Chapter One

June 2000

“I can’t believe we’re graduating,” a breathless Madeline Smithing said as they walked into the holding room to line up for commencement. “It seems like just yesterday we were freshmen!”

“I know, Mad,” Mason Gentries replied softly. “It flew by.”

“Get you some, Gentries!” the class bully, Brock, yelled out as he moved past them.

Mason flushed deep red.

“Ignore him, Mason,” Maddie murmured to him. “You know he’s always been a rich, spoiled little jerk and he always will be.”

“I’m just glad he leaves you alone, Mad,” he told her sincerely. “I can take whatever he says to me.”

She paused and looked around.

“Okay, it looks like my spot’s over there,” she noted. “Gotta love a last name toward the end of the whole alphabet. See you after?”

He nodded and watched her walk away.

I love you, Mad, he almost said, as he’d wanted to every day since the fourth grade.

But as always, he stopped himself.

She’ll never see me as anything more than a friend. I need to stop kidding myself and move on. Easier said than done, sometimes…

His train of thought was rudely interrupted by a shrill, grating voice.

“Hey, loser, you’re blocking my way,” Beverly Bennett, the head cheerleader and prom queen, snarled from behind him. He heard the snicker that meant Beverly’s sidekick Stacie Frios was, as always, within inches of her ringleader.

He turned around and looked at them.

“Did I say you could make eye contact? No. I did not. Stacie, did you hear me say that?”

“Nope, sure didn’t.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and waited patiently.

After a few moments she rolled her eyes and stepped to one side.

“Fine. I’ll go around you. I don’t have time for this.”

And she sauntered past, Stacie right on her heels like a faithful puppy.

***

Maddie took her place in line and looked back just in time to see Beverly say something to Mason.

Her hands clenched into fists as she watched from a distance, too far away to actually hear what had been said.

But knowing Beverly, it was condescending and rude, Maddie thought with a sigh.

It’s a shame everyone’s so mean to him. It’s not his fault he wasn’t born in this town like the rest of us. If they would just take time to get to know him, they’d see how brilliant he is.

And cute, and funny, the part of her that had been crushing on him since elementary school chimed in. Bet he’s a good kisser, too…

Stop it, she chastised herself. We’ve been friends for years, and he’s never made a move. Which means he doesn’t see me that way, so, I need to get over this thing I have for him and move on. It’ll ruin the friendship one day if I don’t.

***

March 2020

Mason Gentries scowled as he reviewed the data on a busy Monday afternoon.

“This here,” he indicated one column. “This is way out of expected tolerances. Can we drill down into that, see what’s going on there?”

“Sure thing,” Toby said brightly.

Mason grinned as he returned to his office.

Hiring Toby Mitting on full-time after his internship was turning out to be one of the best decisions he’d made. The kid’s knowledge was off the charts, as were his intuitive problem-solving abilities. And Toby’s enthusiasm was contagious.

He’d also blended seamlessly into Mason’s established research and development team at a crucial point of a project that if successful, would greatly improve motor vehicle safety. Too many times Mason had seen news reports of fatal accidents caused by texting and driving. Austin, Texas based Gentries Unlimited was working on a solution.

A few more tweaks, a couple more rounds of beta testing, then a soft launch to gauge market interest, and if all that went as Mason expected, a full court press of marketing to round it all out.

He knew that Toby was at this very moment checking the code byte by byte to trace the variances that had presented in the reporting. But Mason settled in at his terminal, opened his own copy of the programming, and began to check it himself anyway.

It had to be one hundred percent perfect. No glitches, no mistakes. He’d made it his mission for no one else to die because of texting and driving. He had the knowledge and the desire to keep it from ever happening again - even if it cost him everything.

In most ways, it already had.

Focus, man, focus.

He blew out a deep breath, and with effort shoved the past aside and concentrated on each data point, looking for the troublemaker.

After forty-five minutes, as his eyes were beginning to fatigue, his desk phone trilled.

“Boss,” Toby said triumphantly in Mason’s ear, “I got it.”

Mason’s grin returned. “I’ll be right there.”

***

Madeleine Nibless was behind schedule, and she was frazzled as a result. She knew she’d have to hustle to get back on track to pull off the perfect date night.

As she unlocked the front door of her two-story custom-built home, she resisted the urge to set her purse and coat down on the foyer table – Eric would have a fit if he saw a single item out of place.

And he notices everything, she reminded herself.

She quickly moved up the left staircase and into the master bedroom, hung up her coat, placed her purse on her nightstand, then took a quick shower.

Calmed, she went back downstairs and to the kitchen to prepare the meal she’d planned to surprise her husband. Eric’s flight out was scheduled for seven a.m. and he’d be gone all week, so she wanted to make the night count.

With smooth, deft movements she set the needed ingredients for crab-stuffed filet mignon with whiskey peppercorn sauce on the counter, turned on the oven to bring it to temperature, and began to measure and dice.

Remember, Maddie, don’t overcook his, she chided herself as she worked. You don’t want anything to ruin the mood tonight.

She put together the crab stuffing and the peppercorn sauce first, then checked her watch.

Six o’clock. Good. He’ll be home by seven, so this will all time out well.

Madeleine released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding and decided to take just a few moments to make sure she looked her best when he came home.

Sitting at her makeup table, she applied minimal amounts of blush, mascara, and lip gloss; just enough to enhance her smooth pale skin, complement her emerald green eyes and whiskey colored hair.

Satisfied with her makeup, she traded her flannel robe for a silk one covering a negligee, added just a whisper of perfume, then returned to the kitchen to finish preparing dinner.