Reputation (Mason Family 2)

Mom recoils. “Bellamy having a boyfriend? If that was true, I didn’t know it. And it didn’t last long.”

“Why do you say that?”

She grins. “Because she’s clearly smitten with you.”

So many things lump together in my brain and demand attention. Meadow, the contract, getting back to Nashville. Bellamy, her father, and why she’s acting so hot and cold with me.

Since I can’t do anything about the first set of problems right now, I should focus on the second.

“I think I might head over and see Joseph. You think that’s okay?” I ask my mom. “Should I call first or something?”

Her grin splits her cheeks, and she gets to her feet. “I think you should go on over. And take this with you.” She heads to the counter and picks up a bakery box. “I got these at Hillary’s House today. Blueberry muffins. Joseph loves them. Bellamy too.”

I take the box from her. “You’re the best. Do you know that?”

“That’s what they say.” She winks. “Now, get over there before it gets dark.”

I laugh as I head for the side door. “Yes, Mommy.”

“Good boy. I’ll save your plate for later.”

I chuckle all the way to the gate.

Ten

Coy

Knock! Knock!

I pass the box of muffins from one hand to the other. I shiver against the chill in the air as I stand on the Davenport’s porch.

A light turns on in the living room, and I hear the squeak of the recliner. I wonder if it still sits beside the bookcase in the living room with the dark brown coffee table beside it.

“Who is it?” Joseph’s voice is weak and distant.

“Hey, Joseph. It’s Coy Mason. I was just coming by to say hello.”

“Come on in.”

I open the door and step inside. The foyer is precisely as I remember it. The walls are a light grayish-blue, and pictures of a baby Bellamy decorate every available surface.

Through the arched doorway to my left, I spot Joseph sitting in his recliner. It sits beside the bookcase and next to the dark brown coffee table.

I smile.

“Well, there you are,” Joseph says, setting a newspaper on the table. His voice is gruffer than I remember. It reminds me of a smoker’s voice with its raspiness, and I’ve never known Joseph to smoke a day in my life.

As I step inside the fully lit living room, my stomach sinks to the hardwood floor.

Joseph’s face is gaunt. His cheeks are sunken in like a mummy on the Discovery Channel. His eyes almost look too big for his face, and his lips are thin and dark.

It’s like a knife hitting me in the gut, twisting and turning to maximize the pain. My brain immediately goes to Bellamy, and I wonder where she is and how she feels.

And how she deals with this every day.

“Hey, Joseph,” I say, trying to sound as natural as possible. He motions for me to sit on the loveseat next to him, so I do. “How are you, buddy?”

Immediately, I regret the question. He’s obviously shitty. But what else do you say to break the ice to someone in his case? I don’t fucking know.

Joseph gives me what I would bet is his best smile. “I’m not dead yet.”

I start to laugh, but I catch myself. Do you laugh at things like this? Again, I don’t know.

Joseph observes me before chuckling to himself. “Oh, come on now,” he says. “That was funny.”

“Yeah, well ... not really,” I say, wincing at the uncertainty in my voice.

He fiddles with a butterscotch candy wrapper until he gets it open. He pops the disc into his mouth and then tosses the wrapper into a trash can tucked between him and the table.

“I’m not too bad,” he says. “Been better, been worse, believe it or not.” He rests his head back against the chair and looks at me. “How about you? How have you been doing?”

I set the box of muffins down beside me. “I’m okay. Thought I would come by and see you while I’m in town.”

“I’m glad you did.”

I fold my hands on my knees and look around the room. “Do you need anything? Can I get you anything?”

“Nah. I’m pretty good. Bellamy takes pretty good care of her old dad.”

He watches to see how I react to the mention of his daughter. It puts me on the spot a little bit but not enough to make it weird.

“I never really imagined Bellamy having the disposition to be a good nurse,” I half-joke. “She gets tired, and …” I make a face.

Joseph chuckles. “Well, if we’re being honest, I didn’t either.”

We laugh together easily. It helps to settle my nerves.

He grabs the remote and turns down the game show he was watching.

“You home for long?” he asks. “I haven’t seen ya around in a long time.”

“I’m not sure. Just kind of taking some downtime while some things get worked out on the business end. You know how it goes.”