Mason (4 page)

He’d gone from stack to stack, picking up
shirts and tossing them back unfolded and a mess. Ties were stripped from their
hangers and then dropped on the floor. When a clerk asked him if she could
help, Dirk had turned to her and said he was Dirk McBride, and that he knew
more about clothing than the clerk did. Dirk had ended up spending just over
five grand in the store, then gave the clerk a hard time because she wouldn’t
give him an advance on his credit card. When he sat down beside Holly, she
moved away.

“Hello beautiful. Where have you been all my
life?” Holly looked at Emma, then back at Dirk. “I’m homeless now…well, for a
little while anyway. My dad seems to think that having me under the roof is
going to take all his money. Like that’s going to happen. And besides, I’m his
son. I deserve to live where I want. How about I come and stay with you until
my dad gets a clue?”

“No, Dirk, you cannot.” He frowned at her,
obviously not used to people telling him no. “And you should have a good deal
more respect for your parents. They’re good people and have worked hard to make
their money.” Holly stood up and went to sit on the couch with Emma. It was
more to protect her than to get away from Dirk. But when he sneered at her, she
thought he was just like a spoiled child.

“Respect for my parents? When they give me
what’s mine and are both dead and cold in their graves, then perhaps I’ll think
kindly of them. But they’re kicking me out and making all these…demands. Why
should I get a job? I’m Dirk McBride. And a house? Please. I live here, it’s my
style. They’re going to regret this.”

