Pa glared at him.
“He really is working hard,” Dwayne insisted, “despite how he usually is.”
“Shut up,” Timmy said with a laugh.
“Just finish it by next week, if you can,” Pa pressed. “I’ll feel better once I know the parlor is finished and we’re ready to start getting cows in there.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Just so shorthanded right now,” Dwayne said. “We got the noobs, but training them is a job in and of itself.”
Since Chase had been there, even for such a brief amount of time, he’d heard the word “shorthanded” come up a few times, especially with all the changes that were being made to accommodate the new parlor.
“I can help you guys out if you need,” he chimed in.
“No,” Mason said, and everyone went silent, even Timmy and Dwayne. They didn’t know Chase, but surely they’d heard about their failed marriage. Surely they’d been filled in enough to know how awkward that moment was.
Mason’s insistence only made Chase more determined. What began as an offer had become a mission. “You know I can do the work,” Chase told Pa. “And I’d be happy to get back in the parlor. Milking is the easiest thing in the goddamned world. And I may only be here until next Sunday, but I’m sure it would help a little, at least. That would give Timmy and Dwayne more time to work on the new parlor.”
Pa’s expression revealed his interest in taking advantage of Chase’s hospitality, but Mason’s tense jaw and tightened fist made Chase think he was liable to snap over it.
“There’s no reason you should be helping out on your vacation,” Mason said. “Besides, we’ve changed some things around here, so you wouldn’t know how to do the work the way we do it today.”
“I doubt so much has changed that I can’t handle the basics. You all know I’m a quick study. And I really don’t mind. It’d be a nice walk down memory lane.”
“It’d be a lot of help,” Dwayne told Pa.
“Even a few days is better than nothing,” Timmy added. “Would give us a chance to set up some of the machines at the dairy. I can go over it with him tomorrow morning, if that’s what we need to do.”
“I’d still have to pay you,” Pa told Chase.
“Give me that starting wage Ma put me on, and you should be able to afford it.” Chase winked, and Pa chuckled. Money wasn’t something Chase had to worry about since he had a job that paid him way more than he ever thought he’d be making in his life.
Mason didn’t speak up, and Chase knew it was because he didn’t have a valid reason for him not to help out.
“Then I guess it’s settled,” Chase said, avoiding Mason’s glare and the shy expression on Emery’s face. She seemed as trapped in the middle of it as she surely felt throughout their breakup.
* * *
Mason ground his teeth.
He didn’t want Chase to help them out. Even though they needed the extra hands and Chase could handle the responsibilities just fine, he didn’t need one more thing to transport him back to those days when he and Chase were happy and in love. It was hard enough having Chase there again.
Mason had been grinding his teeth to get through the past few days. It was hard as fuck having Chase around, but even worse, he was avoiding him, which only pissed Mason off even more.
He took deep breaths throughout dinner, trying to still the rage within him.
When they finished eating, Chase volunteered to clear the table, and Mason stepped up to the plate to help. Chase had done the dishes the night before, so Mason figured he knew where everything was by now, but Chase nearly dropped a plate and a couple of mugs as he fidgeted with them. Mason knew he was just flustered having his husband at his side.
His husband, but his ex.
He kept looking around, as if Mason’s offer to help him with the dishes had been a trap he couldn’t find a way out of.
Mason carried the silverware basket over to the drawer and set it on the counter. As he stored the utensils away, he tried to think of a conversation—something that could break the awkward silence that had stretched between them once everyone else had left the kitchen.
“You didn’t have to volunteer to help out,” was the only thing he could come up with.
“I wanted to.”
