Perfect Bastard (Mason Creek)

I sat there and had to listen to Aiden laughing on the other end of the phone.

“It’s not funny, man.”

“Sure it is.”

His chuckles started to piss me off. “Are you going to help me or not?” I grumbled.

He finally stopped. “You like her?”

“Yes, I said that already.”

“No, I mean really like her.”

“Duh. Why else would I be calling?”

“I just want to be clear you’re not just reacting to her brushoff.”

“So that’s what it was, a brushoff,” I said, having had the same thought. “I should just move on, right?”

“Nate, this is like the first girl—woman, whatever—you’ve been that interested in. Did you tell her how much you like her?”

“No.”

“Then maybe she’s protecting herself. You come with quite the reputation.”

I groaned. “Don’t remind me.”

“You’re going to have to put yourself out there. Tell her what’s on your mind. See what she says. And if she’s not interested, then you can move on.”

“Is that what you did with Emma?” I was so out of my comfort zone.

“Yep. I told her straight up I was into her. I left the ball in her court. It was my last play, and I would have never forgiven myself if I hadn’t taken a chance.”

I was still thinking about my conversation with Aiden when I walked into the house. He’d offered another suggestion.

“Have you been out all night, boy?” Dad called from the kitchen from where he sat at the island. Sunshine was on the other side cooking.

“I went to check the bunkhouse.” I’d given the crew the morning off, anticipating my overnight with Avery. My timeline for that renovation was a lot more flexible.

“Sure,” Dad said and spoke to Sunshine like I wasn’t in the room. “He used to say the same thing after sneaking girls into the barn. They thought I didn’t know.” He turned to face me as I entered the room. “That’s why I kept you stocked with condoms.”

I gave my attention to Sunshine. “Any possibility you made extra?”

“Of course,” she said.

Dad didn’t give up. “Are you going to admit you weren’t alone?”

“I had company,” I said.

He held up a fork. “That’s Nate. Straight shooter. His brother has a silver tongue, which is why he’s one of those fancy lawyers. But I knew if they got in trouble and Mitchell was the first one to speak, he was feeding me bullshit, no matter how convincing he sounded. I’d have to separate them, and Nathaniel here, would always come clean.”

“Maybe I was more afraid of you than Mitch.”

“That might be true. So listen to me now and say you kept yourself protected and used condoms.” I hadn’t and when I didn’t respond, he said, “Don’t get yourself in trouble, boy. There’s enough of that already.” He shifted his focus to Sunshine. “Let that be a lesson. If you want to cut through the crap, ask Nate. But if you don’t want your heart broken, don’t sleep with him. You’re better off with Mitchell there. He may lie through his teeth, but he has a heart.”

I frowned. “I have a heart.”

He ignored me. “Do you know Nathaniel has never had a girlfriend? Mitchell had plenty and had his heart broken. too. Not Nathaniel. His heart is made of stone.”

“Not true, Dad. You just made me afraid as hell that no woman would ever want me for anything but my dick or my money.”

“Sometimes you are dumb as dirt. That was a generalization, not a blanket statement. You were supposed to be cautious until you found a good woman like your mom. Not be a bastard like all the headlines say. And yes, I watched the news about you.”

Sunshine held out a plate to me while barely containing a snicker and I sighed. “I’m glad you two are getting along so well,” I said.

“Your dad is hilarious,” Sunshine said.

“And Sunshine can cook almost as good as your mother. I’ll never say better. God rest her soul.”

I ate while Dad told tales of our childhood and more stories of Mom, which made me miss her even more. It seemed being home was good for him. He seemed happy.

Sunshine had to give notice at her job, which meant I was on duty with Dad for the next week. Since Avery said she would call me, I didn’t call her. It took her a few days. When she did call, we made plans for the following week, when we both were free.

It felt like forever until she arrived late that evening after her shift. I had a surprise for her when I brought her back to the bunkhouse.

“Testing again?” Amusement played across her lips.

They’d rebuilt the fireplace. It was grand, with a large hearth that opened both sides between the kitchen area and the main room. The fire blazed and gave us most of the light as I’d left the overhead ones off. The skylights in the roof also allowed moonlight to chase the other shadows away.