Reckless (Mason Family #3) - Adriana Locke Page 0,46

out, I’ll take it back. All of it. I’m the return queen,” she says, pressing her hands together as if in prayer. “But I truly just want to try to help out. It seems that you’ve had a lot put on your plate.”

I suck in a quick breath. “You could say that.”

“I’m terribly sorry to hear about your sister.”

A lump prickles against my throat. Instead of fighting it, I lean into it and acknowledge that it’s there. It helps it ease a little.

“Thank you,” I tell her. “We weren’t close so it’s not like that. But it still hurts. It’s still … sad.”

She nods. “Of course, it is. Do you have any family to help you at all?”

I glance around the room full of Masons. They laugh at and with each other. They show up to help each other. They bring what must be the entire children’s section of the local department store with them because their brother called needing help this morning.

“It’s just me,” I say, pulling my gaze back to her. “I have a cousin, but she’s … going through a lot right now. I haven’t even told her about Rosie.”

The prickling starts again in my throat as I look around the room for my niece. I can’t see her but hear her laughter coming from the kitchen.

I smile.

“Well, you have all of us,” Siggy says, returning my smile.

My body fills with an unimaginable warmth that starts in my toes and gets hotter as it floods my chest.

She winks. “We can be an overbearing brood, but our intentions are good.”

“I honestly can’t thank you enough. All of this is just …”

“You’re welcome. And if we miss anything, please let me know. I love shopping, and the only son of mine out of five to have a child is Coy, and it’s not here yet. And he and Bellamy—you haven’t met her, have you?”

I shake my head.

“She’s Coy’s wife. A complete and utter doll. You’ll love her. Anyway, they’ve put me on a spending cap, and it’s making me twitchy.”

I laugh. “That sounds terrible.”

“It is.” She gestures for me to follow her to the kitchen. “I’ll survive, I’m sure, but I would like a little freedom. It’s hard when your children start giving you boundaries. I’m not good with them. So, if you don’t mind, please use me. I’m a mom. That’s what my job is.”

“I appreciate you, Siggy, I do. And while I’m here, I’ll remember that.”

She looks at me over her shoulder. “Are you going somewhere?”

We stop in the doorway. The refrigerator is propped open while Blaire fills the void with milk, eggs, fruit, cheeses, meats, and piles of other food items. Boone and his brothers argue about jets over large pans of steak and gravy, mashed potatoes, and the yellowest corn I’ve ever seen. Rosie sits on top of the counter right in the middle of it all. I don’t know her well yet, of course, but the look on her face seems like contentment. Even though her whole life has been turned upside down, there’s a tiny smile on her adorable, sweet face, and it brings tears to my eyes.

She’s calm.

She might even be happy.

I sniffle and turn my attention back to Siggy’s questioning gaze.

“Well, yes, eventually,” I tell her. “I mean, I’m sure Boone doesn’t want a woman and her niece living with him for the rest of his life.”

“Hmm.”

I have no idea what that means, so I smile.

“Can I do anything to pay you back for all of this?” I ask her. “I can—”

“You can keep this child of mine fed so he stops coming to my house and raiding my refrigerator.” She grins. “Now let’s eat. Coy, get your finger out of the potatoes. Were you raised in a barn?”

“It was my plate, Mom.”

“I don’t care.”

I laugh as the Masons continue razzing each other. Oliver wraps his arm around Siggy and kisses her cheek.

The vibe in this room is what I want in life.

My gaze falls to Rosie. Someday, little girl, I’ll find this for us.

As if she can hear my thoughts, she looks up at me. “’Mere.”

I walk over to her. “How are you doing?”

“Good. They’re loud,” Rosie says.

“Yes, they are.”

Rosie scoots around and rests the back of her head on my chest. I swipe the hair off her forehead and kiss the top of her head.

“Jaxi,” Siggy says, coming around the counter. “While they’re occupied, could I show you what we brought? Just in case you don’t want something or