Page 25 of Forever Your Touch

In that second, her foot decided to tangle with the floor in an odd movement, and she pitched forward, bringing Mason with her. He landed on top of her. She closed her eyes, mortified. Dammit. Why was she such a klutz?

“You’re becoming hazardous to my health now, Josephine.” Mason pushed himself up, but not off her.

“Sorry,” she muttered and tried to push him off, but he didn’t move. “Uh, Mase. You need to move so we can get up.”

“But what if I like it here?”

She ignored the blatant flirtation. “Too damn bad. Now move your ass before Delia comes running to see what’s keeping you.”

“She’d ask a thousand questions.”

Still, he didn’t move, and Jo finally forced herself to look up. Despite his teasing tone, his expression was so far from that, she sucked in a breath. His face was a hair’s breadth from hers. His lips were within kissing distance, and when his tongue darted out to wet his lips, she fought back the urge to lean up and kiss him.

“Then don’t you think we should get up?” Jo cringed. She sounded breathy, the way she’d sound if she was in that wishful, lustful, please-kiss-me state. Which she wasn’t.

“I guess.” He leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “You are a distraction, Josephine. Thank you.”

“What?” That made no sense.

“I’ll tell you why I’m sad and why I needed the distraction after Delia goes to bed. We don’t want her to know anything’s wrong.”

“Okay.” She hoped nothing was really wrong, but at least he was going to tell her. Holding things inside was never good for anyone. She knew it from experience. After helping her up, she and Mason found his family in the dining room already passing out plates. They sat at the table and spent the next hour laughing and listening to Delia tell them some crazy story she’d made up. It was a nice evening.

Chapter Seven

Mason slouched on the couch, exhausted. His scalp was sore to the touch, thanks to Delia’s need to put him in curlers. He hadn’t even bothered to look in the mirror at the makeup job. It would take him at least half an hour to scrub that shit off. The things he did for Princess Peach.

“Delia doesn’t do a half bad makeup job.” Jo sat beside him and handed over a steaming mug of coffee. It was just how he liked it. More milk than coffee, and no sugar. Kade’s wife, Angel, turned him on to the combination.

“You remember how I like my coffee?”

“We’ve been eating together all week. I picked up on it.”

“You’re a good friend, Josephine.” He gave her a small smile and laid his head back against the couch.

“So, you want to tell me what has you looking like someone kicked your favorite puppy?”

Mason’s gut clenched. He set his coffee down before he spilled it. Just the memory of that conversation made him shake.

“It’s my papa. Mama called tonight and told us he has stage two lung cancer.” He blinked back tears. “We didn’t want Delia to know anything.”

“Mason, I’m so sorry.” She reached over and pulled him into a hug. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“I don’t know what to do.” Mason buried his head in the crook of her neck. “I want to get on a plane, but Conner went to get him and bring him back to the States. We have better doctors here.”

“Shh,” Jo soothed. “I know it’s hard, but he’ll be home soon.”

“But what then?” he asked. “What happens when he comes home? What if there’s nothing we can do? What if he waited too long before going to the doctor? What do I do if my papa dies,moye dragotsennyy?”

“You survive.” She stroked his hair, trying to calm him. “My grandmother died from breast cancer a few years ago. It’s hard, but you put on a happy face, and you stay strong for them. Your dad will need your strength. Knowing he has you and the rest of your family there for him, it will give him the will to fight this thing.”

“I don’t know if I can survive the loss of my papa.”

Jo’s heart broke hearing him say that. Cancer was such an ugly disease. It robbed you of everything. She’d seen Gran fight for years against it. It went into remission once, but when it came back, it came back hard and spread everywhere. It had nearly killed Jo when Gran passed. She spent as much time at her grandparents’ house as she did her own growing up. Gran was more a second mother to her than a grandparent. Mason’s pain was one she understood well.

“You can.” She pulled him closer, feeling his shoulders shake as he silently sobbed. “But, Mason, you’re giving up on him even before you know what’s going on. Let him get here, let the doctors do their thing before you borrow trouble. He might be able to beat this thing.”

“You think?” He pulled back and looked at her. The depth of pain reflected in those wide black eyes was staggering. They burned with unshed tears.

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