Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 45614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 45614 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 228(@200wpm)___ 182(@250wpm)___ 152(@300wpm)
She turned to look at Mason, watching him on the cell phone. There was no way to read his facial expression. There were times she was pretty sure she could read him, and other times he was nothing more than a closed book.
Tamsin never asked about his work, or what was going on. The less she knew, the better. Something her mother had often taught her. Was she wrong?
“What about his brothers?” she asked. “Connor and Reese.”
“They’re good boys. They’re all good boys. Their hearts are in the right place, and they will do whatever it takes for each other.”
So at least she knew he was safe with his family, or at least two members of it. There was so much she didn’t know about Mason. All she had done was find everything to hate him, and in doing so, not once did she think about the real man who had to do these things.
Her brothers were all different men. They were not just the rumors that defined them. She knew some of them were known for being cruel, callous, and calculating.
Mason had to be the same.
Or, was she just trying to find a reason for something else?
Mason finished his phone call, and rather than go back to his bean plant, he joined her and David, and together they worked their way through the beans and peas.
The sun was beating down on them. One of the kitchen staff brought them some lemonade, and against all odds Tamsin actually had some fun. Not some—a lot.
She enjoyed spending time with Mason, especially when she wasn’t having to make excuses and come up with reasons to hate him.
****
Mason sat in the dining room and watched as Tamsin moved her food around her plate. She had barely touched a morsel. He thought it had been a good day, but with her lack of appetite, he was starting to wonder if he had misread everything. He never did anything like that.
His brother had called him with the arrangements of the Delcoties. Friday, he was going to have to go to one of the Denton nightclubs and sit in the VIP area. He would make his excuses as his brothers smuggled Albert into the nightclub, and they would have a secret meeting.
Mason didn’t like involving the Dentons, but right now he didn’t have much choice. He knew Tamsin’s brothers hated his father. They also knew the old bastard had their hands tied. After dealing with the consequences of one father being killed, none of them were willing to add any more damages. With his marriage to Tamsin, he wanted to keep things civil.
“Do you want to tell me what is on your mind?” he asked.
She looked up and was still playing with her food. “It’s silly.”
“Tell me. Maybe I can help to add some clarity to your thoughts.”
He was curious to know what she was thinking. Did she have regrets over what they had done? Did she want to end it? He sat back and waited.
She released a sigh and then turned toward him. “I don’t know much about you … like at all.”
“And?”
“I didn’t know your grandfather gave this house to you.”
Mason smiled. “Ah, so David has been talking.”
Her eyes went wide. “Not anything bad. Just saying that you got this place nearly ten years ago, and that your grandfather tried to take care of you, look out for you, that kind of thing.”
Mason nodded. “It’s not a secret. Granddad loved this place. In fact, he brought this land for my grandmother. He loved her so much, and she was such a strong, resilient woman. He would give her the world. She had always wanted a place of her own. The story my granddad told was they went to see close to two hundred homes, and none of them were good enough for his wife. She had a specific look in mind. Other houses just didn’t cut it. The kitchen was too big, or not big enough. The bedrooms were too small. The garden was bland.” Mason chuckled and she couldn’t help but smile at him. “And so, after nearly a year of looking, Granddad got sick and tired of looking at all the houses, so he purchased a piece of land and began to build the house of her dreams.”
“That sounds amazing and romantic.”
“Well, not the way Granddad described it.”
“No?”
“In the process of building this house, Grandma kept changing her mind. She wasn’t happy with certain things, and after a long, drawn-out build, it was finally the house of her dreams. It was not easy, or so he says. He loved this place.”
“And did your dad love it as well?”
“No,” Mason said. The smile died on his lips. “Dad hated this place. All he wanted to do was sell it. The house is worth a lot of money. Anyone who gets this and sells it will get a massive turnaround. The land alone is an investment.”