Page 10
Story: Mason’s Mark (Man Down #6)
Tesla walked into her house, just as Markus pulled up behind them and unloaded the groceries and a few other things they might need. Jasper had Mason in another vehicle, and they slowly pulled in behind, bringing Mason home for the very first time in many weeks. Sebastian and her father would arrive in an hour or so. She couldn’t wait. She’d finally have her family back together and all home. Tesla smiled with joy, as everybody pitched in to help settle them back into their house again. As she stood here, staring at her husband slowly walking into the room, Jasper came up beside her.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
She smiled, hugged him, and whispered, “I’m doing just fine now.”
“And the baby?”
“And baby’s fine too. I wondered a couple times if I would go into early labor,” she admitted, with a shake of her head, “but I’m very grateful that he is holding off.”
“He?” Jasper asked in a teasing voice. “I thought it was a girl this time?”
“We don’t know for sure, but that’s what I’m saying now,” she shared, with a chuckle. “Regardless, I just want a healthy baby. We will love this child whether it’s a boy or a girl. Now that I have Mason home, that’s what counts. That’s what is important.”
Jasper nodded. “It’s been a pretty rough go.”
“It has been,” she stated, “but it’s okay now.” He raised his eyebrows, but she nodded. “It really is okay. I know that we’ve had a lot of craziness, but sometimes that craziness needs to happen for everybody to calm down and to get to the bottom of it.”
“What we had was just poisonous men, carrying on their tirade of fear and torment until they were seriously done. The latest news is, Richard had a heart attack. I don’t know if he’s done , really done for, but he won’t be causing any trouble.”
“I’m hoping we can get the last little bits of information from him before he goes,” she replied, “if only for cleaning up the case on record. I know that’s what everybody’s hoping for. In the meantime, there’s an awful lot of paperwork to catch up on.”
Jasper grinned and nodded. “At least I have a team now that I can trust beyond all doubt, and I can assign them to take care of things discreetly.”
She rolled her eyes at that. “Don’t tell me that you will try and get out of doing paperwork.”
“Of course I will,” he admitted, with a big grin. “We all deserve some time off after this one.”
“And you will get some of that time off yourself, right?” she asked pointedly.
“Yes, we will all get it,” he confirmed. “Not to worry.”
“Good. I don’t want anything to happen to you either.”
“Nothing will happen to me,” Jasper noted. “Besides, there might be a wedding coming up—after you have the baby, of course.”
“What?” She stared at him. “Really? You’re getting married?”
“Yep.”
“Oh, Jasper, that’s wonderful.”
“The way I hear it, there may be a few other weddings coming up too.”
She smiled. “I sure hope that Guilliam and Janelle are on that list.”
“I expect so,” Jasper replied. “I would give them all a week or two of rest and recuperation, but I won’t be surprised if the wedding announcements start rolling in pretty quickly. Nothing like nearly losing someone special to all of us to remind people to make the best of each moment they have,” Jasper shared.
She nodded. “I would definitely agree with that. Look at the two of us.” With a smile, she looked back at Mason, sitting in his favorite living room chair.
“He will be okay now, right?” Jasper asked in concern.
“He will be better than okay,” she declared, with a smile, “and thank you for bringing this to an end.”
“You’re welcome, and thank you for bringing me back here.”
“I’m so glad you came,” she whispered, as she hugged him. “Family is everything.”
When the other guys left, she walked over to Mason and suggested, “I think you need to get some rest.” When he waggled his eyebrows, she chuckled. “Oh no, none of that.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” he argued, with a flirty smile.
“Between the two of us, I’m not sure either of us is ready,” she noted.
His smile fell away, and he released a big sigh. “I was so worried about you.”
“Oh, I’m fine,” she said, chuckling, as she rubbed her baby belly, “but I won’t be upset when this stage is over either.”
“Of course not,” he agreed, as he gently stroked her belly, feeling the baby moving.
“Have you thought about what you will do now to keep you busy and in line with following doctor’s orders?” she asked.
“Nope. I’ll just wait and see what happens.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” he declared, with a careless wave.
She reminded him of that when they made their way slowly to bed that night.
When he stretched out for the first time in his own bed, he groaned. “Dear God, this feels amazing.”
“I know,” she murmured, as she crawled in behind him. “Nothing quite like home, is there?”
“No, there isn’t,” he agreed, as he tucked her up close. “Or this.” He just held her close and muttered, “Now for some sleep.”