Mason (Remington Ranch Book 1) (Contemporary Western Romance) (2 page)

Mason slammed his fist down on the table, knocking his chair over as he stood. “I don't know the first fucking thing, do I, Shane? How can I when she won't talk to me?” He turned on his heel and left. What the hell was Gina thinking? She might have been able to leave the valley, to never look back, but she knew how things worked here for the rest of them. It was a hard life, a harsh environment. But for the people who lived here, who were born here, it was their world. The land was everything. They may say they owned the land, but in truth the land owned them. The families who had been here for generations—his own and Gina's included—were as much a part of this valley as the river and the creeks were. Like the junipers that dotted the landscape, they not only survived here, they thrived here. Harsh as it was, this environment shaped them and defined them. And just like the junipers, transplanting them elsewhere would slowly kill them. At least that was how he felt.

He strode across the parking lot and climbed into his truck. Damn, Gina! Apparently she was able to survive in the city. New York fucking City of all places. He would never have believed that of the girl he'd known. She couldn't seriously believe Al would be able to survive there. He turned the key in the ignition and then sat back to take a deep breath and calm himself. And why in the hell did he care anyway? What did it matter to him? He liked Al. Still considered him a friend. Helped him out when things got tough. Always sent him a team over to help—and was usually on it himself—at haying and calving. They managed to steer clear of any mention of Gina though. Damn. He pulled out onto East River Road and headed south. It was none of his goddamned business. He should forget about it, about
her.
If he wasn't going to be able to lose himself in a warm body tonight, he could at least head home and lose himself in the bottom of a glass of bourbon.

Gina looked up as her dad came into the kitchen. “Morning. Do you want some coffee? I've got muffins in the oven. They're almost ready.”

He scowled at her. “You honestly think a few chocolate chip muffins are going to be enough to sweeten me up?”

“I'm not stupid, Dad. It'd take a half hundred weight of sugar to sweeten up an old sourpuss like you.”

He tried to look angry, but she could see the laughter in his eyes. “Well, you can start with the muffins and maybe you can make me one of those apple pies for tonight?”

Gina nodded, relieved. He was angry with her—and she understood why—but he loved her. She loved him. She wished there was some other way they could work things out. She didn't want to sell the place any more than he did. At least if they sold now, he might still come away with a little nest egg. If they waited much longer and things kept going the way they had been with the ranch, he could end up with nothing.

He settled himself at the big table and she poured him some coffee. “So, what have you got planned for the day?” he asked.

“I already told you. The realtor from town is coming at twelve-thirty and the other one from Bozeman is coming at one-thirty. I thought it would do them good to see that you're not sure who you're going to use yet. Make them put forth a bit of effort to be the one you choose.”

He scowled at her. “I don't want to use either of them, Gina. I don't want to sell.”

“Then what do you suggest we do?” She hated this. Hated making him sell up the only home he'd ever known. Hated asking him to leave his life. But what else could she do?

His eyes shone as he looked up at her. It broke her heart to see him so sad. “Can't you come back, love? Come live here. We could keep the old place going between the two of us.”

Gina felt tears sting her own eyes. “If I believed for a moment that was true, I'd do it. But you know we can't. Beef prices are still falling. Hay prices are still rising. We could bust our butts and still not be able to make it. You know that. I've been sending you as much as I can these last couple of years and you're still only scraping by. If I were to move here too, I wouldn't be bringing anything in.”

He shook his head sadly. “I know. I just... Why don't you get them muffins out of the oven before you burn 'em?”

Gina whirled around and rescued the muffins.

“Are you going to take me over to Monique's birthday party next Sunday?”

Gina's heart stopped. “Monique Remington?”

Her dad gave a low chuckle. “Don't pretend you don't know who I mean, girl. How many Moniques do we know?”

Her hands were shaking as she set the muffins on the rack to cool. Mason's mom was a wonderful lady. No one had expected the sophisticated French lady to last more than a year in the valley when she'd arrived as Dave Remington's new wife. That had been nearly forty years ago. She'd proved them all wrong and was as much a part of the valley as anyone. She'd raised four boys and worked the land alongside her husband whenever she was needed. She wore jeans instead of designer dresses these days and was lucky if she got to go shopping in Portland, let alone Paris. She still loved to throw herself a big birthday party every year though.

