“We’reguests.” Evander stood anyway and slapped his hands on his hips. “Just because Mason doesn’t know how to stop working doesn’t mean you can hold us all to that standard.”
“It’s my house. I can hold you to any standard I want.”
“I hear shouting?” Dane, Aras’s boyfriend, walked in. He had a shock of red hair on top of his head, actually gelled up into a proper mohawk for the day. He was slight and pale, and the oversized tank top he was wearing accentuated that.
Aras shook his head. “Just trying to convince our guests that making out on my sofa isn’t appropriate behavior.”
“There was no making out,” said Ozzy. “Yet.”
Dane shook his head, then kissed Aras on the lips. “Get the drinks outside, then you can yell all you want, okay?”
“Anything for you.” They finished loading up the beers and seltzers and wine coolers, then Aras took one side of the cooler and Mason took the other, and they headed outside.
There wasn’t room for everyone on the patio, which filled Mason with more than a little joy. For so long, they’d all been apart. Their friendships had shattered apart. Yet now, not only was the Pine Point Fixer-Uppers crew all back together, they’d grown.
Jake sat next to Quinn, casually holding hands with his dark-haired boyfriend. It was the most relaxed he could recall seeing Quinn, wearing swim trunks and no shirt. They didn’t glom onto each other, but they always kept some kind of contact with one another.
Bunny and her husband, Xander, were sitting cross-legged on the grass. He was still as handsome as he had been in high school, but his hard-edged face had softened with age. And with the smile he got from watching their son run around. He had to be the cutest six-year-old in the world.
Mason and Aras dropped off the cooler on the very edge of the patio, so it was easily accessible to everyone. Aras clapped ahand on his shoulder. “Thanks for helping with everything. Not exactly used to playing the good hostess.”
“Hey, keeping everyone on the crew together and working properly is my job.”
“Well, you’re off the clock, so accept the gratitude.” Aras rolled his eyes…then smiled. Being with Dane had been great for Aras. He was still himself, just not quite so angry and distant all the time.
The doorbell rang and Mason’s heart lightened up. There were only two arrivals left, and one of them, he was really waiting for. David was driving over.
Aras went in and opened the door, and then a cavalcade swarmed through the house. Robinson was followed by three teenage boys. Mason couldn’t call Colby, Nick, and Ryan his stepsons at this point, but he had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn’t be long before Robinson and Chuck got engaged, at least.
Chuck himself brought up the rear. He was a distinguished guy, about ten years older than Robinson, but he wore it well. Slight gray in his beard, fine lines in the corners of his eyes, but still a tall, almost imposing figure. Except that Mason knew him well enough not to be imposed at all. Chuck was a sweetheart, and spent a lot more time hitting the books than hitting the gym.
Robinson veered straight for Mason and wrapped an arm around him, still carrying a bag of food in the other hand. “You look so good.”
“I look the same.”
“No, you look way happier.” He took a step back. “And you probably want to head inside and help your boyfriend. He brought something that looks way too big for him to carry, but he insisted the boys shouldn’t help him out.”
Mason’s heart fluttered. It wasn’t like he and David spentnotime together. They lived close enough that they saw each othera lot. So much that Mason had even gotten closer with his aunt and uncle, since David visited with them every time he came to Pine Point, now. That didn’t make him any less excited to see his boyfriend, and to know that David had made it up into the mountains in one piece.
He strode through the house and out the front door. David was carrying a stack of boxes that went up under his chin, and from the strain on his biceps, they were heavy. Without asking, Mason took the top three. “Babe, let’s not ruin that perfect little body of yours, okay?”
“I had it.” His arms relaxed. “But thanks.”
“What exactly did you bring, anyway?”
“Some food…and some gifts.” Then he rushed ahead without further explanation. Mason glanced down at the top of his stack. It bore a label that said Pinafore Bakery, so he had to assume that was the food, and he resisted the urge to check out what must have been the gifts down below.
When he walked in, Aras was actually giving David a hug—a brief one, but still—and the others had come in to help him with the packages.
Bunny went for Mason and took the top box. “Gang’s all here.”
“Yeah.” He set the boxes down where David did, in a stack next to the sliding doors into Aras’s backyard. “Hell of a gang we’ve put together.”
She looped her arm through his, elbow to elbow. “We did good. We managed to raise them up into fine young men.”
“Not nearly as fine as your husband.” He kept his voice low. It wasn’t like anyone thought Mason was going to step out on David…but Xander was a handsome man. No question, and no point lying.
“Oh, stop. You hooked up with a god damned supermodel.” She kissed him on the cheek, then went over to the cooler to get a couple of beers.
