“Thanks. No, I have to go, it’s a big family thing. It’s just so complicated.” Avery sighed, made an irritated sound and pushed her bangs off her forehead. “But that’s my issue, so I’ll just go and suck it up.”
“I wish you didn’t have to go alone,” Nina said. “Walking into that kind of situation for a prolonged period, sucks.”
“It’s fine. I’m just…tired of the whispers, you know? Of everyone feeling sorry for me, especially when he’ll be there. Of people wondering what’s wrong with me, why I’m still alone, when there’s nothing wrong with me.”
No, not as far as Mason could see there wasn’t. And he also understood how some of that felt. He’d struggled like hell during his transition out of the military and back into the civilian world. In some ways, he still was.
It surprised him how much he wanted to go with her to this thing and use the excuse to spend more time with her.
He took the steaks off the grill and put them on a platter to rest. “My offer still stands,” he said to Avery one last time. He didn’t want her to have to go alone to this thing, especially with her ex and the new wife there. “I’m happy to go and be your fake boyfriend for the weekend. Give ‘em something to talk about.”
She arched an eyebrow at him. “Because you’ve got nothing better to do with your weekend when you guys are busy getting your business set up?” Her voice was dry.
He shrugged. “Everything’s kind of on hold right now. Just waiting for my immigration papers and work visa to go through, and then the final word from the bank on the financing. All of that’s pretty much a done deal, but we can’t move forward until it’s all in place.” He needed a distraction, and that’s definitely what Avery was.
“What about Braxton, what’s his status?”
“Still overseas.” Mason had served with him on JTF2 for almost seven years. Braxton would be their third partner. “Hopefully he’ll move down here at least part of the year once he’s out of the military.”
“And when’s that?”
“Next spring.” He loved her sarcastic edge. Loved the way she didn’t back down around him, and gave as good as she got. “Anyway, think about it. I think we’d have fun.”
She gave him a pointed look. “Yeah? What kind of fun?”
“All kinds of fun.” He smiled at her because he couldn’t help it.
She held his gaze for a long moment, then inclined her head slightly. Not a yes, but a concession. “I’ll think about it.”
“Okay.” Battles were won with small victories, and he’d just scored one.
When dinner was ready, they all sat at the table and ate together. Avery was her witty, sarcastic self, and Mason found himself watching her more closely than ever.
After dinner she stayed to help clean up, then said her goodbyes to Nina and Tate before turning to him. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You definitely will.”
At the door, she surprised him by stopping and turning around to face him, her golden eyes assessing him. “All right. If you’re serious and you’re really okay with it, then yes, I’ll take you with me this weekend.”
Mason hid his surprise while doing a mental fist pump. “Great, then it’s a date.”
A hint of humor danced in her eyes as she gave him a censuring look. “Don’t look so smug. You might wind up regretting this after.”
Nope. Not ever.
Tate came through the kitchen just as Mason was locking the door behind Avery. “What’d I miss?”
“I’m gonna be Avery’s fake boyfriend for the wedding.”
“Yeah? Good stuff.” Tate grinned and clapped him on the shoulder. “Treat her right, man, or else.”
“I will.” In and out of bed.
Whatever else happened next weekend, he was going to peel away that steely exterior and discover the woman hiding underneath it.
Chapter Four
Mason’s Jeep bumped along the dirt road on the way to the property they’d put an offer on for Rifle Creek Tactical. Hopefully the surveyor showed up on time, because he had a lot of other meetings to take care of regarding the business today.
With Tate still working a full-time job, Mason had taken on the tasks of website design, logos, interviewing architects and going over potential ideas for the buildings they had in mind. Getting everything set up was going to be a lot of work, but he liked to keep busy and he was also excited as hell to get the ball rolling on this thing.
“Fun, huh, buddy?” he said to Ric, reaching over to ruffle the top of the dog’s furry head.
Ric glanced at him from the front passenger seat and wagged his tail, a camo bandana tied around his neck. Ric loved adventure, was up for anything, and Mason couldn’t imagine his life without him.
Reaching the entrance to the property, he parked and got out to let Ric stretch his legs. The dog leaped out of the Jeep and immediately began sniffing around. He’d wander off a few dozen meters or so, then stop and look back at Mason, never straying out of sight.
Mason leaned against the front fender of his Jeep and sipped at the travel mug of coffee he’d brought, using the fancy coffee maker in Avery’s suite. He and Ric had moved in two days ago now, and he’d barely seen her since. She was avoiding him, maybe even more so because of the upcoming wedding this weekend, and he intended to put a stop to it then. He wanted to get to know her better.
Right now, he had business to attend to.
The sound of an approaching vehicle drifted through the tall evergreen trees surrounding the driveway. Mason whistled for Ric, who immediately ran back and parked his hind end next to Mason’s foot, staring up at him adoringly through mismatched eyes.
Mason rubbed the dog’s ears and watched as a white pickup with the surveyor company’s logo on the side turned into the driveway. “Morning,” he said when the guy got out.
“Morning. Ready to get to work?”
“You bet.” Once the official survey was completed, they would be one step closer to purchasing the property and making Rifle Creek Tactical a reality. Mason was stoked at the idea of having something concrete and fun to do again.
They walked the land together while the surveyor took precise measurements of the property boundaries and discussed details about the plans for RCT once it was up and running. Every day things were falling into place, and even if Braxton decided not to join them full time yet, Mason and Tate could run everything for a while.
Ric trotted around checking various things out, but never strayed far. The two-hundred-acre parcel was rugged and covered with a mix of evergreen and deciduous forest. Only one section had been cleared, and that’s where the main lodge would be built, close to where the property hugged Rifle Creek as it rushed down the mountain into the valley.
Mason loved it. Loved being outside in nature, and he couldn’t wait to get set up here to do some shooting, rappelling, kayaking and other things they had planned. Teach some courses, use his skills and expertise for the first time in too long.
It felt good to be excited about something again. For too long he’d been trapped in a dark place, and it finally felt like the light was starting to penetrate the shadows. Now he had RTC to look forward to with his closest friends—and his upcoming weekend with Avery. She wasn’t going to be able to ignore him then.