“Twelve!” Gavin asked, and then Mason and his mom both started to laugh.

“She’s trying to make me look bad. I was seven.”

“Eight,” Catherine corrected.

“Play…ball…” Ted raised his right hand to point. It was the first time his father had spoken since they came out.

“What’s that, Dad?”

Ted shook his head. “Broken the....win…win…” He groaned, and then let out a deep breath.

Catherine squeezed his shoulder. Gavin looked up at Mason, who gave him a sad smile, before bending forward. “You’re trying to embarrass me, too, huh? He’s talking about that time Isaac and I were playing ball in the field over there. I threw the baseball and it broke the window. We made up this crazy story about some other kids coming along and breaking it, which no one believed. I got grounded for two weeks, if I remember correctly.”

“Not for breaking the window. That was an accident. You got in trouble for lying about it. You know we’ve always been big on the truth.”

Even Gavin tensed when those words came out of her mouth. It was as though she tossed a blanket of tension over all of them, because Gavin knew that the way his lover saw it, they’d lied to him his whole life.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Lunch could have gone better. Everyone spoke politely, and they kept the conversation going, but it was still awkward as hell. Mason felt it the whole time—a heavy weight bearing down on them—and he knew everyone else did as well.

“So, Gavin, Mason tells us you used to be a music teacher. Is that something you’re looking into doing again?”

Mason eyed Gavin as he shrugged. “I’m not sure. I miss it sometimes, but…I guess I’m still trying to figure things out. Private lessons are an option as well. I’ve been approached by quite a few people in Blackcreek. It’s just not something I have the time for right now.”

That made Mason pause as he was eating. Gavin hadn’t told him that. The last he knew was the conversation with Cooper, and he thought Gavin said yes. “Hey.” It wasn’t right for Gavin to miss out on something he wanted to do because he helped Mason.

Gavin shook his head and Mason let it go for now. They’d talk about it later.

After they finished eating, his mother excused herself to help his dad get ready for a nap.

“Do you need any help?” Mason asked but she shook her head.

“No. You’re fine.”

“We’ll talk when I get up,” his dad slurred. Mason had no doubt that they would. He wanted to know what Isaac and his Dad had been looking at when he came in.

“I’ll be here.” Mason waited until he heard the click of the bedroom door behind his parents before he eyed Isaac. “What were you guys looking at when I got here?”

Isaac glanced at Gavin as though he wasn’t sure he could speak in front of him. Mason rolled his eyes. “I think Isaac has you figured out, Gavin. He knows you’re a spy researching Alexander’s for…who exactly, Isaac?”

“You’re being an asshole. That’s not what I was thinking.” Isaac crossed his arms, and Mason continued to wait. He wanted a heads-up before the conversation with his father.

“Numbers, Mase. Did you know your parent’s income was almost doubled when they purchased the Boulder location? It’s smart to think about growing if the opportunity is there and it makes sense. We have one in our lap right now. The price is low, you’ve seen it yourself. Buying out the new location would be the smartest move we could make.”

Mason’s fist came down on the table. “Jesus Christ, Isaac, are you kidding me? Did you see my father?”

“Do you know your father? He bounces back from everything. He’s already making great progress. He needs to work. Being productive will make him heal more quickly. Wasting away is not what he needs!”

He felt Gavin shift beside him, felt bad that he had to witness this, but Mason wanted him by his side as well. “Don’t do that. Don’t you fucking act like you know them better than I do.”

“You’re not acting like you know them at all. You know I can handle this, Mase. You know we can do it until your dad gets on his feet, and this would be more stability for them. This is helping him build the empire that he wanted for his son. You’re thinking with your dick because you want to stay in Blackcreek, playing house with your boyfriend, instead of living the life you always planned.”

A vein in Mason’s head pulsed. An inferno raged through all his internal organs.