When he just sat there staring at them, Holly
looked at Emma. She was crying, and Holly held her. To have an asshole like him
for a brother would make her cry too. Then she’d kick his ass for being that
way. Holly decided to let Jace know what was going on here, and soon.

~~~

Dirk stared at the lovely woman who had moved
away from him. He thought she looked familiar, but had no idea right now from where.
Her being married didn’t stop him from flirting with her, but when he tried to
touch her by moving across the room to talk to Emma, she growled at him.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” He stood
up, and she did too. “What the fuck are you even doing in my house? Get your
ass out of—”

“Dirk, shut up.”

He looked at his sister when she spoke. She’d
been getting really mouthy with him too, lately, and he was sick of it. First
there was his dad and whatever he was going to do about getting him out of his house,
and now this shit. The entire family had gone over the deep end if they thought
they could order Dirk McBride around and get away with it. Moving to the couch
where his sister was still seated, Dirk drew back his hand to hit Emma when he
was suddenly on the floor.

“You touch any of these people and I will
tear your throat out.” Dirk lay very still…not because he was afraid of her—no,
never that—but because he wanted his family to see how guests were treating
him. But his sister said nothing as the woman continued. “You think I’m kidding
you, Dirk the Dick?”

That name. That fucking horrible name he’d
been called since he’d been a kid. Dirk roared out his anger but couldn’t
dislodge the bitch off his back. No matter how hard he tried, she was stuck to
him. He was going to get her if it was the last thing he did, the fucking cunt.
Dirk McBride did not get treated this way.

“Get your fat ass off me or so help me, I
will kill you.” She laughed and he felt his anger get hotter. “Fucking cunt,
get off—”

His head hit the floor. Blood erupted form
his nose, and he nearly passed out when she did it several more times. Each
time his forehead touched the floor, she would ask him if he was ready to leave
in a voice that was calm and soft, sexy almost. And each time his answer was to
call her names. When he started getting dizzy, he finally told her he was
finished.

When she was off his back, Dirk turned on his
back and jumped for her. He found himself sailing through the air before he
even cleared the floor. The man was holding him up by his hair and his pants,
and no matter how hard he tried, Dirk couldn’t get away. After he was tossed into
the yard, he reached for his gun.

It was gone. Dirk was ready to go back and
get it, but the man on the steps made him pause. It was the asshole from the
other morning, the one he’d hit. And the man, Mason, again had his gun. As much
as he hated the things, he’d figured one might come in handy around here. But
it only worked, he supposed, when he was the one holding it.

“You come back for more, Mason? And tell me,
how did you enter my house? The front door again?” Mason only laughed at him as
he handed the gun to his dad. “Give me that and I’ll show you what it means to
treat Dirk McBride like a commoner. Come on, Mason, you’re not afraid that I’ll
shoot you, are you? Give me the fucking gun, Dad.”

“I don’t think so. I think I’ll keep it until
you grow up. And you’re not coming back in here, Dirk. I already told you that.”

Dirk was pissed and getting more so all the
time. When he took the necessary steps to get to the wrap-around porch and to
his dad, Mason stepped in front of him. “Get the fuck out of my way, Douglas. I’m
going inside.”

“Your father said you’re not. And the last
time I looked, his name was on the deed.” Dirk tried to get around the big man.
“You’re not coming in here. Not while I’m still breathing, you’re not.”

“Then give me my gun and I’ll take care of
that little problem right now.” Dirk fully expected him to hand it over. No one
would dare to refuse him, and yet here they stood doing it. “You heard me. And
what the hell are you doing in my house anyway? I thought I made it perfectly
clear this morning that you’re not to use the front door when you come to work
for my dad.”

“That was the day before yesterday, you
moron. And I don’t take orders from little pieces of shit that think they’re
all that. And for the record, you’re nothing but a spoiled brat.” Dirk had had
enough. When he looked at his dad, Mason spoke again. “He’s had it with you as
well. And I don’t think he’s going to let you in either.”

“Mom.” Dirk shouted twice for his mom, and
she came around the corner and stood on the porch with Dad. Dirk had had enough
of these people and their supposed rules. He was a McBride, the Dirk McBride,
and he was to be treated better than this. Especially by lower life forms like
Mason. “Mom, don’t let them do this to me. You know that this is not the way I
deserve to be treated. Tell Dad that this is enough and to let me in. I’m not
going to survive on the streets and you know it. I don’t even have any cash on
me.”

“You don’t have any credit cards either, son.”
Dirk looked at his dad when his mom spoke, her voice as hard and cold as he’d
ever heard from her. “You’re on your own. We’ve decided that you’re too costly
to have living here. If you get yourself straightened out and get some help, we’ll
think about—”

“Straightened out from what?” Neither of them
answered him. “I swear to Christ, if this is one of those fucking intervention
things, you’re wasting my time. I’m not hurting anyone with my fun. And it’s
not like you can’t afford to bail me out once in a while. I’m Dirk McBride.”

“One hundred and seventy-three thousand, four
hundred and fifty dollars.” He asked his dad what that was. “What we’ve bailed
you out with in the last six months. I’m afraid to look at what we’ve done for
you since you’ve turned eighteen.”

“So?” His parents looked at each other and
then back at him. “So what if that’s what it cost you? I’m your son, and you
have the money. Fuck, if you’d just give me what’s mine, then I’d not bother
you at all. I think I’m old enough to have my inheritance now. And kicking me
out isn’t going to make a bit of difference except for when I get back in the
house. You’ll see what happens when you treat me this way.”

“There is nothing left for you.” Dirk just
stared at his dad. “So far as I’m concerned, you spent your share of the
inheritance from us a long time ago. Pain and suffering, money to bail you out.
That’s not even counting what Emma has given you or done for you. I’m washing
my hands of you and what you think we owe you. Dirk, you’re not going to do
this to any of us any longer.”

“She’s a fucking lawyer. She should help me
out. Did you forget who I am? What I represent to this family and the McBride
name? Christ, just fucking get out of my way and let me in.” Dirk tried again
to move around Mason, and when that didn’t work, he glared at his mom. “So this
