dad?"
His expression darkened. "Yeah. Because she wanted one. And a mom, too."
Now that made me pause. "But about a mom, she told me—"
"That she doesn't have one. I know. But hey, it is what it is."
"Oh, well yeah. I mean..." I gave an awkward laugh. "Those aren't so easy to get, huh?"
Good lord. What on Earth was I saying?
By now, I had no idea. The truth was, Mason had already told me a lot more than I'd ever expected. And even though I'd never call him friendly, he was acting surprisingly civil, all things considered.
And now, I just had to ask, "So, how'd Willow end up on my doorstep? Do you know?"
"I do. And it won't happen again."
"But what happened?" I persisted. "Did she stow away in your car or something?"
"You might say that." Mason flicked his head toward my grandparent's place. "I drove out here looking for Brody, and didn't realize that Willow was hiding in the back seat."
"So you didn't see her when you got into your car?"
"I didn't look," he said. "And she was hiding under a blanket."
As I listened, Mason went on to briefly explain that according to Willow, she'd snuck into his car while it had been parked in the garage at home. And then, she'd snuck out of the car when Mason had gone inside my grandparent's place to look for Brody.
Apparently, Willow had planned to take a quick look at the beach and then return to her hiding spot before Mason emerged from the house.
Unfortunately, thanks to bad timing, she'd returned to the driveway only to discover that Mason's car was already gone, leaving her stranded.
When Mason finished talking, I said, "But I don't get it. Why didn't she just tell me all of this herself? I mean, I did ask."
"My guess?" Mason said. "She figured that if you walked her home, I'd be none the wiser."
"But you said it was ten whole miles."
He gave a curt nod. "Which to Willow is a fifteen-minute drive."
I saw what he meant. She was, after all, only seven years old. "But speaking of driving," I said, "how'd you happen to drive past us that day? Were you out looking for Willow?"
"No, because I didn't know she was missing." He grimaced. "So you can imagine what I thought when I saw her walking down the street with a couple of strangers."
I bristled. "Hey, I'm no stranger."
"You were to her."
"But not to you," I pointed out.
"Trust me," he said. "That's no mark in your favor."
So much for civility. I couldn’t stop myself from saying, "Just why do you hate me so much, anyway?"
"You've gotta ask?"
"So you're admitting you hate me?" This shouldn't have been a surprise. And yet, it bothered me more than I liked. "Is this about Brody's truck?" I said. "Because it really was an accident."
"So he says."
Now that got my attention. "You mean Brody says? When?"
In what felt like a change of topic, Mason said, "Do you know why you weren't fired?"
"Fired from what? My consulting job?"
"What, you got another one?"
"Not yet," I admitted. "But even with this one, I was never almost fired."
"You sure about that?"
"Reasonably sure," I said. "I mean, I think I'd know, right?"
"Wrong," Mason said. "That day I saw you with Willow, I told Brody you had to go." He gave me a serious look. "And that if he didn't fire you, I would."
Unbelievable. "But you can't fire me," I protested. "I don't even work for you. And technically, I don't work for Brody either."
"Trust me," Mason said, "if we wanted you gone, you'd be gone."
I started to argue, but stopped myself just in time. His claim was truer than I cared to admit. In fact, I'd concluded the very same thing on my own not too long ago.
Mason continued. "And you wanna know what Brody told me?"
"What?"
"That if you were forced out, he'd leave, too."
My jaw dropped. "What? He didn't."
"He did."
"But when?" I asked. "And why?"
"The 'when' is easy," Mason said. "It was after I brought Willow back home. By then, I'd gotten the full story on what had happened, and…" He gave a tight shrug. "I figured I might owe you an apology."
Holy Hell.
So he was admitting it?
I gave him a tight smile. "Oh, you might, huh?" With an expectant look, I added, "Just so you know, you can start any time."
"Later," he said. "And, as to your second question, the 'why,' – Brody said it wasn't right for you to pay for my screw-up."
"Wait. Your screw-up?"
"Willow's my responsibility.