When I'm Gone (Rosemary Beach #11)(21)

Mase

“It’s a woman,” Major said, as he opened my fridge and grabbed a beer. “I know the signs. You can try to shit me with whatever hogwash you wanna spew, but I’ve been there, dude.”

Major was becoming a pain in my ass. He was my stepfather’s nephew, and I’d been raised with him as my cousin. Although we weren’t related by blood, it didn’t seem to matter. I had needed his help today with the horses, but I was ready for him to leave now. Reese would be calling soon. And Major was the last person I wanted here when she called.

“We’re done for the day. Take the beer and go home. I’m getting a shower, then hitting the sack. I’m beat.” I walked past the kitchen and toward my bedroom.

“Right there. That is. Bull. Shit,” he called after me. “Woman bullshit. Seen it. Know it.”

I hated how close he was to the truth. Reese was on my mind most of the day, every damn day. I looked forward to her calls way more than I should. But damn, her voice made me smile. Hearing how excited she was over her progress also got to me. “Leave,” I fired back, and slammed the bedroom door behind me.

I had started pulling off my boots when my cousin decided to bang on my door. “Who is it? Can’t be Cordelia. You’d have done more than tap that ass years ago if you wanted her. She’s more than available. Wait . . . Rosemary Beach. You met someone there, didn’t you? Rich babe? Got cash? Got a sister? No, wait, I don’t want her sister. I still want a go at your hot single sister.”

God, could he be any more annoying? “Go on, Major. I’m not giving you anything. There is no woman. Leave and let me shower in peace. Fucking pest.”

Major’s laughter filtered through the door. “Thou doth protest too much.” He slapped the door one more time. “Fine. Be like that. But you’ll admit it soon enough. Or I’ll figure this shit out.”

I didn’t respond to him. I waited until his footsteps had moved toward the front door. When the door opened and closed, I let out a sigh of relief. Glancing at the clock, I saw that I had forty-five minutes before she was due to call. I could shower and grab something to eat.

If Major knew about Reese, he’d say something to my mother. Then I’d never hear the end of it. I loved my mom, but she would ask questions. I wasn’t ready to answer questions. I wasn’t even sure where this was going with Reese. Denying that I was attracted to her was pointless. I had admitted that to myself.

Hell, I’d been thinking about the freckle under her ass since the first moment I saw her. But it was more than just lust now. I liked Reese. I liked the woman she was inside. At first, I’d been afraid it was pity and that my emotions were wrapped up in feeling sorry for her and wanting to help her.

I didn’t think that anymore. Reese didn’t want pity. She didn’t require it. She was tough. Much tougher than I had given her credit for. I respected her ability to roll with the punches of life and keep fighting. With a body like hers, she could have used those assets to follow another path in life. One where her looks paid the bills. But she hadn’t done that. Instead, she worked hard cleaning houses, and she was proud of her job.

There was much more to Reese than I had first assumed. So much more than I could have expected. And she was getting to me, slowly reeling me in, and she didn’t even realize it. But I had to face the fact that she might not want that. It was very likely that Reese wasn’t interested in me for anything more than friendship.

Maybe that was for the best. For starters, we lived several states away from each other. That in itself was an issue. And it wasn’t like she would up and move just to date me, and moving my ranch to Rosemary Beach was impossible. I had a job and a future here.

Stepping into the shower, I decided that I wouldn’t think about that now. There was no point. This needed to be taken slowly. My fantasies about her would remain just that.

Thirty minutes later, my phone rang as I was standing on my front porch finishing a beer, still thinking about her.

“Hey,” I said, as I answered on the first ring.

“Hey. I’m earlier than usual. I hope that’s OK.” She sounded excited.

I smiled. “Yeah. That’s fine. I wasn’t doing anything but waiting for you to call anyway.”

“Oh,” was her only response.

“How did tonight go?” I asked. Astor Munroe was also giving me full reports once a week via e-mail. He had agreed not to mention the fact that I was paying him to help Reese. I didn’t think she would be as willing to work with him if she knew. I wanted her mind completely free of any distractions from learning.

“Great. I read him a chapter of the book he had given me last week. It wasn’t a picture book. It was my first chapter book. I wasn’t fast or anything, but I read it without panicking or getting a word wrong. I also took a spelling test. The first one I’ve ever passed in my life,” she added, sounding giddy. The idea of never being able to pass a spelling test sliced me a little inside. I hated thinking about the little girl who had struggled and been ignored.

“That’s amazing. I’m so proud of you, but then, I knew you could do it. Never doubted you,” I assured her. “I’m still waiting for you to be brave enough to read to me.”

That always made her go silent on me. She was still scared to read to me, but dammit, I wanted her to trust me. I wanted her to feel comfortable with it. Knowing she read for Astor made me jealous of the man. Which was ridiculous but true.