is how you’re going to treat me? Just kick me away as if I mean nothing at all
to you? This is how you treat your son? What the hell am I supposed to do about
the money I owe to my friends? You think they have that kind of money to just
piss away? There is thousands of dollars that I owe them. Look, just give me
some money…I could use about ten grand. That should be a nice start if you’re
kicking me out. Then say, I don’t know, you’re going to have to give me about
that much every month or I’ll never have anything. What do you expect me to do
if you just cut me off?”

Mason laughed. “Get a job? Save your money?
Stop borrowing what your ass can’t afford? I don’t know, Dirk, those are just a
few of the things you’re going to have to figure out.”

He lunged at the man and was knocked back on
his ass just as the police pulled in the drive. Now things were going to get better
for him. Turning to the cop as he got out of the car, Dirk started to explain
what his family was doing to him, but the cop only cut him off.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to move on,
Mr. McBride.” It took Dirk a few seconds to realize that he was talking to him,
not his dad. “You’re trespassing as of right now. And it’s well within my
rights to arrest you for it.”

“This is my house.” The cop only shook his
head and told him to move along. “I’m not going anywhere. These people are full
of shit if they think I will. I’m fucking Dirk McBride. This is my home.”

“Mr. McBride, I’ve called for backup, and if
you don’t get on down the road, we’re going to take you to jail. Your parents
filed for a restraining order against you this morning, and it has been
granted. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

A second and third cruiser pulled in behind
the first one. Dirk was pissed, but he wasn’t stupid enough to think he could
outrun a bullet should these idiots try and shoot him. Looking at the people on
the porch, he just glared at them, then spit at Mason.

“You’re going to regret this. All of you. I’m
not going to be tossed away from here, my home. You’ll see…I’m coming back, and
when I do, you’re going to wish you’d been better to me.”

Mason came off the porch and stood within an
inch of him. Dirk wanted to back up more, but he was leaning backwards over the
cruiser as it was. Mason looked…well, like an animal, and Dirk was suddenly not
just afraid of him, but scared shitless.

“You come back here and I will kill you,” he
said so only Dirk could hear. Mason’s voice was hard and sounded like he meant
it. “Come near any of them, especially my sister-in-law, and they’ll never find
you when I’m finished with you. Understand?”

“Fuck you.”

Dirk turned and left them then. He had no
idea what he was going to do, where he was going to go, but he had to leave or
be hurt. Mason would hurt him. The man was bigger and stronger because he was
nothing but a farm hand…one that was going to pay for treating Dirk McBride
like he was nothing.

But not if I hurt Mason first
, he thought. Dirk
walked all the way to town, a cruiser right behind him the entire time. He had
a plan by the time he found himself outside the bar he’d been at until closing
time this morning. He was going to start him a tab and have it sent to his dad.
That was the first part of his plan, and he loved it.

Chapter 4

Mason watched the cruiser. He didn’t expect
anything to happen right now, but he knew that this was just the beginning. When
he heard the door to the house open then close, he turned to see who might be
left. Landon was just sitting in one of the many rockers that sat on the big
porch. Mason went to join him when he waved him over.

“I’m so embarrassed.” Mason asked his friend
why. “I never…I wasn’t aware that Dirk was like this. So, he’s so angry
and…well, I hate to admit it, but I’ve been avoiding his temper in favor of
giving in instead of just making him mind. Should have beaten him more as a
child. But I’m glad you were here. I’d hate to think what might have happened
if you hadn’t been.”

Mason laughed, and so did Landon. It was sad
sounding coming from the elderly man, but Mason thought it made him feel less
embarrassed. Things were settled enough between the two of them that Mason
thought he could talk plainly with him. This was going to be hard, a very hard
conversation to have, but he wanted him to be aware of what might happen now. But
Landon spoke before he did.

“I’m not sure how to…you’re not human, are
you, Mason?” Mason told him he wasn’t. “Yeah, I didn’t think so. I suppose I
should have asked you a while back, but there didn’t seem to be any reason to.
I know that Fox isn’t either, and a few other men that work for me. Women too,
I guess, but I never really cared so long as they didn’t hurt me or my family.”

“They won’t. And they’ll protect you in ways
you cannot imagine. You didn’t ask, but I’m a cougar, as is the rest of my
family. Holly included, as of recently.” Landon rocked in his chair for a few
minutes before either of them spoke. “Landon, he’s going to come back here. And
when he does, it’s not going to be just talking. He’s going to try and hurt one
or all of you.”

“I know. Sad too, but…well, the only way I
can see to have this solved is to just keep doing what we’re doing. He’s not
right in the head if he thinks that over a hundred and seventy thousand dollars
isn’t worth being upset over.” Landon rocked a little more. “He’ll go after the
weakest first. Right now, that will be my wife or daughter. I don’t doubt that
Emma can take care of herself, but right now her brother will take advantage of
her being banged up.”

“He’ll go after your herd.” Landon stopped
rocking and looked at him. “They’re your weakest point of entry. He’ll kill
them, poison the herd, and devastate this ranch. It might not bring you down
money-wise, but it will hurt you. And ultimately, that’s what he wants to do,
hurt you.”

“Maybe, but…nah, not the herd. That’s what
makes him the money that he’s so free with. He might be a bastard, but he won’t
go after them. It’ll be my family. I’ll put out more patrols on the herd but…. Can
you help me?” Mason nodded. “I mean, help me. I don’t mean keeping an eye on
him or just making sure that he doesn’t hurt us. I mean help me get him
straightened out.”

“I’ll hurt him.” Landon nodded. “Landon, I’m
a cougar, not a nice businessman that you can call up and say take his credit cards
from him. To straighten him out, it might mean my cat taking him on.”

“Whatever it takes.” Landon stood up. “Come
on in the house. I want you to meet my daughter, Emma. She’s just made partner
at her law firm. Kinda beat to crap, but she’s the only thing I’m proud of
right now.”

Mason stood up. He knew what Landon was
asking him. But he wasn’t sure if Landon knew. If he hurt this family, if Dirk
tried the shit on them—and Mason knew he would—then hell would be paid. As much
as he liked this man, he disliked his son.

The house was a ranch style home, like most
of the houses in this area. The only one with more than one level that he knew
