Summer Love by Piper Rayne

Chapter Five

“Your mother is a goddess,” I managed around a mouthful of some sort of ham and cheese goodness.

It was a picnic fit for a queen. With the delicious sandwiches, fresh fruit, homemade potato salad, fresh bread, and a thermos of sweet tea, it was a better meal than I’d had in ages. Which probably said more about me than Mason and his mother.

It’s time I learned how to cook.

Now that I was a career woman with my thirties quickly approaching, takeout and fast food wasn’t going to cut it anymore.

“Thanks,” Mason said with an easy smile. “You’ll have to try her fried chicken.”

“Mmmm,” I moaned, thinking I was down to eat anything this woman made with her own two hands.

Mason chuckled and said, “I’m glad you’re enjoying it. It’s nice to see a woman who enjoys food as much as I do.”

“Growing up, having food on the table wasn’t a guarantee, so you’ll never see me with food leftover on my plate,” I replied, feeling relaxed and happy sitting in the warmth of the day with delicious food filling my belly. “Especially food this good.”

Mason’s eyes widened a bit and I realized I may have said too much. I didn’t want him to feel sorry for me. Pity was something I refused to accept from anyone.

“Living on a farm meant food was never an issue. We raised it, grew it, and my ma always spent as much time working in the kitchen as my dad and I spent out in the fields.”

“It must have been a nice way to grow up,” I said, trying to picture what it must have been like to live life that way.

It was the complete opposite of my own experience.

“It really was,” Mason replied, leaning back and pushing his legs out in front of him so he was almost laying down. “Oh, I didn’t always appreciate it as a kid, but what kids would? I saw Gabe getting to go to school and hang out with his cousins on the weekends, and it seemed like the only time I got a break was when we were playing ball, but sometimes that still felt like work.”

“You wanted time just to be a kid,” I guessed, realizing how I’d taken my freedom to do just that for granted growing up.

“Yeah, but things were different back then. Times were harder and my dad had no choice but to put me to work. It’ll be different when I have kids. Sure, I’ll teach them all about the farm, but I want my kids to actually have a childhood. I’m lucky to be in a spot where I’ll be able to give them the best of both worlds.”

“I’ve never thought much about having kids, but what you’re describing sounds perfect to me. I can imagine growing up with the animals and spending summers swimming right there in the pond. You have yourself a little slice of paradise here.”

It was so far away from the sparse landscape of the trailer park I’d grown up in. The only colorful flowers there had been the plastic ones pasted to the side of Old. Mrs. Dingle’s double wide.

“I’ve spent many an afternoon cooling off right here. The water is perfect on a day such as this … What do you say? You want to take a dip?”

I looked at Mason in surprise.

“Don’t we have to get back?” I asked, suddenly aware of the way my shirt was sticking to my back.

“I’ve got my radio,” Mason said, gesturing to the walkie he’d laid out on the edge of the blanket. “Henry will call if he needs anything.”

I glanced back over the water, visualizing myself jumping in and imagining the crisp, cool feel of the water surrounding me. I’d never been one to be shy about my body and the thought of stripping down to my underwear was no big deal. Still, Mason was different than the guys I usually spent time with.

Would he be charmed by my lack of self-consciousness, or be turned off by it?

Shaking the thought out of my head, I stood up. It was his idea, wasn’t it? If he was put off by me taking him up on it, then it was his problem, not mine ... right?

“A swim sounds lovely,” I said, my hands already at my waist as I started toward the deck.

I didn’t look back to see what his reaction was, I simply kept going with a single-minded focus. Shucking clothes as I walked, so by the time I reached the edge of the deck, I sent up a whisper of thanks that I’d put on a pretty matching set of underwear for my first day of work and dove right in without a second thought.

It was colder than expected.

My breath caught as I was submerged, but by the time I resurfaced I’d already gotten used to the much colder temperature of the water.

I turned slowly, my legs kicking beneath me as I waded in the deep pond and made a one-eighty just in time to see a large expanse of tanned skin and a pair of dark-blue boxers before Mason was airborne.

I yelped as the spray hit me and he went under, then started laughing as I pushed off and began to swim farther into the pond.

Mason came up with a, “Whoo,” and started to swim after me.

We swam lazily across the pond before both stopping to turn onto our backs and float. I looked up at the pretty blue sky with fluffy white clouds and let out a sigh of contentment.

“This was a great idea,” I said, lifting my head to look at Mason beside me. “I can’t remember the last time I went swimming.”

“Not everyone would jump right into a pond without hesitation. I was impressed,” Mason said with an easy grin.

“Oh, I’ve jumped in worse,” I said with a light laugh. “Have you ever been down to the river by the train tracks? I don’t think anyone has been able to see the bottom of that thing for decades. We used to jump off a rope swing into it as kids. I can still remember the funky smell.”

Mason tipped his head back as he laughed, a great, deep, carefree sound.

“No, I can’t say I’ve had the pleasure.”

“I’d skip it if I were you,” I joked, and I couldn’t help but think how easy this was … being with Mason.

Our eyes caught and the smile left his face as something else took over. Something hot and pulsing, which made my skin prickle and my pulse quicken.

I knew immediately he wanted to kiss me. And, by God, I am going to let him.