Chapter Twenty-eight

When Hanna woke, Nate was gone, and this time, there was no note telling her he'd be back.

Why would there be? He didn't owe her any explanations. If anything, she owed him for dealing with Jack when she couldn't.

She dragged her ass out of bed and dressed with slow, clumsy movements. Last night's scare had left her drained, both physically and emotionally. She hadn't cried that hard in years, and she still felt wrung out and empty. Almost numb.

If not for sex with Nate last night, she might have worried that she was no longer capable of feeling anything good.

This will pass, she told herself. Everything is going to be just fine.

By the time she was washed and dressed, it was nearly noon.

Tires crunched over the broken driveway, and her heart jumped with excitement over the idea that Nate was back.

See? You're not broken. You can still be happy.

With an involuntary smile on her face, she rushed to the window, but instead of Nate's shiny white truck, she saw the faded blue paint and rust spots that adorned her faithful old friend.

"Rex!" she squealed and rushed out to greet her trusty companion.

His engine sounded good—better than it had in years—so good, she almost didn't recognize his throaty growl.

Declan Grace killed the engine and slid from the seat. His tall, lean body—a canvas of tattoos—was backlit by the bright sun. He saw her beaming face and returned her smile.

In that instant he looked so much like Nate, she almost wanted to kiss him.

Declan shoved the squeaky door shut and patted Rex's hood as he came to greet her. "I haven't seen a smile that pretty on a woman in a long time. Guess you're happy to see me."

"I'm happy to see Rex," she said, then realized how cold it sounded. "And his surgeon, of course. Thank you for bringing him back to life."

"Wasn't easy, but that look on your face made it worth all the effort." Declan handed her the keys, and until this moment, she hadn't realized just how much she'd missed them.

She caressed the scratched metal and let out a relieved breath. She was no longer stranded in this town. She was free and mobile once more.

The first place she wanted to go was to see Nate and thank him for helping her last night.

"Nate said you had a rough night and not to come by too early," Declan said. "Hope I didn't wake you."

"No. I'm glad you came. How much do I owe you?" she asked.

He pulled a folded invoice from his back pocket and handed it to her. "I know you're short on funds, so if you want to pay me after you get settled in your new job, that's fine."

She looked at the bill. With the money Nate had paid her for her work here and what she had saved, she had almost enough to cover it.

Hanna motioned Declan to follow her inside. She pulled out some cash and handed it to him. "Is this enough of a down payment? I wish I could pay the whole thing, but I need some money to get started in Oklahoma. I promise I will pay you as soon as I can, though."

Declan shrugged. "No worries. I figure you'll be coming back this way to see Nate, anyway, you two being all hot and heavy like you are."

The mention of his name made her heart give a hard squeeze. They'd only been apart a few hours, but she already missed him. How was she going to go on with her life in Oklahoma and never see him again?

She'd give anything to be the kind of girl who deserved a man like Nate, but she knew better. The best gift she could offer him was to go on her way and leave him to find the right girl—one who was classy and educated and had a warm, loving family.

The idea of him with another woman made her physically ill and so jealous she was ready to rip this imaginary woman's hair out by the roots.

Way to be classy.

Hanna pulled in a deep breath to keep her voice from shaking. "Nate is awesome, but we're not together—not like you mean."

Declan frowned and ran a hand through his long, dark hair. "No? The whole town is buzzing about the two of you. They made it sound like things were pretty serious."

"We've only known each other a little while. How serious could it be?"

"Men fall fast. At least that's what Grandad always said."

Now it was Hanna's turn to be confused. "Nate hasn't fallen for me. It's just a fling."

Speculation tightened Declan's green gaze. "Did he tell you that, or are you just guessing?"

She hesitated as her mind ran through a fantasy where Nate fell in love with her and begged her to stay. He told her that she was the woman of his dreams, and that he didn't care if she had a shitty family, was homeless and between jobs.

Then reality set in and she almost laughed. "A man like Nate doesn't have to tell a girl like me anything. I know the score."

Declan propped one lean hip against the kitchen counter. "Okay. If you say so. I'm working on learning not to butt in—it's a bad Grace family habit—so I'll leave you to your own conclusions."

Hanna wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but she was already dealing with enough emotional garbage to add Declan's opinions into the mix. Now that she had Rex back, it was time for her to move on.

"I'm going to need a ride back to town. You don't mind, do you?" Declan asked.

"Not at all. Give me five minutes to pack, and I'll take you wherever you like." On her way out of town. Time to leave before she fell so hard for Nate that she couldn't.

Declan gave her a charming grin. "How do you feel about birthday parties?"

***

Mason attended his grandad's birthday party out of love and respect for the man, not because he was in the mood to celebrate or to be near other human beings.