Gina turned to set the plate of muffins in front of her dad. “I'll drop you off over there.”

“You should come. You haven't been to Monique's birthday bash for years.”

“Drop it, will you?” She was having a hard enough time being here at all. She was desperately hoping she wouldn't see Mason. The thought of going out to the Remington Ranch, of willingly being in the same room as him...? No. Just no!

Her dad was staring at her. His eyes boring into her as if he could see what she was thinking. “You're going to have to make your peace with him someday.”

“With who?” Gina busied herself at the sink, rinsing dishes and making sure her dad couldn't see her face.

“With the man on the moon! Who do you think I mean? Mason. You stubborn little mare.”

Gina determinedly kept her back turned to him. “There's no peace that needs to be made with him, Dad. I don't know why you won't let that go. We dated when we were kids. It ended years ago.”

“Gina, I'm not stupid, and neither are you. So I wish you'd stop acting as if you are when it comes to him. I don't know what the hell went wrong between the two of you, but I do know you need to make your peace with each other. I can't mention him to you without you losing it. I can't mention you to him without him walking away. If you're going to marry this Liam character, you need to let your heart say goodbye to Mason first. It wouldn't be fair to anyone if you don't.”

Gina realized she was scrubbing frantically at an already clean pan. She rubbed her sleeve over her eyes before turning around. “I said goodbye to Mason ten years ago, Dad.”

He shook his head as he finished his muffin. Picking up his coffee he stood up and stared at her. “We both know that's not true. You never said goodbye to him, you just didn't come back. It broke his heart. It broke my heart. And for all you refuse to talk about it, I think it broke yours, too. If we have to sell up and leave here, if you really want to marry this Liam, I'll go along with it. I'll go along with whatever you say needs to happen. But I have one condition. Before I will move off this land, you have to make your peace with Mason.”

She stared at him. “I told you, Dad. There's no... there's nothing...”

He gave her a grim smile. “And I told you, Gina. I'm not stupid.” He stopped in the doorway and turned back. “I'll be down the bottom forty.”

“But what about the realtors?”

“What about 'em? Nothing to do with me.” He slammed the door on his way out.

Gina plonked herself down at the table and absently picked at one of the muffins. Liam would lecture her if he saw her with it. She popped a piece in her mouth—he wasn't here. This was all just one big mess. If she didn't have enough on her plate trying to sort out her dad and the ranch, she now knew she'd have to come face to face with Mason before she left. Her dad called her a stubborn little mare? He was a stubborn old mule! And she knew he'd dig his heels in over her
making her peace—
as he called it—with Mason. Perhaps it was a good thing. She'd blown it up in her mind all these years. Mason had probably never given her another thought—at least not after his ego had recovered from the number she'd done on him by telling
him
it was over, by not coming back. She shrugged, what else could she have done after she'd discovered how little she meant to him? After she'd heard him tell Guy Preston, of all people, how he really felt?

She started as her dad popped his head back around the door. “I meant to tell you. The pharmacy called. My script is ready. I told ‘em you'd pick it up for me before they close.”

Gina raised her eyebrows at him. “You want me to go up to town? What about the realtors?”

“You'll still have time after you're done. They're open until six these days.” He smiled. “You could catch up with some of your old friends while you're up there.”

Gina blew out a frustrated sigh at him. “I don't want to catch up with anyone, Dad.”

He shrugged and closed the door again.

He wanted to make her see people, wanted her to engage with life here again. What did he think, that she'd change her mind? That she'd somehow realize that she wanted to come back and live here? And that she'd be able to make it happen even if she did? She didn't want to see anyone. Would rather no one even knew she was here. She hated making her dad leave, but since she had no other choice, she wanted to do it as quickly as possible and get them both out of here without revisiting the past.

~ ~ ~

Mason pulled into a spot right outside the hardware store. He pulled his hat down over his eyes and climbed out of the truck. He hated coming to town. Everyone always wanted to know your business—and to tell you everyone else's. He wasn't interested. Didn't need to know who was divorcing, who was dating, or who was filing for bankruptcy. He sure as hell didn't want anyone knowing his business. Not that he had anything to hide. He didn't understand why they wanted to know. Well, that wasn't true. He knew why—and he hated it. He was the eldest of four brothers, all of them very eligible in the eyes of the old women in town. In the eyes of the young women, too. His family owned a lot of land in the valley, was well respected and pretty well off, by local standards. Any of the Remington boys would be considered a catch, and as the eldest, he was the most sought after.

