Mason (11 page)

Landon told him he needed to talk to him
about something as well. “I want you to take over the running of the ranch. My
ranch. I’m going to take Katie on a trip, and we’re going to be gone for a
while.”

“I can help you out with that.” Landon shook
his head. “You want me to help whoever you choose. Okay, I get it. And I’ll
gladly do that as well.”

“No. I want you to take my ranch.” Mason just
stared at him, thinking he had to have heard him wrong. “I’m not…let me start
again. You and Emma are going to be married soon, and you’re the best man I’ve
ever met in terms of taking care of her. Not that she can’t do well on her own,
but having you in her corner is going to keep her safe. I am giving you the
ranch. Call it a wedding present.”

“I can’t do that.” Landon told him he could.
“No. I can’t. I can run things for you, but I don’t think I can run a ranch the
size of yours.”

“You won’t have to run it, Mason. You’ll be
the owner. You tell others to do what you want done and they do it. Now, I’m
already talking with my attorney and I’ve had a long talk with my Emma. This
thing with you messing up won’t be a problem, she’ll see….”

“I messed up?” He nodded at him. “You mean
about the mayor thing? I was desperate and…shit. I messed up. I was…shit. Shit.
Shit.”

“Yeah, that’s about right.” Landon laughed as
he patted him on the back. “You’re never going to be perfect, son, but you can
make it up to her by taking the wind right out of her sails as soon as you see
her. Tell her you were an idiot and she’ll not know how to handle that.” Mason
nodded.

“I asked her to marry me this morning, but we
never got around to me giving her the ring.” Landon fished in his pocket and
handed him a small box. “I can’t have you buying me her ring. I got her one. It’s
not much, but I got it for her.”

“It was her grandmother’s. Katie told me to give
it to you last week. Had it on me when I was…when Dirk hit me. I’m powerful
glad that he didn’t find it. Would have broken my heart to see what he might
have done to it.” Mason opened the box. “Pretty, isn’t it? I think her first
husband might have given it to her, and she told me once that he had it made
for her. Don’t know, I was a might young when she told me.”

It wasn’t a diamond like he’d thought it
would be but a beautiful sapphire. It was surrounded by little pearls that
seemed to be blue one second and white the next. The band was wide and had been
inlaid with small gems that were as smooth as the ring itself. He could see the
inscription, but didn’t know what it said. He asked Landon.

“It’s French. It says
mon seul et unique
amour,
or my one and only love. You can probably have it rescripted if you
want, but I kinda like it.” So did Mason. “She’s a good girl, my Emma, and what
you don’t get from me when we sign the papers, you will from her. And if you’d
be able to talk her into a baby or two before I leave this world, well, her mom
would be tickled pink.”

“And you? Will you be happy with having
children that are not wholly human?” Landon smacked him in the head with his
palm. “I had to ask. You do know that they’ll be like me for the most part.”

“I’m hoping they’ll be like you both.
Stubborn to no end, smart as tacks, and rich beyond what I’m giving you now.”
He asked him what Dirk was going to say. “At this point…we talked it over, me
and Katie, and we can’t have him…he’s done. I don’t want to say I don’t have a
son, but I’m thinking if he don’t get him some help soon, it’s not gonna end
well for him.”

Landon hugged him, and Mason hugged him back.
He was glad that he was better. He might have missed him more than he’d thought.
When he saw Emma walking toward them, Landon told him good luck and moved away
to enter the barn behind him. Emma was nearly to him when he dropped to one
knee in front of her.

“I’m a fool. And an idiot. I shouldn’t have thrown
you under the bus like I did. But I was so afraid that they’d be able to
convince me to take the job and that I’d really fuck it up that I just
panicked. I’m sorry. So very sorry.” He lifted the little box to her and let
her see what was inside. “Your father said this was your grandmothers and that
you were to have it. Katie thought it would be nice for you to be asked—”

“Where’s the one you bought me?” He looked up
at her. “This morning you said you have me a ring. I’d like to see it.”

Her voice was all wrong for someone who was
being asked to be married, but he dug the little box out of his pocket. In
comparison, his was cheap and dime store looking. But it was all he could
afford, and he had been really proud that he’d done it.

“Ask me again.” Mason asked her what she
meant. “To marry you. I love my grandmother’s ring and I’ll wear it, but not on
the finger you are to give me a ring on. That one is for the one you bought me.”

