Broken (Book 1, The Watcher Chronicles, Paranormal Romance) (11 page)

I
cringe inwardly.  With everything that happened since I made that promise to her, I had completely wiped it from my mind.  “Ok, let me put something up first and I’ll be right down.”

I go to my bedroom and hide the crown under
neath my pillow.  I suddenly realize it’s not exactly Fort Knox but basically anywhere in the house is easily accessible if someone really wanted to steal it.

I spend the next three hours with Faison and Mama Lynn
trying to forget about the crown and Lucifer.  We make cookies, which will be delivered to all our friends as Christmas gifts, and eat lunch together.  It reminds me of when Faison and I were kids around this time of year.  We would bug Mama Lynn to make her famous iced sugar cookies just so we could snack on the ones she deemed unworthy of giving as a gift. 

The conversation at lunch
eventually turns to my work.  I learn that Mama Lynn has told Faison about meeting Mason that morning.

“So is he cute?” Faison asks me
excitedly.

“He’s a Watcher,” I say in response.  “What do you think?”

“Then he’s drop dead gorgeous,” Faison sighs.  “If that were the reason you wanted to be around Watchers all the time, I could fully understand and support your chosen profession.”

“Why does he have that scar on his face?” Mama Lynn asks.  “I’ve never seen a Watcher with something like that.”

“A scar?”  Faison asks, becoming even more excited.  “That must mean he has a tortured past.”

I roll my eyes at Faison and her fanciful notions.  “I don’t know where the scar came from.  We haven’t exactly gotten to be bosom buddies
in less than a day.  He hasn’t shared all his deepest, darkest secrets with me.”

“
Not yet,” Faison adds.

“He doesn’t seem like someone who shares
his thoughts easily with a lot of people,” I say.

“Well,” Mama Lynn sits back in her chair at the
dining room table, “that certainly sounds a lot like someone Faison and I know.”

“I share,” I say in my
own defense, knowing she’s talking about me.  “I tell you and Faison everything.”

“You tell us about your day,” Mama Lynn says, “but you rarely share what you’re feeling.  There’s a difference.”

I don’t respond, which just seems to verify what Mama Lynn has said about me.

I get a call on my cell phone and thank whatever higher power there might be for the
temporary save.

“Hello?” I ask, not recognizing the number which is calling.

“Where are you?” Mason asks.

“I’m at Mama Lynn’s house.  Where are you?”

“Your house but I’m walking to you now.”

I
stand up and walk away from the dining room table to go to the front door.  After I open it, I see Mason walking along the sidewalk heading my way.  I wave to him and he waves back.  I end our call and wait for him to walk over.

I soon find Faison and Mama Lynn standing on either side of me
peering out the door to watch Mason’s approach.

“Wow,” Faison says.  “I think that scar just makes him look
hot.  Kinda rough and not so perfect like the other Watchers.”

“It does lend him
a manly ruggedness,” Mama Lynn agrees with a nod.  “Now you invite him in,” she tells me.  “I want to give him some of the cookies we just baked.”

“I’m not sure he’s a sweets kinda person,” I tell her, remembering his ability to withstand the offer of sharing Beau’s cinnamon roll just that morning.

“Oh everyone likes something a little sweet every once in a while,” Mama Lynn says, heading back to the kitchen.

“Yes they do,” Faison says suggestively beside me.  “And I think he’s just
the sweet you need right now.”

I feel my cheeks flush.  “Faison, I swear to
God if you try to play matchmaker I’m gonna strangle you.  He’s my boss.  Don’t try to make something out of nothing.”

“Your mouth
may say that but your flaming red cheeks are telling me a different story,” she says with a knowing smile.  “I’ve never seen you blush when I teased you about other boys.  Is there something going on between the two of you I should know about?”

“We just met last night!” I say a bit too loudly.  I glance at Mason who’s only a few yards away now, hoping he can’t hear a word we are saying.

“I fell in love with John Austin the moment I saw him,” Faison says, a far away look in her eyes as she remembers the day.

“You were in second grade,” I remind her
, bringing her out of the clouds and back to reality.  “I don’t think a seven year old is able to comprehend what true love is.”

“It doesn’t matter how old you are.  True love find
s you at some point in your life whether your seven or a hundred.  Thankfully you’re not an old maid yet.  There’s still hope.”

I stick my tongue out at Faison which just makes her
giggle.

Mason finally arrives at the front door.

“You better come on in,” I say to him.  “Mama Lynn wants to give you some of the sugar cookies we made,” I forewarn. 

“Hi,” Faison says holding out her hand to Mason.  “Faison Mills.  And you
’re Mason….” She says fishing for his last name.

“Collier,” Mason provides.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.  Jess has spoken
very highly of you.”

Faison
beams her beauty queen smile as she looks up at Mason with her big doe eyes.  I can read her face like a book and know she’s about to do something that will no doubt embarrass me.

“Have you told Mason about the party yet?”
  Faison asks me.

I suddenly feel like getting a roll of duc
t tape to bind Faison’s lips together ensuring she is unable to speak her next words.

“Jess here has refused to let me set her up on a date but I was thinking maybe you could be her escort.  That way
we could all get to know you a little better since we’ll probably be seeing a lot of one another from now on.”

Faison’s ability to use her southern wiles on the male population is legendary in Cypress Hollow.  With one bat of her
long eyelashes, she’s been known to make even the most ornery man melt to her will.  I look at Mason and realize it’s the first time I’ve seen him completely speechless.  I instantly want to go hide in a closet until the whole disastrous encounter is over with.

