Page 23 of Bourbon & Bonfires

“Hey guys, how’s it going?”

Mason and I both turn toward the voice from the doorway. Addison.

In a few steps, she’s in front of Mason and resting her hands on his shoulders, looking into his eyes. “Honey, what’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“Nothing,” Mason mumbles.

“Mason Taylor Sinclair. Do not lie to me.” Damn, mom voice is hot on Addison.

“Dad text me.”

“And? That’s a good thing, right?”

“Not when it was a picture of him with some chick in Tahiti.Tahiti, Mom.”

I feel like a voyeur in this moment, but I can’t seem to turn away. I should excuse myself and give Addison and Mason a moment. I shouldn’t intrude on their privacy, but I can’t seem to move.

“I see. Well, good for him. Tahiti is beautiful.”

Damn she’s good. I can see the stiffness in her posture, yet Addison doesn’t falter. She simply puts Mason first, and I don’t want to look away. But, I do.

In a few steps, I make it to the doorway, giving Addison and Mason some privacy, when I hear a sniffle. Turning toward them, I see a sad young man being comforted by his mother. My heart tugs a little as I leave them and head inside to make dinner.

Looking at my son as his heart breaks is killing me. I wondered when the moment would come. The moment he realizes his father has moved on—not just from me, but from us. The moment his anger manifestes into agony and defeat. The moment that will change him.

We’re in this moment now. As I hold him and run my hand down his back and he cries, we’re in it. And it sucks. It sucks so bad. There must be a better word for it than sucks.

Fucking sucks.

That’ll do.

I’m not sure how long we stand in Landon’s makeshift workshop, but at some point, Mason goes from sobs to sniffles and begins to pull back. When he does, I stop him by placing my hands on his cheeks. My tear-stained face mimics his, but I smile at my only child and know he’s going to be okay. We’re both going to be okay.

“You okay?” I ask, and he shrugs. “I know this wasn’t the kind of text you wanted from your dad and, well, I’m probably doing this wrong, but it was kind of a dick move on his part.” Mason laughs, and I join in.

This is what I want. Sure, I can sugarcoat my words and say things like “your dad loves you” or “I know your dad misses you,” but honestly, I don’t know who Dan is anymore and I can’t defend his actions. In the months since we moved to Lexington, he’s made next to no effort to find out about Mason’s life here. I gave up trying to keep him in the loop, and the first communication he makes to Mason is a picture of him on a sunny vacation with a girlfriend.

I’m tired of protecting Dan and won’t do it anymore. That’s why I’m going to be honest with Mason. Myself? Not so much. I won’t address the fact that I’m pissed off, my feelings are hurt, and I’m jealous. Jealous he gets to run off and live the high life while I’m here, being an adult. A responsible adult and parent. Fuck him and his choices.

“Whoa, what’s wrong, Mom? You look like you want to kill someone all of the sudden.”

“What?” I ask, pulled from my thoughts. “Oh, sorry. I’m not much with hiding my emotions, am I? I’m just pissed at your dad. I wish he had a little more tact. But regardless, it doesn’t matter. We’re here and handling life just fine. He’s going to regret not being part of your life, Mason. Just keep being you, and it’ll all work out.”

“I guess,” he mutters.

“Hey, looks like you’ve missed the beginning of the dance. If you still want to go, we can hurry and probably have you there in about thirty minutes.”

“Nah, I’m not in the mood. I was only going because ... nevermind. How about we order a pizza instead?”

I follow Mason out of the shop as he checks a few switches and turns off the light. It’s only then I realize Landon had left us alone. God, that must have been uncomfortable for him to watch. Hell, it was uncomfortable to be part of, I can’t imagine how he felt being sucked into our drama.

“We should probably tell Landon we’re leaving. And apologize for having to force our family drama onto him.”

“Nah, Landon’s cool. He probably didn’t even care. But I’ll go tell him we’re leaving.”

I stand at the base of a set of stairs that lead to the side of the house and wait while Mason goes inside. I hear a few laughs and what sounds like a high five or other hand smacking flesh, and I step up to open the door and see what’s happening when Landon opens the door.

“Why are you waiting out here? I was making tacos; why don’t you come in and have something to eat?”

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