“Will you marry me, Emma McBride? I love you.
I’m a screw-up. A lowly rancher with not much…I didn’t have much in the way of
offering you something. But your father said that he was…never mind. Will you
marry me? Have babies with me and make me the happiest man in the world?” He
looked up at her when she didn’t answer right away. “Emma?”

“Will you change me? I mean soon? I want to be
able to run with you. Shift and be a cat with you. Protect you when you need me
to.” He nodded. “Then yes, I’ll marry you, but if you ever do that to me again,
you’ll be very sorry.”

“I already am.” He took the ring out of the
box and slipped it on her finger. “I think the other one suits you more.”

“No, this one is perfect because you gave it
to me. I love the other one, as I said, but this is from your heart, and I love
it more.” Mason put the other ring on her other hand and kissed her. “How soon?”

“I have to get a license, and we have to have
some kind of test. Not sure what that’s all about, but—” She put her hand over
his mouth and said how long before he could change her. “Oh. I’ll have to talk
to Jace. He’s done it before, so he’ll have first-hand info. You really want it
now? I heard it was really painful.”

“I want to be like you in all ways.” Mason
kissed her again, this time holding her body to his for several minutes. When
he put her down, she stepped back. “Thanks to you, I have to make a few phone
calls and take on a job that I’ve never done before. Plus, I have to call my
boss. He might not be happy to find out that I’m well enough to come back to
work and now have a temporary job.”

“Then quit and be the mayor. You’d do a great
job, and you’d be right here with me all the time.” She shook her head, but he
could see the desire there. “You’d be Mayor Douglas, and I’d be fucking you on
that big desk of yours whenever I’m in town.”

“You’re not going to get me to do this with
sex.” He wiggled his brows at her, and she laughed. “You’re not right in the
head. I’m leaving. I’ll see you later.”

Chapter 11

Dirk walked around the house three times and
knocked on every window and door. There just wasn’t anyone there. Not a servant
nor his family. And he was getting madder by the minute. When someone spoke
behind him, he turned to see a big man with a gun, but he seemed to be alone.

“You’re trespassing.” Dirk opened his mouth
to tell him who he was, but the man raised his hand. “I know who you are, but
you’re still not allowed to be here. Now, I’ve called the cops and they’re on
their way. So you just sit that ass of yours down there and be a good boy.”

“I’m Dirk McBride, you motherfucker, and I
have more right to be here than you do.” Dirk reached for his gun, but the man
raised his first. “You shoot me and there will be hell to pay. If you live long
enough to make it to jail.”

“You’re a little shit, aren’t you? Mason said
you were a little on the odd side, but you’re really off your cork if you think
that…you really are something else.” Dirk didn’t think he meant that in a good
way and said nothing. “Now I’m going to come close enough to get that gun from
you. Then we’re going to wait on the cops.”

The man moved quicker than he could see. And
when he blinked again, his gun was in the front of the other man’s pants, as
well as the knife that he’d had in his pocket. Dirk wanted to attack the man,
but wasn’t ready to do that just yet and stood there.

“How much do you want?” The man asked him
what he meant. “Money. How much do you want to let me go? I have a lot of it,
and as soon as I get into the house, I’ll give it to you. I’m a very wealthy
man. The McBrides have more money than anyone, and it’ll all be mine soon.”

“From what I’ve heard, you have shit. Less than
shit, and a murderer doesn’t usually have the means to any money so far as I
know.” Dirk just waved him off. “You saying you didn’t murder anyone?”

“When people get in my way, I take care of
things. And with my connections, I’m not going to go to jail. My sister is
supposed to be this great attorney, and when she finds out that I’m being
arrested, she’s going to take care of me.” The man snorted. “You just don’t
know the power of money, that’s all. You have no idea the kind of power that I
can use. I’m a very wealthy man.”

“So you keep telling me.” The man looked to
his left, and so did Dirk. There was nothing there, but the man looked at him
again. “They’re coming for you. And a pretty boy like you, you’ll be butt
fucked before the end of the day, I’m betting.”

“I’m not gay.” The man just laughed. “Don’t
laugh at me. I’m not trying to be funny. Stop laughing.”

But he continued. And not only did he laugh, but
harder and louder. Dirk had enough. People just did not treat him like he was
common. He cleared the distance between him and the man in no time and knocked him
back. Dirk was ready to pound his head into the ground when he noticed that he
was not moving. Not only that, but he was bleeding from the head too.

