Tempting.
TheBigO: When you’re ready. Do you want to tell me about them?
Those three tiny dots pop up and disappear, so she must be typing.
Sliding my phone into my pocket, I step back to where my guys are working.
“I’m going to get the owner so we can do a walk-around. How much more demo outside of this room is left?” I’d say at a glance no more than one or two days for this section.
Mike’s tongue works over the wad of tobacco in his lower lip. “We’ll be done here this afternoon pulling everything down. Then we were gonna go get the Bobcat to clean up the rest.” He waves towards the end of the building.
There isn’t much left of that part of the house.
Fuck. I bet this blaze lit up three counties.
RacingQueen: Grandma never met a baby she didn’t love. And Grandpa had this ability to ramble on stories that don’t seem to fit at the time until you think about them later. Theystayed with my brother and me when my mom died. I think it’s the only reason we survived because my dad was broken after that.
I am starting to understand that feeling that Mason would have had. Just seeing how close Sophia came to being lost in the inferno leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
It’s much colder here than it was in Oregon. My exhales fog around my face with every step closer to where Mason said he’d be.
Nerves rankle through me as my knuckles rap on the entrance.
Shit, I’m more anxious about seeing her than I am before any rodeo.
“Mornin’ Oliver.” Mason pulls the door open and steps back. “Come on in.”
Do I dare?
Crossing the threshold feels like I’m in forbidden territory.
“Coffee? We can take it with us.” Mason moves towards the kitchen and pulls down an extra mug before I can reply.
“Thank you.” My phone dings, making a flood of adrenaline rush through me.
Is she here? Just beyond that wall?
While he pours, I manage to discreetly check the new text.
RacingQueen: I miss them more than anything. Even more than my mom. Is that wrong? They were married for almost fifty years, and died together in their sleep. That’s the kind of love I want, like the books where you just don’t want to live without the other person.
Mason hands me a steaming cup, then points to fridge. “Milk? Sugar’s next to you in the bowl.”
His wedding ring glints under the halogen.
“I’m fine, I appreciate it,” I grunt, taking a sip of the black coffee.
He steps past me to the hall and cracks the door to dip his head through. “Lori, I’ll be at the house with the contractor.”
“Sounds good, baby.” A woman’s muffled voice barely makes it out to me.
He comes back with a crooked smile. “She has both of the boys sleeping next to her.” Pulling his Carhartt coat down from the rack, he slides his arms in before retrieving his mug.
The sound of a text hitting my phone is interrupted by a latch opening that makes me freeze.
“Dad?” Sophia begins to step into the hall and pauses with a scowl.
Are her eyes red rimmed?
