He made a rough sound, and I looked up.
“Fucking hell, Trixie.”
I blinked up at him.
“That shit’s dark, babe.”
The strained look on his face was too much, so I stood. Jimmy woke and jumped up with me. “It’s late. I ah…better go. Thanks for the pizza.”
“Hang on a minute.”
He stood and moved in before I could take a step toward the door, his hand coming down on my shoulder. He was close, so close I could smell him, soap and beer and…Mase. He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, and it sent a jolt of heat through me so hard and fast, I had to stop myself from jamming my legs together. “I need to go.”
He dipped his head, his eyes searching mine.
Was he going to kiss me?
My lips parted all on their own.
“Losing your gran, it cut you up, I can see that. If you ever want to talk?”
I winced, of course he wasn’t going to kiss me, he pitied me. He didn’t see the sexy mystery woman he’d met in the bar anymore. He saw his sister’s sad, pitiful, grieving friend.
I kept the smile on my face. “Thanks, but I’m all good here.”
He did that probing gaze thing, like he was trying to see past my bullshit to the truth. Then confirmed it. “You sure?”
“Yup.” I patted him on the shoulder in return, and he kind of jerked, then frowned. Ignoring his reaction, which also stung, I soldiered on. “Thanks for the sustenance, Sheriff. You’re a life saver.” Then I winked at him—yes winked—and pulled away.
“Trixie…”
Ignoring him, I threw him a wave over my shoulder and skedaddled back to my trailer before he could say anything more.
Chapter Six
Trixie
Jimmy loped after me, chasing me into the lake, and I ran into the water laughing. Lila and her ten-year-old niece, Maddie, followed, while Eves, Addy, and Quinn sat on the beach watching.
Quinn was bouncing Cassy’s one-year-old baby girl, Alice, on her knee, while Cassy walked along the sand with her three-year-old son, Jack. And all of them cracked up when my goofy dog all but jumped on me, dunking me under the water.
I surfaced spluttering, and Maddie splashed me in the face while I dragged in a desperate breath.
Wiping the water from my eyes, I pointed at her. “I hope you can swim fast, shorty.” I splashed her back. “I’m coming for you.”
The kid laughed, and then both Maddie and Lila joined forces, splashing the hell out of me, while Jimmy bounded around barking like a lunatic.
“I surrender, I’m no match for you and your evil mini-me,” I said to Ly and ran out of the water, then plopped down between Quinn and Eves. I grinned. “You look like you swallowed a beach ball, Quinnie.”
Addy chuckled and Quinn flipped me off.
“I feel like I’ve swallowed a freaking beach ball,” Quinn said. “Going by the size of me, this kid takes after his father, and I still have another two months to go. One day very soon I’m going to sit down and won’t be able to get back up.”
“You look gorgeous.” I nudged her with my elbow. “And you’re too stubborn not to get back up.”
Quinn bounced Alice again on her knee and kissed her chubby cheek, making Cassy and Cal’s sweet baby girl laugh. “Last night, I couldn’t get out of the tub. Bull had to lift me out while I flailed like a beached whale.”
Eves chuckled and took Alice when she reached out. “I’m sure he doesn’t mind.”
Quinn rolled her eyes, but they were sparkling with pleasure. “The man loves it. He’s in full-blown caretaker mode. He’d carry me everywhere if I let him.”
Bull was huge and more than capable of carrying his little wife around. “He’s going to be an awesome dad.”
There was no hiding Quinn’s smile. “Yeah, he is.” She tuned to me. “Anyway, enough about me. Has my brother apologized for being an asshat yet?”
Suddenly, I had trouble looking her in the eye. Mase was the last person I wanted to talk about. “Yep, we talked…we’re all good. Nothing for you to worry about.”
“I’m glad. If he hadn’t, I would’ve been forced to kick his ass, and I’m not as quick as I used to be.” She glanced at me. “I hate that you met him at his worst. It’s no excuse. He knows he hasn’t been handling this whole divorce thing with Janie in a healthy way, and I know he feels crappy about it.”
I shouldn’t ask, but I couldn’t stop myself. “He’s been separated from his wife for a year?”
Quinn took a sip of her lemonade and nodded. “And he was seriously cut up when she left him, tried to drown his sorrows for a while. He had me and Bull seriously worried. But then he seemed to be handling things…until he got the divorce papers. He stumbled. He and Janie weren’t perfect, but he’d never even considered divorce.”
Don’t ask! “So uh…why did they break up?”
“Janie thought Mase was always working, she said she felt neglected. She told him she’d fallen out of love with him, and it…blindsided him. Mase knew things weren’t perfect, but he loved her. She was the one for him. He’d given up everything to be with her, moved to the city, worked his ass off to give her the life she wanted. He hoped they’d have their own kids one day, you know?”
I nodded, my heart squeezing tight thinking about how hard that must have been for him. He’d been brave enough to reach for it, for everything, and he’d lost it. He didn’t just lose the woman he loved but all his hopes and dreams for their future along with it.
I knew how that felt, and it was something I would never
