30. Bridget

THIRTY

Bridget

"So he's okay with it? I know that Mia would play with Juniper, but after what happened today, I didn't think Hudson would want to do us a favor."

Mason chuckles and nods. "Yeah, asking to watch Mia would be a stretch, but yes. Xaden is fine with watching Mia for the evening. Daisy is excited to have a sleepover again, and I know those girls will have a great time."

I smile, settling myself around Mason as I thread my arms around his waist and look up at him.

"Amazing. I feel like we need a night that's just you and me after the fire and impromptu relationship reveal."

Wrapping his arms around me, Mason looks down with a grin. "I couldn't agree more. And I was thinking, since our cover has been blown and we're not hiding anymore, how about we take this show on the road?"

I cock my head, narrowing my eyes at Mason. "Oh? And go where exactly?"

"Well," Mason pulls me against his chest, and I settle in, his heartbeat thumping in my ear, "Summer Fest is going on in town. So there are rides, food, concerts. Could be fun."

Chuckling against him, I nod. "Anywhere is fun with you, Mason. I'm in."

"Great. We'll have lunch with Mia, and you can get ready while she naps, and then we'll drop her off at Xaden's and head down. It'll be nice to get out of the house. Not that I don't enjoy our movie nights."

Stepping back, I reach for my coffee on the island behind Mason and take a sip. "Our movie nights that don't involve watching a movie? Yeah, I like ‘em too."

We both laugh and for the first time in a while, I'm actually looking forward to hitting the town.

On the drive downtown, Mason and I can already hear the music playing.

Main Street has been blocked off for people to walk around and check out all the vendors and food trucks. And there's a stage set up where one of several local bands is playing.

There are kids' games and attractions, and I can't help but think that Mia would have enjoyed some of this, too.

Still, she's a toddler, so there's not as much for a little kid to do, and tonight is supposed to be about Mason and me.

We park the truck a few blocks down and walk to the main entrance, where we'll buy tickets and get a wristband that shows we're old enough to drink.

I remember coming to Summer Fest several times as a kid, and being one of the adults here this time tickles me pink.

At the ticket line, Mason stops, and when I look over at him, he's smiling at the woman standing in front of us.

"Amy, hi there."

She turns around, recognizing Mason and offering a smile. "Hello, Mason. Good to see you. How's my favorite daddy's girl?"

Mason grins, putting a hand to his chest. "Mia's doing great. Thank you."

He turns to me, gesturing as his other hand sits comfortably on the small of my back. "This is my girlfriend, Bridget."

I smile, feeling a bit on the spot being called Mason's girlfriend. But the truth is I love it. Jai consistently "forgot" to introduce me.

"Hi, I'm Amy, Mia's daycare teacher. Nice to meet you."

"Oh!" Realization hits, and I offer my hand as Amy extends hers. "Of course. Nice to meet you, I'm Bridget."

We shake, and as the line moves forward to buy tickets, Amy steps closer to the front, and we follow.

"It's good to see you out and about, Mason. I heard about what you did during the fire. Red Lodge is in your debt."

Mason blushes, which is adorable, and waves the comment off. "Just doing my job."

"He's being modest. Mason was amazing that day." I offer, and Amy nods in agreement.

"And Mia has one great dad. You're doing a good job with her. I know I say that to all the parents, but I mean it."

Putting a hand on the back of his head, Mason struggles to take the compliment, and I laugh under my breath.

"Thank you, Amy."

"Well, I won't keep you two. Have fun in there."

"We will," Mason replies. "See you around."

As we get our tickets and walk past the stanchions set up to direct traffic, I can't help but feel like the luckiest girl around. I've got a handsome, fantastic dad on my arm, and we're about to stuff ourselves with fair food and watch concerts.

The music is already playing loudly, providing a backdrop to our date night, and Mason and I go straight for the first food truck we see.

They have "culinary" versions of the most quintessential fair food, and I'm quick to order the deep-fried Flaming Hot grilled cheese panini with smoked cheddar and bacon.

"You are going to have the worst heartburn." Mason laughs as he pokes fun at me, and I just grin."That, good sir, is what Pepto Bismol is for. What'd you get?"

I look over at his little dish of yummy, the contents pilled so high and thick that it's hard for me to tell if there is, in fact, something beneath all that sour cream and bacon bits.

"Deep-fried, twice-baked potato with all the fixin's."

The giggle bursts out of me as I take a bite of my delicious sandwich. "Oh, you are so one to talk."

We just laugh together and head over to the beer tent set up on the other side of the closed-off street. There are tons of local and US-based brews, and I pick a smoky porter to go with my delicious grilled cheese.

