Page 94 of Untroubled Heart

“Getting ready to whoop your arse.” His hat goes back on… backwards.

“Not likely, Mase,” Tristan says, walking behind him.

His hat’s been turned backwards, and he’s lost his shirt too.

I’d already seen the tattoos on his arms plenty of times when I worked at Lee’s company. The tattoos on his thighs surprised me when we got here earlier, and now his chest is covered in more?

“Come on, Callie. This game is ours.” Tristan holds up a fist for me to bump, and I meet his challenge as we take our places on the opposite side of the court.

“Finall—” Beth’s words die as she looks at Tristan.

For the record, Tristan and I won. Both our opponents were far too distracted by the view.

Chapter thirty-four

I shriek, clutching onto the ladder, when Mason slaps my arse as he walks past.

“Hey! That’s a safety risk. I could have fallen.” I laugh.

“Don’t trust me to catch you, Trouble?” Mason winks as he dips his long-handled paint roller into the tray. We’ve almost finished painting the entire primary suite in a pleasing, warm white. Most of the house will have the same colour.

It’s so close to being finished now. The tiling in the bathrooms is all that’s left before the cabinets can be installed next week.

At this point, it’s impossible not to imagine this house as my own. Mason’s included me in the whole process from day one. It doesn’t just feel like a house; it’s going to be a home. I hope it’s everything he wanted, what he was searching for all those months ago.

“Was that your plan all along? I fall, and you catch me?”

He smirks, dipping a finger in the paint tray, then draws a heart on my exposed thigh which is perched almost at his eye level as I stand on the ladder. His eyes find mine, one green, one blue, both full of devotion. “Absolutely.”

I swipe my fingers through my paintbrush, collecting what’s left, and lean down, bringing my face close to his. I draw a heart of my own on his cheek. My stomach flips, and I laugh as Mason pulls me off the ladder, scooping me into his arms. I still have my paintbrush in hand, and in my effort to latch on to Mason, the wet bristles have coated my arm and left streaks through the ends of his hair.

“Are you making a mess?”

“You started it.” I laugh, but the way he looks back at me isn’t playful or flirty. It’s thoughtful. Deep and searing. I want to know what he’s thinking… but my phone chooses that moment to ring.

Mason puts me down with a kiss on the tip of my nose as I drop my paintbrush into a tub of water and pull my phone from my back pocket. Mum flashes across the screen.

“Hi, Mum,” I answer with a smile. “How are you?”

“I’m good, sweetheart. Just thought I’d call to say hello. Is now a good time?” Mum’s been reaching out more and more as she slowly heals from everything that happened with Dad. It started with joining calls when Caspian checked in with me, then she’d text me every few days, and now she calls. Never with anything major, just checking in.

“Now’s great. I’m just about to stop for lunch.” I look at Mason and point at the door where I’m headed, and he gives me a nod. “What have you been up to?” I ask as I make my way through the house to the front porch.

“I think I need to get away for a while.” Mum’s timid voice comes through the phone. “Out of town.”

“Have you heard from Dad?” I ask as I cross the deck to lean on the railing that overlooks the front yard.

Mum takes a deep breath. I can feel the weight of it even through the phone. “Yes. He called a few days ago. I almost didn’t answer.”

“What made you pick up?”

“I needed to hear it from him,” she says with conviction. “Wanted to know how much of an arse I was for being strung along by him.”

“Mum.” My voice cracks with heartbreak. “You thought you were being supportive. We know so many shift workers in our town. It wasn’t unusual to see partners go away for long stretches of time. And you had children together.” I can see now how she tried to keep our family together for Caspian and me, not wanting us to grow up in a broken home. My mother’s heart is so fragile; she only ever wanted to love and be loved, but she didn’t realise she was giving it to the wrong person. “Do you want to come to the city for a bit? You haven’t seen Navie in a while. I’m sure she’d love that. I’d love it, too.”

“You would?” Her voice wobbles.

“Yeah.” I look up, trying to force the tears away before they have a chance to form. “I really would.”