of was his brother’s new house, and it was flipping huge in comparison. Even
though Mason had never been in this house beyond the kitchen area, he knew that
it was a sprawling home, with main rooms in the front and two sections or wings
that came off each end to form around a large courtyard. He could see it when
he was running or while he was out running fences.

He entered the main part and took off his
hat. Fox was standing there waiting for him.

“Mr. Mason, I should like a word with you
before you leave today.” Mason nodded and Fox looked relieved. “My wife has
baked you some cookies to take to your aunt as well. She bakes when she’s
nervous.”

“She has a lot to be nervous about, I’m
thinking.” Fox nodded and handed him a beer. “Thanks. Do you suppose that
Landon has any idea what his son is capable of?”

“No, sir, I do not.” Mason nodded and looked
into the room beyond. “Sir, this family means a great deal to us. I don’t want
anything to happen to them.”

“Neither do I.” Mason looked at Fox. “He
wants me to buy his ranch. I can’t, but he said he’d like for me to have it. I’d
like nothing better than to do it, but it’s way out of my price range. You
think…do you think I’d be as good as him? I have no idea why I need to know
that, but it would be nice to…I don’t know….”

“I do, sir. I very much think you’d do very
well.” Handing Fox back the still full bottle, Mason took a deep breath. “You
are a good man, Mason, much like your father.”

Nodding, Mason entered the living room. He’d
meet the daughter, then go on home. He had his own ranch to see to.

One look at the room and he stood there,
stunned. Good Christ, it wasn’t at all what he had expected. And then he looked
at the woman on the couch.

Holly was sitting next to her, and Katie was
on the other side of Emma. Mason moved into the room and stopped when Holly
stood up. She looked…well, he was going to say fierce, but that wasn’t quite
right either.

“Mason?” He looked at her, only just
realizing that he was staring at Emma. “Mason, you’re scaring her. Take a step
back.”

“I have to talk to her. I need to touch her.”
Holly nodded but didn’t move. “I need to…Holly, you need to help me.”

“I don’t think I can.” The scent, the fear,
and the smell of Emma was making his cat wild. He knew that he was scaring her—hell,
he was scared himself—but he didn’t move back until someone pulled him back. He
growled low and looked at Fox, who was talking to him, but Mason couldn’t hear
or even understand what he was saying. “She’s my mate. And hurt.”

“I understand that, sir, but you’re making
her mad. Look.” Mason turned to look at Emma, and she was indeed pissed. When she
stood up, her body lean and tall, he reached for her, only to have her slap his
hands away.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” He had no
answer for her other than he wanted to kill the men who had hurt her. “Are you
addled? Do you need something cold to drink or something?”

“You.” She moved back from him, and he
growled. “You’re mine. I need to…you’re my mate.”

“Mate?” Emma looked around the room and then
back at him. “You need to explain yourself before I have you thrown from this
house. And unlike my brother, I will hurt you because I’m not afraid to get
myself dirty to do it.”

“I’m not leaving you.” His voice had gone
hard. Mason’s cat was pissed off that she was talking to them this way, and
Mason was having a hard time controlling him. “You’re my mate and hurt. I have
to stay here, and…I have no idea, but I can’t leave you like this.”

“Mason?” He looked at Landon, who was
standing between him and his mate now. “Mason, is she the one? Is Emma your
mate? Truly?”

“Yes.” He tried to calm himself too, but all
he wanted was to touch Emma. “I can’t…I’m not able to control the cat in me.”

“Cat?” He looked at Emma. “Dad, what the hell
is going on? What is wrong with him? Did Dirk hurt him?”

The low growl was all the warning he got. His
cat didn’t just take him, but seemed to consume him. He hurt from such a quick change.
His cat didn’t care and moved closer to his mate. When he was close enough to
touch her, she fell back against the couch and moaned. He could hear Fox and
Holly talking, but all he could see was Emma.

“Let him touch you.” Emma looked up at Holly
when she spoke. “He won’t hurt you. He can’t. But just let him touch you, all
right?”

“He’s a cat. A cougar. A big fucking cougar.”
Holly laughed and Emma turned to her, her eyes snapping. “Maybe this is old
news to you, but I’ve never known a man that could just become something
like…fuck, he’s a cat.”

“You know other shifters though, don’t you,
miss?” This was a question from Fox. “You just put out your hand and it will go
a long way to calming the beast in him. He cannot hurt you, not ever. Just
touch him.”

Mason moved closer but not enough to touch
her yet. The cat was in complete control right now, and he was afraid that he’d
hurt her without meaning to. But when her hand came out slowly, he moved his
big head to her and purred when she touched him.

Her fingers curled into his fur. His cat was
moving closer to her when she jerked his head up. The snarl that came from him
was cut off when she slapped him on the nose. His cat snarled again and was
slapped harder this time.

“You listen here, you overgrown barn cat. I
will not have you terrorizing me again, do you understand? This might be what
you do in your home, but not in mine.” The cat whimpered and Mason smiled
inside. “What did you think was going to happen when this man comes into my
parents’ home and starts acting like…well, a fucking animal? Then you do this
changing thing that, frankly, makes me want to find a gun and shoot you with
it. Are you able to understand me?”

“If you let him taste you, then he can talk
to you mentally.” All sorts of ways to taste Emma came to mind, but he didn’t
move when Holly spoke. “I don’t know if you have to actually draw blood to have
a link…I’m still learning myself.”

“You’re a…well, of course, you are. You’re
married to one of his brothers, right?” Holly reminded Emma that she was
pregnant too. “Congratulations. I think. I’m sorry, but this is a little too
much for me. How do I get him to change back to a person? I have things I’d
like to…discuss with the man here too.”

“He’ll be naked.” Emma flushed brightly when
her dad spoke, his voice full of humor. “This is better than I thought. Much…I
dreamed of this, one of them boys being your husband, but well, this is the
best news I’ve had all damned day.”

“Landon, you’re not helping.” Katie came to stand
near him and spoke to Fox next. “Take Mason to the kitchen, please, and see if
you can find him something to pull on. I’m assuming you have something he can
borrow?”

His cat didn’t want to leave, but at least Emma
wasn’t throwing him out. Just before leaving, however, he put his head on her
lap and stared up at her. She stared back at him, but he didn’t think she was
happy to have him there. Licking her arm, he went with Fox to the kitchen.

