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Before she could retort, he’d disappeared inside the house. Harley’s grin couldn’t have been scrubbed from her face with sandpaper—not that she’d want to give it a try. She spun around, both hands gripping the railing tight. If he wanted to keep this relationship quiet, that would successfully rule out several outings. She’d have to get creative if she wanted to find out what he had in store for her.
Harley stifled a squeal. This moment was made even better due to the fact that if her mother were here, she would be white as a ghost. Mason wasn’t exactly husband material. He wasn’t even boyfriend material.
Lucky for Blaire, Harley had no intention of getting that close to Mason. For now, she’d happily accept this strange turn of events until Mason, or she, lost interest.
And who knew when that could be.
19
Mason
Mason couldn’t focus on the book in his hand. His mind continued to wander to Harley ever since that kiss they’d shared. He knew he was going to regret it, but so far none of those pestering thoughts of guilt had reared their ugly heads. The nice thing about getting closer to Harley was that she’d more than likely be more amicable when it came to their daily chores.
But that wasn’t the biggest thing he looked forward to.
Harley had proven to be incredibly bright. But then, of course she had to be. She’d been accepted into a top school. Granted, she was no longer in attendance, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t cut out for it. If there was one thing he’d learned about Harley, it was the fact that she didn’t want others to tell her what to do—even the small stuff.
She was her own little rebel, and surprisingly, that little personality quirk was something that had drawn him to her in the first place.
“What are you doing up so late? Don’t you have to be at the Abrams’ ranch in the morning?” Elijah’s bitter voice was all it took to convince Mason to put down his book.
“I could ask the same thing about you. Don’t you have work to do here in the morning?” Mason’s focus flitted to the others who had come in with Elijah. Henry and Carter flanked their older brother, staring on with curiosity.
Elijah huffed. “I’ve never had any issue pulling my own weight here. Even when I started helping out at Scarlett’s dad’s property. You, on the other hand, have been doing less and less ever since you started working for Abrams.”
“Come on, Elijah, Mason is just doing what you did. Why are you being so hard on him?” Henry chuckled as he plopped himself on the other side of the couch. “You went out in search of something more.”
“Wrong. Lucas dragged me into helping out when Scarlett needed it. I wasn’t out looking to move away from our family.” Elijah shot Mason a dark look. “One day, he’s just not gonna be here anymore.”
“Maybe that would be smart,” Carter muttered. Elijah and Henry didn’t seem to notice the comment, but Mason’s eyes cut to his younger brother with curiosity. What did he mean by that? He’d just graduated a month or so ago. Maybe this was just talk from someone who was antsy to make their own way.
“I’m telling you, Henry. Mason here is going to abandon our family for that Abrams guy and his niece. Wade said that Mason is getting paid pretty nice. How much do you want to bet that the second Mason has enough money, he’ll be gone for good,” Elijah said.
Henry laughed. “Mason? Yeah right. He’s too busy with his nose in a book to come up with some plan to leave. He’s a Keagan. He knows we stick together, don’t you, Mason?”
All eyes turned on Mason, pinning him to his spot. If Elijah hadn’t made him feel like the criminal of the family, he might have told his brothers his plans to merge the two properties and add to the Keagan wealth. He’d tell them that he’d only agreed to help because it was too good of a deal to pass up.
Instead, he kept his mouth shut.
Elijah didn’t let up. “See? He’s feeling guilty. I bet he has a go-bag ready. What are you even doing here? You leave before the sun comes up and get back after it goes down. You might as well be living there.”
“Maybe I will,” Mason shot back.
“Don’t let him get to you, Mason. He’s just upset that you didn’t tell him first.” Henry pulled his hands behind his head and grinned at all of them. “The way I see it, any added income is good income. Eventually, that Abrams guy is going to stop needing Mason’s help. Then he’ll be right back here where he can exercise the horses and muck out the stalls when Carter here doesn’t do them well enough.” He chuckled, but no one joined in with him.
“I guess only time will tell,” Elijah muttered as he left the room.
Henry laughed after their brother had left. “Sometimes I wonder if he shouldn’t have been the first born. Ever since he and Scarlett got together, he’s gotten a lot more annoying. You know what I think it is?” No one answered, but that didn’t stop him from continuing. “I think he’s worried about providing for her. I mean, he’s got Scarlett’s family’s business to fall back on. I doubt they’re going to be as bad off as we were.”
Neither Carter nor Mason added to that statement either.
“Sheesh, what’s with you two? It’s not like punches were thrown. You guys need to lighten up.” He got to his feet and nodded to Carter. “Don’t forget we have to go check the fences tomorrow. There’s a windstorm coming tomorrow night, and we want to make sure all those posts are secure.”
Carter nodded grimly.
Henry whistled as he left the room, leaving Carter alone with Mason. For a full minute, Carter just stood where he was, then he moved farther into the room and sat down on the chair across from Mason. He hunched over, his elbows resting on his knees. “Why do you put up with that?”
“Put up with what?” Mason picked up his book again.
