Chapter One Hundred and Two
Mason stopped at the closed door but he didn’t turn around. He didn't care about her threats but something in her voice made him halt. Andrea came to a stop next to him and he turned his head slowly to look at her. He couldn't believe that he'd thought they could make a go of things, be a family for Grace, now he loathed her and contempt was the first feeling rushing through him as he looked at her.
“Does Kelley know?”
“Know about what?” Mason’s frown was evident as confusion set in.
“That you slept with Norah while he was dating her.”
Mason took a step backwards in shock. “You wouldn’t.”
“I would. If you remove Grace from this house or deny me access to my daughter, I’ll make sure he knows what kind of friend you’ve been.”
“You’re a bitch, Andrea.”
“Don’t push me, Mason. Grace is important to me too.”
Mason raked a hand through his hair. “You know what, tell him, I don’t care and neither will he. We didn't even know each other when I slept with her.”
Andrea smiled then and crossed her arms over her chest. “Will he care to know that you also slept with Juliana?”
Mason’s fist slammed into the closed door and Andrea flinched. He pushed the door open and bounded up the stairs. At the top of the stairs Mason halted in his steps as Grace stood in her doorway, her bottom lip trembling.
“Daddy?”
“Come here, Princess.”
Mason scooped her up in his arms and walked to his bedroom. He kicked his bedroom door closed and sat down on his bed with Grace on his lap. He kept her close as his hand smoothed over her hair. His own tears threatened to spill and he couldn’t imagine a life where Grace wasn’t with him.
“I love you, Daddy, to the buttons and back.”
“I love you, Grace, more than all the buttons in the world.”
Mason fell asleep with Grace in his arms and the next morning he woke up when her foot landed on his face. He pushed her leg aside and sat up straight. She had always slept like a Tasmanian devil thrown in a tumble dryer.
He was surprised to see that it was already nine am and he covered Grace with a blanket before heading to the bathroom to shower and change. By the time he’d finished in the bathroom Grace was awake and watching cartoons on his tv.
“Morning, Daddy!” She threw herself in his arms and hugged him tightly.
“Morning, Princess.”
Mason hugged and kissed her before setting her back down on the bed. “Can we have chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast?”
Mason smiled sadly and nodded his head. “Of course we can.”
“I’ll go get dressed quickly and you can have some coffee so you can develop a personality.”
Mason laughed then and looked at Grace. “Where did you hear that?”
“That’s what Uncle Lee says.”
“Wise ass, go get dressed while I get some personality.”
Grace giggled and bounded out of his room. He grabbed his phone and sent a text to Connor. He already knew exactly how he was going to handle this situation and it would be the worst thing he’d ever do.
He pocketed his phone and went downstairs to the kitchen. Andrea was sitting at the counter, drinking coffee with a box of cereal, a bowl and a spoon set out in Grace’s spot. “Morning, Mason. We need to talk about last night.”
“She doesn’t want cereal today.”
“Mason, please, I’m not your enemy, they are and what Marcus said last night … this is what they want, to divide us.”
“You divided us, Andrea. You should’ve told me the truth, like eight years ago.”
“I didn’t think he’d ever say anything much less taunt you with it. Why wait all these years? Come on, Mason, I left her with you because you are her father.”
“Just … stop talking, Andrea. I’m not interested.”
Mason started on Grace’s pancakes and by the time she joined them downstairs he’d just started on the first one. Grace talked non-stop about going to the market with her Grand Mommy, as she said, because it was Saturday and she was so close into getting Carey to buy her a stuffed unicorn that stood four feet tall.
Mason smiled and listened to his daughter talk animatedly about the day she had planned. He didn’t once look at Andrea or said a word to her. His phone pinged and he looked at the reply Connor had sent him.
Connor – I have one at the warehouse. Why do you need an untraceable gun?
Mason didn’t reply but he had an idea of where the gun would be. Now he just had to wait patiently for Carey to come get Grace so he could go to the warehouse. Andrea kept staring at him as she absent mindedly listened to Grace.
“Grandma’s here!” Grace’s squeal made him smile and he followed her to the front where Carey had just opened the front door.
“Hey, Mase,” Carey said and hugged him tight. “What’s wrong?”
“We’ll talk later okay. Have fun with Grace today. Don’t hurry back.”
“Mason?”
“Everything’s fine, I promise.” Mason smiled as Carey scrutinized him with her eyes.
“Okay, see you later then.”
Mason watched as Carey strapped Grace into a booster seat and then drove away a few minutes later. He closed the front door and found Andrea standing behind him.
“Mason …”
The doorbell rang and Mason opened the front door again. He looked at the man dressed in a suit and the envelope he held in his hands. “Can I help you?”
“Mason James?”
“Yes.”
The man held the envelope towards him and he took it. “You’ve been served. Have a nice day.”
Mason tore the envelope open and looked at the court order in his hands. Marcus Holt had gotten a court ordered paternity test to be done on Grace and should the results be in his favour he’d sue for full custody.