Mason takes forever to finally pick something, but when he does, I'm pleasantly surprised to see that he's paired a dark amber with his potato.

"I so worried you'd shock me and turn out to be an IPA guy." I stick my tongue out, making a disgusted face.

"Ha," Mason chuckles, "no, I'm not a big fan of them, either. I like the darker stuff. Or, you know, a scotch, but I had a feeling we wouldn't find that here."

I furrow my brow, turning my face up toward the rides just a block down. "Hard liquor and the teacups. Hmm…nope, I don't think anyone wants to see that."

Mason grimaces. "Oh, God. I can just imagine. The streets overflowing with vomit. Ew."

A pack of giggles again, Mason and I find a small bench table to sit down and eat at. We scarf our food, trading bites as we enjoy the cheesy, salty, deep-fried goodness.

The band onstage finishes, welcoming one another as the live show continues like there will be no end to this fabulous party. The genres of music are all over the place, but it's just a delight to even be out like this.

Mason hasn't mentioned that I need to watch what I eat, he's not wandered off without me or demanded that it's too loud, either. We're just…enjoying ourselves.

It's perfect.

After our food is good and digested, with no threats to our image lurking, I drag Mason over to the teacups.

"I remember going on these with you when we were younger," Mason says, and I smile over at him.

"I seem to remember that you were insistent on making it go as fast as humanly possible."

He smirks, chuckling under his breath. "Oh, you know how teenage boys are. I was just trying to get you to think I was tough and manly."

I throw my head back in a laugh as we circle around the ride at a leisurely pace. "Ha! That was not the way to do it. Being nauseated doesn't really make you think a guy is cute."

Laughing, Mason starts spinning the center wheel a bit faster. "You sure? Cuz I'm a fair bit stronger than I was when I was a teen."

"Oh my God, don't. We paid an arm and a leg for that food, and I'm not throwing it up."

Mason gets us spinning like mad but doesn't keep it going for longer than a minute or two. We're rolling with laughter as we let the ride slow back down, and then it comes to a stop.

We stumble off, dizzy as fools, and collapse on the nearest table.

"You are such a dick! You owe me another beer for that."

Bowing his head, Mason does his best to get to his feet. "Of course, m'lady."

All I can do is laugh at him, and I swear this is the happiest I've ever been. Life feels damn good right now, and I can actually picture it staying that way.

Which is a change, and a very welcome one at that.

After a few hours, it's finally time to make our way back to the car, and I am thoroughly tired.

"Oh, God. So much food. I'm not going to eat for a week."

"You're telling me," Mason adds. "I don't even want to think about how many calories and processed food chemicals we just wolfed down."

I giggle, following Mason past the stanchions and onto the much quieter street. Most people have gone home, and the Summer Fest grounds behind us are basically emptied out at this point.

Crickets chirp in the distance as we walk hand in hand toward the truck, and I let out a pleasant sigh, ready to end this great day next to my man in bed.

But then I notice something out of the corner of my eye. Just as we're passing by a building with a large window at the front, I swear I see a man reflected in the glass.

He's tall and blonde and wearing an evil smirk on his face.

"What?"

I stop abruptly, whipping my attention to the park across the street where the man was standing.

At least, that's where I thought he was standing. But when I look around there's nothing. I trade glances between the reflection on the window and the shadowy area by the tree where I thought I saw Jai.

Still nothing.

"You all right?" Mason squeezes my hand, stepping in front of me with his brow down over his eyes.

"Umm," I look around at all the nothing still there in the park, "yeah. I'm sorry. I thought I saw something. Must be going crazy."

Mason smiles, stepping up to kiss me quickly before starting up our walk to the truck again.

"Nah. Not crazy. Just tired."

I nod, trying to shake off that feeling of eyes peering at me from the trees. "Yeah, could be that."

We're only a few steps away from the truck, and when we get there, Mason opens my door for me. I watch him circle around the front of his truck to the driver's side, still feeling a little unsettled.

As Mason pulls open his door, we both hear his phone ring from his pocket. He stops, getting the thing free, and swipes to answer.

"Hello?"

There's a pause, and I watch Mason's brows rise as he juts his chin forward.

"Hello?" He waits again, but still nothing. "Huh."

When he looks at his screen, the corners of his mouth turn down as he shrugs. "Unknown number, and no one was there. Probably spam. Telemarketers these days are getting sloppy."

He smirks, slipping into the seat and tossing his phone down in the center console. I can't relax, though.

Mason starts the truck up, and we take off back to his place. Still, tension hangs around me, and I can't stop staring at the phone.

Dead air from an unknown number is familiar, and I don't like what that could mean. Especially because the call wasn't on my phone.

It was on Mason's.