“Show’s over,” he growled.
“Sorry, Mace, looks like you fumbled the ball.” Cole winked at his twin and tossed the forgotten ball in the air. “Good job, poptart. Should I run this back for a touchdown or call the game a tie?”
“Cole Tucker!” Meg scolded.
Cole wrapped his arm around Emma’s mom and kissed her on the cheek. “You’re such a softie. We Tuckers are built stronger than the McKay you married.”
“Shut up, meathead,” Connor growled. “My team gets the win. Your teammate didn’t play by the rules. This was supposed to be a game of touch football, not tackle.” He tried his best to come off pissed, but Emma could tell he was trying hard not to laugh.
“Yeah, totally my bad,” Emma said, then returned her attention to the man under her body. “I’m really sorry, Mason. Let me drive you to the ER. You really should have x-rays done.”
Mason slowly sat up, forcing Emma to roll off him, and rubbed his shoulder. “I’m good.” After a few breaths, he stood and plodded to the deck. Cole beat him there and opened up a bottle of Sam Adams.
“Nothing a nice cold one won’t cure.” Cole popped open his own beer and chugged half of the bottle in one gulp. “Damn, Mason. You got creamed by a girl.” Cole made himself laugh so hard he started choking on his beer.
“Prick,” Mason muttered.
“Okay, boys. That’s enough. Cole, you be nice. Mason, I’m bringing you to the ER,” Emma demanded.
“No. You’re not.” He stomped up the deck stairs and into the house, slamming the door behind him.
“What’s his problem?” Emma asked.
“Beats me.” Cole shrugged. “Probably hurt his male ego. He’ll be fine.”
“I thought he was different, but you freakin’ boys are all the same.” Emma snorted.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, Mason’s not…I dunno, he’s not like you and Connor. He’s more…” Emma shrugged.
Cole mimicked her shrug. “More…?”
“He’s different. You and Connor are all alpha-male like, and Mason’s sweet and shy and…” She wanted to say sensitive but knew Cole would interpret it as a negative quality.
“Sweet? Where the hell d’ya come up with that one?” Cole finished his beer and reached into the cooler for another. “I’m the sweet, fun one. Mace is a mouse. We’re all still trying to figure the boy out. He made buckets of money doing his computer spyware stuff in New York but moves back here and buys an ordinary little house. Had a girlfriend for a few years, but no one ever met her. He’s not happy, not sad, not anything. Guy is as emotionless as they come.” Cole munched on a few Doritos and washed them down with more Sam Adams. “I’ve been trying to bring him out with me, but he wants to sit home and make love to his laptop.”
“You don’t know what happened with the girlfriend?” Emma reached into the ice-filled cooler and pulled out a Twisted Tea.
“Nope. Whenever I visited him in the city, it was just he and I. Guess they weren’t very close. I picture her as a little church mouse, kinda like Mason.”
“So you got all the bad boy genes?”
“Damn straight,” Cole said smiling.
Hannah and Tucker squealed as Connor picked up a squirt gun and sprayed his kids with water. Emma watched the scene with a smile. She wished she had a brother or sister to play with growing up but was so thankful her mother had found someone to love and could start fresh with a new family. Part of Emma wished she was still in the city enjoying the party life that came with it, but she’d missed her relatively new family in Newhall. The sense of security she never quite had growing up.
Meg rushed up the deck stairs, worry in her eyes. “Sweetheart, do you think Mason is okay? Should I ask Connor to bring him to the emergency room? It’s really not like him to be so sour. He must be in a lot of pain.”
Emma hadn’t been around Mason much, but he always seemed somewhat sour around her. They were virtual strangers, never having the chance to get to know each other, but anytime she’d seen him, he remained aloof. Which made him all the more alluring.
“I’ll go check on him,” Cole said and went into the house.
“Mom, what’s his story? Mason’s.”
“What do you mean, sweetie?” Meg tidied up the food table, cleaning off drips of potato salad and brushing chip crumbs into the nearby trash can.
“Cole says he’s pretty distant. He and his girlfriend broke up a while back, but no one knew much about her.”
“Leslie? Oh, she was a sweet girl. I met her once when Connor and I took a trip to New York. There didn’t seem to be any fireworks, not that I would have noticed. I was still a little love-struck.”
“Was?”
Her mother smiled warmly. “Am. Always will be. And I can’t wait for you to fall in love someday as well.”
“He’s very different from Cole.”
Meg laughed. “Oh, you can say that again. Speaking of Cole…”
“Ugh, Mom, don’t you ever give up? We’re friends. That’s it. I’m going inside to talk to Mason. If he’s not going to the hospital, he needs to come see me for some physical therapy.”
“Sounds like a good idea,” Meg said.
Emma didn’t need to go inside, Cole and Mason came out. Cole with a grin on his face, Mason with a scowl.
“How are you feeling?”
“Fine.” Mason continued with his monotone, short responses.
Exasperated, Emma sighed. “Okay, here’s the deal. I feel totally guilty about hurting you. You won’t let me take you to the hospital, but you are going to let me take care of your shoulder.”
Mason stood silently looking out over the lake, avoiding eye contact with Emma.
“I want you in my office Monday morning for therapy. You said this wasn’t the first time this happened so I need to examine you. Feel around a little. We need to strengthen and tighten your shoulder.” Oh, she couldn’t wait to feel around a little.
“I’m fine.”
“Oh, my word! Seriously, Mason. Are you always this obstinate? If you don’t come to my office Monday, then I will go to your house. I’ll stalk you until you let me help. Do you understand?”
Cole laughed in his beer while Mason didn’t break eye contact with the lake, didn’t move a muscle. As if he was concentrating on something. On what exactly, Emma had no clue.
“Whatever.”
“‘Whatever’ as in you want me to hunt you down, or ‘whatever’ as in you’ll stop by Monday?”
Showing the first sign of life, Mason, turned his haunting eyes to her and said, “I’ll come by.” He walked down the stairs and out toward the horseshoe pits where his father and Kent were playing.
“Damn, I don’t think he likes you.” Cole laughed.
“What the hell is so funny? And why the hell is your brother so moody?”
“Hey, watch your language young lady, the kids can hear you,” Meg scolded.
“Ah, family reunions. We haven’t had any drama since your mom and Connor’s dating days. This is almost as good.”
“Whatever.” Emma sighed.
“Now you sound like Mason,” Cole teased.
She gave him a dirty look and marched out to the lawn to play with her little brother and sister, deciding to enjoy what was left of the summer day and ignoring the annoying, tingling feeling she got as she watched Mason bend down to pick up his discarded T-shirt.
About Marianne Rice
Marianne Rice grew up flip-flopping between southern California and southern New Hampshire. Nope. Not an army brat. Just a lot of life changes (which is great fodder for her books!) Talk about culture shock! She’s a city girl when it comes to style, but a country girl at heart.
She spends her time transporting her three kids to cheering, soccer, field hockey, basketball, lacrosse, and baseball. She works a full-time job, is a part-time chauffeur, a full-time cook/baker/cleaner, and a part-time writer. Math isn't her specialty, but she’s working on her ratios
and percentages, hoping to change a few things around.
Table of Contents
False Start
Blurb
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
About Marianne Rice
False Start (The McKay-Tucker Men Series Book 1) Page 21
