All For You (Rocktown Ink #5)

my mom had loved him with everything she had, and when he left, she desperately tried to find that kind of love again, at the expense of everything and everyone, even her children. She never did find it again, but she kept searching right up until she died.

I’d only been in love once in my life, and following my heart had been my biggest regret.

If that was what love got you, I didn’t want any part of it.

Shaking it off, and with one last glance toward the motel, I planted my foot on the gas and got the hell out of Dodge.

The forty-five-minute drive to Rocktown passed in a blur, my mind on an Adonis rerun loop. I indulged myself for a little while longer. Because once I got home, he’d just be another memory. A really wonderful memory.

When I pulled up outside Quinn’s family home, now my home while my trailer was parked here, I winced.

My friends were all there. Quinn spotted me first and rushed over when I turned off the engine. She walked straight up to me when I climbed out and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, her rounded, seven-month-pregnant belly pressing into me.

“Oh, honey. I wish you’d told us.”

“I’m so sorry, Trix,” Lila said, joining the huddle, while Jimmy Chew, my dog, wriggled in between everyone to get to me.

I hugged them back. “Thanks for looking after Jimmy.”

“No worries,” Quinn said.

Then they were all there—Everly, Addy, and Cassy joining in as well—showing me how much they cared, before leading me away from the car and toward my trailer. And the tears I’d been working so hard to hold back, finally rushed forward.

But that was okay. Crying was okay.

Yesterday, it would have completely broken me, coming home to this.

Thanks to Adonis, I’d had a place to fall, and he’d unknowingly gotten me through one of the darkest days I’d ever gone through.

Today, I felt just the tiniest bit stronger.

My friends stayed with me most of the day, and later that night, when I was alone again, I headed over to the house, Mason’s house, and let myself in.

I’d been working on the place for a few months now, and the smell of fresh paint hit me as I did a walk-through. It looked good, really good. The soft gray walls worked well with the white trim and the natural timber accents. I headed upstairs to the master bedroom and stood in the middle, looking around.

Mase had wanted light blue walls, all wrong for this space. After talking to the man only a few times, I’d known that wouldn’t work. The room was large and flooded with light during the day. A darker color would work best in here, for the space and the man. I’d gone with a navy blue, it was deep and cozy and looked velvety on the walls. Masculine. He’d wanted a new light fixture as well, and I’d found a cool black iron one in a secondhand store.

It hadn’t been installed yet because the wiring needed a once-over and Mase wanted to check it out himself first before he spent a bunch of money. Apparently, he was good at DIY as well but didn’t want to spend every day he had off work on the place. Fair enough. It wasn't everyone’s cup of tea.

I stood back and snapped a few pictures. I owed the guy a phone call, but maybe this would be a better way to break the ice after I stood him up. I’d completely forgotten to tell him I’d be out of town, and leaving the new keys somewhere for him had been the last thing on my mind. Yes, he was a surly jerk, but he deserved an apology.

I opened a message, attached the pictures, including one of the light fixture I’d found for him, and typed out a quick text.

Trix: Sorry I stood you up. Hope you like the color?

I hit send and walked to the window. It looked down to the backyard and my trailer parked there. Jimmy was running around like a lunatic, chasing moths. I grinned. Gran had given him to me on my fourteenth birthday, and he’d been my constant companion ever since.

My phone rang.

Mase.

Shit.

I didn’t want to pick up, but I didn’t really have much choice. “What’s up?” I winced, knowing that was the wrong way to answer instantly. Especially when he was pissed at me.

“What’s up?” he repeated all growly.

Yep, he was still angry. And that growl…my belly fluttered, it reminded me of someone else.

“Look, I’m really sorry for bailing on you this weekend, but I had something important I needed to do…”

“Honestly, Trix, I couldn’t care less what you were doing. The color looks fine.”

Okay, wow, he was even worse than usual. If he wasn’t paying me for this, I’d tell him to shove it. But I needed the money, and it was basically finalized. I’d been contemplating buying a piece of land, just a smallish section, somewhere to park my trailer permanently. Gran would’ve been horrified. I tried not to think about that. “I didn’t just flake, Mason. I had a good reason, okay.”

“Sure you did. You need anything else or are we done here?”

I gritted my teeth. No wonder his wife divorced his ass. And I’d be warning off anyone who even contemplated going out with this guy. He’s short with a paunch, remember? And if not, the women of Rocktown were definitely safe, his personality would see to that. “Sure, we’re done. There’s just the light fixture and a final coat of paint needed in the bathroom and everything will be finished.” Be the bigger person. I forced myself to swallow the attitude. It wasn’t easy. I was proud of what I did here, and despite him being a jerk, I didn’t want there to be awkwardness when we met, for Quinn’s sake, if nothing else. “And again, I’m sorry for not showing yesterday. For what it’s worth, I think you’ll love the house. The place has