He nodded at me.
“But I’ll give you the chance to prove yourself for now. Consider that as much as I’m willing to give at the moment.”
“Fine enough for me,” I finally said, pulling my hand back. “You should come with me outside, though. Mountain Man is here, and I’m wondering if he’ll have anything to say.”
“Who, Butch?” Mason said, but he already knew who I meant. “All right, well, if he’s here, probably some shit going down.”
I led him to the door, and despite not having a handshake, I felt decent about how things had gone. To go from nearly having a second fight to at least an acknowledgment of a chance was probably as much as I could have asked for. And, as I’d said, I didn’t need Mason to be my friend.
I just needed the space to fulfill my duties as a father.
I opened the door, but Butch was no longer on his bike. Instead, he was standing right out front, guarding the door.
“Better vantage point to shoot up here,” he said. “Cole called.”
Though he barely shifted his eyes, it was clear that whatever he was about to say was not something we had the option of ignoring or declining.
“It’s time to strike at the Bandits. And this time, the aim is to kill.”
Hannah
Aday had passed since Mason and I had exploded at each other, and up to that early evening, I had no reason to believe that anything would change between us.
Which made it all the more surprising when I heard my phone ringing and saw that he was calling me. I looked down in disbelief but finally answered when I told myself that it couldn’t get any worse than yesterday.
“Mason?”
“Yeah. Hey, listen, I spoke to Garrett yesterday.”
I felt the pit in my stomach bottom out—which wasn’t a sensation felt often these days. Even the baby seemed to listen attentively, no longer kicking or moving in my belly. Mason’s tone wasn’t warm and excited, but it was devoid of the simmering rage that had marked his first assault on Garrett.
“And?”
“I have some questions for you, Hannah, and I need you to answer them honestly.”
“OK…”
Mason didn’t play games with me, so I didn’t think he was setting me up somehow, but it would be a lie to say I wasn’t a little nervous that there was some revelation at the other end of this conversation.
“Does Garrett treat you well?”
Well, you asked me to answer honestly.
“Yes,” I said. “Aside from a couple of weeks at the very beginning, once he knew that I was pregnant, he’s been nothing but great.”
A long pause came. Perhaps I shouldn’t have said the bit about the early weeks, but that was so far back I could barely remember everything that it entailed. I had my doubts that Garrett would remember, either, much less Mason.
“OK,” Mason said. “And do you think he’ll be a good father?”
“Yes,” I said without hesitation, much faster than I answered the other question. “He’s more devoted to being there for this kid than anything else. I’d rather us not have gotten into this situation, but trust me, Mason, if there’s anyone else who I’d rather be the father right now, I can’t think of them.”
“Hmm, interesting.”
Mason didn’t say anything for a few moments.
“Why are you—”
“One more question,” Mason said, cutting me off. “Do you think that you and he will be a long-term thing?”
