Written in the Stars (8 page)

“Yeah, but for how long?” Grace asked. “And what about your career?”

Becca took a seat across from her daughters. “Sophia, are you thinking of moving to Cricket Creek?”

Sophia pressed her lips together and then lifted one shoulder. “I wouldn't go that far. I mean, I do enjoy working at the bistro, and I've come close to mastering Mattie's biscuits and gravy.” She smiled. “And the regular breakfast crowd is a hoot.” Her smile softened.

“What else?” Grace asked.

“I don't know what you mean,” Sophia said, but the sudden color in her cheeks indicated otherwise.

“It's about a boy!” Becca said and rubbed her hands together. “What is it about this town that people find love and move here?”

“Must be something in the water,” Grace said, and then eyed the water fountain.

“It's not!” Sophia protested. She shook her head so hard that her ponytail swung back and forth.

“In the water?” Grace said.

“It's not about a guy,” Sophia said, but started twirling the end of her hair, a tell sign since she was a kid.

“Right,” Grace said. “What's his name? And if you don't tell me, I'm going to pinch you.”

“Mom! Are you seriously going to let Grace bully me?”

Becca laughed, enjoying this trip down memory lane. “Yes, I want to know too.”

“There's...” She paused and blew out a sigh.

“Oh, come on,” Grace said.

“Okay, there's this cute guy, Avery Dean, who comes in the bistro on a regular basis, and he flirts a little bit, but he hasn't asked me out or anything like that.”

“You should ask him, then.” Grace gave Sophia's knee a nudge.

Sophia shifted in the fake leather chair and nudged Grace back. “I'm not as bold as you. And I haven't heard about any guys in your life lately.”

“I've been too busy with Girl Code.” Grace shrugged, but when Mason Mayfield walked into the room, Becca noticed her daughter's eyes widen just fraction. Grace tried to act calm, but a quick intake of breath had Sophia nudging her sister.

“And then again, maybe you've been holding out on us,” Sophia whispered. “No wonder you chose to stay at the marina instead of with me.”

“Oh, stop,” Grace whispered back. “I've only been here three days.”

“By how he's looking at you, you've made them count.”

“Right, he gave me a glance, and now he's chatting up that nurse over there. Mason just kept me safe during the storm and helped me get settled in.”

“If you say so.”

Becca followed the conversation like she was watching a tennis match. But she had to agree with Sophia. Something had passed between Grace and Mason with just one short look, and they might not be aware of it, but the lingering glance spoke volumes to anyone watching.

“I like my little cabin surrounded by water. Look, I love you, sis, but we would have driven each other up the wall.”

“I'm guessing you're still a night owl, listening to music loud enough to wake the dead instead of keeping the normal hours of regular people.”

“Getting up at the ass crack of dawn isn't normal, Sophia. It's simply inhuman. Am I right, Mum?”

“A matter of opinion.”

“I can't help it if creative inspiration comes to me late at night with music thumping through my veins.”

“So is Mason a night owl like you, Grace?”

“I wouldn't know!”

“Oh, look, he's coming this way,” Sophia said.

“Shh, he's going to hear you.” Grace reached for a
People
magazine and started flipping through it.

Becca watched Mason as he approached. He walked in that laid-­back country-­boy style and was good-­looking in a rough-­and-­tumble sort of way. He wore faded jeans like he'd been born in them, and his cowboy boots clicked on the floor.

Magazine forgotten, Grace couldn't take her eyes off him.

“Hello, Ms. Gordon. Glad you made it here okay,” Mason said in that smooth Southern drawl.

“Thanks, Mason. I am so glad to be here too! But do call me Becca.”

“I'll try to remember to do that,” he said and then turned to greet Sophia and Grace. “Good to see you, Sophia. Mattie told me yesterday that your biscuits and gravy rival hers.”

“Not hardly. I'm just a stand-­in. But she's a sweetie for saying so.”

“Hello, Gracie,” Mason said. “Everything in the cabin still workin' okay?”

“Splendid so far.”

“No sign of the Loch Ness monster yet?” Mason asked with a crooked grin that Becca thought was quite charming.

“No, but one can only hope,” Grace replied lightly. “Bigfoot tweeted that it's National Chocolate Chip Cookie day.”

“Really? Who knew?”

