Mason's Marriage (12 page)

“Not Dippity-do,” Mimi said, giving him a pinch. “It was Sweet and Strong. Guaranteed by the Union Junction girls to keep every single strand of hair from moving in even the strongest Texas tornado.”

He rolled over and put his lips on her neck to give her nips and kisses. “You don’t wear hair spray. But I like the name, Sweet and Strong. It’s just like you. And you felled those buggers like they deserved. I like a woman who knows how much I love my truck.”

She gave him a play slap on the back. “Get off of me, you oaf.”

“Mimi,” Mason said, looking down into her eyes, “don’t say you’re afraid of being with me anymore.”

She hesitated, and in that time, it seemed his heart stopped. Forgot how to beat. Lost its rhythm.

“I can’t help it,” she said. “I seem to be afraid of so much right now.” Her blue eyes welled with tears. “But I love you, Mason. I really do.”

“That doesn’t sound like I win the prize,” Mason said. “It sounds like I get runner-up or something.”

“Go back to sleep,” Mimi said. “In a little while I’ll bring you breakfast.”

“A little hemlock? Perhaps a dagger?” Mason asked, trying to tease, but the words fell flat. “Mimi, I don’t need a nurse. I need you to let me hold you. Of course, if you want to wear a nurse’s uniform, I won’t say no. I’m not picky, but—”

“Mason, go to sleep,” Mimi said. “I’ll see you in a while.”

But she didn’t. In fact, when he awakened with a splitting headache, Mimi and Nanette had gone.

Mason packed a bag. Hawk had called and told him Mimi and Nanette were taking a sabbatical up there on his mountain, so not to get steamed up. Mason had appreciated the call. Mimi was just feeling crowded, and she needed to clear her head. He could handle that.

Though he didn’t like being left. There were moments when the fear he’d felt as a kid, after finding his father’s goodbye letter, returned to gnaw on him. Mimi hadn’t left a note, but she’d just run to a friend’s. She hadn’t run far, and that was a good sign.

Hell, everybody had a little run in them at some time or another. Even he’d left the ranch for a while not long ago. It wouldn’t matter in the end. Those were his girls, and it was always going to be that way, because Jefferson men didn’t give up on their people.
If they did, folks—especially Mimi—would have given up on him a long time ago.

He knew he’d put her through the wringer over the years. She was entitled to a little healthy doubting, especially since he really did look like Frankenstein, and she clearly was rethinking whether she wanted to be Frankenstein’s bride.

On the other hand, Mimi was going to have to accept that fear did not equal inaction, at least to his way of thinking. She was going to be his bride, despite her attack of cold feet.

He knew just how to warm them.

“Where you headed?” Sheriff Cannady asked Mason on his way out.

“First, I’m going to go down and visit our incarcerated friends. Want to get out of them whether they were just in a foul mood and deciding to cause a bit of trouble, or if they were up to something more sinister. Then I ship them into the city.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“I’d appreciate that.” Mason stood. “Then I’m going to go call on your daughter. She’s escaped me for the moment.”

Sheriff Cannady grinned. “No one ever said this would be easy, Mason.”

“No, they didn’t, sir.”

“And you are pretty banged up. If I was Mimi, I might be having second thoughts myself.”

“Well, I’m not going to let her have them too long. I heal very quickly.”

“Glad you have a plan. I’m ready to go whenever you are.”

“Sheriff,” Mason said suddenly.

“Yes?” The older man turned to look at him.

“I’d like to ask you for your daughter’s hand in marriage, sir. I promise to take very good care of her.”

The sheriff grinned. “I thought you’d never ask, son. If you can catch her, you can count on my blessings.”

Mason nodded. “Thank you, sir.”

“And if you can’t catch her…well, Mason,” Sheriff Cannady said, “you still have my blessings. You’re like a son to me.”

“I will marry Mimi,” Mason said, knowing that if he had to go to the ends of the earth to win her he would.

S
HE WAS VACATIONING
—Mason refused to use the word
hiding
—in a place so remote that he would never have found it without a map. He could easily envision his brother Ranger rolling down this chasm into the Native American graveyard filled with totems and beautiful drawings as he had a few years back. Hawk kept this arid, secret place free of
highway debris and vagrants. In a way, Hawk’s land reminded Mason of Anasazi ruins he’d once seen in a book his father had shown him. This mountain area was deserted, mystical and filled with the fabric of ghosts from the past, which suited Hawk just fine.

On top of the tree-shrouded hill and far from the ruins, Hawk had built a house. It reminded Mason of a tree house. From inside, pretty much all that could be seen was the sky and the surrounding forest and then down into the chasm. Hawk had night-vision goggles, a telescope and fine binoculars, which kept him in tune with his surroundings.

