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I scoffed and pushed past him so I could greet Captain with a hug and get his normal sloppy, wet kiss to my chest. I laughed and rubbed his ears while he panted happily. “How’d you find us? Huh? Are you a good search doggy? Yeah? Are you a good search doggy, Captain?”
Mason grunted. “He must’ve caught the scent of betrayal. Ben. Fancy seeing you here.”
Ben grinned. “Suckers.”
Justin and General joined us on the sidewalk and he scowled at Ben. “Dirty move, Benjamin. Sending us to the office so you could sneak away to be with Vi? Not fair, asshole.”
I picked General up and cooed at him. “And look at you, little man. Aren’t you so sweet? Being so good on your walkies! I’m so proud of you, buddy.”
Mason growled. “Hello? I’m standing right here, woman.”
Leaning into him after putting General down, I wrapped my arms around his chest and kissed him. Long and lingering, I didn’t rush it. I tasted mint on his tongue and smiled as I pulled back. “Hi.”
“Aw, hell.” He pulled me into his arms and dipped me before kissing me deep. He made love to my mouth and only stood me back upright when a car horn went off in the distance.
I giggled breathlessly, and fanned myself. “Wow.”
Not to be outdone, Justin pulled me into his arms and took his time tasting my mouth. By the time he really kissed me, I was clutching at his shoulders, desperate for more. When he finished, I stumbled a bit and Ben had to catch me.
“That’s a much better greeting.” Mason looked proud of himself as he watched me. “Judging by the marks on you, I guess Ben found a way to have his way with you.”
Ben smacked Mason’s arm. “A gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell.”
“We made a mess of Jack’s office.” I slapped my hands over my face and shook my head. “Why did I blurt that out?”
Another horn blaring jarred me out of our little group and I looked up to see the car that was honking was sitting at the stop sign across the road from us. The headlights made it impossible to see what kind of car it was, or who was in it, but it seemed like they were honking at us.
“Who is that?” Justin muttered under his breath as the three of them calmly positioned themselves in front of me.
I tried to move around them, but they were a human shield I couldn’t bypass. “Guys, you don’t need to block me from a honking hooligan.”
A car door slammed and the sound of kitten heels running across pavement struck me. It was a familiar sound. Thanks to years of listening to my mother speed walk everywhere in her own kitten heels, I could identify the sound anywhere. I peeked around the guys and my heart stopped. Those kitten heels sounded so familiar for a reason. My mother was rushing towards us, a horrified look on her face.
“Violet! Violet, honey? What in the world is going on here?” Rose Channing, my mother, sounded about as happy as I felt in that moment. “Get out of my way, you three. Move!”
Ben’s growl of a command came swift and sure, freezing my mother in her tracks. “Stay where you are. Come any closer and you’ll end up on your ass, ma’am.”
I pressed my face into Mason’s back and squeezed my eyes shut. I didn’t know what to say. I was panicking. I knew I didn’t have a choice but to come out and face her, so I wedged my face between Mason and Ben to look at her. Clearing my throat with the subtlety of an earthquake, I forced a smile. “Hey, Mom.”
The guys’ heads snapped around to me. Justin choked out a surprised question. “This is your mother?”
Mom let out an indignant huff and crossed her arms. “Of course, I’m her mother. And who the hell are you? Why are you kissing my daughter in the street? What in the world is going on here?”
Dad had parked the car and was making his way over to join us. He stopped next to his wife and stood there stoically as Mom continued speaking.
“Where is Forrest? This is the kind of thing we were worried about with you moving away with him. You aren’t responsible enough to raise a child without us. You should’ve left him with us. He would’ve been better off. Does he see this stuff? He’s going to grow up and think this is normal, Violet. Good lord. I can’t believe this.”
Ben let out an angry laugh. “Forrest is right where he belongs. Same goes for Violet.”
“Excuse me? Who are you and what do you know?” Mom inched closer. “That’s my daughter and grandchild. You need to mind your own business.”
“She is our business!” Mason raised his voice and then took a deep breath and tried again in a lower tone. “Violet is our business. So is Forrest. And you coming in hot like this, insulting Violet, is done.”
“Watch it, young man.” Dad actually raised his hand and shook his fist at Mason. “Don’t talk to my wife like that.”
Seeing things going poorly fast, I wedged my way out from behind the guys and pressed my hands against my stomach as nerves turned it jittery. “Mom. Dad. Stop. These are my…friends.”
CHAPTER 29
