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sp; Except that he’d screwed up a few times. Seriously screwed up. There was the marriage that hadn’t worked, a sister he’d promised to protect but who was constantly in trouble, a few bad deals and his daughter. His heart twisted at the thought of Dee Dee. So beautiful. So bright. So neglected. But no more. Dee Dee deserved security and a home. Here, with him. She couldn’t be forever uprooted as Terri chased after this man or that dream. Nope. That part of his life he intended to settle today.
As for Patty, he hadn’t yet spoken to her but Jarrod had assured him that she’d been located in Mexico and was flying home. If she knew anything about Isaac Wells’s disappearance, she hadn’t admitted to it. Mason would find out. One way or another. He’d promised his mother he’d take care of Patty and he’d do just that, though Patty would probably have none of it.
But Bliss Cawthorne was another matter altogether. What in the world was he going to do with her?
Bliss. The image of her face teased him again as he pocketed his keys and wallet. He should never have made love to her, never have taken that darkly seductive step, but he had, and in doing so he had expected that he might regret his desire but he hadn’t anticipated that he wouldn’t get enough of her.
She was a virgin. Had never given herself to a man before.
Who would have guessed?
So what’re you going to do about it?
There was, as he’d learned so often before, no going back. But he did have the ability to change a few things in his life.
He slipped into his shoes and flew down the stairs with more purpose than he’d felt ever since returning to Bittersweet. He had a few matters to take care of at the office; then he planned to have it out with Terri. Dee Dee wasn’t going to the San Juan Islands or anywhere away from him. If he had to go back to court, he would. But Terri would probably be just as happy with a little cash instead. She’d always had a mercenary streak, even when it came to her daughter.
* * *
“I don’t know,” Terri said, rubbing her forehead as she sat at the kitchen table, which was covered with scraps of cloth as she pieced together a quilt. From her position at the table she could watch the television in the living room, where a soap opera was in progress. Dee Dee was outside, lying on a chaise longue near the small pool of the apartment complex.
Leaning against the sink, Mason stared out the window and watched his daughter, sunglasses covering her eyes, reading another book.
Terri said, “I think I’d miss her too much.”
“You’d see her at Christmas, in the summer and whenever else you wanted to. The way I see it, Dee Dee needs a home and some security,” he said.
“Oh, like she’d get that from you?” Terri laughed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t forget you’re a workaholic, Mason, and you’re always zipping from one place to another. If there’s a problem with the ranch, you’re back in Montana or the spread in Wyoming. Now you think you’ll settle down here.”
“I will.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s time.”
She skewered him with her wide eyes and shook her head. She still looked young; that pixie quality had never left her despite the lines fanning from her eyes and creasing her forehead. “It’s because of Bliss, isn’t it?” she said, sadness heavy in her voice.
He didn’t answer.
“I knew it. You never forgave me for lying to you about the baby, and you never got over her.” She shook her head and sighed. “Oh, Mason, we were such fools.” Opening a cupboard drawer, she withdrew a pack of cigarettes.
“I thought you quit.”
“I did. Again. But every time I’m around you, I need a cigarette to relax.” She lit up and blew a stream of smoke toward the ceiling. “I did love you, you know. A long time ago.”
“You had a funny way of showing it.”
“Yeah, well…” Sniffing loudly, she glanced into the living room. “We both made mistakes. I suppose you’re getting married, right?”
“Don’t know yet.”
“Then how can you talk about security? For God’s sake, who’s gonna take care of Dee Dee when you’re off on business?”
“She’ll go with me or I’ll have a live-in nanny.”
“Or you’ll marry Bliss Cawthorne.”
