MASON PUSHED HIMSELFaway from his desk and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was exhausted. Today’s work had been all consuming and every one of his contracts seemed to have concerns or business troubles. He’d talked two CEO’s off the cliff and nearly had to renegotiate his terms with several others. This is why he liked to think things out before making a move. If the businesses he was working with would simply take the time to monitor their workers, they wouldn’t have such internal turmoil right now and their contracts wouldn’t be in danger.
He stood and walked to the kitchen to get a drink of water. Resting one hand against the sink, he stared out the dark window, wishing his life was as peaceful as the woods seemed to be in his backyard. He had another exhibition coming up in a few days and unless things calmed down, it wasn’t going to be nearly as fun as normal.
His mind kept going back to his conversation last night with Jason. He had a lead on Aimee, but the details were fuzzy. He had promised to call back soon, but Mason couldn’t seem to relax. Between work, Harper and now this...he felt as if he might explode at any moment.
Heading to the fridge, he grabbed the ingredients for making a sandwich. Maybe food would help him calm down. He had just finished building his third sandwich when his phone buzzed. At first, Mason ignored it and stood leaning against the counters, biting off half a sandwich with a single bite, but when the phone went off again, he yanked it out of his pocket. “Yeah?” he asked with peanut butter stuck to the roof of his mouth.
“Mason.”
Mason paused. “Crew?”
“Yeah.” Crew’s voice was wrong. He sounded so serious, which was completely unlike Mason’s upbeat brother.
“What’s going on? You don’t seem yourself.” What sounded like a sob broke through the line and Mason dropped his sandwich, clutching the phone with both hands. “What’s going on?” he demanded again.
“It’s...Aimee.”
Mason froze. How had Crew heard anything before him? Why hadn’t Jason called back? “Did they find her?” he whispered hoarsely. “Is she with Mom and Dad?”
Crew took in a shuddering breath. “She was killed in a car accident,” he managed to get out.
Mason crumpled to his knees. The pain of hitting the hardwood should have jolted all the way to his shoulders, but he barely felt anything. “What?” The word was barely audible, but Crew must have heard because he responded immediately.
“She gave the first responders Mom and Dad’s number,” Crew explained. “But she died before they even got to the hospital.” He coughed. “Internal bleeding.”
Mason’s hand was shaking so hard he could barely hold the phone to his ear. “Where was she?”
There was a long pause and he began to wonder if Crew had heard the question. “Seattle.”
Mason closed his eyes. So close. She had been so close. A short plane ride would have gotten him to her side at any time, but he hadn’t even known she was there. A black hole opened up in his chest and he was positive his heart would stop beating any moment. He had loved Aimee. As the older brother, he had taken care of both Crew and Aimee, looking out for their safety and keeping them in line. Aimee had been so much younger that she had required a lot more help than Crew had, but Mason had been glad to give it.
And now Crew was saying his baby sister was dead.
It didn’t seem real. This had to be some kind of joke. Sweet, laughing, bright Aimee couldn’t be dead.
“How did it happen?” Mason asked quietly. His mind couldn’t seem to catch up with what he was hearing. How could such a brilliant star suddenly be gone? She had her problems, but Mason had been sure once her wild oats had been sown, she’d come back home as if nothing had ever happened. She would snort in amusement at dinner, mortifying their mother. She would punch Mason’s arm and tease him about being bigger than the Jolly Green Giant. She would smile and throw her hair over her shoulder, making every guy in the vicinity take notice.
“I’m not sure,” Crew admitted. “I was only given the bare details.” He sniffed. “Mom wants us both home tomorrow.”
Mason’s head hung to his chest. “I’ll have to find a flight.”
“Yeah...me too,” Crew said. “I called you before checking.”
“I just...” Mason swallowed. His throat felt dry, and he felt like he should say something, but he didn’t know what.
“I know,” Crew assured him. “I feel the same way.” He sighed. “Want me to fly by way of Portland? I’m sure I can find something that’ll have a stop there.”
“Nah. Head straight over, if you can. Mom will need you.” Mason cleared his throat. “She’s going to be catatonic.”
“Alright. I’ll text you my flight details.”
“Sounds good.” Mason closed his eyes. “I’ll do the same. And Crew?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for calling.”
Crew didn’t answer right away and his voice was more fragile than before when he said, “Sure. See you tomorrow.”
Mason hung up and let the phone fall to the floor. He didn’t even care if the screen cracked. Falling onto his backside, he leaned against the stove. His entire world had just taken a nosedive and Mason wasn’t sure what to do first. “The flight,” he whispered. “I need to book a flight.” Picking his phone back up, Mason used numb fingers to find and book the first one he could find. He’d arrive home tomorrow evening.
Home. He hadn’t been home in years and never without Aimee there. Would the house feel empty without Aimee’s presence? Would her essence be tangible? Would Mother be walking around as if nothing had happened or would she be willing to admit that the loss of her wayward child had hurt her deeply? His intensely Southern mother could be an Emmy-award-winning actress when her pride was at stake.
Mason scrubbed his face. He had been tired before, but now he was broken. His eyes swam with tears and he didn’t bother to wipe them away. His sister had just died. He figured he had the right to cry for a bit before pulling himself together and packing.
No matter how tired he was, he knew there would be no sleeping. On the plus side, that would give him plenty of time to shoot off some emails and make sure his boss knew he was taking a few personal days. He had no idea how long he’d be gone, but it would at least be through the funeral and after that, Mason would have to figure out what he was doing next.
He sighed. Work. He needed to get to work. With a deep breath, he pushed himself up. Time to start closing the loose threads. He had a family to take care of.