Grace tilted her head. “Hey, if Bigfoot says so, it must be true.”

Mason chuckled but frowned when his phone pinged. “Excuse me, ladies.”

When he was out of earshot, Becca said, “That was interesting. He calls you Gracie?”

“Mum...”

“Inside jokes already?” Sophia asked. She bit her bottom lip and looked at Grace expectantly.

“I'm not going to pay one bit of attention to either one of you.” Grace started flipping through the magazine again.

Becca picked up a magazine and held it up to her face to hide her smile. Her visit to Cricket Creek, Kentucky, was going to be quite interesting.

On a Wing and a Prayer

T
HE MOMENT THAT
M
ASON HELD TINY
L
ILY
IN
HIS
ARMS
,
he was a goner. He cradled her as if she were made of spun glass and said silly baby things to her in a soft, high voice that should have felt ridiculous but didn't. Her pink Cupid's bow mouth, perfect nose, and blue eyes fringed with long lashes captivated him. He couldn't stop staring at her angelic face. “I'm so glad you're home.” Emotion, a tenderness like he'd never felt before, washed over him in waves, and damn if he didn't have to blink back moisture forming in his eyes. Swallowing hard, he ran a gentle fingertip down her cheek, thinking that in all his years, he'd never felt anything so very soft.

“You gonna give me a turn?” Danny asked from where he sat on Mattie and Garret's sofa. After an extra week of staying in the preemie ward, this was Lily's first day home. Still small, she swam in the newborn nightgown, making Mason's heart melt. “Seriously.”

“No, I'm never giving her up,” Mason said, but when Lily started to whimper and root around, he looked over at Mattie, who grinned. “What does she want?”

“I'm afraid you can't give her what she's looking for, Mason.”

“Oh...okay,” Mason relented, but when Mattie started to push to her feet, he shook his head. “Don't you dare. I'll bring Lily over to you.” He eased carefully to his feet and gingerly made his way across the living room to the sofa. Slowly leaning over, he placed Lily in her mother's outstretched arms. When she started unbuttoning her blouse, Mason backed up and Danny stood up. “We'll give you some privacy,” Mason said.

“I'll put a blanket over—”

“I've got to get going anyway,” Mason said gently. “My beer needs my attention.”

“I'll be over this weekend to work on the bar,” Danny said.

“Sounds good.”

“Is the Belgian blonde ready for consumption?”

“Yes, and I'm anxious to try one.”

“Save a few for me,” Danny said.

“I can have only a few sips while I'm nursing,” Mattie said, and then stuck out her bottom lip.

“I'm going to pop in the kitchen to say bye to Mom. Then I gotta bounce too. I promised to help out Sophia at the bistro.”

“Cooking?” Mattie asked with a grin.

“Hell no,” Danny said, and then his eyes widened when he looked at Lily. “Sorry.”

“It's okay.” Mattie laughed. “She can't understand English yet.”

“Still...,” Danny said. “I need to watch my mouth around her. To answer your question, nope, I'm just gonna help take out the trash and mop the floor and stuff.”

“Thank you, Danny. I don't know how to repay all of the help Garret and I have gotten over the past few months.”

Danny pointed at Lily. “She is all the thanks we'll ever need.”

“Oh...Danny.” Mattie sniffed hard. “She's precious, isn't she? Garret falls to pieces every time he looks at her.”

“She's gonna have us all wrapped around her little finger,” Danny said. “How are you ever gonna put her in time-­out?”

“Mom managed to send me to my room often enough.”

“Yeah, but you were a troublemaker.”

“I was not! You just blamed me for everything.”

“Sorry. If I had known back then that you would give us Lily, I wouldn't have been such a shit.”

Mattie chuckled. “I should have given you a heads-­up.”

Mason smiled at the exchange between his brother and sister. While he still had pangs here and there about not being on the pro-­fishing circuit, it suddenly hit him in the gut that he was glad to be home instead of on the road for weeks at a time. He supposed he should be thankful for unanswered prayers.

“See you later, Mattie,” Mason said, but then followed Danny into the kitchen to say good-­bye to his mother, who was cooking up a storm.

“Mom, you do realize that only two people live here, right?” Danny said with a chuckle.

“You know I never learned to cook small,” she said as she skinned a potato.

“Where's Dad?” Mason asked.

