She puts her hands on my shoulders. “You said you want to be happy, so give that man a chance, you hear me? Give yourself a chance.”
I don’t answer.
She squeezes my shoulders and touches her cheek to mine.
“I have to go, but I’ll call you and we’ll talk more about that gorgeous man, okay?”
I roll my eyes. “Peggy…”
“Bye.” She jogs halfway across the kitchen.
I let out a sigh. Oh, Peggy. Sometimes, I think she’s like Bart. Once you give her something to chew on, she’s not going to let it go until she’s torn it to bits and gotten as much as she can out of it.
Well, I have more important stuff to deal with.
I glance at the groceries on the counter. First, I have to put everything in its proper place. Then I should go check on my dad. Who knows what Mason did to him?
~
I find my father in his favorite chair with a gadget in his hands – some kind of handheld console. Bart is on the bed with a new toy – a hedgehog, by the looks of it – while Dali is munching on a bone on the floor and Copper has his head on a new pillow.
I put my hands on my hips. “No wonder no one came to greet me.”
“Aster.” My father finally puts down his new toy. “Mason gave me this thing. It’s got some interesting games.”
“I know. I saw him coming down the stairs.”
“You did? So, what do you think of how he is now?”
I sit on the edge of the bed.
“He came bearing gifts for everyone.” Even the dogs. “Did he say what he wanted?”
My dad’s gaze narrows. “Since when have you become such a cynic?”
I sigh. He’s right. I’m not. Why does Mason bring out the worst in me?
“I just find it suspicious. That’s all. How did he even know we have three dogs?”
My dad shrugs. “Maybe he saw you with them?”
“And bought stuff at the local pet store? I’m pretty sure Super Licks doesn’t have any of these. Besides, he only saw me with Copper and Dali yet even Bart has a gift.”
“Maybe he saw a picture of them with you online. You take tons of pictures with them.”
“So he’s stalking me.”
“Or he just happened to see it,” my father points out.
Not likely, I want to say, but my dad’s giving me that look again.
I know. I know. I’m sounding like a cynic again.
He sits back in his chair. “Mason has turned out to be a fine young man, you know.”
Uh-oh. Is this conversation going the same way the one with Peggy did? Not him, too. “Dad…”
He puts his hands up. “I’m not saying this because of the gifts. I’m saying this because of that talk we had. You won’t believe all the stories he had to tell, all the things he’s been through since he left.”
My eyebrows furrow. How long was Mason here, exactly? I was only gone for an hour. Did he swoop in as soon as I left?
“Did you know he has his own company now?” my father asks.
“Yes.”
A revolutionary billion-dollar company. Or so Mrs. Burke always says whenever she has a chance. I also read about it in an online magazine.
“Did you know that he came up with a technology that makes it easier to detect cancer and other life-threatening diseases earlier?”
“I know.”
Like Mrs. Burke says, revolutionary.
“I see.” My dad nods. “Seems like you’ve been doing some stalking, too, then.”
I frown. “Not funny. He’s famous. Of course I’ve heard of what he’s been doing.”
“And have you heard why he’s doing it?”
“Um…”
I try to remember the article I read. I think it mentioned how Mason started the company but not why.
“Did you know Mason was in the Army?” my father asks.
My eyebrows arch. “He was?”
“He wasn’t in combat, just doing stuff on computers, but I’m sure it was still invaluable stuff. Probably the Army saw how talented he was.”
“Well, he always knew how to give people hell with his computer skills,” I say.
“Even though he was just behind a computer, though, he saw some pretty nasty stuff out there. Same stuff I used to see, I suppose, back when I was still taking pictures for papers.”
He was a photojournalist way back then, back before my mother died and he had to take care of me.
I shrug. “Some things never change.”
“But they must have sickened him more, to the point that he swore when he was done with that one stint, he’d find a way to use technology to make the world better.”
I nod. Some people come back from the war zone and shoot themselves in the head. Some people drown themselves in alcohol. Others apparently change the world.
“What I’m saying is that he came out of a hellhole with an inspiration instead of an excuse,” my dad says. “Now, that’s a man made of strong stuff, a man you can count on.”