Previously in "His Box of Letters", Ana meets Jasper while on vacation in Washington D.C. with her parents.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Several Months Later
Carson Lockwood knelt down in front of the snow-covered tombstone and brushed off the white slush covering her step-mom's grave. Once she got the snow cleared, she placed some flowers by the stone. "I hope you like them, Tatia. I brought them especially for you. Daddy still misses you, and so do I." She sighed. "Some days are harder than others, not just for Daddy, but for all of us. Tanya has a new gentleman in her life; his name is Jack. And he treats her like a princess," she said. Carson stood up after she put the flowers on the grave. "I only regret that I wasn't here before you passed away. But, I know you are watching over me from where you are."
She bent down and kissed the tombstone then turned and left the cemetery, heading to her Sudabaker truck and getting behind the wheel, starting the ignition and heading toward the Lockwood mansion.
Mason was standing by the door, watching as some new snow fell on the ground, and waiting for Carson to come home. She had promised to come back before the weather got too nasty. Seeing the truck pull up, he let out a sigh of relief. He watched as she got out and when she got close, he opened the door for her. "Did you have a nice visit?"
Carson nodded. "I did." She kissed her father's cheek. "She told me to give you a kiss from her and that she's always watching."
"I know she is," Mason said. "It still hurts not having her here physically but knowing that she's with us in spirit it not seem as painful."
"She's always with us. And Momma is too," she said, referring to Jenna, who had succumbed to influenza just after Thanksgiving.
Mason nodded. "How's Alaric taking it?"
"He's hurting a bit, but Hannah, Jack and I have been helping him," Carson said. "Our friends are a big help as well."
"I heard that Isobel has come by more often than not. How's Alaric taking that?" Mason asked.
Carson wrinkled her nose. "I honestly think that she's just using him to get him to take her back."
Mason nodded when he noticed her reaction. "I think so too. Isobel was nothing but trouble in the past, and she's nothing but trouble now."
"Getting past all of that…can I go and see how he's doing?" Carson asked, referring to Alaric.
"Of course you can, sweetie. Just be careful on the roads, okay?" Mason said, pulling her close and hugging her gently then kissing the top of her head.
Carson nodded. "I'll be careful, Daddy." That being said, she walked out of the house and got into the truck, driving off toward Alaric's house.
When she got there, her cousin Jack let her into the house. Her eyes fell onto Tanya, whose eyes were red and puffy from crying. Carson smiled at her and approached her, hugging her. "I know, Tanya, I miss her too. But, she's in a better place now."
"I…I lost the baby, Carson," Tanya confessed to her half-sister, sobbing into Carson's chest.
"Wait, what? When were you pregnant?" Carson asked in curious demand as she pulled back from the hug.
"She found out just before Christmas," Jack said. "We were going to tell Uncle Alaric and everyone, but she miscarried."
"I'm so sorry, Tan. I hope that you and Jack will be able to get to have a baby again in a year or two," Carson said to her half-sister.
"Thanks, Car," Tanya said, smiling at the blonde.
Carson smiled. "You're welcome, Tanya. You and Jack will be great parents."
"We really hope it happens for us again soon. We, um, we decided to move to Florida, Car. There's too much sadness for us here, and Florida was where Dad met my mom, so…" Tanya said, smiling up at Jack as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Carson smiled. "That's great, Tanya. I hope I can visit you guys."
"We'd like that," Jack said. "Just because we're moving, it doesn't mean that we don't want family to be around us. You're more than welcome to visit us."
"I will definitely do that. For now, I want to remain with Dad and help him through this tough time," Carson said with a nod.
"Dad will love that," Tanya said.
"I know he would, which is why I'm staying with him," Carson said. "He's going to need all the support he can get."
Meanwhile…
Mason sat in his favorite chair in front of the fireplace, a glass of bourbon in his hands. As he stared into the fire glowing, heating his cold body, he let his mind float back in time to when he had loved Jenna before he met Tatia:
1939 – Lockwood Mansion
Jenna giggled as Mason chased her around the house. They had the place to themselves because his parents were out and Richard was doing his own thing. "Catch me if you can, Mason!"