“Hey, Mason.”

He raised a hand to Iris, who was working the cash register. She'd been a year ahead of him in high school. She was one of the biggest gossips around. He made sure he was always friendly with her, chatting and laughing—and never giving anything away. He made his way to the back of the store. He didn't need anything heavy-duty today, just some outdoor party lights to string around the back deck for his mom's birthday. She loved those lights and he loved to see her enjoy her party every year.

As he made his way back through the store, he saw another familiar face.

“Hey, Mase. How you doing?”

He nodded. “Yeah, not bad. How about you, Cody?”

Cody grinned. “Doing great. Brandy's due next month.”

Mason smiled. Cody and Brandy had been together since high school. They'd married as soon as they graduated and this must be baby number four, maybe five. “Give her my best.”

“You could come say hi if you want. She's out in the car. We were talking about you the other day. You know Gina's in town? We were wondering what happened with the two of you. Always thought you two would be married with kids of your own.”

The pulse was pounding in Mason's temple. He'd thought that, too. It turned out Gina hadn't—and she'd never even had the guts to tell him to his face that she didn't want him. He stared at Cody for a moment.

Cody gave him an apologetic smile. “Sorry.”

Mason shook his head. “No need. Say hi to Brandy for me. I can't stop, I need to get back down the valley.” He started to walk away but turned back when Cody called after him.

“She was in the pharmacy about five minutes ago.”

The pounding filled his ears.

Cody shrugged. “Just saying.”

Mason backed out into the traffic on Main Street. The pharmacy was a quarter of a mile farther down. He craned his neck to look inside as he drove by. He couldn't see her. What the hell was he thinking anyway? She'd refused to speak to him for years. Why would that be about to change today? He kept asking himself the question as he pulled into an empty space. As he turned off the ignition, the pulse in his temple pounded even louder. He'd pulled in right next to her dad's old truck. He'd just sit here and wait for her to come back.

A few short minutes later, he saw her come out onto the street. The blood pounding in his temple was deafening now. She was beautiful. Older. She'd been a girl back then, she was all woman now. Her hair was shorter, less wild, but still framed her perfect little pixie face. She'd always had a great figure. Curves that drove him wild. She'd filled out a little, the cut of her jacket emphasized a perfect hour-glass he needed to get reacquainted with. His heart clenched in his chest as he watched her greet Mr. Towson from the post office. Her smile was still all kindness and fun rolled into one. He shifted in his seat as the blood pounded its way to the front of his pants. He was hard as a rock just seeing her bundled up in a coat and scarf at a hundred yards. What was he going to do when she reached her truck?

He didn't have time to think about the answer to that one as she came around to the passenger side to put some bags on the seat. As she closed the door, he went with his gut. His mind didn't have time to figure out what to do, but his body knew what it wanted and acted on instinct. He opened his own door and slid out of the cab, landing in front of her as she turned around.

In the narrow space between the two vehicles, his senses filled up with the feel of her. The memory of her. He couldn't help it. He took hold of her shoulders, and, as her eyes widened in recognition, he pushed her up against her truck and leaned his weight against her.

“Mason! I...” Her hands came up to his shoulders as he wrapped her up in his arms and held her to him. Her lips parted as he lowered his mouth to hers and she opened up to him as he kissed her. She felt so right in his arms. So soft, so willing. So
his.

~ ~ ~

Gina clung to his shoulders. The feel of his lips on hers, his tongue mating with her own, and his arms wrapped around her, they all took her back. Took her back to the time when he'd been hers, when she'd been his. The time when all was as it should be and she'd been happy. She floated on those memories as he kissed her, knowing she was back where she belonged. He pressed her back against the side of the truck, and she whimpered at the feel of his hardness pressing between her legs. Nothing had changed between them. Nothing at all.

The sound of a car horn honking brought her back to her senses. She pushed him away. What was she thinking?
Everything
had changed between them. She looked up into his eyes, those beautiful blue eyes she'd thought she would wake up to every morning for the rest of her life.

“I've missed you, darlin'.”