Right now, he loaned his binoculars to Mason. “Down there,” he said. “You’d think they were at the beach. Nanette is picking up rocks and old pinecones.”

Mason’s heart thudded with gladness when he saw his family, even through the distancing glass eyes of the binoculars.

“They keep mostly quiet and to themselves,” Hawk said. “And Nanette doesn’t touch anything I ask her not to.”

“Do you worry about snakes? Bears?”

Hawk pulled out a long-range sniper’s rifle. “No. And Mimi’s packing.”

The hair practically stood on end on Mason’s head. “Mimi’s packing? Are you crazy?”

Hawk laughed. “She’s packing something called Sweet and Strong.”

Mason relaxed fractionally. “I don’t think hair spray is going to dissuade a snake from striking or a bear from ripping them to shreds.”

Hawk nodded. “But you can’t protect a person from everything. And sometimes danger is mostly in the mind, you know.”

“That sounds like mumbo jumbo to me.”

“Only because you’re closing the door to your powers of perception. Why do you hide from what you really need to know?”

Mason stared at his friend. “I have no powers of anything. Except those I’ve had since I was born.”

“Which are?”

“Strength. Determination. Stubbornness.”

Hawk pointed down to Nanette, who was tugging at her mother’s dress and showing her an arrowhead she’d found. “Strength you developed because your parents fed you well and made sure you had everything. Determination you learned because you had no one to rely on but yourself after they were gone. Stubbornness is not always a good trait, but again, it is self-developed to keep the bears of disappointment and snakes of sorrow away.”

Mason frowned. “So you want me to hone some flighty part of myself?”

Hawk nodded. “Might do you good.”

“All right. You sound like you want to tell me something, but you can’t because Mimi doesn’t want you to.”

“Right,” Hawk said with a grin.

“She wants me to be convinced of my feelings for her, because she thinks she’s led me to want her because of Nanette. She also thinks that she may end up like her mother, if she ever allows herself to slow down and get bored for a second.”

Hawk nodded.

“So what do you want me to do about it?”

Hawk looked at him.

“So what do
I
want to do about it?” Mason restated.

Hawk raised a brow.

“The antidote to boredom is action,” Mason said. “Right now, we’re very active in our feelings for each other. Mimi needs to test a slow phase in order to feel more secure.”

Hawk smiled.

“I’ve never known Mimi to have a slow speed. She’s always traveling fast,” Mason continued.

“Change is what is required in a relationship. Mimi knows this.”

“Whoa,” Mason said, “are you sure we’re talking about my Mimi?”

They looked down into the gully. The girls were returning, and Nanette looked delighted with her basket of trophies.

“When you looked down,” Hawk said, “all you saw was danger. Ugliness. Worry. Bears and snakes. That’s no way to exist. I saw beautiful trees, beautiful people and a totem collection it is my privilege to guard.”

“Bull,” Mason said. “That’s why you have a high-powered rifle with a sniper’s sight on it.”

Hawk laughed. “Being careful and prepared is not the same as living with fear. If one person in a relationship is always afraid, the other person eventually has to leave.”

“And Mimi’s afraid of many things right now, like me being sheriff.”

“Yes.” Hawk frowned. “I have some special things to put on your face that will help it heal so you don’t bear that scar forever.”

“Any scar will be a reminder to me not to let fear rule my relationships in life,” Mason said. “I probably could have used that knowledge earlier.”

Hawk grinned. “Mason, you couldn’t have listened. You were raising twelve boys. Parents tend to be afraid at times.”

“I’ve been afraid ever since Dad left,” Mason admitted, shocked by the knowledge spreading through his mind like mist.

“I know. So how does Mimi know you won’t one day leave?”

“Because I’m not my father,” Mason stated.

“Maybe you are your father. Your father became ill,” Hawk said sternly. “If you can imagine raising twelve boys in a remote location with little help, you can probably envision any normal human being suffering without his chosen spirit partner.”

“I meant, I would never leave any family of mine,” Mason said.

“Spoken from fear of abandonment,” Hawk said. “And Mimi was just as abandoned. You share the same life experience. Which means you must go slowly with each other and build bonds of trust. It can’t be done just using the tools you named—strength, determination, stubbornness.”

“It’s all I have,” Mason said.

“Consider this,” Hawk said. “In life, why does the ugly, skinny boy sometimes win the most beautiful, smart girl that all the neolithic guys with money are chasing?”

Mason stared at his friend.

“Great sex,” Hawk said, laughing.

“Oh. I thought you were asking me some kind of deep question,” Mason said sheepishly.

“I was,” Hawk said, “because first the nerd had to get there. How did he do that? He
listened
to what she needed,” Hawk said, walking down the hall as Mimi and Nanette came in the front door.

Mason straightened, anticipating his first glance of Mimi. She was going to be surprised to see him. Hopefully not angry. Maybe he hadn’t given her enough space.

