Alex laughed. “Go on.”
I raced up the stairs and knocked on the door. “Sammie, it’s me.”
There was a long silence and then a muffled sigh. The door opened a crack and then her pretty face was looking out at me. Mason peeked out from below, his curiosity getting the better of him.
“Hi.”
Mason grabbed my hand and pulled me closer. “Daddy, can you sleep in here with us?”
Sammie bit her lip and then moved out of the way. “Come on in.”
I wasn’t about to argue with him. I wanted desperately to be close to them both. “I’ll take the floor again. How about that?”
Mason pulled me towards the bathroom. “It’s bath time first.”
Sammie caught him just before he jumped into the water in his pajamas. “Did you forget you’re wearing clothes, little man?”
He looked down at the offending things and then shifted into a bear cub right in her arms. The additional weight took her by surprise and she ended up dropping him into the water. The splash soaked her and left a once-again-human Mason giggling hysterically.
“You’re wet, Sammie!”
I couldn’t help but smile watching the two of them.
Sammie turned to me and narrowed her eyes. “If you’re going to be in here, you’re going to help. He’s surprisingly wigglier as a little boy.”
I laughed and knelt down beside her. Instantly, a big splash soaked my shirt and face. I sent a playful growl his way and then reached in and tickled him. “Did you forget how to take a proper bath?”
By the time we got him washed and redressed for bed, we were all three tuckered out. Mason climbed into bed and curled up right in the center of it. “Daddy?”
My heart flipped over in my chest. “Yeah?”
Mason patted the mattress beside him. “Stay here.”
I looked at Sammie and saw the hurt flash over her face for a brief second before she attempted to hide it with a half-smile. “Where’s Sammie going to sleep?”
He patted the bed on the other side of him. “Here, silly.”
Her cheeks burned, but instead of fighting it, she nodded. “Okay, kiddo. Whatever you want.”
I got a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach and couldn’t shake it. Something was up with her. She got in bed and crawled to Mason’s other side. I laid down next to him and turned to face them.
Mason yawned widely and then shoved his little butt into Sammie’s ribs. “Goodnight, Sammie. Goodnight, Daddy.”
I kissed his forehead. “Night, buddy.”
Sammie pressed her lips into his hair. “Night. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
In seconds, Mason was out and Sammie squeezed her eyes shut, pretending to be asleep.
I stretched my arm out and lightly flicked her on the nose. “I can tell you’re faking, Sammie. You’re going to have to talk to me at some point.”
CHAPTER 11: Sammie
I groaned. I didn’t want to talk to Lucas. Every second I talked to him was just a little bit farther I fell for him. Watching him with Mason was like torture. I had to leave, but everything about the two of them tethered my heart and called me to stay.
“I said the wrong things earlier, Sammie. I didn’t mean it like it sounded. I’d like the opportunity to explain.”
I shut my eyes and tried to block out his deep voice.
“When my father passed, we were all surprised by his will. At the time, I thought that taking over the ranch was what I wanted most in the world. I had no one around that I was willing to have a kid with, but all of a sudden, I was plagued by a memory… Almost five years ago, I got a late-night call from Mallory. I hadn’t seen her in months and she was higher than a kite on something. She was almost completely incoherent. She was babbling but I distinctly heard her say that she was pregnant. I freaked out. I knew she and I weren’t supposed to be together.”
My eyes flew open and I stared at him. He’d known about Mason?
“I tried calling her for weeks after that, but she never answered. I had all but given up when I finally managed to get ahold of her. She laughed and told me that she’d just been high that night and wanted to mess with me. Said she didn’t even remember telling me that. She also said she’d met another guy and was happy. I believed her.”
He frowned and shook his head. “This next part is not flattering. After dad’s will was read, I decided to find Mallory. I… I thought that maybe she had been my mate and I’d just been too big of a dumbass to notice. And, yes, I also thought that if she’d been telling the truth that night, if she had been pregnant with my child, I had a chance to get control of the ranch.”