44 Mason
I was dubious as hell about the idea of throwing Mom a surprise party when she’s recovering from a stroke, but after a few of the surprises she’s endured this past week, we decided she can handle it. We aren’t wrong.
When the lights come on inside the house and the whole crowd appears, Mom’s eyes go wide. Then she laughs out loud and hands me her cane, rushing in without any assistance to greet everyone. She’s surrounded in seconds by Elle and all three of my brothers. Marco secured leave to be here and lifts her in his arms, hugging her tight before releasing her to accept hugs and kisses from Sam and Maddox, then all the other well-wishers we invited.
I’m still grinning like crazy at how happy she is right now when I’m ambushed by a wall of muscle and enfolded in a pair of arms the size of anacondas. My breath leaves me in a whoosh when my brother Marco squeezes.
“Welcome back to the living, brother,” he says and when he releases me there are tears in his eyes. “Jesus, you have no fucking idea how glad I am you’re alive.”
“Glad to be alive, man. Happy as hell you could come.”
He stands back smiling and shaking his head as he takes me in. His smile fades as he glances back toward Mom, who has moved through the crowd and stands beside the small shrine of photos Elle set up to memorialize Dad. Neither me nor Maddox felt the need to give him any recognition, but our sister insisted we do it anyway for Mom, and I know she was right.
Marco leans closer, speaking under his breath. “I have to say, this is the best trade-off ever. You’re back, and he’s out of our lives for good.” His gaze swings to the doorway behind me and his face lights up again before I have a chance to respond.
“Hey, sweet thing,” he says, his voice a deep purr. A surge of possessiveness rises up when he faces Callie, but then I realize he’s looking at my daughter, not my girlfriend. “Aren’t you the most gorgeous girl?” he croons, tickling Zoe’s belly.
Her eyes go wide and she presses her face into Callie’s chest, peeking shyly back at my brother through one eye. Then he makes a goofy face, eliciting giggles followed by grabby hands as she practically launches herself into his arms.
“Yep, I have that effect on the women,” Marco says, laughing as he cradles her in his big arms.
“Ah, Marco, this is Zoe, your shameless niece. And this is my girlfriend, Callie.” I barely restrain myself from blurting out the love of my life at the end. There’s a time and place for that, but right now I want the day to be about Mom, even though this will be the first time most of these people have seen me since they learned I wasn’t actually dead.
“Pleasure to meet you,” Marco says, then enfolds Callie in his free arm and kisses her on the cheek. As the middle child, he’s always been the friendly one who went out of his way to put people at ease, to settle disputes, and generally keep the peace in our family. It’s no surprise that he’s the chief of his platoon of Navy SEALs.
Callie seems distracted during the introduction, and when Marco releases her, she offers an apology and pulls away. It isn’t until then that I see why. Both her mom and her best friend are standing in the corner near the small fireplace. They envelop her in enthusiastic embraces when she reaches them.
Marco disappears with Zoe, moving to sit beside Mom on the sofa. I slip into the kitchen to find a drink, then head over to greet Nina and the senator.
“Mason, it’s so good to see you,” Katherine Longo says, surprising me with a big hug that is entirely at odds with the impression I’ve had of the ball-busting US senator I first met on New Year’s Eve.
“Not sure whether I should be honored or terrified that you’re here,” I say, extracting myself and giving Nina a hug. I give her a quizzical look, on the verge of asking where Wyatt is, when she purses her lips and shakes her head. I read the warning and hold my tongue.
It’s not hard to put together that things might have gotten complicated between the two of them after Nina discovered Chris Longo might actually be alive. During our trip, Callie shared the gist of Nina’s confession that something happened between her and Callie’s older brother not long before he disappeared. But it doesn’t explain their presence here, because Katherine has had the intel for a couple weeks now, so she knows as much as I do at this stage. Possibly more, since I haven’t had much time to dig through all the files yet, whereas she no doubt has an entire team of analysts on it. At least on everything except for the few crucial pieces I held back, unbeknownst to her.
“Mom, you guys should have called,” Callie says after giving them both a hug. “I am happy to see you, though.”
“I apologize for arriving unannounced,” Katherine says. “But we didn’t exactly get a lot of quality time together in Denver with everything going on, so I wanted to see for myself that you made it back from Mexico in one piece.” She reaches out and squeezes Callie’s hands, then her expression turns serious and she glances between us both. “I also have some news. Is there someplace we can speak in private?”
I lead them down the narrow hallway into Zoe’s nursery and close the door behind us. Outside the window, the party has spilled into the yard, which is set up with an awning and tables that gradually fill with dishes more guests bring. Our neighbors from across the street are here, Elle’s best friend Rose Vega, and her mom Leny. Several of Mom’s former