Dirk could hear the sirens now. The dumbass
really had called the cops. What the hell was wrong with people? Didn’t they
care that he was a McBride and that his kind didn’t go to jail? He grabbed the
man’s wallet, his guns, and his knife back and was ready to put a bullet in his
head when he heard doors slamming. Dirk took off to the woods instead of
getting rid of the trash that had the nerve to try and have him arrested.

Dirk stayed just within the trees to see what
was going on. He wasn’t afraid of going to jail. At most he’d spend a few hours
there, and then Emma would have him out on bail that his dad would pay. It was
the fact that they all seemed to think he’d done something wrong when it had
been him that had been wronged.

For weeks now he’d been trying to figure out
what had happened to the people in his family. The only thing he could think of
was Mason. The lowlife had been messing with their minds and turning them
against him. Dirk had really liked the way things had been, and the sooner they
got back with the program, the better he’d like it.

He pulled the list that his father had given
him out of his pocket. He’d finally gotten around to really looking at it, and
had to laugh every time he saw it. Get a job was the first thing on the long
list, and the second one was to get a place to live. Dirk had one, and he’d be
living there for the rest of his life too if his family would just remember who
he was.

Dirk had had some issues with that for some time
as well. The peons of the town were acting like he was nothing and that his
name was nothing as well. He was Dirk McBride, and the sooner they started to
remember that and his station in life, the better off they’d be.

When the cops started to the woods in the
opposite direction he was, Dirk made his way to the road again. They were so
stupid if they thought he’d just wait there for them. First of all, he had to
find his family, and then there was going to be hell to pay. What the fuck did
they think they were doing treating him this way?

Dirk knew that he was special. He was good
looking if he did say so himself. And he took a great deal of pride in his
attire. His knowledge of fashion was second to none, and he prided himself on
being up to date on all the seasonal changes as well.

Money had never meant anything to him other
than the fact that he liked to spend it. Dirk couldn’t remember the last time
he’d even looked at a price tag or, for that matter, a bill. Just hand what he
wanted to the girl at the counter, sign his name, and be on his way. Getting
what he wanted was a priority to him. As it should be.

McBride had been a household name for as long
as he’d been able to remember. His father didn’t seem to get that. His mom was
stupid about fashion and he had to take her to task on more than one occasion
about what she was wearing. Of course, she’d never paid him any mind, but when
she was dumb enough not dress in a way that was befitting to him and his good
name, Dirk would just leave her. It would piss off his dad, but he had a
reputation to uphold and she was really not with it.

His dad was a different matter altogether.
Why he felt he had to go out in the fields every day was just beyond Dirk. To
him it was what you paid people for. Do the shit work and let you rake in the
money. And his dad did make a lot of it too. About a year ago it had been in
some magazine that his dad, him too, as he was his only son, was one of the top
five richest people in the world. Dirk smiled. He’d gone out and celebrated his
good fortune by spending a great deal of money, and if he remembered correctly,
he’d been put in jail for something. One call to Emma had taken care of that.
Now that was changed too.

When he got back to his house, he went in
through the back door and sat in the kitchen. Last night the woman had started
to smell up the house, so he’d put her in the dumpster and set her to the curb.
He had no idea when the trash was picked up, but having her smell out of his
house had made vast improvements. Still, there was little to eat now and he had
no more money.

The television in the kitchen no longer
worked, and that really pissed him off that he couldn’t have it replaced. Going
to his list, he wrote that down as well. When his family took him back in, he
was going to show them that he’d been thinking about them and what they could
do to improve his life. There were perhaps forty things on his list, and Dirk
was quite proud of some of them.

The house was something that he’d had to
really think about. He wanted his own. And servants to clean up after him as
well. Plus the cook and someone to make sure he had an endless supply of drugs
and wine. Dirk had been without a hit for a while now and wasn’t really concerned
about it. He didn’t do it that much, preferring alcohol over drugs every time. But
if he did want drugs, he wanted them there where he didn’t have to go out and
find someone to sell them to him.

The house, as he’d stated above, would be
clean too. No more having the servants skip his room because he was in the
room. He’d decided that having three bedrooms was convenient, as he could have
each of them filled with all his things he could move from room to room. He’d
never have to sleep in a mess that they’d been too lazy to see.

