Page 84 of Boundaries

“Absolutely. We have unfinished business.”

We found Betty, Chrissy, and a guy I didn’t recognise. Mattie and Alex were by the tapes which cordoned off the horse show. They were watching the event and were totally oblivious until Mason popped a hand on Betty’s shoulder. They all turned at once. It should have been considered comical as they looked back and forth between us. Mason kept his hand on my lower back like he was possessive of me.

Alex was looking sorry for himself and his jaw was slightly red.

“Apologies for that,” Mason said, sheepishly. A tone which I had never heard him use. Alex just shrugged, nodded, and then shot him a half-smile.

My brother just glared, not at all happy, but before he could comment, Mason put in, “Again, I apologise and it won’t happen again. I’m taking Amy home Mattie, if you don’t mind.”

My brother’s eyes widened in shock that Mason had just asked his permission. His mouth dropped open in a fish-like motion. Mason and Mattie had exchanged fists in the past and so I hoped he accepted the olive branch. He did.

“All right, if you’re OK with that sis?” he replied, flicking a look at Betty.

“I think she’s more than OK with that. Am I right Amy?” she grinned with a suggestive look.

My smile must have said it all and I moved closer toward Mason. He said he didn’t want to hide us anymore, well neither did I.

“I’ll stuff Chrissy into a taxi later, if that’s OK?” Betty said. “James is coming over tonight. We have things to discuss.” Oh, dear, that didn’t sound good.

Drat, so if Chrissy was coming back to the house, I couldn’t stay at Mason’s the whole night.

I nodded. “OK, and Mattie? Are you back tonight?”

“Alex and I are going to the movies and then I’ll stop at his. Are you OK on your own at the house, with just you and Chrissy? Jenna texted to say Nixon’s back from London.”

His words amused me as he’d never been bothered about me or my sister’s whereabouts before. He was playing the big brother card now that Mason had given him that power. I nodded.

Mason shot me a knowing look.

We said our goodbyes and Mason led me back to his truck. Stopping briefly to speak with Boyd and Seth who were talking to a couple of girls. If they seemed shocked that I was there with Mason and we were holding hands, they didn’t show it.

Mason took me back to his house and stripped off my dress. We made love in his bed at least three times. The first time was rough and wild, frantic, as if he’d been carrying so much built-up frustration and just needed a release, the second time again, passionate and charged and that last time was slow and gentle. Tender. Mason kissed me all over my body and we ended our evening by sharing a bath together.

Mason asked me to stay the night but I said I needed to get home to be with Chrissy and he understood. He then suggested he’d keep me company at mine, but I didn’t think Chrissy wanted us under her nose in our house and so I declined. It was hard but I managed it.

Mason walked me across the fields and through the pool and onto our property. We spoke briefly about Jenna who had settled in well at Lamb Hill. Most of her stuff had been moved across and from the sound of it, Boyd and Seth were making a huge effort this time. Maybe things would be good there after all.

I thought about my sister and Nixon’s relationship. If they could work, why couldn’t Mason and I?

Mason traced my jawline with his fingers before cupping my chin and pulling me close to kiss me. After saying goodnight, I turned on my heel and made my way into the house. It was quite late, much later than I intended on coming home and I felt a stab of guilt. Chrissy had made me a sandwich and had covered it with tinfoil. It was sat on the kitchen counter with a note attached.

Where have you been, young lady? Joke. I hope you had fun. I'm going to bed. See you tomorrow. I want all the details. I couldn’t help the grin that spread across my face. Yeah right, like I was sharing any of that with my sixteen-year-old sister. No thanks.

I grinned, peeled back the foil, and ate the sandwich like I’d been starving for weeks.

As I made my way up to my room, a thousand delicious thoughts circled my head. Mason made me so happy. It looked like I was losing my heart to my childhood nemesis, and I was thoroughly looking forward to what the future held.

Sixteen

Awareness slowly seeped into my mind as I stirred against the softness of cotton against my skin. My eyes felt heavy, opening ever so slowly, and I pushed myself up in bed and onto my elbows, scanning the darkness of the room. A frown itched my forehead. I felt disoriented, and it took a moment for me to realise that I was alone, in bed, at home.

Blinking, I attempted to focus on my dressing table across the room. My dress was still draped over the chair, but my vision was foggy. There appeared to be a haze surrounding my bed, and I wondered if I was still dreaming. My heart pounded as if I’d stirred from a nightmare, but I couldn’t remember any details about it.

There was a crackling noise coming from outside. Something was wrong.

Pushing myself back against the headboard, I squeezed my eyes closed before slowly opening them again, hoping that would help to clear my sight and that fuzz in my head. I held my breath until I couldn’t hold it any longer. How I wished that Mason was beside me.

There was a tightness in my throat, and I leaned over to my bedside table and took a drink of the water that sat there. It tasted old and did nothing to ease that dryness. Moistening my lips with my tongue, I put the glass down again.

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