Believe Me (Hearts for Ransom Book 3) (19 page)

“Don’t worry,” he thought to tell her. “I’ll tell Claire about my parents when the time is right. I’m not going to blow it with her.”

“Good.” She leaned down and kissed his cheek.

“T & W Construction.” Logan nodded. “I’ll be looking forward to that. Bo can be our foreman. Maybe he’ll have a new catchphrase by then.”

“Yeah,” Mason said dryly. “It’ll probably be worse than ‘this bites.'”

Logan chuckled as they shook hands. Mason watched the Taylors leave. He really was tired, but it was worth it to have been able to spend time with his friends. As far as he was concerned, his parents were never there.

He yawned again. For once, instead of waiting until one of the nurses insisted it was time for Mason to get back into bed, he was going to have to ask them to move him. He pressed the buzzer and made his request. Within twenty minutes, he was resting comfortably in his bed.

He heard the nurse bring his dinner in, but then he heard a sound he hadn’t been sure he’d ever hear again. Somebody was blowing raspberries. And, unless grumpy Sandra had taken up a new form of expression…

He opened his eyes and turned his head. Claire stood there with Zoey tightly against her side, and a shopping bag dangling from her free hand. Spencer was right beside them, a large picnic basket in his hands.

“I told the nurse you wouldn’t wouldn't need your dinner.” Claire smiled, almost shyly. “I thought you could share ours. I hope that’s okay.”

“That’s more than okay.” As happy as Mason was to see Claire and Zoey, he couldn’t take his eyes off Spencer.

The young man set the basket on the table and walked over to Mason.

Mason’s heart swelled with pride as the boy he loved stood proud and tall. “I’m sorry for the things I said, and what I did. I’d like it if you and Mom got together, and I’d especially like it if you’d still be my big brother.”

“I’m sorry for hurting you, Spencer, and I’d like it if your mom and I end up together, too. There’s a problem with me being your big brother, though.”

Spencer’s face turned red. “I understand.”

“Look at me, Spence.” Mason waited until blue eyes identical to the woman he loved were focused on him. “I don’t think you do. The problem is, it will be hard to be your big brother when I intend if your mother lets me, to be your father.”

“How can you do that?” Spencer asked.

“There’s something your mom doesn’t know,” Mason’s eyes went past Spencer to focus on Claire. “I’m already in love with your mom. It’s just going to take some time and effort to convince her she can love me back.”

Spencer leaned over and hugged Mason, who put his arms around the boy and held him tight.

Claire smiled. The images brought on by their kiss seemed to have opened a door, and the more she “remembered,” the surer she was that Mason did nothing to force or seduce her. She wasn’t just willing; she was downright enthused. And then he tried so hard to make up for his part in it. It might not be as difficult for him to make her fall in love with him as he might think. She was already halfway there.

“We’d better eat before the food gets cold.” She needed to get their lovemaking off her mind.

Spencer shrugged his coat off and placed it across the back of a chair. Then he helped his mom free Zoey from her snowsuit before he took her so Claire could take her own coat off. Claire then took Zoey back from Spencer and carried her to the bed.

“You can hold your daughter while we get the food ready.”

Mason turned Zoey around and looked at her. She blew raspberries again and giggled. He wondered if it tickled her mouth when she puckered up and spit like that. He didn’t know anything about babies, but he was more than willing to learn. She did it again.

He laughed. “Does she always give free showers?”

Spencer handed him a napkin. “Usually,” he answered. “You’ll learn to aim her in a different direction or dodge her.”

When Claire had Mason’s plate on the tray, ready for him to eat, she reached for Zoey.

“That’s okay.” Mason smiled at his daughter. “She’ll help Daddy eat.” Then it struck him…Daddy. He’d just heard Bo call himself that and envied his friend.

“Mason.” Claire’s near whisper brought his eyes away from Zoey. “Are you okay?”

If he had ever smiled bigger than he was at that moment, he didn’t know when. “I’m a daddy, Claire. I’m Zoey ‘s daddy, and hopefully, I’ll be Spencer’s daddy.”

