As they continued unloading the truck, Emery talked to Chase about some of her early plans for her wedding—this and that, nothing set in stone, as evidenced by how she kept saying, “Oh, but maybe…” And for a wedding that was three months away, it seemed silly to Chase to already be thinking about seating arrangements for Jasper’s family, who Emery assured through some quick comments had several members who were not on good terms with one another.
Timmy handed Chase one of the last crates from the back of the truck, and Chase wiped some sweat off his brow.
Damn, such a simple chore was proving to be quite a workout.
As he turned, he nearly walked into Mason.
“Not used to the Georgia heat anymore, are you?” Mason asked with the same charming grin that he used to wear when they’d be working on those sorts of hot days.
“Yeah. Right?” Chase walked past him and set the crate with the others. He lifted his shirt and wiped his face, and as he lowered it, he turned and saw Mason gazing at his torso.
“LA’s treating you pretty good, I see,” Mason said, and Chase’s cheeks warmed.
Goddamn, he still gets to me.
And even worse, there was no way he could hide it from Mason.
Mason knew him too well. He could see past all his defenses and tricks. He could see Chase in a way no one else did—and as he’d learned over the past eleven years, in a way he wasn’t sure anyone else could.
But as cordial as Mason was being, he could hear the cruelty in his tone—a sort of curtness that carried with it the sting that he felt from how Chase had left him.
Hurt as Chase was, he knew he’d done the right thing back then. Hard as it had been for both of them, he had done what he’d had to, and Mason couldn’t convince him of anything different.
* * *
After Pa and Jasper returned home from their meeting in town, they caught up with Chase before he and Emery started fixing dinner in the kitchen. Mason tried to look interested as Jasper and Pa discussed the details of some additional grants they could apply for, but his gaze kept drifting to the entryway between the kitchen and the living room, which Chase would pass occasionally to throw something away in the trash can. Chase talked with Emery about all the things she hadn’t had a chance to share with him since she’d last seen him. With the way she kept moving between subjects without transitions, it was impossible for Mason to keep up with what exactly they were discussing.
He mentally pleaded for Chase to turn to him.
He wanted him to sneak a peek and offer that familiar smile like the good old days.
That’s what he used to do when they were together. A smile was all Mason needed to know that everything was right between them.
For Mason, it was a sort of test. He’d made up his mind that if Chase looked at him, it meant that something was still there. But if Chase didn’t, it was really over, and it’d been over for as long as Chase had been gone.
Chase stayed focused as he tossed out some peeled potato skins in the trash, and when Mason had nearly given up, Chase turned and caught his look. He smiled that same smile as they slipped back in time together for a moment.
Mason chuckled.
“What’s funny about that?” Pa asked, obviously surprised by Mason’s reaction to him talking about grant money.
Shaking his head, Mason said, “Nothing. Nothing at all.”
Amused as he was, he was heartbroken, too. His silly test meant nothing, and he knew it. It was magical thinking, and no amount of hoping and wishing that Chase would come back to him ever did him any good.
AMOB OF KIDS RACED ACROSS THE FIELD BESIDE THE SCHOOLplayground, Mason sprinting alongside the others on his team, making his way to the boy who had the ball.
Some of the fifth graders played soccer during recess. It wasn’t an organized game as much as a couple dozen kids running around in a chaotic mess trying to get the ball to one of the two goals on either end of the field.
A kid in Ms. Haggerty’s class, Chase Rogan, had the ball and headed toward the goal to score against Mason’s team.
Chase was one of the opposing team’s best players.
Mason only knew him from the playground and some games in P.E., when all the classes participated in group activities, but for being so short, he was one hell of an athlete. Mason suspected the kid’s height made him feel like he had something to prove.
Mason raced toward Chase to steal the ball, but Chase slipped past him. Mason spun around and went for it from behind, kicking the ball away from him, but inadvertently slid his legs between Chase’s so that the kid tumbled forward and landed on his palms. One of the kids on Mason’s team took the ball, turned around, and headed toward the opposite goal.
Chase hopped to his feet and shoved Mason. Hard.
