Chasing Bristol (The Finding Trilogy Book 2) (16 page)

I didn’t answer; I was too embarrassed.

Her eyes relaxed as she looked up at me.
Dropping her hands from her hips, she said, “Julian asked me to put in a word
for you with George Wilcox and his son. I spoke very highly of you, Bristol,
and I meant every word. Don’t let me down.”

I shook my head. “I won’t, Ms.
Vanderson. I won’t.”

Relief swarmed me when she touched my
arm. “I’m sure they’re both upset about what happened. You and your father
should go. I’ll take care of it.”

All I could do was nod and say, “Thank
you.” Turning to leave, I said again, “I’m sorry for causing a scene.”

“We’ll talk on Monday.”

I sauntered back to the lobby and
searched for my dad. He was having an intense conversation with Mom. I hastened
over before they caused another scene that would result in me getting fired
this time.

“What’s going on now?” I groaned as I
reached them.

Dad turned to me, looking sad.
“Sweetheart, I’m so sorry about that. I lost it for a moment there.”

“Did you?” Mom smirked. “It’s good
you’ve learned to admit it.”

“Verona, I don’t need this right now.”

I placed my hand on Dad’s shoulder.
“Let’s head home.”

He frowned. “Did I get you in trouble,
sweetheart? Did they—”

“No.” I contrived a smile. “I’m feeling
tired anyway, and Ms. Vanderson said it was okay to leave.”

“Huh.” Mom finished her wine. “I better
head out too, no sense in staying since the McKinleys left.”

“Yeah, Mom. No sense at all.”

She leaned forward and kissed my cheek.
“Honey, please come home. I’m worried about you.”

“Are you really?” I tittered, doubtful.

Mom flicked her gaze to Dad. “You’re the
reason she’s like this with me. You’ve brainwashed her.”

Dad huffed and looked away to avoid
saying anything.

“Mom,” I massaged my temples. “Dad has
nothing to do with what happened between us and you know it, so stop blaming
him.”

Surprisingly, she didn’t protest. Her lips
pressed into a line like she was upset. Regret prickled my heart as her eyes
welled up with tears. She turned and headed for the exit.

“Great. I never meant to hurt her,” I
whispered. “I just…”

Dad squeezed my shoulder. “I know,
sweetheart,” he said. “I know.”

I told Julian and Seven that I was
leaving. I’d only just realized that Amber and the strange guy had disappeared
from the event. I made a mental note to call her later. On top of my problems,
something about that guy had unnerved me.

I drove home behind Dad.
Entering his condo, I started toward the spare room. “I’m off to bed,” I said
over my shoulder.

“Um, sweetheart, I’m going for a drive.”

I pivoted at his words. “Now?”

He nodded. “Yeah, down by the bay, just
to clear my head.” He came up to me and pecked my forehead. “Mason says he’ll swing
by. I’ll be back in a bit. Make sure everything’s locked before you go to
sleep, okay?”

“Okay,” I replied as I watched him move
toward the door. “Dad, what happened at the fundraiser? Does it have anything
to do with what’s going on with me?”

He paused and spoke with his back
turned. “Bristol, let’s not talk about it.” He opened the door and left.

I continued to the bedroom, then peeled
off my dress and put on a tank top and shorts. Excitement bloomed in me,
knowing I’d see Mason that night.

Lying in bed, I sent Amber a text since
she wasn’t answering my calls. A few minutes passed and then my phone started
to ring. I thought it was her, but when I looked at the screen it was Mason
calling me.

Butterflies assembled in my stomach. My
heart walloped behind my ribcage. I eased up and pressed my back against the
headboard, smiling as I answered.

“Hey.”

“Hey, uh, how’s it going?” he asked,
sounding nervous.

“Um, fine. What’s up?”

He heaved a sigh before answering. “To
be honest, Bristol, I’ve been thinking about how I acted last weekend.”

“It’s okay,” I assured him. “You were
right. What I did was careless. This isn’t a game.”

“Still, I shouldn’t have snapped at you
like that. It’s just that…” Mason hesitated.

“What?” I urged him.

“All I want to do is keep you safe.”

Waves of electricity shot through me. My
cheeks flamed. He cared about me a lot, it seemed.

I picked at the hem of my shorts and
composed myself. “Um, well, nothing’s happened in the past few days.” It hit me
then that I still hadn’t mentioned the club, much less what had happened at the
center.

“That’s good,” Mason replied, hauling me
out of my thoughts. “I’ll be there soon. I have to stop by my place first
though.”

“Yeah, maybe you don’t have to watch the
condo tonight.” I slapped my forehead, feeling like an idiot after the words
left my mouth.

“Oh, did you want someone else to stop
by?” he asked, misunderstanding me. “Because if—”

“No!” I blurted. Getting a hold of
myself, I explained, “I mean, there’s probably no reason to. Like I said,
nothing’s happened in a few days.”

“Bristol…” Mason breathed into the
phone.

Fire ignited beneath my skin and I
started to feel sweaty all over. “Don’t worry,” I managed to say. “This is a
record for him, so maybe it’s finally over.”

“I hope it is.”

The line went silent for a moment until
Mason spoke again. “How was your fundraiser? Seems like you left early.”

My lips turned down into a frown as I
mumbled, “Yeah. It was a disaster.”

“What happened?” he asked.

“Um.” I pushed down on the bed and
rolled onto my side. “Tyler showed up and my dad punched him.”

“Shit!” There was a slight chuckle in
his voice.

“Yeah. My bosses are mad at me and I’ll
probably be yelled at on Monday.”

“I doubt that,” Mason comforted me. “I
can’t see anyone staying upset with you. One look at those beautiful green eyes
and that sweet, irresistible smile and they’ll reconsider. I felt so bad after
snapping at you.”