“Dad!” Spence called from across the room. “I’m not walking around calling you daddy. Do you know what the guys would say?”

Zoey chose that moment to expel the gas brought on by sweet potatoes Claire told Spencer not to feed her—and she didn’t burp.

Mason’s expression was epic. As his eyes traveled from his daughter’s happy face to his hand cradling her bottom, it must have sunk in. He looked up at Claire with pride on his face. “She already knows how to do that?”

Claire heard Spencer’s strangled laughter and knew if she looked at her son, there would be no sanity in this room. “Mason, babies are born doing that; they don’t have to learn.” Then, even though she knew Spence would roll on the floor, she had to ask, “Just how do you think you could teach a baby to toot?”

Mason realized what she meant and instead of feeling stupid, he felt happy…happier than he remembered feeling in his life. When he began laughing, Zoey’s arms and legs flew straight out, as stiff as boards before she collapsed back into his arms. That stopped his laughter. “Did I hurt her?”

Claire was able to answer. “You only startled her. She’s okay. Look.”

And Zoey was already smiling and doing that thing with her mouth where she pulled in the lower lip and blew. Not exactly raspberries, but close.

“Really,” Claire said loudly enough Spence could hear her over his loud laughter. “Our food is getting cold.”

After a few more minutes of chuckles and wiping tears from his face with the hem of his shirt, Spencer finally stood at the end of the bed. “You really don’t know anything about babies, do you?”

“Nope.” Mason couldn’t bluff his way through this, even if he wanted to. “But, I want to learn.”

“Let’s eat.” Claire once more reached for the baby.

“Really,” Mason said. “I want to keep her here. I can manage.” To show Claire, he tucked Zoey in the crook of his left arm and used his right hand to scoop a spoonful of potatoes.

Claire decided she had never seen anything so sweet. “Let me know if you want me to take her.”

“I will.” Mason proceeded to eat, glancing down at his daughter. Big, brown eyes followed his hand. His heart felt so full of love it might burst when she snuggled against him, and within moments was sound asleep.

“Why does she fall asleep when I hold her?” Maybe he was doing something wrong.

“I don’t know,” Claire told him, “but I could sure use you around two in the morning most nights.”

Mason saw Spencer scoping out the gifts from his buddies, all neatly arranged around and under his tree.

“What did you get?” the teenager asked, as he sat down to eat his own dinner.

“Lots of things,” Mason answered. “You can look at all of them later if you want. You’ll like the new catchers’ mitt Logan and Emily gave me. Maybe you can help me get it broken in before the season starts.”

They talked about sports while they ate, Claire asking questions when she didn’t understand. Spencer was soon throwing all of the disposable plates and plastic silverware away.

“Thank you,” Mason told Claire. “Your fried chicken was delicious.”

She felt herself blush. “I’m glad you like it. I don’t usually cook big meals, but when I do, Spence always tells me they’re good. And he sure eats them like they are.”

Spencer comically rubbed his stomach. “Mom’s a good cook. Just wait until you taste her beef and noodles. She makes the best homemade noodles in the world.”

“I’d like that.” Mason could tell Claire was beyond embarrassed, so he turned his attention toward Spencer. “Spence, will you go over there and get the presents for the three of you? They’re on the windowsill next to the tree.”

“You shouldn’t have bought a gift for me,” Claire quietly protested.

Mason smiled at her. “I wanted to.”

Spencer handed his mom two of the gifts, and then he sat down to open his. He made short work of removing the paper Jennifer so painstakingly measured and cut. A wide grin covered his face when he saw what was inside.

“Look, Mom! It’s the new version of the game system Seth has. Can I hook it up when we get home?”

Claire nodded. “That was a very thoughtful gift.”

“Is the game I bought for it okay?’ Mason asked Spencer.

Spencer examined the sports pack with ten different games. “I love it. Thank you, Mason.”

