Page 8 of Mason

“Maybe?” Mason quirked a brow at her.

“It was oatmeal.”

“Ah…” Mason leaned down and whispered, “I don’t like oatmeal either.”

The two of them were adorable. They had a special bond he didn’t have with his other nieces and nephews. He wasn’t sure the rest of his brothers realized that, though. Mason loved them all, but Delia held a special place in his heart. You could see it whenever they were together.

“How’s work, Jo?”

Her attention snapped back to Sara. “Fine. I’m thinking about cutting back on my shifts at the hospital. My YouTube revenue is finally where it should be, and I should be able to pay my bills off that. I want to spend more time on videos, and that’s not happening because of my schedule. Fans get irritated when I don’t upload every day.”

“Did you enjoy California over Christmas break?”

“Yeah, but Keith talked me into helping him pack all his junk and road tripping it all the way back to New York.”

Mason laughed. He’d gotten daily photos from them on the road. He’d wanted to go, but with his father being sick, it wasn’t an option. He knew Keith would take care of Jo as well as he would.

“Are you going back to California when school’s out?”

Mason’s head swiveled in her direction when Sara asked her that. Neither of them had talked about it because the spring semester had just started. It wasn’t a decision that had to be made right away either. She could even stay in the sorority house over the summer, but it would just be one more expense she didn’t need right now.

Her medical bills pretty much decimated her savings after her injury last fall. Her parents’ insurance took care of the bulk of it, but she’d insisted on paying what was left. Her dad made good money, but the cost of her surgery, hospital stay, and physical therapy would put a dent in his wallet that she couldn’t ask him to pay. This was on her to take care of. Another reason she’d gotten the job at the hospital.

“I’m not sure.”

Sara frowned when she saw Mason’s expression, probably realizing he and Jo hadn’t had that discussion yet.

“Good morning, dickhead,” Viktor said as he walked into the room.

“Language!” Sara reprimanded, but Viktor ignored her, leaning down to kiss Delia’s head.

“Morning to you too, asshole.”

Sara got up, rolling her eyes. “No breakfast for either of you.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” Mason complained. “The asshole started it.”

Sara gave the baby to Viktor and picked up Delia’s bookbag. “Come on, let’s get you to school. Can you grab your lunch box out of the kitchen for me, please?”

“Sure, Mommy. Did you pack an extra bag of Scooby Snacks for Mateo?”

Mateo was Kade and Angel’s son. He had some issues after having been raised by the cartel. Neither of his parents had known he was alive, but once they discovered it, they fought like hell to get him back. Unfortunately, the little boy came out of it damaged. He was getting better, though, in large part thanks to Delia, from what Mason told her.

“Is she serious about not cooking breakfast?” Mason asked when Sara led her daughter out the front door.

“She’s been testy lately,” Viktor said, bouncing the baby. “Partly my fault. I’ve been working long hours, and she’s had to deal with the kids all by herself.”

“I thought Mama andBabushkawere coming by every day?”

“No. Papa’s not doing so well, and they’ve been taking care of him.” Viktor’s eyes grew darker with worry. “I haven’t even had time to stop over and check on him.”

“I just talked to him yesterday. He never said anything about getting worse.”

Viktor shrugged. “When have you ever known Ronin Kincaid to admit to weakness?”

Their father had lung cancer that had progressed from stage two to stage three since he arrived back in the States. It was killing all the brothers, knowing there wasn’t anything they could do to help him. They spent as much time with him as they could, but it was never enough. It broke Jo’s heart every time Mason talked about it.

“I’ll go over and check on him.” Mason put the baby down in the Pack ‘n Play in the living room and reached for his other nephew. “Hey, you.” He tickled Riley, which set him off into squeals of laughter.

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