Page 5 of Grateful for You
She rolled her eyes, then dropped them to the burger in front of her, and I swear, they lit up in a way that left me questioning when her last meal was. She lifted the burger and took a bite, moaning as she chewed. “Oh, my God, this is good.” She sighed and closed her eyes as she swallowed. Then, leaning down, she passed a handful of fries to her dog below the table.
“Ohhhh, come on. She should have her own plate of food.” I waved Elsa over and winked at Piper. “This meal’s on me. Elsa, could we get a shepherd’s pie for…” I gestured at her dog and Piper’s brows lifted.
“Athena.”
“… for Athena here?”
Elsa gave me a thumb’s up. “You got it, Mason.”
Piper crossed her arms, which hiked those lush breasts higher, and eyed me curiously. “That’s a pretty rich meal for her,” she said.
“It’s almost Thanksgiving. Maybe she’s earned a rich meal.”
Piper laughed, shaking her head, and nibbled on a fry. “I packed kibble for her, though. It’s not good for her to have that much fat.” She grinned and rubbed Athena’s belly. “But I guess one splurge can’t hurt.”
I swallowed a bite as well, studying her as the messy bun on top of her head fell to one side, a curly tendril of blond hair escaping and clinging to the back of her rain-damp neck. My fingers itched to reach out and push that hair aside. “You packed your dog food… did you think to pack yourself any?”
She blinked, looking up at me, and licked her bottom lip with a slow roll of her tongue. “I tend to think of other people first,” she answered.
“Your dog isn’t people.”
Her smirk widened. “Try tellingherthat.”
4
Piper
With a full stomach and a warm cup of coffee in my belly, I was feeling a lot better as Mason led the way into his home. It also helped that I had met Elsa and a couple of other people in the town who seemed to know and trust Mason. Not that that mattered a whole lot. I knew more than anyone how good some men were at fooling everyone around them into believing they were good guys.
Even still, I was optimistic… while being more than a little cautious. I wasn’t kidding when I said I would give my sister Mason’s full name and address. And if I didn’t check in before bed and in the morning, I told her to send out the cavalries to find me.
Basically, I wasn’t messing around. And I made sure Mason knew that.
He unlocked the door to a beautiful Victorian home. The freshly fallen snow dusted the awnings, making it look like something out of thePolar Express.
“This is gorgeous,” I gushed. I couldn’t even help it. It was so stunning. As he pushed open the front door, a carved wood foyer greeted me. I gripped Athena’s leash tighter. God, the last thing I needed was for Athena to go charging into his home and put a big ol’ gash into these original hardwood floors with her nails.
“Thanks,” he said. “I bought it years ago, and trust me… it was a real fixer upper. I’ve been slowly chipping away at it.”
I peeled my still damp hoodie off of me and shivered. Even though we were inside, and his heater was cranked, the wet chill from being outside in the freezing rain seemed to permeate every layer I had on.
Mason closed the front door behind us, his eyes darkening as they scanned my body in a way that made my already hard nipples ache and push against my t-shirt even more. I swallowed, my throat feeling like it was lined with sawdust, and a shiver that was in no way related to my body temperature tumbled down my spine.
Clearing his throat, he tore his gaze away, a blush crawling up his neck. I noted that he locked both the doorknob and the deadbolt and quickly punched a code into the security alarm beside the door.
I lifted a brow and tilted my chin toward the security system. It seemed intense… for a little town in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. “Are there a lot of break-ins here in Sleepy Hollow?”
He dropped his cheek to his shoulder. “Har-har,” he said. “Maple Grove is very safe, but even here we have our occasional bouts of crime. Besides, I’d rather be safe than sorry.”
The lump landed in my throat fast and hard.Better to be safe than sorry. It was the same phrase my dad used to say to my sister and me before he passed away. Maybe if he hadn’t died so young, I wouldn’t have felt the void that had made me jump into a whirlwind relationship—that had made me accept that engagement ring while ignoring all the other signs that something was wrong. That his temper was extreme. I was so desperate to replace the love of my father with that of another man’s, I missed all the red flags.
“Yep, safer is better than sorry, right ol’ girl?” Mason said and bent to pat Athena on the side of her body—right on her sore ribs—before I could stop him.
“No!” I cried out, but it was too late. Athena whimpered and jumped away, hiding behind my legs. It wasn’t a hard pat, by any means… but her ribs were still tender from the hurled cell phone she caught on the side of her body.
I bent down, scooping my big dog into my arms and buried my face in her fur.I’m so sorry, Athena. Sweet girl. Neither of us deserved to be treated like that… but it wasn’t until he threw his phone at my dog in a drunken rage that I realized it. Who would be next if he was willing to hurt an innocent dog? My sister if she came to visit? Our kids if we had any? I couldn’t let it get to that point. Hell no.
“I’m sorry,” Mason said gently, letting my bag drop gently to the ground at his feet. He sunk to his knees putting his hand out for Athena to sniff. “I-I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
