Spicy with a Side of Cranberry Sauce Read Online Free

and into the kitchen. He picked up the keys for the rental off the island, where James sat.
    “Amy and you either worked out a cover story telepathically, or you were telling me the truth.” James didn’t waste any time on pleasantries.
    Guilt burned through him, but Mason refused to flinch. He hated lying, and he was never very good at it. “Yes, sir.” Telepathy didn’t have much to do with it, but he and Amy were on the same page. He kept his grip loose on the keys even though he wanted to crush them.
    “Good. I want you to understand a few things before the girls come downstairs.”
    “We’ve got a twenty-minute car ride. We can talk there.”
    “Fine,” James said.
    Mason sighed and turned, leading him through the front of the house and out to his rental pickup. They climbed in, and Mason started the truck and turned the heat on low. It was chilly, but he was sure James was used to it and worse, being from the Northeast.
    James put his seat belt on and turned to Mason. “I know your mom and dad didn’t get divorced until last year. I respect the fact that you probably think I’ve come down here trying to mess with your family. You can be as mad at me as you want. Trust me, son, I can take it. What I cannot take is you being anything but the perfect Southern gentleman to my little girl. So whatever issues you have with me, you leave her the hell out of it, understand?”
    Mason backed out of the driveway as he considered his response. He wasn’t really pissed at James. He knew his parents would never get back together. He wasn’t a kid, and after the way his dad had treated his mom, he didn’t want them to get back together.
    Mom surely hadn’t told James about the intricacies of her marriage to Mason’s father, and he wasn’t going to air her private business in front of James. But the man was protective of his daughter. Mason could understand that. After going one round with her, though, he wasn’t worried she needed that protection. At least not from his suddenly appearing temper. Whether she’d need to be shielded from his desires remained to be seen. He fought the urge to drum his fingers on the steering wheel as he remembered the verbal and then physical tongue-lashing she’d given him.
    “I would never take out my anger on your daughter, sir. Honestly. And truthfully I am not angry you’re here. Just surprised.” He turned onto the main road from their neighborhood.
    “Your mother asked me and Ames to come down about two months back. I told her it wouldn’t be a good idea. Amy and I haven’t celebrated Thanksgiving since…well, in a long time. But they ganged up on me and convinced me to come. You know how persuasive your mom can be.”
    Why didn’t they celebrate Thanksgiving? He wanted to ask but refrained. Instead he asked James how long he’d known Mom and what his intentions were. Mason had watched his mom slowly slide away from life, away from her family for two years before she’d kicked Dad out. He’d be damned if he would allow anyone else to hurt his mother like that.
    “I know your dad hurt her. She’s told me pretty much everything about her life the past thirty years. And I promised her, and I’ll promise you now. I will never hurt her like that.” James closed his mouth tightly.
    Mom had told him? She hadn’t told Mason or his siblings, though he’d known for a long time. He didn’t even think she’d told her sister. What made James so special?
    “I know about the affairs,” Mason said.
    I knew before she did . He hadn’t admitted his failings to Mom yet. She’d be crushed when she found out he’d known since high school his dad was a cheating rattlesnake. His father had told him she knew and chose to stay. Like an idiot, Mason had believed him. He’d kept that secret for ten years.
    Mom had always talked to him about the importance of marriage and vows. About sticking together through the good times and the bad. He hadn’t known that she’d been