The Mason Dixon Line (A Horizons Novel) Read Online Free Page A

longer than necessary.”
    The mutinous look on her face melted away. “I
won’t argue with that offer. Horizons isn’t far away.” She opened the driver’s
door, wincing as it emitted a shriek. She threw her purse in the backseat. Just
before she closed the door, she looked back at him, her face set.
    “Thank you, by the way.”
    He waved her thanks away. “It violates the natural
order of things for a girl like you to drive a car like this. I’m only trying
to restore balance to the universe.”
    “What does that mean, a girl like me?”
    The kind of
girl who never gave him the time of day in school. The kind of girl who used to
stand and watch while her boyfriend beat him up.
    What was with him? He never thought about
those days anymore. Something about Carolyn Hart brought them rushing back.
    “You know, blonde. Pretty. A former
cheerleader, am I right?”
    He could tell from the look on her face
that he was right.
    “I’ll get my car and follow you.”
    As he walked away, he heard the shriek and
crash of an ancient car door slamming. Hard.

Chapter 4
Mason Nails It
    “What the hell?”
    Carolyn and Mason stood in the teacher’s
parking lot at Horizons. It was empty.
    “You sure you left it here?”
    “Of course I’m sure!” She gazed around the
lot, as if she could make the car materialize. “I can’t believe this!”
    “You said you had a lot to drink last
night.”
    “Not when I left Horizons, I hadn’t. I’d been
grading papers!”
    “Anybody else have a key? Boyfriend maybe?
Maybe he came and picked it up.”
    She shook her head. “Nobody has the keys
but me. No boyfriend, either.” Not that she liked admitting that to this joker.
Crap. “Somebody must have stolen it.”
    How could this have happened? Horizons wasn’t
in the best neighborhood, true. The area had deteriorated sharply since the
school had been built 25 years ago, but they’d stayed in part due to its
central location.
    His expression was unreadable. “You’d better
call the cops then.”
    She slanted a glance his way. “I’m
surprised police aren’t part of the machine you’re raging against.”
    One side of his mouth lifted slightly. “Oh,
they are. But they have their uses sometimes.”
    She rolled her eyes. “Whatever.” Her
irritation at the whole wretched situation made her waspish. Too bad. He could
take it. He’d certainly thrown plenty of undeserved attitude her way.
    She called the police on her cell phone and
described the situation to a bored-sounding dispatcher. “It’s a red Mini
Cooper.”
    The woman put her on hold.
    Beside her, Mason murmured something that
sounded like it included the words “nail” and “her.”
    “What?” Her head swung in his direction, dipping
the phone so that she didn’t shout directly into it.
    “ I totally
nailed it.” She stared at him hard until he shrugged. “What? I thought you
seemed like the type to drive a Mini Cooper.”
    Please. Her eyes narrowed. She could have
sworn he’d said something about nailing her. The last thing she needed was for
this nerd to start hitting on her. True, he might be kind of a cute nerd if it
wasn’t for his snotty, superior attitude, but still, not her type.
    At least he’d lost the dorky hat on the
drive over.
    Actually, now that she looked at him more
closely, his face surprised her. For such a scruffy guy, his features were
curiously well-sculpted. His dark eyes were wide and deep-set. His strong chin
and high cheekbones made him look almost aristocratic or something, like a lord
in one of those old period-piece movies her mother loved. Pride and Prejudice , Jane
Eyre , that kind of thing.
    The dispatcher came back on the line.
    “We’ll have an officer there in twenty
minutes.”
    “Thank you.” She ended the call and stuck
the phone back in her purse. Nothing to do but wait now. She leaned against her
neighbor’s old Dodge, waiting for them to arrive.
    Unbelievable. This was the last thing she
could afford right