Take a Chance

Grant

“Explain this,” Mase said, standing with his feet apart and his arms crossed over his chest. He was Harlow’s older brother and possibly the only person who had ever stepped into the father figure role in her life. I respected that.

“I want to go with her. I have a lot of shit to make up for. I’m starting now.”

Mase frowned and continued to stare at me. “What the hell does that mean? Last I heard you were fucking Nan. What do you have to do with Harlow?”

She hadn’t told him anything. I wondered if she had done that to protect me. “I was scared of having feelings for someone. Harlow stirred things in me I wasn’t familiar with and it made me run. I’ve decided I don’t want to run.”

Mase took a step toward me. “You need to be real damn sure of that. ’Cause she likes you more than she wants to and I don’t trust you. Not at all. If you want to go help find our sorry-ass father then fine, but I’m going, too.”

I preferred to have her alone but this was okay. At least I was near her. I was tired of not being near her and watching her from afar.

“Understood,” I replied.

Harlow walked back into the foyer carrying two mugs of coffee. “Here,” she said, handing one to Mase.

“Thanks. He’s going with us. He likes looking at you or some sappy shit like that.”

Harlow’s eyes went wide and I bit back a smile. That wasn’t exactly what I’d said but the look on Harlow’s face was perfect.

“Oh” was all she said.

Mase picked up his bag and then looked at Harlow. “Where’s your bag?”

“I left it in the kitchen. Let me get it.”

“I’ll get it,” I said, heading to the kitchen before she could finish her sentence. If I wanted to gain her trust back and even slightly crack that wall she had up around herself I had to do anything I could to let her know I was serious.

“I’m confused,” I heard Harlow whisper as I left the room. I just smiled. Good. Confused was a good thing.

A Louis Vuitton duffel bag was sitting on the floor of the kitchen. I went and picked it up. The bag was worn out. I had no doubt this had been a gift from Kiro and she’d carried it for years. This wasn’t something that Harlow would buy for herself.

I brought it back to the door and then opened the door. “Time to go,” I said to both of them, still holding her bag. She glanced down at it and then back at me.

Mase made an amused sound in his throat and rolled his eyes at me as he walked out the door. Harlow followed him but stopped as she got close to me.

“Thank you,” she said simply, then went outside.

This was going to be good for us.

Mase climbed into the front seat and I doubted it hadn’t been on purpose. He didn’t want me close to Harlow. He was going to make this hard on me. Fine. I could handle it.

“You good back there?” I asked Harlow, looking back to make sure she had enough leg room.

“Yes, thank you,” she replied as a blush touched her cheeks. Damn, she was beautiful.

I turned back around and cranked the truck. “Rush said this was normal for Kiro. Is there a process on how to find him?” I asked, trying to make conversation.

“Yeah. Harlow calls him. He finally answers and she goes to get him. She’s the only one he listens to,” Mase replied.

I didn’t like the idea of this all falling on Harlow’s shoulders. The man had three grown kids. Why did everything have to be Harlow’s responsibility?

“You can’t call him and get him?” I asked, unable to keep the annoyance out of my voice.

“Dear ol’ Dad has a favorite. He only listens to her.”

“That’s not true. You have your mother and you don’t really need him. You have a good life. Then there’s Nan, and she doesn’t make it easy on him. I’m just . . . I’m just the one that . . .”

“You’re just the special one. He loved your mother. She was his world and when she died you became his world. That’s just the way it is, and I’m damn happy he gives a shit when it comes to you,” Mase told her.

Harlow didn’t say anything. She stayed quiet. I wanted to ask her more. I wanted to know how she was feeling and if she was worried. But Mase was sitting beside me, and now wasn’t a good time.

“I need food. That jet better be stocked,” Mase grumbled.

“It always is,” Harlow replied.

This wasn’t the first time I had been on Slacker Demon’s jet but it was strange getting on it with Kiro’s kids. It had always been with Rush. These two had a dynamic that I’d never witnessed before. Until Mase showed up in Rosemary I wasn’t even aware they were close. I thought Kiro’s elusive son stayed away from that whole world.

“Have you two always been close?” I asked.

“Yes,” they both said.

“Grandmama always took me to stay at the ranch with Mase and his parents when I was a kid.”

“Parents?” I asked, because that didn’t make sense since his father was Kiro.

“My stepdad and my mom. He’s more like my father than my own father,” Mase said with his head resting on the seat and his eyes closed.

I hadn’t realized that. Interesting.

“Harlow’s visits were always something I looked forward to. I thought having a sibling was so cool. Especially one as proper and sweet as Harlow. Getting her all muddy and talking her into riding a horse or feeding the cows was always entertaining.”

Harlow let out a small laugh from the backseat.

Maybe having Mase around wasn’t so bad. At least I’d get a chance to know her better.