The celebration was in full swing, with tons of food laid out on long folding tables, and games set up in the back yard near the pond.

For as long as Mason could remember, the family had gathered like this, using every little event as an excuse to get together and celebrate. Birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, holidays…hell, they even had a party once when his cousin was finally potty trained.

He'd always enjoyed these little gatherings, using them as a chance to catch up on what was going on in the lives of his siblings and cousins. They were all so busy with school and jobs, that if they didn't have a scheduled time to get together, they probably never would have bothered.

Grandma was no longer here to decorate, but someone had taken her place, hanging streamers and balloons in festive colors. The tables were covered with the same yellow-and-white checked cloths that had been used for years, and Grandma's blue and white serving dishes were crowded together to make room for all of Grandad's favorite foods.

Lots of barbeque, tons of carbs, and six different kinds of dessert were offered up, allowing people to eat as much as they wanted.

Mason wasn't hungry, but he held a sturdy paper plate filled with enough food to ward off anyone who might find his lack of appetite their business.

There weren't as many kids around as there used to be. The last generation was mostly grown, but hadn't yet settled down to start working on the next generation.

Mason had always thought that he and Diana would be the first ones to have kids.

Grief and anger clashed in his chest until there was no room left to breathe. He didn't understand why his fucking emotions couldn't make up their mind about who was running the show, but neither side seemed to be willing to surrender. He was left to deal with both, when everyone around him was laughing and enjoying the warm afternoon sunshine.

He couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed anything. Diana had betrayed him and taken that all away.

Across the back yard, his cousin Daisy was sitting in the lap of her boyfriend, Mark. They were smiling and laughing, with no concern at all for the rest of the world. It was just the two of them, inside their happy bubble.

Nearby, his brother Saxon was helping his girlfriend Gemma learn how to play horseshoes. He stood behind her, guiding her hand in a throw she needed no help to perfect. It was simply an excuse to touch the woman he loved.

Mason wanted to be happy for them, but he didn't know how. They had what he'd lost. How could he watch them cuddle and touch and not feel like he'd lost something vital?

Coming here had been a mistake—one that was about to get worse.

Mom spotted him where he hugged the shadows under a hickory tree and made a beeline.

Great. Now on top of dealing with all the people and happy faces, he was going to have to deal with Mom's meddling, too.

Dr. Bonnie Grace was a tall woman who was still strikingly beautiful, even after raising four willful children. Her face was prone to smiles, but right now, all Mason could see was worry dulling her pale blue eyes.

She joined him in the shade and hugged him. Her voice was soft with motherly concern. "How are you, honey?"

"Fine," he said, trying hard to warm the word before it came out all hard and cold.

"You haven't eaten."

He ignored her statement because she was right. "When are we opening presents?" Mason asked.

As soon as that was over, he could leave.

"Soon. We're still waiting for a couple of people to show." She was silent for so long that he thought he might actually get out of this conversation without an interrogation. And then she asked, "Have you been sleeping? Eating? You look like you've lost weight."

"I'm fine, Mom. No need to worry."

"But I'm so very good at it," she said with a slight smile.

Mason tried to make his mouth move, but he couldn't manage to smile back. Not even for the woman he loved more than any other.

Now that Diana was out of the picture.

"Have you spoken to her?" Mom asked.

"I'm not going to discuss this with you."

"She cheated on you. Stole from your business. You need closure."

"I need to be left to deal with my problems in my own way and my own time. I know you love me, but you need to stop helping. All you're doing is making it worse."

Mom sighed. "I know you need time, but I'm telling you right now that I'm not going to let this drop. I can't stand to see one of my babies in distress and not do something about it."

He was thirty-two—hardly a baby—but he remembered all those times she's cared for him when he was sick, or rocked him to sleep when he was afraid. Because of that, he was able to temper his tone so she wouldn't hear his anger. "There's nothing you can do. Just give me some time and space, okay?"

Mom patted his arm and nodded. "A little more, but not much. I won't leave you to suffer alone. It's not good for the soul or the body."

He would get over Diana, not because it was easy, but because he had no choice. He couldn't stand to live the rest of his life hurting like this.

But he wasn't there yet, and until he was, this would be the last family gathering he attended. It was too hard to be around so much joy when he was incapable of feeling any of it.

"I'm going to go, Mom. Give Dad my love, okay?"

She didn't argue, and he knew her well enough to realize what a huge effort it must have taken her to keep her mouth shut.

Mason kissed her cheek, wished his Grandad happy birthday, and left.

The one thing that kept his mind occupied enough that he didn't think about what Diana had done was work, so got in his truck and drove to the office. There was always work to be done, and if he couldn't be happy, at least he could be productive.