Spicy with a Side of Cranberry Sauce Read Online Free Page A

referring to his father’s work schedule and her demanding teaching job, not the affairs.
    “She said she hadn’t talked about it with any of the kids.”
    “I’m sure she thinks she’s doing us all a favor by not trying to turn us against our dad, but…”
    “How did you find out?”
    “I caught him in the act.”
    James reached for the dash as Mason swerved into the left lane to avoid an SUV that had slammed on its brakes. “Ah. Does your mom—”
    “No,” Mason cut him off as he moved back into the right lane.
    “Right. Well, I won’t mention anything to her.”
    “I would appreciate that. It’s all kind of a big complicated family mess right now.” And as far as he was concerned, none of James’s business.
    He drove in silence for a while, unable to speak around the guilt weighing down on him. If he’d told his mother sooner about his father’s indiscretions, would she have crumbled all that much quicker, or would it have been marginally less horrific? He’d never know.
    He slowed the truck and turned into Armando’s parking lot. After parking, he turned to James. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so abrupt. It’s just that Mom’s been through a hell of a lot, and I really would like this holiday to go well for her. Help her get back into the swing of things, so to speak. I don’t want to talk to her about my father. Not yet, anyway.”
    “I understand, son. It’s all right. Shall we?” James opened the door and got out before Mason could say anything else.
    He climbed out and locked the pickup and then followed James across the parking lot. They went inside the dimly lit restaurant, and Mason groaned at the hordes of people in the entryway. How long would Amy and his mother be?
    Mason put on the famous Rider charm and got their name to the top of the hostess’s list, both for a table and for salsa lessons. He turned back to James, who smirked.
    “What?” he said as innocently as he could manage.
    “That dimple gets you whatever you want, doesn’t it?”
    There wasn’t any use denying it now. “Yeah, sometimes it does. I figured it would be better than having the ladies standing here in heels for an hour.”
    “You clearly don’t know my daughter. She is not going to be wearing heels. Unless they’re on a pair of enormous biker boots.”
    Mason smiled, remembering the boots with the tinkling chains he’d admired in Hanson’s earlier that evening.
    “Mom will have turned her powers of persuasion on your daughter for sure.”
    “Amy didn’t bring heels with her.” James was so certain of his daughter and her personality. Mason had experienced her razor-sharp wit and tongue firsthand. Maybe James was right. But Mason wasn’t convinced.
    “Ten bucks says your daughter walks through that door looking like a different person.”
    He didn’t know whether to be excited about that or disappointed. He liked the woman in biker boots and a leather jacket. The kindergarten teacher who said ass and was looking for an adventure.
    “Oh, a betting man, I see. All right, you’re on,” James said with a spark in his voice Mason would forever associate with Amy.
    They stood in the entryway with the rest of the waiting couples and families for another ten minutes. Mason grilled James a bit more on his relationship with Mom. He didn’t think he’d have to worry much. It was clear James liked Mom a lot.
    James’s glance shifted to something behind Mason. “Holy shit.”
    Mason smiled, certain he knew who had just walked in the door behind him. The Yanks certainly had a penchant for cussing, or maybe it was just James and his daughter. James reached in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He handed over Mason’s ten dollars. Mason liked being right, but the anticipation now clawing at him told him maybe this once he would have been better off wrong. But he couldn’t not look. He turned to see his mom and Amy gliding toward them, and he stopped breathing.
    Leather was a good look