Intercepted (New Hope #1)

CHAPTER EIGHT

Mason

I stare at the screen in our home theater, barely registering the scene in Poltergeist when the closet doors spring open, and Carol Anne struggles to hold onto her bedframe as the evil force sucks her into the endless void.

Blake has somehow managed to squeeze beside me on the narrow armchair. When the white light emerges from the on-screen closet, he lets out a high-pitched shriek, his fingernails sinking into my arm.

"Jesus, gremlin!" I hiss, extricating his nails before I bleed to death. He's like a velociraptor. "I thought you said you like scary movies."

"I do." Blake pants, his wide, blue eyes glued to the giant television. "Yeah, I'm fine."

I sigh, pressing 'pause' on the remote.

It's Halloween. Grace and Aidan are touring The Bates Motel in Philadelphia with Aunt Stephanie. Then, they're spending the night with their cousins. Mallory is on a date with Choir Boy, leaving me to watch Blake. I'm pissed Mallory is with another man, but I'm overjoyed that she trusts me enough to take care of Blake on my own. I'm a grown-ass adult, after all.

We recently got back from trick-or-treating. You'd think a pillowcase full of high fructose corn syrup and gum rot would make a kid happy, but Blake has been in a sour mood. He changed out of his Loki costume—of course the little shit would dress up as a supervillain—and I suggested a scary movie to raise his spirits, no pun intended.

After multiple jump scenes and dozens of candy wrappers, he still has an angry line between his brows. No seven-year-old should be this upset on Halloween.

"What's up, dude?" I ask, trying fruitlessly to put some space in between his body and mine. "You've been more sullen than usual. You haven't tied my shoelaces together once this evening."

Blake shrugs, avoiding my eye. "I miss Momma."

Don't we all.

"She'll be home in an hour or two," I tell him.

"It's her fourth date." When he finally does look at me, I see the genuine worry in his expression. "I didn't even get a chance to put a Twinkie in Mr. Higgins's tailpipe."

I snort into my hand, finding the idea laughable. "Is that what you've done to Momma's previous dates?"

Blake nods. "I don't want someone to take her away from us."

Fuck, this kid is going to make me cry. Blake doesn't show vulnerability too often. In fact, he's been a living nightmare for me since I crossed the threshold. For once, we're on the same page. I don't want someone to take Mallory away either, but for entirely different reasons, all of them selfish.

"Your Momma loves you too much to let anyone take her away." I gently knock his chin with my fist, trying to shake the frown off his face. "Deep down, you know that. There is nothing and no one who will keep her from loving you."

Blake blinks a few times, his eyes narrowing in inquisition. "You love her too, right?"

I chew on my bottom lip, nodding.

"Then, why are you in so many pictures with other girls?"

His question is a hard slap, leaving me reeling. Blake has obviously seen the gossip columns, largely poking at my dating life. Worse, that means Grace and Aidan have read them as well. Once again, I didn't think about how my actions would be portrayed by the children I left at home.

While I've slept with more women than I care to admit, my only real relationship was with Mallory. I keep girls at arm's length, never giving them any reason to yearn for something more. Since leaving New Hope as a teenager, I've kept myself emotionally closed off from the opposite sex. I don't have a heart to love anyone else.