Lila didn’t answer. She increased her speed on her way to the tombstones. She peeked around them and sighed, shaking her head. “She isn’t here.”
Mason was now close enough to read the name on the graves. Richard and Lina Ford were buried together right by Richard Ford Senior. There was also a spot for Nana.
The small cemetery was of Lila’s family members. There were fresh flowers on the tombs, and they were clean and well maintained. It was then that Mason remembered his first night in Half Moon Key. That was the night he met Lila in the middle of the night as she came out of the woods. This is where she had been…visiting her family.
“Oh, Lila. I am so sorry,” he whispered.
“Why are you sorry?” Her voice was edged with sadness and heaviness.
“I didn’t think this is where we were going. Did you think that your grandmother would be here?”
She nodded. “Sometimes, she comes here when she remembers that her son and husband have died.”
He glanced at the dates on the stones, and by the looks of it, Lila had lost her parents when she was fairly young. “Your grandparents raised you,” he said softly.
“They did, yeah. They ran Moony’s together until my grandfather died. My parents used to run it with them, but they also had a store on the main street. Where Danielle’s shop is now.”
“Which is why you thought she might be there,” he sighed, understanding.
Something passed across her face. “Something like that.”
He wanted to press to know more, but it wasn’t the time. Not only was Lila’s grandmother still missing, but now, she was visiting her family’s graves with a man she was ambiguous about. It must be a whole lot for her.
Mason wrapped his arms around her shoulders and tugged her into his side. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s find your grandmother.”
He thought that Lila would fight him, that she would try to move away from him and his embrace, but he was pleased when she actually nuzzled closer into him.
“I’m cold,” she explained.
“Here.” He slid off his jacket and placed it on her shoulders, making sure to flip up the hood of her sweater.
“That’s not necessary.”
“Sure it is. I run hot, anyway. I don’t need a jacket.”
“Big tough guy, huh?” she gave a sad smile. “Thanks, Mason.”
“You got it, darling.” He took her in his arms again, and they walked out of the woods.
Mason kept trying to find something clever to say to keep Lila’s mind occupied, but everything he thought of was too much. He didn’t want to push Lila into divulging anything when she was feeling vulnerable. That would hardly put him in her good graces. For now, he would hold her and pretend it was enough for him.
TEN
LILA
Lila hadn’t been touched by a man in so long that she had completely forgotten how nice it could be to be all wrapped up in another person. It sure helped that his jacket smelled like pure sex and happiness. Or, more accurately, it smelled like pine.
Of course, it was all that much better because it wasn’t justanyman touching her, but it wasMason. The man who hadn’t stopped doing sweet things for her since the first time she stumbled upon him in the forest on his first night in town.
Mason Pierce wasn’t just any kind of man. He was a genuinely wonderful and sweet guy.
It was too bad Lila could tell he wasn’t in Half Moon Key for the long haul.
They walked out of the woods and back onto the main street. Lila wasn’t sure where else to look for Nana. She pulled her cell from her back pocket, but there were no texts or calls from Cohen. Of course, that didn’t mean anything. Reception was so spotty out here that there was a chance that the message just hadn’t made its way to her yet.
“My brother is a very good cop. I’m sure he’s found her already,” Mason said, almost as if he had read her mind.
“I hope so.”