“About damn time I got a call from you,” he grumbled into the phone.
“Sorry. I’ve been busy,” I replied.
“Don’t need to know. I already got an idea of the busy you’ve been.”
My cheeks turned red. I hated thinking about what he’d heard on the plane.
“How are things?” I asked him.
“Working my ass off. With Jim down, I’m having to take up all his work. The man works hard. I wake up early and fall into bed late.”
“How much longer will he be in a cast?”
“Six weeks. I can handle it. Hard work never hurt me.”
The idea of Kiro’s only son working hard on a ranch in Texas wasn’t what the world would imagine.
“What about you? Nan eat you up yet?” he asked.
“No. I’m too tough for her. You know that.”
“Bullshit. She sees you with Grant and she’s going apeshit on your ass. He better be ready to make sure you come out without a scratch.”
“She knows, and he handled her. I haven’t seen her in a few days.”
“Good. Maybe she’ll stay gone.”
I hadn’t called him to talk about Nan. I needed guy advice. “Do you think it would be stupid for me to have feelings for Grant?”
He didn’t reply right away. I was worried he was about to say what I already feared. “I was under the impression that, for you to do what I heard on that plane, you’d already have feelings for him.”
“Well, yeah, I already had feelings for him, but I mean . . . you know, feelings feelings.”
Mase chuckled. “Are you trying to ask me if it’s smart for you to fall in love with Grant Carter?”
Well, yeah. “I guess,” I replied.
“No. It’s probably the dumbest thing you could do. But it’s done. You were in love with him when you decided to sleep with him. That’s who you are, Harlow. So you’ve done it. You need to be worrying about what you’re gonna do when this ends. How will you handle it?”
I sat there staring at the mirror in front of me. He was right. I had been in love with Grant for months. I didn’t want to admit it because it was pathetic. You didn’t fall in love in two weeks. But I had done just that. Then he’d left.
“I don’t know,” I said.
Mase grunted, and I could tell he was moving something heavy. “You pack your shit and come to Texas. I’ll handle the rest. That’s what we’ll do.”
I realized talking to Mase about this was pointless. I wasn’t moving to Texas and I wasn’t letting him seek revenge. “Never mind. I’ll figure this out. Thanks for listening.”
“I’m here, Sis. Anytime. Just call me.”
“I know. Love you.”
“You, too,” he replied.
I hung up and dropped the phone beside me. Where did I go from here?
I was in love with Grant. Full-fledged in love with him. I wanted him forever. I wanted to see his smile every morning. I wanted to know what it was like to be in his arms every day. What had I done?
Grant