Page 79 of A Second Chance At Forever

Finally, around five P.M, everything was cleaned up and Mason had taken the last load of trash to the dumpster.

I stood in the living room, looking at how bare it was. “Let’s go get a drink.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Alissa joined me from the kitchen.

“No Jack for you.” I pointed my finger at her.

“Deal, no Jack,” she held her hands up, surrendering, “Just rum.” She smiled.

We were at the bar within minutes and we all ordered a round of drinks. We sat back, not saying much just drinking and thinking about the day.

“Shit, I forgot to call about the security system,” Mason said out of nowhere.

Alissa’s eyes got big. “Great, looks like I’m bunking with you two again.”

I shook my head. “Oh no, call now.” I pointed at Mason.

Mason got up from the table and went outside to make the call.

I noticed Sarah and Trent walking through the bar. “Hey, over here,” I waved, trying to get their attention.

They made their way over and sat down at our table.

“Where’s Mason?” Trent asked.

“He went to call about a security system since both our places were broken into last night.”

Just then, Mason walked in and took his seat. “Their closed already.”

“Why do you need to hire someone? We have a ton of stuff left over from doing the shop last summer. I bet we could do it ourselves tonight.” Trent shrugged.

“I forgot all about that. I will run down to the shop and grab it and then we can all head back to my place.” Mason leaned over and gave me a quick kiss before leaving.

“Great, Trent and Mason hooking up a security system.” I eyed Sarah.

“This will be entertaining,” Sarah said laughing.

Trent looked offended. “Hey, it’s not rocket science. We can do it, no problem.”

Alissa, Sarah, and I looked at each other and busted out laughing again.

As time passed, the four of us sat around the table talking and drinking. Dane made his way over and pulled Alissa away. I tried listening in, but couldn’t hear anything. I wished she would’ve just admitted to herself that she still had feelings for him.

“What’s taking Mason so long?” Trent looked at his watch. “He’s been gone for like fifteen minutes.”

“He has been gone awhile. Let’s go check.” I grabbed my phone off the table.

We all made it to the door, laughing and joking about what the guys were about to get themselves into, when we heard sirens. The fire truck and ambulance pulled into the parking lot but drove past the bar, right to Mason’s shop. I pushed through the door, my heart pounding in my chest and ears ringing. I ran down the gravel road as fast as my legs would carry me, ignoring the pain in my side. I had to find Mason.

When the shop came into view, my feet stopped as I took in the scene before me.

The entire building was engulfed in flames, the heat burned my face even though I was a good thirty feet away. Tears flooded my eyes as my brain and feet finally agreed on something. “Mason!” I screamed, taking off into a dead sprint toward the building.

I ran toward the fire, almost reaching the building, when I was grabbed and held back.

“You can’t go in there, Miss.”

“Mason!” I screamed again while fighting against the fireman holding me back. He managed to pull me away. I couldn’t do anything but watch. Watch as flames took away something that Mason worked so hard for.

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