Chapter Thirteen
Payton
Mason hadn’t wanted Katie at the funeral. He didn’t want her around all those people. All those cameras. As much as I wanted to be there for him, and to say good-bye to Kate, I knew he needed me to be at home with the baby. So I’d stayed at the ranch with her. When she was older, when all the media hype calmed down, we’d go see her parents. We’d bring flowers.
Mason kept everything on the other side of the gates. He’d deemed the ranch a safe space. He didn’t let agents inside the gates, reporters either. He’d do phones, he’d even Skyped a few times that I’d seen. But other than that, it had been him, Katie, and me for the last three days. No one else.
Katie was officially a week old. Mason was great with her, and I doubted he’d even need my help. Although I’d knew he’d lie and say he did. He wanted me here because he was afraid to be alone. I knew he was still crying at night when he thought I couldn’t hear him. We’d been taking shifts getting up with the baby. Taking turns sleeping in the living room with her. We’d pass each other in the hallway, zombielike high fives exchanged. When I wasn’t on the couch, I was in Mason’s bed. It smelled like him and I couldn’t help but breathe deep every time I lay down.
The baby was asleep in her bassinet when I heard him come through the front door. I wiped my hands on a dishtowel. I’d just got done cleaning bottles in the kitchen.
He gave me a sad smile when I walked into the living room. “Hey.” His suit jacket was in his hands, his dress shirt unbuttoned a little, and his tie long gone.
“How are you doing, friend?” I went to him, pulling him in for a hug and rubbing the back of his head when he rested it on my shoulder.
“To be honest, I’m glad it’s over.” He pulled back a little, but kept his arms around my waist as he peered across the room into the frilly pink bassinet. “Maybe the reporters will leave now.”
“Wouldn’t count on it, bud.” We both looked up and toward the door. “Hi.” The man standing there was gorgeous, in a cocky rock star kind of way. Even his little smirk screamed girls want me. “I’m Jacks.” He stepped farther into the room and held his hand out to me.
Jackson Cole. He was in the Devil’s Share. No wonder I thought he was hot. Everyone in that band was so good looking it wasn’t even funny. “Hi.” I put my hand in his. “Payton.”
He nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Payton.” He smiled slightly. “Mason was telling us all what a godsend you’ve been over the last week.” Jacks glanced at Mace and let go of my hand.
Mason put his hands on my shoulders, squeezing lightly and pulling me back against him in a gesture that made it look like we were together. Except we weren’t, and I needed to remember that.
“What’s up, man? I thought you guys were all headed home right after the service.”
Of course one of the hottest bands in the nation had come to Johnny Cadence’s funeral. “We are, we’re leaving first thing in the morning.” Jacks stepped closer to the bassinet, his smile widening when he looked down at Katie. “She so beautiful, Mace.” He straightened and put his hands in his pockets. “We wanted to talk to you before we left. Make sure you didn’t need anything.”
“You mean you wanted to ask me about rescheduling the tour.” Mason’s voice was hard all of a sudden, his tone ice cold.
“No.” Jacks met Mace’s steely gaze. “We don’t give a shit about the tour. Take your time, there is no reason to worry about that today.” He pointed at the bassinet. “Family is the only thing that ever really matters. Believe me, we understand that better than you could imagine.”
Mason’s shoulders slumped somewhat, like the fight he thought he was going to need to muster left him. The front door opened again and yet another beautiful person walked in. It was like a revolving door of runway models. I looked down at the shirt I was wearing. It was covered in baby formula and I knew my hair was gross and messy. A gorgeous woman walked in and headed straight for Mason. He stepped around me and she pulled him in for a hug. And he hugged her back, his face contorting like he was about to cry. She looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her.
The hugged for longer than an average hug, actually he clung to her. When she let him go she turned to me. “Hi, I’m Lexi.” Ah. Dash Conner’s wife. Well at least I could let go of that unnecessary and unwelcome twinge of jealousy their tight embrace had caused.
She held her hand out, and I shook it. “Payton.”
“Nice to finally meet you, Payton” She shifted her attention to Mason. “I know you’re probably drained after today, but Jacks and I just wanted a few minutes with you before we head home. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, sure.” Mason put his hand on my lower back, leading me into the living room. I needed to talk to him about all this touching that was happening tonight. It wasn’t smart. We were grieving and emotional. Things could get misconstrued in a heartbeat. And, hell, Mason would be an easy guy to fall for, especially right now when he was vulnerable and raw.
Case in point, he basically collapsed on the leather sectional. “Take a load off.” He gestured to the living room before him, indicating Jacks and Lexi should sit.
I cleared my throat. “You know, since you are all in here with Katie, I’m going to go grab a shower.”
Mason’s head jerked up. “You don’t have to leave.” His eyes were pleading with me to stay.
“I’ll be quick, I promise.” There was no reason for me to be there. He wasn’t alone. Katie wasn’t alone. And I reeked of baby formula. “It was nice to meet you both.”
“You too, Payton.” Lexi smiled, crossing her toned legs and settling in like she’d been here a million times. Hell, maybe she had. She was Dash Conner’s wife. Maybe they hobnobbed with actors like Mason’s dad all the time. Jacks winked at me on my way out of the room, and I fought the blush creeping up my cheeks.