Chapter Twenty-One
Ariella
I felt like a stupid teenager, glancing out the window shades, waiting for Hazel to show up.
We weren’t best friends, but I didn’t know too many people in town, and small towns weren’t easy for making friends, especially in winter.
Although winter was thankfully behind us, it didn’t make it any easier to meet new people when I spent most of my days working and evenings with Jaxson and Izzie. I held no regrets.
Jaxson had already left for the day to go onto the set of the film production. While I wanted him to play hooky with us, someone had to be the responsible one.
A pickup truck entered the driveway and pulled up out front of the house. Mason was behind the wheel.
Hazel climbed out and gave a wave before sauntering up to the front door.
I shut off the alarm and swung open the door before she had time to knock. “Are you ready?” I tried to hide the enthusiasm from my voice, but I was failing at it miserably.
“Yes, but it’s taken me all morning to convince Mason not to follow us to the spa. He made me promise that I would call him when we check-in and again when we leave,” Hazel said.
I’d have thought he was overprotective if it wasn’t for the fact we’d both been kidnapped and taken against our will too many times recently. “Jaxson made me promise the same thing, plus he’s tracking my phone.”
“Oh, my gosh!” Hazel squealed. She threw her arms around me, greeting me with a proper hello.
Mason turned the truck around and headed out of the driveway and back down the mountain.
“Are you ready for a girl’s day?” I armed the alarm and shut the door, locking it behind me.
Hazel hurried to my car and waited by the passenger side door. It was clear she was as excited as I was to get out and have some fun.
In a matter of minutes, we were on our way. I sat behind the wheel, talking animatedly with Hazel. “You have to tell me everything about what’s been going on in your life.”
We’d been texting each other on occasion, but there was so much to catch up on. She had moved in with Mason after he’d been shot, and we hadn’t spent any time alone to chat about what that had been like.
“My life has been surrounded by Mason, and that’s it,” Hazel said. “Imagine caring for Jaxson twenty-four seven.”
That didn’t sound so terrible. “That much fun.” She didn’t sound like she had enjoyed it.
Mason was a handsome guy, and while I hadn’t exactly gotten off on the right foot with him, it seemed the two of them shared a history together.
“Well, playing nurse, in the beginning, was fun, especially when he had me dress up in a sexy costume,” Hazel said.
I glanced at her and caught her blushing as she stared out the window. “And?” I turned off the mountain pass and headed across the main road toward the spa.
“It’s kind of hard to do anything when he’s on bed rest and not allowed to engage in fun activities. It was torture playing nurse, not being able to do the things I wanted to do to him.”
Giggling, I bit my bottom lip. “That isn’t the case anymore, though. Right?” It had been weeks since he’d been shot, and the doctor had cleared him for desk duty.
“Well, we’ve had to take it slow,” Hazel said. “I mean, I’m sure he wants to do more, and so do I, but he has needed time to heal.”
“I understand.”
“Do you? I know you think that you and Jaxson are a secret, but it’s a really obvious secret. Like everyone in Breckenridge probably knows,” Hazel said.
I gripped the steering wheel harder. “Please tell me you’re joking.”
Hazel stared at me as I focused on the road. “Am I wrong? Are you seriously telling me that the two of you are just friends?”
A deer leaped across the road, and I slammed on my brakes to keep from plowing into the creature.