. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
Frustration ran through her veins. She might’ve found the strength to run, but she didn’t know if she’d ever be brave enough to wipe away the years of horrid memories that were engraved so deeply that they caused her to react instead of feel.
She hugged her backpack to her chest and leaned against the doorframe, trying to put as much distance as she could between them. “It’s not you. I have to go.”
She fumbled for the door handle, wanting to get away and not have to think about her ex or the way Mason had looked so wounded as she’d flinched away from him. He had to understand that it wasn’t him.
“Please,” Mason said, his tone calm and soothing. “Don’t go. Not like this.”
His words stopped her, and she brought her shaking hand away from the handle, cradling it against her chest like an injured animal.
“You okay?” he asked, and she hated that he was so sweet to her. Hated that no matter how kind she knew he was and that he would never physically hurt her, she still couldn’t shake the thought that he might.
“I’m okay,” she said her voice a mere whisper.
“I don’t expect you want to talk about it.”
Still cradling her shaking hand against her chest, she shook her head.
“I didn’t think so,�
�� he said. He was so understanding, and she had no idea what she did to deserve such kindness, but she hoped her gut was right for once. She really hoped he wouldn’t turn out to be like every other guy she ever fell for.
“Maybe one day,” she said, hopeful.
“I look forward to it,” he said, and she actually believed him.
Chapter 8
Mason knew Cassie was skittish, but never realized quite how bad it was. For the most part, she held herself together well and came across as strong and independent. But the way she flinched away from him—added with the other incidents—he could no longer deny that someone had abused her.
Looking into her eyes now, past the golden surface, he could see she carried a world of pain and a past that scarred her. But without her willing to open up to him, there was nothing he could do. He felt helpless, and it was a feeling he despised from the depths of his head to the tips of his toes.
He couldn’t fix her past, and she probably didn’t want him to, but he could do something about her current situation. Living at a campsite was no way for a person to live. She deserved a bed and a fire to curl up in front of. Plus, he had no idea how he was going to drop her off here tonight and drive away, acting as if he didn’t care, because he did.
Maybe a little too much.
It had only been a very short time since Cassie first came into his life, but she had gotten under his skin, and he found it was enough for him to care about her. To worry about her safety and be concerned whether or not she had all that she needed out here in the middle of nowhere.
The temperatures were starting to drop, and it killed him to think he’d be home in a nice warm bed while she was left outside.
“How long have you lived here?”
If he wasn’t so scared of her jumping out of his truck and taking off he’d take her home with him, give her a soft bed to sleep on, a hot meal to eat, and wrap her up in blankets by the fire. He would use all the strength he possessed to keep his distance, so she would feel safe.
“A couple months, but it’s only temporary,” she said. “I’m looking for a place now.”
Moments with Mason (A Red Maple Falls Novel, #3) Page 6
