AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She’s the kid who didn’t care about how many licks it took to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. She’d just bite the thing in half and chomp on the candy with a crazed smile.
So I expected her to pounce on me the moment we got back from lunch. She never misses a thing, and I saw the way she kept looking at me while we were still in Mason’s restaurant. I’ve got to hand it to her, though. She waits hours, through bath time and bedtime, until we’re sitting in the living room, her with a glass of wine, until she starts to interrogate me.
“So, you know Mason. How?”
There’s a part of me that doesn’t want to tell her. I’m not ashamed of what we did, but I like that it is ours.Just ours.Then there is the other part of me. The part that wants to brag.
I draw in a deep breath, releasing it. “He’s the guy.”
“The guy?” I can almost see her brain working then her eyes widen. “Theguy? The one from Vegas?”
I nod, wishing I could have a glass of wine, but I’ve got to be up early tomorrow morning and I can’t risk a headache.
“How did you not put two and two together?”
I shrug. “I knew he was from Texas, but all we did was talk about Texas things and stuff like that. We were trying to avoid talking too much about our personal lives. I didn’t even know he worked in a restaurant.”
“He owns that restaurant.”
“Owns? Like it isn’t in the family?”
She shakes her head. “Nope. From what Everly tells me, he started working in kitchens when he was fifteen—got some kind of waiver since they were orphans.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, Wyatt raised them, and they had the Golds to help them, but I feel that Mason could get away with murder in the middle of his restaurant. That boy is a charmer.”
“Please don’t call him a boy.”
She laughs out loud. “Sorry. He’s only a few years younger than you. Who cares?” She shrugs.
Of course, she doesn’t. She’s Avery Freaking O’Bryan, and she does as she pleases. She’s always been that way. Embarrassment is a four-letter word to her.
“I really don’t.” Lies. And the look she gives me tells me she knows I’m lying but doesn’t call me on it. “But I didn’t expect to see him again.”
“In your new hometown.”
I nod. “I’ll just steer clear of The Mason Jar for a little bit.”
Which is a shame because it was some of the best brisket I have ever eaten, and that’s saying a lot.
It’s then I realize that I haven’t seen Houdini since we got the kids to sleep.
“Have you seen Houdini?” Typically, Houdini is in Sammy’s room, but since Avery put him to sleep, I figured Houdini was here in the living room.
“I put him outside.”
I pop off the couch, worry blossoming in my chest. It’s dark out, and I know that dog. He can clear the fence easily. And he will go bother the neighbors. Or worse, get hit by a car.
“What’s wrong?” Avery says, following me as fast as she can. It’s hard because she is so much shorter than I am.
“I told you to keep an eye on him. He’ll jump that fence.”
“Is that why you offered to pay for a higher fence?”
I nod. Nancy had refused to let me pay. She said that she and Travis would foot the cost. They run a home improvement show, so they have access to cheaper materials since they buy in bulk. Still, it hasn’t been put in. There was something about getting approval from the next-door neighbor and he had been out of town for a few days. I open the back door.
“Houdini?” I step down on the porch and look around. That damned dog.
