Page 35 of Never Fall Again

“Funny way of showing it.”

Mo’s hand clenched in Maisy’s fur. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“Okay. Let’s talk about something else. Why’d you shave?”

Mo rubbed his jaw. “Seriously?”

“You’ve been living like a hermit for six months. Even your mom couldn’t make you shave. Then you show up here looking fifteen years younger. Hair cut, face smooth, clothes that aren’t loungewear. I hardly recognized you.”

Mo lobbed a throw pillow at him.

“No kidding, Mo. I’ve been worried about you.” Worried was an understatement. But telling his cousin and best friend that he was terrified for him wouldn’t get Mo to open up.

“Yeah, and now that I’ve done what everyone wanted me to do, you’re still worried.”

“Because it came out of nowhere.”

Mo looked out the window. Cal waited.

“I scared your little girl.”

“What?” Cal scrambled to follow Mo’s train of thought. Had his cousin finally snapped? He spoke with caution. “Mo, man, I...don’t have a little girl.”

That earned him a spectacular eye roll. “I know that, you big idiot.”

The pieces clicked. “You’re talking about Eliza.”

“Of course I am.” The “duh” was implied. “You show up at Meredith’s with this gorgeous blond and her little girl. They’re in trouble. And instead of everything being safe and cozy, I scared her. That’s not who I am. I don’t care what I look like for myself. Didn’t think anyone else should care either. But I’m not the boogeyman. And I’m not okay with looking like one and freaking out five-year-olds.”

Cal tried to hide his shock. He had no idea Mo had felt that way about Eliza’s response. “She didn’t mean anything by it, Mo. And she warmed right up to you.”

“I know. She’s a sweetheart. She brought me cookies the other day. Did they tell you?”

“No.” Why had they brought Mo cookies? A hot pain speared through him. Mo had commented on Landry being beautiful. And Eliza being adorable. Was he...

“Don’t get your shorts in a wad. I’m not interested in your girls. Not that way.”

“Would you quit calling them my girls?”

“Nope.” Mo kept talking. “Anyway, I don’t trust the barbers here. Remember that time Old Man Lester nearly sliced my ear off? Wasn’t doing that again. So I had Meredith book me what I thought was a haircut and shave. What I got was a spa day. That brat scheduled the whole thing. They handed me a robe and slippers and told me to get comfortable.”

Cal couldn’t keep from laughing at the image of Mo—gnarly beard, shaggy hair, and bad attitude—finding himself in a spa.

“You laugh. Meredith texted me and told me that if I bailed, she couldn’t get her money back and to do everything they said. Next thing I knew, I was getting a shave, then a haircut. A massage. A facial. And then a shower with about fifty shower heads. Which I needed to wash off all the lotions and oils.”

Cal laughed so hard he couldn’t breathe. “Please tell me you have pictures.”

“You tell anyone, and I’ll deny it.”

When Cal caught his breath, he asked, “How was it?”

Mo smirked. “It was awesome. There’s a hot tub. A sauna. I came out of there feeling more relaxed than I have in years. Doing it again in a few months.”

Cal grinned. “My lips are sealed.”

“That’s good because you’re coming with me next time.”

“Not happening.”

---