“Well?” Faison says, trying to coax an answer from Mason.

“I’m sorry,” Mason says.  “Was there a question in what you just said?”

“I was asking,” Faison says slowly so Mason hears her words c
learly, “if you would like to escort Jess to a Christmas party at one of our friend’s house tomorrow night.”

Mason looks over at me and I can see he doesn’t quite
know how to respond.

“I
suppose I could act as Jess’ escort, if she really needs one,” he says haltingly.

“Good
, then that’s settled,” Faison says, smiling at her accomplishment of finding me a date on such short notice, even though she never actually asked me if it was what I wanted.

Mama Lynn appears in the
arched entry way to the kitchen from the living room.

“Come on in, Mason,” she says
, ever the epitome of southern hospitality.  “I’ve got something for you.” She waves him over indicating he should follow her into the kitchen.

Mason walks into the house and I close the door behind him.

Faison leans into my ear and whispers, “I think he likes you.”

I look at her like she’s lost her mind.

“You practically bushwhacked him into taking me to that stupid party.  A party I wasn’t even intending to go to,” I whisper back heatedly.

“But he likes you,” Faison says, full of excitement because she’s always been a hopeless romantic.

I just shake my head and walk to the kitchen, completely unsure how I will ever recover from my Faison induced mortification.

Mama Lynn is just handing Mason a snowman tin full of cookies when I
reach the kitchen.

“Now you share these with the people you and Jess work with,” Mama Lynn instructs. 
“I only make them once a year so you better enjoy them while you can.”

“I’ll be sure everyone gets a chance to taste you
r wonderful cooking,” Mason tells her.  “Thank you for your thoughtfulness.”

I see Mama Lynn blush slightly as she waves her hand.  “Oh
, they’re just a little something we give to all our friends at Christmas.”

“Then thank you for including me in such a special group
of people.”

Mama Lynn smiles.  As Mason turns around to find me, I see Mama Lynn point to Mason and make the ‘ok’ sign with her hand telling me she approves of him.  It makes me wonder if Mama Lynn
had been the mastermind all along behind Faison’s ambush of Mason. Had she been secretly orchestrating a way to get Mason and me on a date since she met him that morning?  It is then I realize how desperate the two most important people in my life are to see me go on a date.  Poor Mason is fixed in their crosshairs now.  A fact which almost makes me pity him.

When Mason faces me, I know there is only one thing to do: get him out of Mama Lynn’s house before she has us married off.

“I need to speak with you in private,” I say to Mason, tilting my head indicating we should go outside.

Mason turns to look at Mama Lynn.

“I’ll make sure the people we work with in Colorado get these,” he tells her.  “Thank you again.”

“Anytime.”  Mama Lynn smiles.

Mason turns to Faison.  “Nice to have met you, Faison.  I suppose I will see you at the party tomorrow night.”

Faison smiles.  “Oh, you can count on it.”

Once we step outside, I start to walk down the sidewalk to my house, not wanting curious ears to hear what I have to tell Mason.

“Luci
fer came to see me,” I say.

Mason scowls.  “What did he want?”

“He seems to think he and I can be friends,” I say, shaking my head at the absurdity of the string of words I just said.

“I don’t think he knows
the true meaning of that concept,” Mason comments dryly.  “Did he say why he thought the two of you could be friends?  Or more importantly, why he wants to be friends with you?”

I shrug.  “Just that he sensed something familiar about me.  He didn’t elaborate much on the subject.”  I pause for a moment, not sure how Mason will take my next revelation. 
“He saw the crown.”

Mason stops walking
, forcing me to stop and turn to face him.

“What did he say
about it?”

“
Not much, just that it shouldn’t be here.  More or less the same thing you said to me when you first saw it.”

“Did he try to take it from you?”

I shake my head.  “No.  He didn’t seem interested in trying to take it.”

Mason’s eyes narrow on me.  “You don’t seem scared of him.”

I suddenly realize Mason is right.  “No, I guess I’m not.  He hasn’t really done anything to make me scared of him.”

“But you know who and what he is,” Mason points out.  “That in it
self would scare most humans.”

“I can’t really explain it to you,” I tell him.  “I don’t understand it myself.  If anything
, I guess I feel pity for him.”

“Pity?
” Mason questions, like it’s the most illogical thing I could have said.  “Why?”

“From what I know of his story, he lost everything because of his pride and his hatred of humans.  I can’t imagine living with a hate that
eats you up like that.  He let it control him and he lost everything.  He doesn’t seem to have anything to live for now except revenge.  I guess I pity him because I can’t imagine living like that.”

“He made his own decisions,” Mason says, not arguing with my statements but reminding me Lucifer wasn’t forced into anything.

“I know,” I reply, suddenly feeling a need to change the subject.  “By the way, you really don’t have to go to that party with me tomorrow night.  Like I told you earlier, Faison is always trying to set me up with people and you were just her latest victim.”

A small smile
stretches Mason’s lips.  “No, I would like to go.  It’s probably a good idea for me to get to know some more of your friends.  If anything were to ever happen to you, I would know who else to contact besides just Faison and Lynn.”

“I guess that makes sense,” I say, feeling my heart deflate a little with his
sensible logic.  “What did the Watchers you went to speak with have to say about the crown?  What’s our next move?”

“No
ne of them seem to know why it’s here either.  But, we’ve decided you should take the crown to Lilly.  Since you are the only one who can even touch the crown, you have to be the one who takes it to her.  Maybe she will sense something about it we can’t.  We’ve arranged for you to meet with her tomorrow morning.  Can you be ready by nine or should I plan on coming a little later?”