Page 13 of Forever Your Touch

“You remember Keith? My best friend from UCLA?”

Viktor nodded.

“His sister shacked up with the guy. Keith’s worried about her. He moved them here to New York away from all her family. She’s been with him since high school, but there’s a lot of things that can be hidden. Just want to make sure there’s no reason to worry.”

“Not a problem. Just get me his details.”

“Then I shall be here Friday night, ready to man up and be Uncle Mason, the weekend nanny.”

“Will you play princess with me?”

“Sure thing, sweetheart. We can dress up to your heart’s content. I’ll even shove my legs into a mermaid’s tail if you want me to.”

Sara had tried to thank him for everything he did for Delia once, but like he told her, Delia was his family, and he’d do anything he could to make her smile every day for the rest of her life.

Including put on dresses, tutus, and mermaid tails.

“You’ll never believe who Keith’s sister is. I was ready to murder him when he let me walk in with no warning.”

“This sounds interesting.” Sara put her fork down, the writer in her coming out.

“My favorite YouTuber. Watch her every single day. I had a serious fanboy freak-out moment, there.”

Viktor shook his head. He knew Mason had his own channel but didn’t think it was going anywhere. He thought it was a phase. What he didn’t realize was Mason was getting some serious cash out of his channel. He might not be in the upper tier of ads, but between merchandise, Patreon, and the tips he got, he made more than a decent living.

“Her boyfriend is a total ass, though.”

Sara sighed at his language. She still thought she could break the Kincaid men of cussing. Wasn’t gonna happen. It was like breathing to them, something vital and ingrained.

Delia steered the subject away from Ray and onto her ballet recital coming at the end of the month. Mason was glad because he felt all that anger rushing back at the thought of Jo alone in a cab or an Uber. Most cabbies were on the up and up, but some weren’t. No need to put her into a bad situation if it could be helped.

The rest of the dinner was spent listening to Delia chatter and catching up before she hauled him off to the living room, where he sat for over an hour and let her apply makeup to his face and put ribbons in his hair.

The things he did for this kid.

He wouldn’t have it any other way, though.

Chapter Four

The sound of the rain hitting the roof woke Jo long before her alarm went off. Ray snored beside her. She laughed softly when she heard him. He swore he didn’t snore, but the man was louder than a lawnmower.

Slipping out of bed, she reset the alarm for Ray then took a quick shower. Jo was nervous, and not just because it was her first day at a new school. Mason was picking her up for breakfast.

Fill-in big brother.

She shook her head as she pulled on a pair of well-worn jeans then tugged on a baby blue t-shirt. Leave it to Keith to find a way to keep an eye on her. He’d called her yesterday, and as pissed as she was, Jo couldn’t fault her brother for looking out for her. It was actually very sweet and something Keith had spent his entire life doing. She just wished he could get behind her and Ray.

Why her family didn’t like him, she had no idea. She loved Ray, and he made her happy. He wasn’t perfect, but neither was she. No one was perfect. She could only hope they’d come around, because Ray wasn’t going anywhere.

She looked at the clock. Six twenty. Mason would be here soon.

How had she let herself get roped into not only breakfast, but being chauffeured by the guy? Not that she minded the rides to and from school. It would save her a lot of money, but Mason stirred up feelings in her she shouldn’t be having. Feelings that made her feel guilty because she did truly love her boyfriend.

The honk of the horn pulled her out of her thoughts, and she grabbed her bookbag and let herself out the house, locking the door. Mason’s truck sat in the drive. It seriously needed a paint job.

“Morning,” she said after she’d gotten in and put on her seatbelt.

He just grunted.

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