Nanette jumped into his arms, and when Mimi looked up and saw him, she smiled. Through his fear, Mason felt incomprehensible arrows of love pierce his heart.

He was never going to get over this woman. He was his father’s son.

So I’d better make damn sure I listen to what she’s really saying, which isn’t going to be easy because I don’t like to sit still. Action keeps me from thinking.

But I can. For her.

Mimi was glad to see Mason. While she hadn’t expected him to come, she felt better knowing that he understood that her ambivalent feelings weren’t completely about him.

She loved Mason. She always had. And she would never try to keep Nanette from her father. But how to explain the feelings of fear inside her?

“I’m glad you’re here, Mason.”

“Me, too.”

“Nanette!” Hawk called down the hall. “Do you want to go visit Uncle Jellyfish and Uncle Tex and Aunt Cissy? On the boat?”

“Can I?” Nanette asked her mother with big eyes.

“Ask your father,” Mimi said.

“Have a good time,” Mason said. “Take your sweater.”

Nanette kissed them and ran off.

“Take your sweater?” Mimi asked.

“It can get chilly on the river at night,” Mason said.

“I think you just wanted to sound fatherly.” Mimi smiled at him.

“Do I win points for sounding fatherly?”

“Maybe.” Mimi went out onto the porch, which wrapped around the house. Mason followed, and they sat in wooden chairs Hawk had made. “It’s beautiful here.”

Mason nodded.

“Thank you for not being upset with me.”

Mason shrugged. “I understood.”

Mimi nodded and looked away. “I know I said this before, but I really think we’re rushing things.”

“I agree.”

Mimi turned to look at Mason. “You do?”

“Absolutely.”

“Oh, good.” Mimi felt so much better. “I’m not sure why we were in such a rush.”

“Me, neither. Except I like being with you.”

She smiled. “It’s like we were trying to compress a meaningful relationship into a month, when we’ve lived next door to each other all our lives. There’s just some things that can’t be rushed.”

“As much as we know about each other, our relationship wasn’t romantic,” Mason said.

“Exactly,” she said. “There could never be anyone else I’m as close to. But I need to trust myself more. I need time to adjust.”

“It’s almost a good thing I got hit upside the head, because it’s making us slow down,” Mason said, eager to go along with the listening and empathizing scenario. “Face our fears.”

She laughed. “You don’t have any fears.”

Sure I do. Losing you.
“I’m a badass,” Mason said agreeably. “But even badasses have their softer side.”

“So you’re fine with waiting?”

If she was talking about sex, absolutely, he could wait. It wouldn’t be fun, but if it mattered that much to her, then sure. “Not a problem,” he said magnanimously.

“Thank you,” she said, beaming.

“You’re welcome,” he said, feeling like the skinny kid who’d just won the girl.

“So maybe by Christmas, we’ll both feel better about everything,” Mimi said with a smile. “And while I’m here, I realized I owe you a more heart-felt apology.”

Trying to listen while holding back a need to grab her, Mason shrugged. “For what?”

“I should have told you sooner about Nanette. I’m sorry, Mason. It was very wrong of me.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve always been so afraid of losing you.”

“I was angry, but I’m not now,” Mason said. “Although in the future, I hope we can be more open with each other.”

Mimi nodded. “I’m going to try.”

“I will, too.” There. Had he been sensitive enough? Allowed her to speak her thoughts? Had he listened?

“I don’t want to be married to a sheriff,” Mimi whispered. “As odd as that sounds, I understand myself better now. All my life, I thought my father was a hero. My daddy could do anything. Now I understand that every day, he put his life on the line for other people. I’m scared.”

“But you got me this job,” Mason said.

“Before I knew that we might get married.”

Now Mason was really confused. He tried to listen harder, as Hawk had suggested. “You would have been the sheriff if I hadn’t taken the job.”

“And now I see how wrong I was.” Mimi nodded. “I’m not cut out to be a sheriff. I’m cut out to be a mom. A daughter.”

“A wife.”

“I was no good at that.”

“But this time you will be, because you’ll be doing it for the right reason.”

Mimi looked out the window, then met his gaze. “I’ve always wanted to be part of your family, and part of your world. Maybe subconsciously I thought marrying you was the answer.”

Mason stood very still, not liking anything he was hearing. “And now?”

“Let’s just wait and see what happens.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard Hawk’s voice telling him to cool his jets. Let her run a little, wear herself out. Eventually, she’d come to him. But unless he waited for her to come to him, she’d keep shying away. His normal method of addressing her doubts would be to grab her, kiss her and make love to her. But then what would that change?

“Christmas it is, Mimi,” Mason said softly. “Come see me when you’re ready. In the meantime, I’ll pick up Nanette every other day and alternate weekends with you. If you like, you can have Brian draw up papers to that effect.”

