AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, Mason. I’m sure that’s not how it was. Mothers are ingrained with the desire to care for their children. So much so that some of them turn out to be the worst kinds of parents.”
Mason shook his head, a derisive chuckle vibrating from his chest. “Tell that to the woman who abandoned her twelve children so she could run off with another man.”
Harley’s mouth fell open of its own accord. She couldn’t tear her eyes from Mason as she tried to make sense of what he’d said. “How… when…”
“Shortly after Charlie was born. She realized she didn’t want to be a mother, I guess. It was too much responsibility.”
“And your dad?”
“I’m assuming something similar happened with him. Either way, our family was left without parents.”
“Mason, I’m so sorry.” She gasped, her hand flying to cover her mouth. “I’m such a jerk.”
He shot a curious look toward her.
Blushing, she covered her face with her hands. “I can’t believe I said that stuff about your mom.”
“Oh. That.” Mason shrugged. “It wasn’t a great moment, but you also didn’t know.”
She peeked through her fingers. “I guess we both got an unlucky draw, huh?” Harley grimaced again. “I’m not trying to be insensitive. Losing a parent… that must have been incredibly hard.”
“It was.”
Suddenly, all the issues she had with her mother didn’t seem as bad as they could have been. Her mother was still the most controlling woman on the planet, but she was still around. She still cared about Harley, even if it was misguided.
“Well, I think you turned out amazingly well for what you had to go through.”
“It wasn’t all me, you know,” Mason said, moving closer to her. “If it wasn’t for Wade and Annabel, I don’t think we would have made it.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck and peered at her through squinting eyes. “Do you know how hard it was to feed twelve mouths while running a ranch? To have to feed the animals my parents didn’t sell off for drugs? You don’t have any clue the kind of privileges you were offered simply by being born into the family you have.”
What could Harley say? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She didn’t have the kind of relationship that Mason did with his family. Even though he complained about some of them, he still cared about them, deeply. Everything he said rang with truth. She couldn’t imagine what it would be like to go without just so someone else wouldn’t starve. Her work ethic was severely lacking. Mason barely had anyone to take care of him, and yet he turned out ten times better than she had when she’d been given everything. There was no doubt that he was a good man.
Better than she probably deserved.
Her perspective had changed. The things she found important had shifted. The money she wanted, the future she was clawing for, none of it mattered as much as being a person who could help the world be better.
Harley slipped her arms around his neck. “Have I ever told you how impressive you are?”
For the first time since they’d stopped, he smiled. “No, you haven’t.”
“Well, you are.” She tilted her head as a fresh wave of thoughts swept through her head. The money she was slated to get would do so much more if she could find a charity that would help people who were like Mason.
She didn’t dare tell him of her plans. Doing so right here in this moment could embarrass him or make him think she was manipulating him in some way. No, it would be better if she made plans for after she was given her trust.
“What’s that smile for?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she murmured.
“No, that’s definitely something.”
Harley shook her head. “Nope. I’m just enjoying spending time with you.”
He kissed her lightly on her cheek. “Well, I’m enjoying spending time with you, too.”
When he pulled back, her smile widened. “Does this mean what I think it means?”
