Just One Spark by Jenna Bayley-Burke Page A

week until Thanksgiving, the man-fridge in the McNally garage had been taken over for the festivities. It gave him a little pang of regret that he’d miss so much of it.
    He handed the can to his father and popped open his own. “I need some advice.”
    “From me? You never listen to me. This has got to be good.” Mac chuckled. “I’d call your mom in, but she’s taken Rianna to the mall for portraits again.”
    “No, for this I actually need you. How did you get Mom to marry you after just three days without freaking her out?” He took a long slow drink, shoring up his courage before meeting his father’s gaze.
    Mac gave a shrug then leveled his gaze at his middle son. “Your mother doesn’t scare easy. Is she Catholic?”
    Mason rolled his eyes. “Come on, did Mom ask you that?”
    “With a name like McNally she didn’t have to. What’s her last name?”
    Thank God, Hannah had handed him her mail. “Daniels.”
    “No help there. You’ll have to ask her,” Mac said with a nod.
    Mason shook his head. “That doesn’t matter to me, Dad.”
    “It should.” He punctuated his statement with a long drink.
    “Really? When did you last go to Mass?”
    “Your mother goes for me,” Mac said, polishing an imaginary spot on the car. “How long have you known this girl?”
    “I first met her a couple of weeks ago, but we had a misunderstanding.” Mason didn’t want to go into the particulars. His dad wouldn’t be any happier he’d agreed to Derek’s experiment than Hannah had been. “I found her again last week.”
    Mac spun around, leaving the rag on the car. “Is this the girl Derek went out with?”
    Derek and his big mouth. “They did not go out, Dad. They met for coffee so we could explain about the misunderstanding.”
    “That’s not how Derek told the story. He said they were having coffee, minding his own business, and you waltzed in and kissed the girl all the way out the door.”
    Mason had to laugh at Derek’s theatrics. He gave in and filled his father in on the facts of the story, from their first meeting to their first date. “I knew that first time I saw her, Dad, that’s why I couldn’t stand knowing what she thought of me. I always thought you and Mom were crazy to get married so quickly, but now I get it. You just know.”
    “We both knew, Mason,” Mac said with a sympathetic smile. “It sounds like your girl isn’t so sure. You could be wrong about this.”
    “I’m not.” He shook his head emphatically. He had no doubts, not after last night. “I just don’t want to spook her. Everything is moving a little fast for her and she hasn’t figured out we’re more than casual yet.”
    “Then slow it down. There’s no need to try and end the race if there’s no finish line. If you’re sure, bring her for Thanksgiving.”
    Mason nodded. He wasn’t even off until seven thirty on Thanksgiving. By the time he got out here most of the family would be drunk on tryptophan and champagne and probably having one of their famous hands-free pie-eating contests. Not the best first impression for Hannah.
    “There is something else I wanted to ask you about.” Mason handed his father the two cards, explaining they’d been slipped under Hannah’s door. His dad had seen everything in his thirty years on the police force. Maybe he could give some insight into the problem.
    Mac handed them back and looked Mason in the eye. “Unsigned cards are pretty benign. She’s probably okay as long as it sticks to cards.” Mac changed his expression. “Could she be doing it?”
    “No, why would she do that?” Mason asked with a laugh. The last card hadn’t been there when they’d left and he hadn’t taken his eyes off her.
    “Sometimes people invent things for attention, or to be saved.”
    “She’s not. Her brother-in-law actually thinks I’m doing it. He was there when we got the card this morning, which is weird. He said he was checking in because her sister was worried, but I’d