“Helping Garret put the crib together. The bassinette is good for now, but the crib needs to be assembled. When Lily decided to make her appearance early, Mattie and Garret weren't quite ready. That boy can sing so pretty, and the lullaby he wrote for Lily brought me to tears, but he's helpless when it comes to puttin' things together.”

“We all have our talents,” Mason said.

“Really?” Danny asked. “I'm still looking for mine.” Although Danny chuckled, Mason knew that his brother was a little bit at loose ends with his life. Working at the marina was all Danny had ever known, but he had a talent for carpentry that he needed to put to use more often. Mason hoped that after people saw the amazing bar Danny was building, he would get more requests for similar projects. “Maybe I'll join the circus.”

Danny was rewarded with a potato peeler being pointed at him. “Now, you just hush. You're plenty talented, Daniel Jay Mayfield.”

“If you say so.”

“I know so. The rocking chair that you built for Mattie is simply beautiful. So just stop with that nonsense.”

Danny raised his hands in surrender. “I was just jokin',” he said, but Mason wasn't buying it. “I'd better get up to the bistro and help Sophia. I know that Shane and Laura Lee stopped in this morning and helped cook breakfast, but I don't want Sophia stuck with the cleanup on her own.”

“I'll walk out with you,” Mason said, and they gave a last good-­bye to their mother.

“So, you sweet on Sophia?” Mason asked as they walked to their trucks.

Danny waved him off. “No, nothin' like that. She's like a little sister to me. Cute as a damned button, though. Plus, she's got a thing for Avery Dean.”

“Really?”

“Avery pops in for breakfast nearly every day. Flirts until Sophia blushes. And I've noticed that she always gives him a little extra of everything.”

“Isn't he engaged to Ashley Montgomery?”

“Not anymore.”

“What happened?”

Danny shrugged. “Don't really know. It just suddenly...ended. Avery has been closemouthed about it. He was pretty tore up for a while, but he seems to be getting over it.”

Mason fished his keys out of his pocket. “Huh. That's too bad, I guess.”

“I dunno. Guess it wasn't meant to be. So what's up with you and Grace?”

“Nothin'. Why would you ask?”

“Dunno. The way you look at her, I guess.”

“Well, she's a damned pretty woman, but I've got bigger fish to fry.”

“What do you mean?”

Mason propped his boot up on his bumper. He gave Danny a level look. “This goes nowhere.”

“Okay.” All humor left Danny's eyes. “You got my word.”

“I'm struggling financially with the brewery. The damned machinery cost more than I expected, and when I got it late, it pushed back the brewing process. I don't want to ask Shane for more than his initial investment, so I'm left with a nut I don't know that I can cover. I might have to shut the whole thing down.”

“No way.”

Mason nodded. “When that storm hit, I was scared shitless that there would be damage that I couldn't fix. The insurance deductible would have buried me, Danny. It's already high because we're in the flood zone.” He shoved his fingers through his hair. “I'm not sure what I can do to save it.”

“Get another investor. What about Jimmy Topmiller?”

“I don't know if I want to ask.”

“He's got to have a shit ton of money from his pro-­fishing days. The dude won every tournament possible, and he still drives a beat-­up pickup truck. Probably one of those guys who has the first dime he ever made.”

“Doesn't sound like he would want to risk it either.”

“Yeah.” Danny blew out a sigh. “Guess you got a point.”

Mason closed his eyes and shook his head. “I know I can make it if I can just hang in there, but at the moment it's not looking good. Bills started piling up all at the same damned time, tugging me down like quicksand.”

“Man, I'm sorry. I had no clue.”

“Keep it under your hat. With the stress of Lily's birth, I didn't want to throw anything else at Mom and Dad. You know that Dad might look healthy as a horse, but he still has heart issues.”

“Hey, I'll keep it to myself. Mason, I wish I could help in some way.”

Mason looked at his younger brother and shook his head. While lots of people thought that Danny was just a screwup, Mason knew better. Danny had a heart of gold and would give him the shirt off his back. Unfortunately, it was all Danny had to offer. “Maybe I'll come up with an answer. And just getting it off my chest to you has helped. Sorry to burden you with this, Danny.”