~~~

Emma stared at the fireplace. People were
talking around her. They were more than likely talking to her, but she was
still trying to wrap her mind around the fact that a man just turned into a cat
in front of her.

It’s not like she wasn’t aware of shifters
and other beings. Two of the men she worked with in the firm were wolves, and
she was pretty sure that the man who cleaned up at night was a vampire. Not
positive about that, but she was pretty sure. But not a one of them had turned
in front of her. And now this man was saying she was his mate.

“What’s a mate?” Everyone stopped talking
when she asked. Almost embarrassed now to have interrupted them, she nearly
told them to forget it. But Holly spoke first.

“The two of you are the other half of each
other. You and Mason are destined to be together for the rest of your lives.”
Emma shook her head. “I’m sorry, but that’s true. You can fight it—believe me, Jace
did—but it won’t work. And now that he’s tasted your skin, he’s going to be
able to find you anywhere.”

“And if I don’t want this? How do I get this
to not be…you know, us not to be mates?” No one answered her, and her mom just
smiled. “This isn’t funny. I have a life that I’m pretty happy with, and being
a man’s mate doesn’t even figure into that for many years from now, if ever.”

“I’m sure we can work something out.” Mason
entered the room pulling a shirt over his head. It, like the pants, was too big,
but she didn’t think that it distracted from his good looks in any way. “I’m
sorry about my cat. He saw that you were hurt, and he needed to be near you.”

“You have no control over him?” Her voice
squeaked, but he only nodded his head. “You do have control, but not with me? That
doesn’t really make me all warm inside.”

“Me either.” Mason sat on the chair close to
her and reached for her hand. She jerked it from him and he smiled. “We have to
touch you, Emma. It’s the only way that I can calm him. Just let me hold your
hand for now and we can talk.”

Emma turned to Holly to see if what he was
saying was true, but only then realized they were alone. Fox entered then and set
a tray down in front of her on the little table, but was in and out so quickly
that she didn’t get the chance to ask him anything. Turning to Mason, she
glared at him when he took her hand again.