"Oh, I'm definitely going to catch you, Jen," he replied. "And you're going to love what I'm going to do to you once I get my hands on you!"
She squealed and ran through the living room, tripping on the rug and falling flat on her face. Mason frowned then knelt down before lying down next to her. "Are you okay, Jen?" he asked in a soft, gentle tone.
Jenna nodded. "I'll be a bit bruised, but other than that, I'm okay," she replied softly back.
Mason nodded. "If you want, I could kiss it and make it better."
Jenna smiled. "I'd like that, thank you."
"Okay." He moved closer then turned her gently onto her side, one hand stroking up the slender curves as he then leaned in closer to her and began to press gentle kisses all over her face.
Jenna smiled as she felt him kissing her. "Thank you, Mason. I feel better already."
"That's good," he replied. "I never want to see you get hurt, Jen."
"With you around to take care of me, I won't get hurt too often," she said.
Mason nodded. "I'll definitely see to it that never happens, Jen. You mean the world to me and I'd hate to see you hurt in any way. I guess that's the protective man in me."
"And I love that about you," Jenna said. "In fact, I love everything about you."
"Oh yeah?" he asked. "What all do you love?"
"Well, let's see. I love your eyes, the way they twinkle," she said, her hand reaching up to carefully trace around both of his eyes. "And I love your nose, especially when you wrinkle it in concentration on something, like when you are chopping wood for the fireplace."
"Go on…" he said with a smirk, scooting closer to her.
Jenna smiled. "Let's see, I also love the way your lips are kissable, and the way your muscles shimmer in the sunshine when you're sweaty."
"Is that right?"
"It definitely is," Jenna said. "It's very sexy."
Mason turned her gently over by this point then moved to claim her lips in a kiss that started out soft …until she gave in to his coaxing tongue and he growled low in his throat, standing and picking her up in his arms before carrying her toward the staircase just a few feet away. As soon as they got to the room near the top of the stairs, Mason carried Jenna inside and kicked the door shut with his foot, after which he set her down and gently pressed her up against the wall, kissing her passionately and caressing her body with his hands.
"Mm, Mason," she whispered against his lips as she pressed all of herself into his lean, muscular frame. Mason smiled against her lips as he felt her press against him, leaving her lips to kiss her jaw line to her earlobe, which he nibbled playfully with his teeth. "Don't tease me. It's not nice," he heard her say in the same whispered tone from moments earlier.
"What would you like me to do, Miss Sommers, hmm?" he whispered back.
Jenna panted before replying, "Give me everything."
Lowering her back down to the floor, Mason then lifted her again and carried her bridal style over to the bed, where he placed her gently down on the duvet and followed her down. No sooner did he plant her on the duvet than Mason made short work of both his clothes and Jenna's, after which he plunged his member into her core. Jenna let her head fall back, which exposed her neck and Mason took full advantage, lowering his eager mouth to her waiting neck, smothering the fair skin with moist kisses in a trail moving downward. Jenna arched her back as she felt what Mason was doing and let out a pleasurable scream, wrapping her legs around his waist.
Two Hours Later…
Mason let his head fall to rest on Jenna's bare chest, smiling as he felt her index finger tracing circles over his upper back. "I love it when you do that," he whispered against the skin of her chest.
Jenna smiled at his remark. "I know you do. That's why I'm doing it."
Mason chuckled. "You're an amazing woman, Jenna Sommers, I hope you realize that."
Shaking his head out of the memory, Mason finished his glass of bourbon then left it on the end table and put the end of his chair down to stand. Sighing, he said, mostly to himself, "I'll always love you, Jenna."
As he headed up to his bedroom, he missed the appearance of the spirit form of his first wife, who whispered, "And I'll always love you, Mason." Another heavy sigh escaped his lips as Mason walked into his bedroom, sitting on the bed and running his fingers through his hair. He felt like he was alone in the world, even if he had family around him. He had lost not only his first wife, but also his current one, as well as a future grandchild after Tanya miscarried. True, he had Carson, but it wasn't the same.