“Obviously,” Grady said, his eyes moving to the cabin. He tilted his head.
Mac glanced over his shoulder, making sure Grady wasn’t looking at something he shouldn’t be. Cassidy wasn’t in sight, however. He faced Grady. “What was so urgent that you had to roll up on us tonight?”
Grady redirected his attention to Mac. “I’m only about five minutes ahead of Marge and Silas.”
“Oh my god,” came the miserable response from inside the cabin.
“Hey, Cassie,” Grady called out. “Might as well come on out…” He gave Mac a brief grin and wag of his brows before returning his attention to the cabin.
Mac’s eyes narrowed. Grady should be enjoying this awkward moment more than he was; especially since he’d been rooting for it to happen. “Why’d they be coming here?”
Grady gave him a repentant expression. “Bro, I’m sorry. After the fire, I was talking to them… Shit. I didn’t know that Marge didn’t know about Josie. When you said you confided in Silas, I assumed they knew. I fucked up, man.”
Mac’s brows hit his hairline. Blowing out a breath, his gaze went to the lake for a calming moment. He massaged the back of his neck. He cursed under his breath. This wasn’t going to be good. “Day?”
From behind him, he heard her voice, “I don’t… I can’t exactly make an appearance right now. I’m not completely…”
Mac looked back at her. She’d poked her head around the side of the screen door and made a face at him. Oh, right. He’d torn half of her clothes off her. Scratching his chin, he raised a brow and cast a glance toward the boat. Where had he…?
Grady bent down and picked up her lace panties from the ground where they had been discarded earlier, dangling them off a finger. “Looking for these?”
He heard Cassidy fall back against the wall inside the cabin with another, “Oh my god.”
Mac stomped forward and snatched her panties off his finger, snapping, “That’s the last time you ever touch her panties, got it?”
Grady chuckled as Mac took the few backward steps toward the door. He handed the article in the door to her without looking because his glare pinned Grady in place.
“Look, I’m happy for you both,” Grady said with a small smirk. “I came here to warn you—”
“That you’re bringing a shitstorm to my doorstep? Thanks,” Mac snapped.
“Oh my god,” came the repeated phrase.
Grady grinned. “Look, it was bound to happen. I’m here to give you a warning and have your six with Marge, so brace yourselves.”
Mac frowned; he knew to expect it. He hadn’t expected it tonight. Their actions at the marina had raised eyebrows and questions. Texts had demanded explanations; posed questions that needed to be answered. Texts hadn’t been happy with the x-rated display or the radio silence that followed.
Cassidy came outside, tugging down the shirt she wore. Mac grasped her hips and pulled her toward him. He wrapped an arm around her and held her to him with a hand firmly on her abdomen in a show of possession.
“Why a shitstorm?” Cassidy asked.
Mac’s lips found the side of her head as his eyes went to the driveway. Normally, he wasn’t the kind of man to feel fear, and Marge and Silas had been supportive of him on the whole, but he was not looking forward to this conversation.
She tilted her head back and looked up at him. “I don’t care about their opinions.”
Mac smiled down at her. She did care, more than she realized. And Marge and Silas had Cassidy’s best interests at heart. Maybe she needed to hear what they had to say. Maybe they both did. “Need to hear them out.”
Her scoff told him she begged to differ, but her body was tense in his arms. She had her concerns, as well.
“We’re not wrong,” she said quietly, looking at Grady, like she was trying out the argument on him.
Grady slipped his hands into the pockets of his Carhartts. “I’m on your side.”
Her body tensed even more and her voice was pitched higher. “Are you saying they’re that mad?”
That was the moment headlights broke through, and a car very quickly followed. Mac tightened his hold as the three watched Marge and Silas vacate their vehicle and approach. Silas and Grady shook hands at the bottom of the stairs while Marge just stared up at the couple, looking like she’d aged ten years.
Mac heard Cassidy’s broken breath; she was struggling not to lose it. Marge was giving her the kind of look concerned and disappointed mothers give their daughters. Yeah, Day wasn’t as unaffected as she wanted to pretend. Fucking hated he was putting her through this.