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He felt his ears burning. Damn it, he needed to shut up already.
She shifted on her chair uncomfortably, but before he could open his mouth and shove another foot in it, his grandpa stood and tapped the knife against his cup.
The crowd hushed. "I'm not one for speeches, but I appreciate everyone comin' out today to celebrate with us. This is one of the happiest days of my life. I didn't think I'd have a second chance at love, but here we are. To Helen. May God give her patience in the years to come."
The crowd both chuckled and cheered to Helen. Then the speeches were on. A flurry of activity and a flow of wine led to more laughter. He didn't have a chance to talk to Lucy again.
Dancing was impossible because of the small fellowship hall, but everyone was elated to shower the couple with flowers at the end of the night. They drove away with coke cans tied to the tailgate of Pop's old truck.
He lost sight of Lucy as the crowd dispersed. So he told his few friends goodbye and hopped in his own truck. He wasn't too drunk to require a designated driver, and Pop's house was just a few blocks away.
A beat-up car was already parked when he arrived. He frowned, seeing movement in the lit bedroom upstairs. He pulled out his phone and checked his app, verifying that Pops wasn't home. He was at Helen's house before heading to their honeymoon in Colorado.
He got out of his truck, careful not to slam the door closed, and grabbed his duffel bag. He checked the door of the car and found them locked. He looked inside but it was spotless other than a backpack.
He frowned. If it was some teenager hoping that the wedding would lead to an easy score in the house... Mason sighed and pulled his gun out of his back holster. Then he walked up the steps on silent feet and opened the unlocked door.
Chapter 2
Lucy stepped out of the shower and wrapped the towel around her body. She was getting a headache from the wine, so she opened the medicine cabinet and found some pain pills.
She needed water though, so she opened the bathroom door.
Click. "Freeze, you're under arrest."
A gun was pointed at her head, and she shrieked. She threw the bottle of pain pills and fell to the ground, covering her head and curling into a ball.
"Lucy?"
She looked up at the behemoth and lowered her hands. "Mason?"
He lowered the gun to his side and his brows rose as his gaze swept over her. "Uh," he stammered.
She looked down and gasped, quickly grabbing her towel and readjusting it. "What are you doing? Get out!"
He nodded, still staring, so she slammed the door with her foot. Her heart was hammering in her chest. Oh God, what had he seen? It's just her luck that the first guy to see her naked had been an accident.
"Lucy? Are you alright?" he called through the closed door.
She struggled to her feet and adjusted the towel, tucking the end into itself. She looked in the mirror and took a deep breath. "Yes, I'm fine. What are you doing here?"
"What am I doing here? This is my grandpa's house, remember? What are you doing here?"
"I had too much to drink to drive back to Denton tonight, so Nana and Ray offered his house. They didn't say you'd be here too," she said as she gathered her dress and underwear from the floor.
"Yeah, well, they didn't tell me you'd be here either. But I can't drive back to Waco tonight. Look, are you sure you're ok?"
Her stomach flipped but she knew she had to face him. She couldn't stay in the bathroom all night. She wasn't a coward. She took a deep breath and threw the door open.
He stood where she'd left him, but the gun was put away somewhere. His suit jacket was gone and his white button down shirt was rolled up at the sleeves with a gun harness was over both shoulders.
His black hair was cut short on the sides where some gray was obviously starting to match his five o'clock shadow. But it looked almost long enough on top to run her fingers through. They itched to test the silkiness of it.
She held her hands tightly to the towel, her dress now bunched in front of her like some sort of armor. She watched him warily.
"See? I'm fine. Now if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get dressed now."
He stepped back and waved a hand. She bolted down the hall and to the door at the top of the stairs and slammed it behind her. She breathed a sigh of relief as her phone dinged.