His father never used the limo service
anymore, and he wanted those privileges put back in place. If there was trouble
with it, then his dad would have to take care of it. Keeping track of his own
car was just too much work. A limo would save him so much time finding a place
to park too.

There would be no more talk about him finding
a job. He had one. It was simply being who he was. If anyone thought that he
just got out of bed and looked like he did, then they had no business being a
part of his clique. It took him time to look this good and money to make it
work.

That was another thing. It had taken him the
longest to figure out just how much he wanted in allowance each week. He’d
really thought that a thousand would be enough, but when he thought about
things, the parties he wanted to go to, the gifts he wanted to buy for himself,
he knew it was going to have to be way more than that. He thought about five
grand a week, then just wrote down an endless supply in the form of his own
bank account. His dad could just keep it tapped off and he’d use it as he saw
fit. Also, a separate credit card to use when he was short on cash. Then there
were the last three things on his list.

His sister wasn’t to marry beneath her. Maybe
she did have a job and worked for a living, but she was a McBride and had to
keep up the blueblood line. She could fuck Mason if she wanted, but there would
be no marriage and certainly no brats. He had a list of candidates on the other
page of people he felt that she should consider.

His mom was going to have her body redone. A
face lift wasn’t enough. She was sagging everywhere, and it was just too embarrassing
for her to be out in public, especially when she told people who she was. Dirk
also had a name of a good doctor that could take forty years off herself, and
she’d be good enough to be seen with him. A fashion stylist was also on his
list, but that was a given. His family was going to start looking like him, a
McBride.

Dad. What do to with Dad had been the hardest
to figure out. Dirk had thought of all kinds of things to do with him. Have him
get a lift and tuck too, but he’d never do it not even if Dirk tried to explain
to him that he had to look good to be seen with him. And there was him working.
Dad would not quit that either. Smelling like a horse seemed to be like a
cologne to him. No, this called for bigger things.

“Dad will have to be put away.” It would be
easy too. His dad was old, and Dirk had figured all he had to do was to have
his dad stand before the judge and tell them what he did all day. Then Dirk
would stand beside him. It would be difficult, but he’d do it for the sake of
their family name and show the judge what he had to work with. Dirk had no
doubt that his dad would be in a home in moments, and no longer a social
problem for him.

He looked at his other list, his things to do
to get his family with the program of getting him back in the house. Today had
been the day that he’d confront them, but that hadn’t gone well at all. Dirk
had it on his list to call the police and have them make his parents take him
back, but that was third on his list. Tomorrow he was going to go and see Emma
at her job. Things were going to be complete by tomorrow night, and he’d be in
his own bed. Smiling, he sat down in front of the tiny television that he’d
brought down from the bedroom and turned it on. This woman should have made
better plans for having his kind come and see her. This shit was for the birds.

~~~

“Why don’t you take the job?” Emma looked at
Mr. Patterson, her boss. “You’d be better off there than here. Things are
changing here that, frankly, might make me leave as well.”

Emma didn’t say anything. She wasn’t even
sure what to say to him. She loved her job and everything about it…the way
things worked to a conclusion nearly every time. Then there was the way she
felt when she closed a case that she’d won.

She’d been asked to go and see him by Mr.
Foster, the firm’s president. She had no idea why, but she’d done as he’d
asked. The only thing she’d been told to do was to wear the little body camera
and just to tell him what she had planned.

“Don’t you like being a lawyer?” Patterson
told her the only thing he liked was the check. “That’s really sad. I mean, you
went to college for all that time just to draw a check. I love what I do. The
money is only secondary.”

“Yeah, because you have it all.” Emma shifted
on her chair. She never discussed her family or their wealth. She supposed that
if someone wanted to know they’d only have to look her up, but it was something
that rarely came up. “I mean, if I had all the money you had, I’d be sitting on
my ass too. The mayoral position would be perfect. If they give you any grief,
then just buy them off.”

“I’d never do that.” Patterson snorted at
her. “I wouldn’t. And the reason I’m here is just what I said. I’d like
permission from the company to help out a little until they get someone to
replace me. It would only be for a short time, and I’d still be able to work
here too.”

“Did you know that Foster really likes you?”
Emma said she liked him too. “No, I mean really likes you. I’ve been asking
around, and I think he’d screw you if you let him. Might make you a better
check come bonus time.”