Bang (Blast Brothers #2) - Sabrina Stark Page 0,71
all too well that I'd been only half-listening as Willow told me about her day at school.
Now, as I stared at my cellphone, I couldn't decide what to do. There was only one topic I felt capable of discussing. Unfortunately, it was the same topic I'd be smart to avoid, especially while Arden was in Kentucky with all three brothers – Brody, Chase, and Mason.
But then, my pulse quickened. Maybe, if I were really crafty about it, I could get Arden to tell me something about Mason's current mood without arousing her suspicion.
With that in mind, I tapped the call button and waited for her to answer.
I didn't need to wait long. She answered almost instantly. And then, with barely a hello, she said, "I've got a question."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah. By any chance, is there a nice family emergency you could rustle up? Like maybe some sort of house-fire? Or maybe a flood?"
"Sorry, what?"
"Cripes, I'd even take pestilence."
With a weak laugh, I asked, "Why pestilence?"
"Because I’m not picky," she said. "I'm thinking that if you could find a reason for Mason to come back home, the rest of us could breathe a little easier."
I sat up straighter on the sofa. "What do you mean?"
"He was such a crab-ass today."
For some stupid reason, I almost wanted to smile. "Really?"
"Oh, yeah," she said. "And I mean above and beyond, even for him."
"So…you're saying he was in a bad mood?"
"No. He's normally in a bad mood. Today, he was in the worst mood I've ever seen."
"Really? How so?"
"Well for starters, he flipped out on Brody."
"Oh." This wasn't what I wanted to hear. "He did? Why?"
"For whistling."
I felt my brow wrinkle in confusion. "You mean…like, wolf-whistling or something?"
"No. Like when you whistle a happy tune."
"Really?"
"Oh, yeah. There Brody is, looking at plans for the new kitchen, and he's kind of whistling, you know, to himself. And Mason happens to walk by. And he stops and gives Brody this look. You should've seen it. It was like he wanted to clobber Brody with a two-by-four."
"Wait, why a two-by-four?"
"Don't ask me," she said. "I’m just glad he wasn't holding a hammer."
I hesitated. "You are joking, right? I mean, you don't seriously think that Mason would ever take a hammer to Brody?"
"Okay, maybe not a hammer," she said. "But I'm telling you, the look he gave Brody, it really was scary."
I could totally envision it. Still I couldn’t resist saying, "But that's hardly flipping out. I mean, the way you talked, I half expected to hear that Mason was yelling or something."
"Hah! You know Mason. He doesn't need to yell to be scary. And besides, it wasn't just the look."
"It wasn't?"
"No. Because after he gives Brody the look, Brody says to him, 'What's that look for?' And Mason says, 'You're whistling.' And Brody says, 'Yeah, so?' And Mason says, 'You need to stop.' And then–"
"Wait," I said. "Did Mason say why?"
"Why what?"
"Why Brody should stop whistling. I mean, did Brody ask?"
"Oh yeah. And you wanna know what Mason says?"
"What?"
"He says that it's pissing him off."
Huh. "Well that's weird."
"Yeah. And it gets even weirder – because Chase comes along and catches the tail end of the argument. And you know how he is."
I did know, but it wasn't from being Willow's nanny.
Even before I'd started working for Mason, I'd spent countless hours watching the Blast remodeling show. Chase was a notorious trouble-maker. It's not that he came across as malicious, but he did have this way of pushing people's buttons.
And now on the phone, Arden was saying, "So you can probably guess what Chase does next."
I winced. "You don't mean—"
"Oh yeah," he said. "He starts whistling."
I couldn’t help it. I laughed.
But Arden wasn't laughing. "And Mason," she continued, "he looks like he's gonna pop. And for some stupid reason, this only makes Chase do it more."
I was still laughing. I wasn't even sure why. I mean, yeah, it was funny, but even to my own ears, my laughter had a sinister edge, like I was glad to see Mason tormented by his own brother.
This wasn't like me.
I was definitely losing it.
Through my laughter, I said, "But that's so childish."
"Yeah, tell me about it. Anyway, the next time Mason tells him to stop, Chase says, 'Oh yeah? Make me.' So…one thing leads to another, and before anyone knows what's happening, Mason takes a flying leap at Chase."
And just like that, I wasn't laughing anymore. "You're kidding."
"I wish," she said. "And of course, the whole thing is caught on camera."