Page 7 of Disorderly

“Um, really, Kailee, I’m not that hot. And I was thinking more along the lines of a pulled pork slider and some of their lavender lemonade.” I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.Just because I’m wearing more than her minuscule jean shorts and camisole, it doesn’t mean I’m too hot. It’s not like I’m wearing jeans and a sweater.

“With some salad?”

This time I didn’t hold back and rolled my eyes. “Yes, mom.”

“Don’t mom me, missy.” She pretended to glare at me until her giggles broke through. “Besides, I’m stealing half.”

“Of the salad?”

“Of it all.” She winked. “Except for the drink. I’m getting my own.”

“Of course you are.” I giggled. And just like that, I felt the last tentacles of tension release. Kailee acted like her normal self around me. She couldn’t tell that anything happened. And if someone could, it would have been her. Only Cheryl could sniff out a secret faster, but then again, Cheryl tended to make stuff up while Kailee actually pulled the true story from the person she cornered.

Food and drinks in hand, we crowded around a picnic table with the rest of the group. As usual when we got together, I spent more time eating and listening to them discuss the plans for tackling the rides before tonight’s concert. I took a giant bite from my slider, bar-b-q sauce mixed with the coleslaw dressing ran down my chin as I chewed with bulging cheeks. A complete ladylike look, but I didn’t care. For the first time since everything happened, food tasted great, and I planned on stuffing myself silly in case this was a one off. With school drawing closer, there was a good chance my hunger would disappear again.

“Katy? Is that you? Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it. You haven’t changed a bit. Still wearing the same old ponytail.”

I spun in my seat to face the vaguely familiar voice. My chewing slowed as I stared at the boy? Man? In front of me. My head tipped back as my gaze climbed higher and higher, searching for the face that matched the deep, timbered voice. His height rivalled Dave’s and his shoulders were nearly as broad and muscular except in his case, the muscles were long and sinuous.

But it was his face that shocked me. A perfect stranger with a sun kissed complexion, short cropped sandy blond hair, and bright blue eyes that danced and sparkled with excitement. There was something enduring and welcoming about it despite the fear of talking with a strange guy. Something that seemed vaguely familiar.

I squinted and tilted my head as I rushed to swallow my mouthful.

His grin widened, revealing a dimple in his left cheek that stopped my heart.

“Mason?”

Chapter Five

Katy

“In the flesh. I’m back.”

Before I could do anything, he engulfed me in a hug, bending over me until I felt smothered, surrounded by his large body. The muscles in my body stiffened. My breath got caught somewhere in my throat, nearly choking me.

Then his sweet scent surrounded me, relaxing me. Sugar and cinnamon along with a hint of cloves and nutmeg, reminding me of the cinnamon buns his mother used to make for us as a treat when we finished school for the day. And for just a moment, I was transported back in time to when life was simpler, when my dad was still alive and would wrap him up in his strong arms when he walked through the door. It made me feel safe. A feeling that was hard to find in the past week.

“Um, Mason. Need to breathe.” I patted his large, muscular back.

He chuckled as his arms loosened. But he didn’t release me, only moving back enough so that he could speak into my ear without the others hearing. “It’s been so long. I’m just so glad to be back.”

And then he let me go, taking his warmth with him.That feeling surprised me, but I shoved it down. I had far too many things already taking up valuable brain space. I didn’t need to add weird thoughts about Mason and his warmth or how it made me feel to the list.

“Oh my gosh, Mason. I missed you so much.” Deena threw herself at Mason, cutting off my reply before I could even open my mouth. She ran her hands over his upper body, feeling every muscle. “Boy, have you ever grown. And in all the best possible ways.” She winked at him and I almost gagged. While I’d been friends with all of them, Mason never cared for Deena and Sasha when we were younger. Probably because Deena used to pick on him, calling him a momma’s boy.

He grinned, but gently removed her handsfrom him, holding them out away from their bodies as he took a step back. “Look at you, Deena. You haven’t changed one bit.”

She puffed out her chest, trying to make her cleavage more enticing. “Well, I do hope some things have changed about me.”

“Like the rest of us,” he shrugged. “You’ve gotten older, grown up.” And before she could say anything, he released her, turning to pull Sasha into a quick hug. “And Sasha, it’s nice to see you, too.”

The moment he released her, the others at the table jumped in, welcoming him back to Voyageur Bay. I watched amused and confused at their interactions. They threw themselves at him, acting like he was their long-lost best friend who they thought was dead, but now stood before them alive. Yet when he’d been younger, they ignored him. He’d been small and skinny, and I’d been his only friend. But you’d never have known that by watching them now. Was it all due to his large size and looks? Were my friends really that shallow?

It bugged me that I didn’t know the answers. My gaze dropped to the carved graffiti on the wooden picnic table as I thought over this new revelation. These were people I’d known forever. They were my friends, and in some cases, my best friends yet I couldn’t answer what should have been simple questions about them. What type of friend had I truly been to them? Had I been so caught up in my own crap, that I ignored them? A quick glance up at them and I knew my answer.

I’d expected them to be telling Mason stories about things he missed over the years away—and they were—but these stories were ones that I’d never heard before. Where had I been when Hayden took Amy to the lookout ledge two years ago and parked only to have the parking brake in his second-hand sports car fail while she blew him, sending them over the ledge and into the lake? To make matters worse, the front part of the car’s body buckled, wedging them in. When the fireperson wrenched open the door to rescue them, they’d been found with him unloading into her mouth while her boobs were in his hands.

The skin on my cheeks heated as I listened to the new-to-me story. One I should have known about since it was obvious that everyone—and by that I meant even people at the tables around us—except Mason knew about.

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