“You’re going to give yourself a heart attack,” Mr. Cutler calls after Mr. Reyes.
Mr. Reyes stops and walking back to us, a smile forms on his face. My eyes dart to Falcon where he’s watching his father with a smile around his own mouth.
I wish I could freeze time as I glance at the men around me. Every one of us is smiling.
“Mason,” Dad says as he walks by me. “You want to race?”
“Hell, yeah.” I dart forward, not having to be asked twice.
“Oh God, we’re all going to die,” Mr. Cutler mumbles.
I climb into the cart that’s closest to the green and smirk at my father as he gets into the other one.
Falcon takes the seat next to me, while Lake and Julian climb into the backseats.
I wait for Mr. Reyes and Mr. Cutler to get onto Dad’s cart before I start the engine.
“You ready, Dad?” I call out.
Dad nods.
“If they beat us, I won’t live it down at the office, so you better win,” Julian says from behind me.
Mr. Reyes holds a club up in the air and begins the countdown, “Three… two… one…”
Dad pulls away, and I let him get ahead of me before I begin to drive.
“Are you losing on purpose?” Lake asks. “They won’t give you a bonus for letting them win.”
“Sit back and enjoy the show. You won’t get to see this again,” I say, and I begin to speed up as we get near the bend in the road.
“Slowpoke!” Mr. Cutler calls out.
Dad glances over his shoulder, and when he sees me gaining on him, he tries to go faster just as he hits the bend.
“Asher!” Mr. Reyes yells as the cart begins to swing to the right.
I bring mine to a stop, and we sit and watch as our fathers drive right into the pond. A duck flies out of the nearby bushes, and then Mr. Reyes, mumbles, “We should’ve gone hunting.”
Lake falls out of the cart and rolls onto his back, hardly able to catch his breath as he cracks up. Falcon’s practically crying next to me. Julian hits the seat, tears streaming down his face.
I chuckle until I see our fathers try and help each other out of the water, but they keep dragging each other down. I have to hold my head as laughter tears through me.
“Stop wetting yourselves and come help us,” Dad shouts.
Lake begins to wheeze. “Stop… can’t… breathe.”
Falcon gets out to go help them, but he only makes it to the grass before he sinks to his knees.
I climb out and wipe my eyes as I walk to them. Standing on the edge, I hold a hand out to my dad. He grabs hold of me with both his hands, and then he yanks hard.
My ass flies forward, and then cold water rushes over me.
Laughter explodes from Julian, Falcon, and Lake as I sit up in the water.
When I look up to Dad, there’s a huge smile on his face. “Nice and cool, isn’t it?”
He holds his hand out for me, and when I’m back on my feet again, I don’t think and throw my arms around Dad, hugging him.
“It’s fu…” I quickly correct my language, “It’s good to see you smile.”
“You too, my boy.”Chapter 29MasonAfter changing our clothes, we all meet up at the clubhouse for some drinks.
Falcon waits until everyone has a glass in their hands, then he says, “I need your help with a problem.”
Mr. Reyes’ head snaps up, a look of worry flashing over his face. “It must be serious because you’ve never asked for help before.”
“It’s an unpleasant situation.” Falcon takes out Serena’s phone and pulling up the texts he hands it over to his father.
As Mr. Reyes reads the messages, his face sets into hard lines. “They did this to Layla?” His voice is low and threatening.
“Yes, sir.”
Mr. Reyes nods, and for a moment, he stares at the table, and then his voice rumbles, “Asher, cut Clare off.”
“Why?” Dad asks. He leans over to Mr. Reyes and looks at the phone. “Dear Lord.”
“Stephanie’s daughter almost died because of them,” Mr. Reyes murmurs. “Todd, draw up the papers tomorrow. I want Clare out of my life without a settlement.”
“You’re divorcing Mom?” Julian asks, and when Mr. Reyes’ eyes snap to him, Julian quickly adds, “I’m not against it.”
“Dad,” Falcon says, to get his father’s attention. When they’re eyes meet, Falcon continues, “That’s not enough. I want her ruined. I want her to lose her status.”
Mr. Reyes nods and thinks for a while.
“We could send these messages to the newspapers. That would ruin her social standing,” Lake mentions.
Mr. Reyes shakes his head. “I think we should let this go to court.” He looks at Mr. Cutler and hands him Serena’s phone. “Do you still have that contact at the DA’s office?”
“Yes, I can give him a call.”