Page 30 of Mason: His to Convince

“Not exactly. I told her I needed to get away for a few days and sort things out and she offered it to me. Though by now she knows you’re with me. Nick promised to stop over and tell her so she wouldn't worry when you didn't show up or answer your phone.”

“You've thought of everything haven't you,” she asked sarcastically. “Everything except my job. Or have you taken care of that too?”

“Actually, Sara is going to cover for you until we get back. She thought you needed a break.”

“Great,” she shouted slamming the door. “Nick and Sara too,” she yelled through the thick wood, almost tearing off her clothes. “I'm surrounded by traitors.”

“Not traitors, friends,” Mason replied too softly for her to hear and headed for the kitchen.

Chapter Eleven

Nicholas stood in front of Maggie Cassidy's door for a long time. Sweat beaded his brow despite the chilling wind and swirling snow. His hand shook slightly as he rang the bell.

It was stupid to feel so nervous. He’d just about grown up at the O’Malley’s house, but his cohorts were her brothers, Rory and Patrick. He hadn’t paid much attention to the girls. Eventually, things changed.

Maggie O'Malley was the only girl Nick dated in high school. She was it, as far as he was concerned! He’d fallen helplessly in love the first time he saw her through a young man’s eyes. She was beautiful with her auburn hair and smiling Irish eyes, and they'd been a couple from that moment on. For a while Maggie returned his love in every way and Nick assumed that when he graduated from college they'd be married. That was before he learned his first lesson in heartbreak.

After a grueling week of exams Nick packed his small car and went home for the weekend. Intending to surprise her, he cut cross lots and quietly came upon Maggie on her backyard swing with Jim Cassidy. She was sobbing in his arms. The things heoverheard that day still haunted him, reminding him never to be so trusting again.

Maggie had been telling Jim she didn't know what to do. She wasn't ready for this kind of commitment, and she didn't know how long she could put off telling Nick. Although her words were broken and disjointed, her voice thick with tears, Nick caught the general idea.

He retreated unseen, crushed that the girl he loved could be so callous. Convinced she had been two-timing him, he wrote her, breaking off their unofficial engagement. Several letters came after that, but Nick never opened them. His pride wouldn't let him and although there had been other women later in his life, he never allowed himself to become deeply involved.

Maggie married Jim Cassidy in a quiet ceremony within three months, reinforcing Nick’s suspicions.

Now he stood uncertainly at her door. His fingers were stiff with cold and the once lovely poinsettia he held in his other arm looked like a reject from a supermarket. If he hadn't promised Mason to stop by and explain why he and Rebecca wouldn't be joining her, he'd have turned around right then, but a promise was a promise, even if some people didn't think so.

Maggie answered the door smiling. For a moment she didn't recognize the large man standing on her porch and automatically closed the door a little more.

“Can I help you?” she asked, struggling to see in the dim light and swirling snow.

“Hello Maggie,” the man said. “It's been a long time.”

A gasp was her only response as recognition dawned. A slim hand flew to her throat and Nick watched as the color drained from her face. Her eyes had a haunted look that surprised him. He expected surprise, even a cool reception, but he could almost feel the fear that radiated from her.

The light behind her silhouetted a slim and shapely woman, bringing a flame to her hair. Long auburn curls trailed down from a pony tail high on her head and Nick's heart began a steady tattoo. She didn't look much different than she had fifteen years ago. Still, the expression on her face was not one he ever remembered seeing in those days.

“May I come in?” he asked softly, feeling the cold even as his temperature rose.

“I ah…of course Nick, come in for a minute.”

Nick didn't miss the quaver in her voice or the reference to time. Handing her the plant, he removed his coat and looked around for a place to put it. He could hear giggling coming from the other room and he casually walked in that direction.

“Nice place you have here,” he told her, looking around and not missing a detail. The house was a blending of old and new, blues, creams, roses and pinks. The tree was trimmed in a Victorian style and scattered beneath it were packages opened earlier in the day. A ten speed bike leaned against a large doll house and Nick's thick eyebrow went up in surprise when a little girl with curly blonde hair came scampering across the floor and threw her arms around his legs, squeezing tightly.

“Uncle Mason,” she cried, so excited she began to hiccup. “Come see. It a house for my dolly. Santa brung it.”

Maggie quickly disengaged three year old Caitlin from Nick’s knees.

“Santa brought it,” Maggie corrected. “Honey this is Mason’s brother, Nick.”

Caitlin held out her hand in a very adult manner, patiently waiting for Nick to shake it.

Automatically Nick's hand came out, completely enfolding her small one.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Caitlin.”

“You look like Uncle Mason,” she told him, staring up at him intently. “And like my brudder too.”