AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I just haven't had a lot of experience with people throwing things at my head."
"You didn't play any sports in school?" he asked as he dug into the bag and divided up the food.
She shrugged and grabbed a fry, not really wanting to get into her past. "I was more of the hide in the library than the play sports kind of kid. What about you?"
He nodded. "I played baseball and football, but I really loved the drama club. It was my way of escaping the monotony of small town life. I was more of a nerd than anything."
She chuckled and looked around. "I can understand that. Do we have any drinks in here?"
He nodded and stood. "Yeah, just a sec." He went back into the room and left the sliding glass door open this time. He held up a handful of mini bottles of alcohol from the fridge and two sodas.
She smiled and pointed to the table. "Don't throw them."
He chuckled and set them down, then she grabbed a vodka and chugged it. It probably wasn't the best idea with jet lag, but when in Rome. Or Hawaii.
She popped the top on the soda as she said, "Did you grow up in Crimson Creek?"
He nodded. "Yeah, with my parents and my little brother."
"Ray is quite the character. He used to be the sheriff, didn't he? How was that growing up?"
Mason nodded, his hair falling over his forehead. Her fingers ached to run through his dark hair. It would be so soft and silky, if memory served. He'd let his gray hair grow in, and his temples and five o'clock shadow glowed in the pale light from inside.
"I never could get away with anything in high school, so I didn't even try. My little brother, though. He was a trouble-maker," Mason chuckled and shook his head. "I joined the Army right out of high school as an MP, then went through the police academy at twenty-one when my four years were up. That's when I started working for Pops."
He was so young to have served in the Army and then joined the police. And she thought she'd done great things by getting her master's degree by twenty-three? Not compared to Mason. He was amazing.
She bit into her burger, trying to find the flaws. She couldn't get too close. It would be too easy to fall in love with him, but that was the road to heartbreak city.
"Was it hard working with him as your boss? He seems like a rough around the edges kind of guy, although he shows a different side around Nana."
Seeing the two at Christmas had been bittersweet. They had kissed and when he had given Helen her Christmas present, he'd looked at her like she hung the moon. He talked gruff, but underneath he was a sweetheart whose heart beat just for Helen.
She wondered if Mason was like his grandpa.
"It was hard because I had to prove myself to him and everyone in town that I had actually earned that spot, that it wasn't just given to me because he was my Pops."
She nodded, taking another bite. "I bet you took all the hard jobs, didn't you?"
He grinned and his eyes twinkled. It made her heart skip a beat to see him playful.
"Sure did. But it paid off in the end when the Texas Rangers accepted my application. What about you?"
She shook her head, trying to brush off whatever spell he had on her. "What about me?"
"What was college like?"
Lucy picked at the cold fries. "Kind of lonely and boring, to be honest. I spent a lot of time in the library, never went to parties or bars like all the other kids. Unless my roommate dragged me, which she did a few times a year, usually around graduations or holidays."
"Why not?"
She shrugged. "I had goals and going out with the others wouldn't help me reach them. I had scholarships but had to work for more than half of it. So I became a nail tech. It paid the bills while I was in school. Toward the end, I got certifications in yoga, and that helped pay for my Master's degree."
His brows rose, and he leaned back. "You're twenty-three with a Master's? Wow, I thought it was just a Bachelor's degree."
She felt her cheeks heat, and she glanced away with a soft nod. It felt weird to be praised, and she tried to wave it off. "Not that big a deal. Didn't have anything else to do."
He reached forward and put his hand on her knee. "Lucy?"