“You’re welcome.” It looked like he and Abby had chosen Spencer’s gift well.

“Let’s wait until Zoey’s awake, and let her open her own present,” Claire suggested, setting it on the floor beside her.

Mason smiled at the image. “I’d like to see that.” Maybe the soft music and shining stars from the machine would help Zoey sleep at night and give Claire a break.

With shaking hands, Claire unwrapped the small package Spencer brought to her. It was a jeweler’s box. She lifted the lid to see a dainty silver heart with a diamond in its center. The chain was delicate, and Claire had never seen anything more beautiful.

She started crying.

Mason felt terrible. “What’s the matter? Abby will help me exchange it. You can pick something else out.”

She clasped the box against her chest. “I’ve never owned a diamond in my life. Nobody’s ever even given me jewelry before.”

She stood up and walked over to the bed. Claire decided it was about time they did this right, so she kissed him. She really kissed him. He reached up with his free hand and pulled her closer so he could kiss her back. She felt the tenderness reining his passion in and knew with certainty that, on the night Zoey was conceived, Mason hadn’t intentionally hurt her. Maybe one day they could sit down and figure out exactly what happened so they could both get past it.

“Come on, you guys!” The sound of Spencer’s voice broke through the strong emotions Claire was starting to feel. She slowly pulled away from him.

Mason slowly slid his hand down her arm and rested it back on the bed, but he would have rather just pulled her back down and done that some more.

Spencer groaned. “Am I gonna have to see a lot of that? Cause I have to tell you, it’s really kinda gross.”

Mason looked into Claire’s eyes and answered. “With any luck, you will.”

She leaned down for one last quick kiss before she returned to her chair.

Spencer stood up and walked to the bag Claire had carried in. He pulled a small, flat gift out and took it to Mason.

Mason was surprised. “I didn’t expect anything.”

“We wanted to.” Claire used his own words against him.

“It’s not much,” Spencer told him. “I made it.”

With some creative arm adjustments, Mason managed to open it without letting go of his baby. It was a handmade picture frame made from poster board. There was a photograph of Spencer holding Zoey in it. The teenager used a marker to neatly print “My Kids” across the top of it. Tears came to Mason’s eyes.

“Come here,” he told Spencer. When the boy was close enough, Mason grabbed him and pulled him against his chest. “Thank you. I love it.” He waited until Spencer started to stand up and made direct eye contact with the teenager. “I love
you
, Spence.”

Spencer flopped back onto Mason’s chest, staying on the side away from Zoey. “I love you, too,” he mumbled against Mason. He stood up. “I sure hope it doesn’t take you too long to get my mom to love you.”

“I’ll do my best,” he promised the young man.

Spencer walked back and sat down in his chair.

Claire stood up and handed Mason a flat box. “It’s from Zoey and me.”

He unwrapped it and found a photo album. When he turned to the first page, he saw a picture of a tiny infant with what looked like black goose down on her head.

“What is this?” he asked.

“I can’t take back the past seven months.” Her smile was shaky. “This is the best I can do. Those are all pictures of Zoey from the day she was born, until the last one I had taken a few weeks ago.”

She stood there as he slowly turned the pages, carefully examining each photograph. He had to wipe his eyes more than once to get the tears out of the way.

“I’d like to see your baby pictures sometime,” she told him, “because your daughter couldn’t look any more like you if she tried.”

He pulled her to him and kissed her as thoroughly as he could, given their positions.

Another groan emanated from Spencer’s direction. “Again already?”

“There’s one more.” Claire walked back to the sack. She returned with a manila envelope. “It’s from all of us. Spencer’s will have to wait, and he’s okay with that, but as soon as the holidays are over, we can ask Brody to find out how to make this one official.”

Mason was puzzled. He opened the envelope and pulled out a paper. It was Zoey’s birth certificate. Claire had whited out
unknown
as her father and printed
Mason Wright
on the line. She had also whited out Hadley as Zoey’s last name, and it now read Zoey Elizabeth Wright.