Like butter on hot toast, my heart was
melting at his words. My voice got trapped at the back of my throat and I
couldn’t reply. I didn’t even know
what
to say.

“Oh…wow…” Mason faked a cough. “Did I
just say that out loud?”

I giggled. “You did.”

We got quiet again.

“So, um,” I tried to break the silence.
“Are you still coming over?”

“I just pulled up at my house,” he
replied. “Checking on my dog. Be there in a sec.”

I perked up, sitting Indian style. “Oh,
you have a dog.”

“Yeah, Marley,” he replied in a proud
way. “A husky. Been my buddy ever since I finished my training.”

“That’s great. I could use a dog,
especially now. I’m home alone.”
Geez
. That sounded desperate.

“Where’s your dad?” he asked, alerted.

I explained, “He said he was going out
for a drive along the bay. Maybe it’s something he picked up while he was doing
anger management.” I didn’t intend to say the last part but it came out
naturally. I had no filter with Mason.

“Oh, I see.”

I sat up and asked, “Do you know about
my dad’s arrest?”

Mason took a moment before he responded,
“Yeah, when this thing started with you I learned about it at the precinct.” He
quickly added, “I wasn’t checking up on your family or anything…”

“It’s okay. I’m sure everyone around
here knows,” I murmured. “He never got that angry before, not when he was
married to my mom. My dad was a completely different person that day.”

“Wait, you were
there?
” he asked,
surprised.

“I didn’t have any classes and I figured
since I was close to his job I would swing by and have lunch with him. He and his
coworker got into it—I never knew what it was about and I never asked. All I
know is they started fighting and my dad was pounding the shit out of him. When
the other workers pulled him off, he appeared so shocked, like it hadn’t been
him fighting the whole time. That guy—Cooper—his face was covered in blood…” My
breath hitched as the memory flooded my head. “Anyway, it was terrible.”

“I’m sorry you saw that,” Mason
muttered.

“It’s okay...” I composed myself. “My
dad’s been better, until tonight, but he’s a fighter. He’ll get through it.”

“I’m sure he will,” he said confidently.
“Well, I’m feeding Marley, then I’ll head out.”

“I’m okay,” I replied, suddenly afraid
of being around Mason again. I’d undoubtedly shatter and confess my feelings.
“The door’s locked. The windows are locked. Besides, like I said, it’s been a
week. He’s probably over me now.” 

“Still…” he trailed, perhaps detecting
the uncertainty in my voice.

Then before I could stop myself, my
emotions took over and I blurted out, “I could drive out to your place instead
of you coming here. I mean, Marley already missed you all day and now you’re
running out on him again for the night.”

Mason wasn’t saying anything and I
wondered if I had crossed a line. As I was about to lie and say it was a joke,
he said, “Sure. I’ll text you the address.”

I expelled a breath of relief. “Okay,
see you in a bit then.”

“Be careful,” he said. I could have
sworn he chortled before ending the call, excited about me coming over to his
place.

Sliding off the bed, I changed into
jeans and put on a sweater over my tank top. I sent Dad a text saying I was
meeting Mason. He didn’t respond. Perhaps he’d left his phone in his car and
had gone for a stroll along the water. Whatever the case, I hoped he was okay.

I had no idea would happen with Mason,
but every fiber of my being was ready and willing.

A few minutes later, I arrived at
Mason’s apartment in Jamestown. I parked in the huge underground garage and
hopped out of the car. My phone rang as I headed to the elevator. The caller
was private.

“Hello,” I answered, annoyed.

There was no response, only heavy
breathing and classical music playing in the background.

“Hello,” I said again. No one spoke. I disconnected
the call and slid my phone into my pocket as I continued to the elevator,
taking it up to the fifth floor.

Mason opened the door before I knocked.
“How’d you know I was—”

“I saw you on the security camera,” he
said smartly, eyes twinkling with delight.

He stood aside and invited me in, and
then he closed the door and went into the open kitchen. “Would you like
something to drink?”

“What do you have?” I asked, hauling off
my sweater and hanging it on the hook by the door.

“Water, coke, and red wine,” he said.

“Hmm. Red wine, please.”

I scanned the place while he took the
glasses out. His apartment was about the same size as Dad’s condo. The
contemporary style living room appeared homey with the modern furniture. Photos
with friends and family adorned the ivory-painted walls. The glass sliding door
to the balcony was open a bit, letting in the cool breeze and the relaxing
sound of the ocean, waves lapping against the shore and the pier.

A beautiful, large dog emerged from
around the corner, tail wagging excitedly. He rushed up to me with his tongue
out. I knelt down to pet his head and rub his warm furry body. “So this is
Marley,” I said, giggling. His dog was a welcome joy.

“Yeah.” Mason sounded amazed. “That’s
funny, he usually doesn’t get so close to strangers at first.”

I chortled as the happy dog tried to
slobber my cheeks with his tongue. “Maybe he knows I’m not a stranger.” Looking
up at Mason, I teased, “Have you been talking to him about me?”

He grinned. “Perhaps.”

Standing up, I went over to the island
and sat on a stool as he finished pouring the wine. Marley stayed close to me,
rubbing his body against my leg.

“All right, boy, give her some space,”
Mason scolded playfully as he handed me a glass.

Marley made a bored whine and then
stalked off to his bed in the corner of the living room.

“This is good,” I said after the first
sip.

A grateful grin stretched his lips.
“Thank you. My dad brewed it.”

“Really?” I lifted my brows, impressed.
“Your dad owns a winery?”

“He wishes.” Mason moved around the
island and sat on the stool beside me. “He does it in his basement with one of
those winemaking kits.”