“Are you kidding me? I'm kinda pissed that you didn't say something sooner.” Danny came over and gave Mason a quick, hard hug and a slap on the back. “Hey, we managed to save this marina with a lot of work, creativity, and a little bit of luck. Something will come up. I can feel it right here,” he said, and pounded his chest with his fist.

“I hope you're right. It would suck, because I'm a damned good brewmaster.” He didn't mention that after he didn't return to the world of bass fishing, losing the brewery would feel like two failures in a row. And that didn't count a broken engagement.

“You've got a lot of people champing at the bit for the first beer tasting.”

“Well, I perfected the chocolate porter. No easy feat. Uppity city girl Grace even liked it.”

“She doesn't seem uppity. Sophia sure isn't.”

Mason shrugged, not willing to admit how much he liked her. Having his heart broken once was quite enough. “Whatever.”

Danny looked like he was going to say something else, but thought better of it. Good. He didn't need another lecture about moving on. “Hey, I've got to get going. But if there's anything I can do, let me know. If it's just to bend my ear or maybe get out on the water...seriously, anything. Just give me a shout.”

“Will do.” Mason gave Danny a slap on the back and then hopped up in his truck. He put the keys in the ignition, but then paused and gripped the steering wheel. He was thirty-­two years old, and while he was proud of doing his part to keep Mayfield Marina afloat, he was starting to feel the pressure of taking on the brewery. Of course he knew it was a risk. But he'd been good at tournament fishing by taking risks and fishing in places others veered away from. He'd thought he'd done all of the research, crunched all the numbers. And Danny was right. He had people anxiously waiting for the beer-­tasting party, restaurants willing to have his product on tap. He was so damned close...

And hanging by a wing and a prayer.

After checking on production at the brewery, Mason decided that he needed pizza from River Row Pizza to go with the Belgian-­style blonde that was ready to tap. Another blonde popped into his head, and he thought about asking Gracie to go up to the pizzeria with him, but then squashed the idea. He was suddenly in a crappy mood and should probably eat alone on the back deck of his boat and do a little brooding. One thing he was good at was brooding. Maybe he'd listen to some music and stare out over the river, hoping for an answer to come his way.

Mason pulled into the parking lot of Wedding Row, a pretty strip of bridal-­related shops built just a few years ago. The thought hit Mason that he could have been married by now, maybe had a child or two, but just weeks before their wedding, Lauren decided that small-­town life wasn't for her after all and she gave him his ring back. Of course he didn't buy into her reasoning completely. It wasn't just that she missed living in Lexington. She also missed her debutante lifestyle. He'd proposed at the height of his pro-­fishing career, when he was poised to make it to the top, but when he'd taken the break to help out at the failing marina, his relationship with her crumpled like a beer can in a compactor. Mason hadn't expected their engagement to hinge on his career or living in Cricket Creek, but he supposed in the end he'd dodged the bullet. His parents had stuck it out through thick and thin, and that was the kind of love that he longed to have in his life. Sure, he wanted to be successful, but Lauren was only after money and a pampered lifestyle, and when times got tough, she bailed.

Still...the pain, though dull now, raised its ugly head now and again. And it was pretty damned frightening to think he'd put his love and trust in someone who was so shallow. Why hadn't he seen though her?

“What the hell is wrong with me?” Mason leaned forward and turned the radio up louder, trying to drown out his sudden emotions, which he usually held in check. Oh great, the song was Darius Rucker singing about kids and family.

Beautiful Lily popped into his mind, and he felt a sharp pang of longing. While he and Danny joked about not wanting kids, Mason was a big fat liar. He wanted a family. He wanted a little boy to take fishing and a little girl to spoil with everything pink and pretty. Mason grinned, thinking of Mattie. Okay, maybe he wanted a little girl to take fishing. And he wanted a good woman by his side.

Maybe this mood was all about wanting to kiss Gracie Gordon. Mason smacked the steering wheel. No, the gorgeous half Brit would do her thing here in the small town and then head back to London and whatever it was that she did over there. Getting involved with her would be damned stupid. And he was done being stupid. Not only that, but he liked Garret a lot and he didn't want to do anything to ruin their friendship. Mason and Danny had been super protective of Mattie, and he was sure that Garret felt the same way about Grace and Sophia. Having a fling with Garret's half sister while she was in town for the birth of her brother's child would fall into the being-­really-­stupid category.