Her jaw drops. “Oh.”
“Had to walk in on him.”
“Oh!” She places the tin on the countertop, but I’m not in the mood for baked goods.
“Yeah,” Mason says bitterly. “Merry freakin’ Christmas.”
Ember turns to me, her green eyes full of concern. “Please tell me you were covered and my nephew’s not totally traumatised.”
“Barely.” Mason huffs. “He’s supposed to put out fires. Not start them.”
I should have driven to the college and had a talk with him face-to-face. Gave him time to get used to the idea. Anything but this.
Ember sits at the dining table on the other side of the island, her fingers running along her forehead. “Your dad cares for Sera. He deserves to be happy, Mason.”
“You knew?” He fists his hair, pacing the space between us. “Who else knows?”
“Mason—”
“Mom?”
“No. Just the guys at the station.”
“Great. So basically the whole town?”
I flatten my palms on the counter. “I don’t care about the damn town. It’s you I care about.”
“Didn’t seem like you had a care in the world when I found you in the bedroom. Looked to me like you had one thing on your mind.”
I pace the kitchen, my fingers rubbing the throb in my forehead. “What can I do to make this right?”
Mason grabs his bag from the floor. “I don’t know, Dad. Maybe think before you sleep with my ex, who’s half your age.”
“Is the problem here her age or that she’s your ex?”
Mason’s nostrils flare. “Both.” He slings his bag over his shoulder and shakes his head. “I’ll be at Mom’s.”
“Mason, wait?—”
But he’s already out the door.
Ember sighs quietly, crossing her arms. “Let him cool off.”
I press my palms to the counter, bowing my head. “He’s right. I’ve spent half my life running into fires and still can’t stop burning everything I love.”
“Flint, you’ve been punishing yourself for twenty years. What happened to Dad wasn’t your fault.”
“You know I still carry that guilt?” I glance up at Em, then at Dad’s photograph.
“I do.” She rises from the chair and walks around the island. “You’re a good man, and you deserve to be happy. Mason will come around.” She wraps her arms around me and gives me a hug.
I hug her back, squeezing a little too hard.
“What was it you said to me that time when I broke up with Drake?”
I sigh against her hair. “Probably some wise words of wisdom.”
“You said, for goodness sake, take a damn shower.” She giggles as she pulls away from me. “I think you need one. You stink.”
