Page 14 of His Saving Grace

The doorknob rattled, and Grace held her breath. If it was Owen, things were going to get ugly, fast. He refused to be in the same room with Mason. In fact, he’d gone out of his way to avoid Mason at every turn. She had no idea what the issue between them was, but it wasn’t pretty.

Simon stepped through the door and the tension seeped out of her slowly, like air escaping through a hole in a balloon. It was exhausting walking on eggshells around the two of them. Hopefully, they’d work out whatever was going on between them and then everyone else could go about their lives without having to worry about tiptoeing around, bracing for when the grenade was going to detonate.

She was so curious about what had happened between them, she could almost taste the questions on her tongue. But she had no intention of asking.

Simon removed his hat and tossed it on one of the pegs that hung next to the door. The sight of the cowboy hats—and the one baseball cap—hanging on the wall made Grace smile. Who’d have thought she’d end up with cowboys?

You haven’t ended up anywhere, stupid. This was a temporary stop, just long enough to earn some money and get her bearings before she moved on. It had to be. She wasn’t staying and therefore couldn’t afford to get too comfortable or attached. To any of them.

She flicked a glance to Mason, silently cursed her lack of control, and forced her gaze back to the radishes she was slicing. Why did she find him so fascinating? Sure, he was hot, but then so were plenty of other men, including his four brothers. Yet she looked at the rest of them and didn’t feel any sort of pull. For whatever reason, Mason was different.

He’d been watching her. She could feel his gaze on her. You’re going to have to watch yourself with this one. He was far too observant and curious for her peace of mind. She needed to stay away from him. At least until either he left, or she did.

She sliced the radishes, her head down, but watched Mason through her lashes. Simon walked up to him and said something, although it was too low for her to hear. Mason frowned and shook his head, and Simon shrugged.

“Lunch is ready,” Eloise said, flipping the last burger patty onto the serving platter. Jake and Simon hustled over, and each grabbed a plate. The food was laid out along the counter in a buffet-style setup. Mason hung back, waiting, watching, ever watching.

Grace ignored him and grabbed her own plate. She got in line next to Jake, who was busy piling pickles and shredded lettuce on top of the two burgers on his plate. At his mother’s cocked eyebrow, he reached over and grabbed a handful of the salad, plopping it on his plate. Grace couldn’t help it, and made an amused sound in the back of her throat. Jake turned that dangerous grin in her direction—if circumstances were different, her panties would have gone up in flames—and dropped a handful of greens on her plate. She laughed.

She felt, rather than heard Mason come up behind her and her mirth died a quick and easy death. He moved in close, his heat radiating against her back. She caught a whiff of his distinctive smell, although this time it was mixed with a touch of outdoors and sweat. It made her knees weak. She grabbed the counter to keep upright.

No, no, no. She was so not doing this again. She could control herself. Steeling her spine, she shuffled forward a bit and out of his orbit. There, that was better. And the disappointment pulsing just behind her breastbone had nothing at all to do with her decision.

She reached for a bun at the same time Mason did. Their fingers brushed, sending a sizzle of electricity spiraling up her arm. Her gaze darted to his and a spark of something lit his eyes. So quick, and then gone. His stoic mask descended so fast, she thought maybe she imagined it.

She cleared her throat and grabbed a roll, her focus on fixing her burger. This was why she shouldn’t have agreed to have lunch with them. She couldn’t get close to these people. It was too dangerous. From now on, no more family gatherings. They were not her family and they never would be.

“I’m not sure why…”

She recognized Owen’s voice, and her heart tumbled out of her chest and into her stomach. She turned. He stood in the kitchen doorway.

His narrowed eyes were trained on Mason, who was lucky looks couldn’t kill. There was so much anger and pain in Owen’s liquid gaze, it stole her breath. He was a man in agony, and she got the impression he had nowhere to channel all of his pent-up frustration. It was something she understood intimately.

Owen turned to leave.

“No, let me.” Venom dripped from Mason’s words. He dropped his plate on the counter. The sound of the porcelain hitting the surface echoed around the deathly silent room.

Without waiting for a response, Mason rounded the counter and strode to the back door. He flung the door open with enough force that Grace braced for impact. Mason’s quick reflexes were the only thing to stop it from slamming into the wall. He looked over his shoulder at his mother and mouthed sorry. He stepped out onto the porch and pulled the door closed softly behind him.

The latch clicked. Grace flinched.

The ensuing silence was explosive.