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.And truthfully we get along better than most ego-centric collections of surgeons.Kyle’s our buffer, anyway,” said Mason referring to the third member of the practice, Kyle Marrin.“Think about it.If you put a couple dozen alpha male pilots together without the whole chain of command and military regs thing, wouldn’t there be a hell of a lot of head butting?”“Yeah, you’re probably right.”They stood together at the front door as Mason knocked.A medium height woman with sandy blond curls opened it.“Mason! It’s about time you made it,” she said with a smile.“Steve swore to me that you were coming, but the game started an hour ago.”“Which game?” asked Mason.“Like I would know.” She rolled her eyes.“Hi, I’m Lisa Villetti.” She held out her hand.Mason introduced Cam and they followed her toward the kitchen.“There’s beer and tons of food.Pretty much all the men are in the den watching the game on Steve’s new toy, the plasma screen.”“He hasn’t shut up about that thing for the past two weeks,” said Mason.Two children came charging through the kitchen.Mason recognized the toddler as Tyra’s two year old daughter, Elizabeth.The older one was Steve’s nine year old, Constantia.Mason scooped the little one up off her feet as she scampered by, and she let out an ear piercing squeal.“Geez, Lizzie! Trying to make me deaf?” Mason asked.He buried his face against her belly where her shirt had pulled up, and blew a raspberry on her skin.She let out squeals of laughter.“Gain! Gain!” Lizzie yelled and Mason obliged.The little girl laughed until she was out of breath.“Go play, squirt.No running in the house,” said Mason, setting her down.Constantia gave him the hairy eyeball.“We were playing tag,” the older child said with an imperious tone.Constantia then hurried after the toddler.“Oh Lord, nine years old, going on thirty,” said Lisa, her mother.Mason saw Cam giving him a funny look.“You’re, um.quite the hit with the little one,” said Cam.Mason walked around the counter to snag a soda from the bucket of ice on the floor.“Tyra brings Lizzie to work every once in awhile when there’s daycare issues,” said Mason.“No father?”“He’s deployed for four more months.Ross is on the Stennis.He’s enlisted.”“Oh.” The slight nod from Cam let Mason know that this was a very familiar concept.***Cam spent the next couple of hours at the party, being introduced to people Mason knew, and generally hanging out, intermittently watching football on TV.It turned out there was a good handful of children at the party, ranging in age from someone’s infant son to Steve’s older child, a twelve year old boy, whose name Cam promptly forgot.All but the infant seemed to know Mason.Mason was sitting cross-legged on the floor near Cam’s feet, the doctor’s back leaned against the edge of the upholstered chair where Cam was sitting.There was a careful few inches between them that wouldn’t have been there if they had been alone.Cam watched Lizzie come wandering toward them.The toddler plopped into Mason’s lap and curled up against his chest with a thumb in her mouth.Mason’s arm curved around her and he glanced momentarily down at the top of her head.“Did momma turn you down?” Mason asked softly.Lizzie looked up at him with wide teary eyes, and then buried her face into his shirt.“What’s that all about?” asked Cam.“Tyra’s trying to wean her from nursing in public.Obviously this is an unpopular decision.”“So why’d she come to you?”“For sympathy while she pouts.I think she’s pretty tired, too.” Mason’s fingers trailed through the toddler’s hair.“I’m beginning to wonder why you didn’t go into pediatrics,” said Cam.The look of anguish in Mason’s eyes made Cam regret his words.Cam had momentarily forgotten the little cancer patient.There was obviously an enormous difference to Mason between enjoying children, and caring for the sick and dying.Mason’s gaze fell back to Lizzie in his lap.She was nearly asleep.“I probably ought to go find out if Tyra wants me to put her somewhere to nap,” said Mason.He shifted the child to his shoulder and stood up.Cam watched him leave.Children were not something the two of them were ever likely to have.***After depositing Lizzie on a blanket in the far corner of the kitchen floor for Tyra, Mason lingered to get some food and a beer.A hand landed on his shoulder, and Mason glanced back to see a familiar face.The man behind him was several inches shorter and had short blond curls.“Nathan!” Mason said.“Why the hell didn’t you tell me that you were coming to this coast?” he demanded, giving Nathan a bone crushing hug.“Last minute business thing.I wasn’t even sure it was going to happen, then I up and forgot to email you.“Still living the California dream I see.” Mason held up his relatively pale hand against Nathan’s deeply tanned one.“Unh.Yeah, and the California mortgage to go with it.Ed and I are looking to move someplace cheaper and a little less earthquake prone.”“Kansas?” grinned Mason.“So I can trade earthquakes for tornados?”“Sure why not?”“Actually we were kind of thinking about moving back here.”“Wow.How come this is the first I’ve heard of this?” asked Mason.“It’s all just kind of hypothetical at this point.It depends on job opportunities and a whole slew of other iffy things.”“Grab a beer and give me all the details.God, it’s good to see you.”***Cam glanced in the direction that Mason had disappeared.There was no sign of him.Maybe it was time to get a drink and see where the man had gotten to.Cam ambled into the kitchen.There were several people eating and talking in the room.He could see Tyra’s back.She was talking to Mason and.another man.A man with blond curly hair about the same age as Mason was standing with his arm hanging around Mason’s neck.They were laughing and talking with the nurse.Cam felt an uncomfortably hard knot in his chest.Mason didn’t let people touch him casually, not often anyway.Who was this guy hanging all over him?***“So tell me about this guy you’re seeing” prompted Nathan as he took a sip from his beer bottle.“Last email I got from you, it sounded serious.”“It is.Or at least it seems to be,” Mason said.Mason couldn’t help the little smile on his lips.He saw his lover on the far side of the room.They met eyes, and Mason was disconcerted.Cam seemed to be bordering on angry.Not that anyone else would notice, but the tense line of his crossed arms, the stance, and the hint of a head tilt.What was bugging him? The look they shared, on the other hand, suggested he’d like to fuck Mason up against a wall.People moved in between them and Mason’s view was cut off.“Somebody I know?” asked Nathan.“No, I doubt it.He’s.military.”“Oooh, that’s gotta make things awkward.”“Yeah, some parts of it are difficult.”“You never did easy very well.That’s probably why we never stuck as permanent thing.”“Oh come on, we were in college and getting laid by anybody was half the goal in life,” laughed Mason.“You got that right.”“How’s Ed?” asked Mason, referring to Nathan’s partner.“Fine.Home.I miss him like hell.I have two more days in the area before I fly home.”“You still looking into starting a family?”“Sort of.Maybe.I don’t know.Doing a little research.Trying to make up our minds.Wondering if we’d be better off buying a dog,” said Nathan.Mason snickered.“Pooper scooping versus diapers.”“Yeah.”“Come on.I’ll introduce you to my partner.Last time I looked he was talking to Villetti.Probably about motorcycles.” Mason pulled Nathan along.Near the sliding glass door, he saw Cam leaning on the wall listening to a conversation [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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