Tipping his hat to her, he kissed her lightly on the lips, and then he left, walking as fast as he could. Before he changed his mind and gave in to the unwelcome fear that he’d lost Mimi forever.

Damn it, it sucked to be a sensitive male.

B
Y THE END OF
J
ULY
, Mimi could breathe a little easier. What had happened the night Mason was injured had scared her more than she was willing to admit, and even more than she could put into words.

But three weeks after her discussion with Mason, when she’d had time to think about things, Mimi knew she missed her cowboy more than she could ever have imagined. She was going to have to come to peace with his badge.

The thing was, after being completely against running for sheriff and only doing it to keep her from having to take over her father’s job, Mason had turned out to be a damn fine sheriff. He was always at the kids’ schools talking about safety. He took a lot of training courses, to be better prepared for situations he hadn’t encountered before.

As for the two thugs he’d sent to jail, Mason took pity on them after a while and put them to cleaning out the jail. Then he had them polish the church pews. They had a lawyer, but Mason did, too. And it didn’t take long to make sure the two petty vagrants were going to spend as much time as Mason wanted making up the damage to his face and his pride.

It was, as he told his brothers, a good learning experience for him. Getting hit with a large piece of
wood taught a man to rethink what he thought he knew and not just live on confidence alone.

Mimi decided Mason wasn’t the only person who should learn from life’s lessons, and she took up baking with Valentine at Baked Valentines. After all, Mimi was not known for excellent cooking, and if the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, then she wanted to have plenty of yummy temptations for Mason’s eating pleasure.

By September, Mimi wondered if Mason was ever going to act like an interested suitor again. He picked up Nanette on his days and his weekends. The rest of the days were filled with silence, which Mimi knew was her own fault.

By October, Mimi couldn’t stand it anymore. She decided it was time for the two of them to talk. Pumpkins decorated the fields around Mason’s house, and Mimi felt a twinge of regret for her stubborn ways. If she hadn’t been such a frightened little rabbit, she and Mason would have put out the pumpkins for the children together.

She was determined not to let another holiday go by with them being apart. The problem was, Mason was very slow to respond to her advances of friendship. In fact, she could almost say he was reluctant.

Which was unnerving, because the Mason she
knew had been of stalwart heart. He wouldn’t change his mind.

She
had
pushed him away pretty hard, though. Mimi sighed and put some cupcakes into the oven. Valentine looked up.

“Something wrong?”

Mimi shook her head. “I’ve got Jefferson cowboy blues.”

Valentine laughed. “I remember having those.”

“When do they subside?”

Valentine put a dab of frosting on some gingerbread men. “I’d say about the time you finally hear them say ‘I do.’”

Mimi blinked. “I’m in trouble, then. I have no wedding date, and my intended isn’t courting these days.”

“He’s just giving you your space.”

Mimi washed her hands. “There’s such a thing as too much space.”

Valentine laughed. “Miss him, do you?”

“Terribly.”

“You’d best get a move on, then,” Valentine told her. “I heard there’s been quite a throng of admirers hanging around the sheriff’s office.”

Mimi shook her head. “That’s exactly what I
would have done before, try to keep Mason all to myself. My behavior caused all kinds of problems.”

Valentine shrugged. “So will letting another woman steal him.”

The idea was worrisome, but Mimi pushed it out of her mind. “If it’s meant to be, it will be. I’ve waited so many years for Mason that I’d like to think whatever feelings he has for me aren’t biased by jealousy or insecurity.”

“Okay,” Valentine said, “but just so you know, I heard the Never Lonely Cut-n-Gurls were in town.”

Mimi looked up. “I thought Marvella had them all doing charity work now, and they were going to convert the old salon into a home for women in need.”

“That’s Delilah’s old place, which is being rebuilt. Marvella’s salon is still open for business.” Valentine smiled. “She has it strictly on the level nowadays, but I still don’t trust those girls.”

Mimi blinked. “I’m not sure I would, either.”

“Really?” Valentine put her decorated gingerbread men into the refrigerator to cool. “Given your newfound sense of non-jealousy and non-clingy behavior, would you care to know that they’re paying a visit to Mason’s office right now?”

Mimi gulped. That’s where she and Mason had first made love! Well, the second time they’d made
love, but the first time since she’d been a woman who had just told her man the truth. Years ago, the first time they’d made love, neither of them had understood their feelings. He’d reacted to her father’s illness, and she’d allowed him to comfort her.

But the second time marked a special turning point in their relationship. She wasn’t going to give anyone else a chance with her man. Mimi yanked off her apron, checked her face for flour, fluffed her hair and dashed out the door without saying another word.

There was only so much good, ladylike behavior she could stomach.