"That she doesn't have one. I know. But hey, it is what it is."
"Oh, well yeah. I mean..." I gave an awkward laugh. "Those aren't so easy to get, huh?"
Good lord. What on Earth was I saying?
By now, I had no idea. The truth was, Mason had already told me a lot more than I'd ever expected. And even though I'd never call him friendly, he was acting surprisingly civil, all things considered.
And now, I just had to ask, "So, how'd Willow end up on my doorstep? Do you know?"
"I do. And it won't happen again."
"But what happened?" I persisted. "Did she stow away in your car or something?"
"You might say that." Mason flicked his head toward my grandparent's place. "I drove out here looking for Brody, and didn't realize that Willow was hiding in the back seat."
"So you didn't see her when you got into your car?"
"I didn't look," he said. "Andshe was hiding under a blanket."
As I listened, Mason went on to briefly explain that according to Willow, she'd snuck into his car while it had been parked in the garage at home. And then, she'd snuckoutof the car when Mason had gone inside my grandparent's place to look for Brody.
Apparently, Willow had planned to take a quick look at the beach and then return to her hiding spot before Mason emerged from the house.
Unfortunately, thanks to bad timing, she'd returned to the driveway only to discover that Mason's car was already gone, leaving her stranded.
When Mason finished talking, I said, "But I don't get it. Why didn't she just tell me all of this herself? I mean, Ididask."
"My guess?" Mason said. "She figured that if you walked her home, I'd be none the wiser."
"But you said it was ten whole miles."
He gave a curt nod. "Which to Willow is a fifteen-minute drive."
I saw what he meant. She was, after all, only seven years old. "But speaking of driving," I said, "how'd you happen to drive past us that day? Were you out looking for Willow?"
"No, because I didn't know she was missing." He grimaced. "So you can imagine what I thought when I saw her walking down the street with a couple of strangers."
I bristled. "Hey, I'm no stranger."
"You were toher."
"But not toyou,"I pointed out.
"Trust me," he said. "That's no mark in your favor."
So much for civility.I couldn’t stop myself from saying, "Just why do you hate me so much, anyway?"
"You've gotta ask?"
"So you're admitting you hate me?" This shouldn't have been a surprise. And yet, it bothered me more than I liked. "Is this about Brody's truck?" I said. "Because it reallywasan accident."
"So he says."
Nowthatgot my attention. "You meanBrodysays? When?"
In what felt like a change of topic, Mason said, "Do you know why you weren't fired?"
"Fired from what? My consulting job?"
