Page 64 of His One True Wish

“Never mind,” I blurted, not wanting Mason to finish the sentence. My heart pounded as I glanced over to see Axl walk into the great room to pick up his socks. “We should probably get a landline for times like this, right?”

“I suppose,” Mason said, squinting at me.

Axl straightened up the great room, oblivious to Mason nearly revealing Gran’s death. The pillows were scattered on the floor by the fire, the blankets in a messy pile. My cheeks burned as Axl rearranged the room as if cleaning up after a pillow fight.

If Ethan found a way to explain away my bra, I figured he was sure to notice that the great room looked like someone just played a clothing scavenger hunt.

“Can we go back to the bakery with you?” I asked, giving Mason a solid smile.

“Yeah, we have two sleds out back,” Mason said.

“I should probably ride with Dad,” Ethan said. “We need to balance the weight, and Axl, you are a big guy.”

“It’s fine.” Axl raised his hand in the air. “I should stay here with Cam.”

“Ah, don’t worry about Cam. I’ll take you two, or bring you back, or do whatever needs to be done, I suppose,” Mason said.

“Great,” I said. “We’ll pop over to the bakery, give Mom a call, and then come back.” I glanced at Axl.

Was it my imagination, or did the corners of his mouth rise ever so slightly in a smile? Was it possible Mr. Cranky Pants was fond ofme? I knew he was appreciative of my body. I liked knowing that a part of him wanted me to come back to the cabin with him, even if there was nothing more between us.

“Can I get more water?” Mason asked.

Axl jumped up and took his glass, refilling it, Ethan’s, too.

“I’d forgotten how hard driving one of those sleds is on the upper body.”

“I’ll bet,” I said.

“You know, your mom did mention that a pipe burst at the house.” Mason said.

“What?” I gasped.

“They have tons of snow in Denver. She said the open house has been postponed. She said she wanted you to know.”

I wasn’t used to seeing Mason with stubble. He was usually clean-shaven, which made him look a little everlasting. He told Mom he shaved to avoid looking like Santa Claus. He claimed being a single dad made him gray early. Mom and Mason had spent a lot of time together during the summers at Smoke River. I always wondered if anything happened between them during those nights the twins and I slept in a tent outside or when they sent us down to the river to play before it was dark.

“Your mom doing okay?” Mason asked, his voice soft.

“Yeah. Mom wanted me to tell you that she is selling. Did you know she was planning on moving?”

“No, we haven’t talked in some time,” he said, there was a heaviness to his voice, but he covered it quickly with a smile.

“Any reason?” I asked, pushing.

“Nope,” he said, lips in a tight line. “So when did you arrive?”

“When the snow started,” I said. “I was supposed to be in and out.”

“Okay, so about a day and a half,” he said. “I wish I’d known you were here earlier. I would have come by to check on you.”

“Yeah, well,” I said, leaning across the table and lowering my voice. Behind us, Ethan and Axl were deep in conversation about converting diesel engines to run on kitchen grease. Ethan was apassionate environmentalist, it seemed. He also made it possible for me to push Mason for a few answers.

“Why didn’t I know about Axl?” I asked him.

Mason’s face tightened, his lips in a line. “Look, Billie. Your gran made me promise.”

“And you didn’t tell him about Gran?”

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