Free What We've Become (My Kind Of Country Book 2) by M. Lynne Cunning Page A

her kids?”
    Her son’s eyes widened, beaming with excitement. “Yeah! Bobby and Lucas have some cool video games, and their mom lets them build forts in the living room to play the games in! I watched Bobby play a whole level of Call of Duty and when he won, he jumped up so fast the fort fell down around him!”
    Katie laughed as Mason re-enacted the scene, and she made a mental note to thank Julia for her hospitality. Lord knows, Jay didn’t seem to have much of it.
    “You can build a fort here anytime, Mase. Don’t ever think you can’t.”
    He turned back to the television. “I don’t feel like it right now, but it was cool then.”
    She nodded, huffing at the boredom that plagued her as well. “Well, we can do whatever you want, Mason. The sky is the limit.”
    Mason wielded himself around again to face her, folding his legs in front of him in one fluid movement. “Let’s go see Chad.”
    He could have asked to go to the zoo, or even to the mall to see Santa Clause. Hell, he could have asked to go to the moon. Katie would have expected all those requests from her seven year old long before she expected Chad’s name would fall from his lips.
    “We can’t do that, Mr. Mase.”
    “Why not? You said you missed him.”
    Katie would have asked herself why kids had to be so damn logical, but she was too busy trying to come up with a reason her son couldn’t see the man he called a friend.
    Friends . The label halted her frantic mind. A quick glance at the clock told her she still had a few hours before Jay would be home. Besides, Chad was a busy man right now. There was a good chance he wouldn’t have time for a chat with a little boy.
    “I’ll give him a quick call, but he might be really busy, okay? Don’t get your hopes up, all right?” Mason’s face was already lit up in anticipation as she searched through the call records on her phone and pressed the buttons to dial the number he’d called her from. Maybe he could show her how to save the number in the phone, too, seeing as she was too proud to ask her son to teach her.
    “I didn’t expect to see your number on my caller display. Hey, Katie.”
    The happiness in his voice made Katie grin. “I was hoping to cash in on that smile.”
    Chad chuckled softly in her ear. “I meant it. What’s going on?”
    She could hear the soft strum of a guitar in the background, the same few chords over and over. “Actually, I was just going to see what you were up to. I understand that you’re busy with—”
    “If you want to see me, Katie, just ask.”
    She blushed and turned her back on Mason. “I was wondering—actually, Mason was wondering, too...”
    Chad was chuckling again, and an image of what he must look like as he smiled right now passed through Katie’s mind. “I’m just fiddling around with some of the songs I’m recording for the album. You tell Mason that he and his currently blushing mom are welcome to come and hang out with me here if they would like.”
    “It wouldn’t be for long. We don’t want to disturb you, and I don’t even know where to go to find you.”
    “You’re rambling.”
    Katie took in a deep breath, peering over her shoulder at Mason. He gave her a look of puzzlement, and Katie returned it with a thumb up. Mason let out a cheer and fist pumped the air.
    “Just tell me where the recording studio is and I’ll bring an extremely excited little boy over to say hello.” She scribbled down the address he recited and winked in Mason’s direction. “I guess we will see you soon.”
    “I’m lookin’ forward to it.”
    That made three of them.
    ***
    Katie pulled the car up to the place that matched the address Chad had given her. She was surprised to find it was a house, not a big industrial looking building like she expected. She killed the engine, thankful for the drive to be over. City driving had never been her thing, and driving in a place she wasn’t familiar with was even worse. Mason, whose right hand was