Thirty-Nine

Stone wanted to take the opportunity torun far and fast.

It was bad enough he'd spent the past half hour listening to Leah while she attempted—unsuccessfully, he should note—to lure him back to the Double J. She'd gone so far as to offer him his old job back, with a few perks thrown in. Unfortunately, one of those perks was her because her offer included a wedding in the future. According to Leah, she knew it was only a matter of time before he came around, and she'd taken the inquiry from Zane as his cry for help.

The really sad thing was that she'd laid it all out like a business plan—a map of the future designed for profitability.

"She's fuckin' nuts," he muttered as he stomped his way up to his parents' house.

And now the nut job was locked in the barn with Reilly. He wasn't sure who he felt sorry for the most. Reilly was a handful, and if he knew his sister, she was going to tell Leah exactly what she thought. The only problem was Stone didn't know what was rattling around in that brain of hers. Reilly'd been pleasant enough, but underneath that polite facade, he'd seen the heart of a T-rex gearing up to chomp down on its prey.

If lucky, he'd return to find Reilly cleaning her teeth, using Leah's bones as toothpicks.

Okay, maybe that was a morbid visual, but Leah Johnson was the last person Stone wanted to see. Ever. She could take her proposition on back to Houston and shove it where the sun doesn't shine.

He was again thinking about his sister cleaning her T-rex teeth when he opened the door and stepped into his mother's kitchen. He abruptly stopped when he heard Nico's voice coming from deeper inside the house.

That was Nico's voice, right? Or maybe Stone was so sleep-deprived that he was hearing things.

The front door opened and closed. Footsteps sounded, and his mother appeared a moment later. Her expression was not what he expected.

"Hey," he greeted. "Everything okay?"

"You tell me." Her eyes shifted to the window over the sink. "Looks like you've got company."

"It's not what you think," he assured her.

"Then what is it?"

Stone had always thought of his mother as beautiful and vibrant. At fifty-six, she liked to tease that she was like wine, getting better with age. He agreed. Only she didn't look young or vibrant at the moment, not with the wary expression or the lack of luster in her eyes as she stared at him.

"Zane called the Double J to get a reference." Stone headed for the refrigerator, fearful he would crumble under the scrutiny. "Leah took that to mean she should swing by and check on me. That's all."

He wasn't going to get into the absurd proposition that Leah had laid out. There was no chance in hell he would ever take her up on it, so it was pointless. Even if she wasn't insisting on marriage down the line, Stone wasn't leaving Coyote Ridge. He was happy right where he was. Maybe not ecstatic at the moment since his career dreams were going up in smoke, but there was a hell of a lot more to life than that.

Stone grabbed two beers from the refrigerator. "Reilly told me to get them," he explained when he turned around to find his mother regarding him carefully. "Was Nico here?"

"He was." She maintained eye contact. "We were going over the remodeling plans for the front yard."

"Did he … uh…?" Stone nodded his head toward the window.

"Did he notice you had a visitor?" Deborah asked, her tone none too pleased. "Yes."

Fuck.

"Did you say anything?"

His mother frowned. "What was I supposed to say, Stone? That it's entirely possible you're gearing up to leave town again?"

"I'm not, Mom."

He could tell she didn't believe him.

"I'm not," he insisted. "I'm right where I wanna be."

Her tone softened, but the fear in her eyes remained. "Are you sure?"

Stone set the beer bottles on the counter and walked around so he could hug her. It was obvious she needed it. And yeah, maybe he needed it, too.

"I'm not goin' anywhere. Not today. Not tomorrow. I'm here to stay."

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a hug. She returned it with a relieved sigh.

When she finally pulled back, he looked her in the eye. "If I was plannin' to go back to the Double J, do you think I would've left her alone with Reilly?"

Deborah smiled, and it almost reached her eyes. "Good point."

There was a damn good chance Leah would be racing out of the house with tears streaming down her face before Stone ever made it back. Reilly wasn't one for tact. Especially not when it came to defending the people she loved.

Ever hopeful, Stone stood at the sink and watched out the window, waiting for it.

Unfortunately, it didn't happen, and ten minutes later, he was left with no other choice but to have a difficult conversation with Leah.

***

Nico didn't want to tell Stevie whathe'd witnessed at the Jamesons' house.

He didn't want her to think what he was thinking. That Stone was reverting to his old ways, and come morning, there was a good chance they'd have nothing more than the tread marks of the man on their souls.

Not only did he not want to tell Stevie, Nico didn't want to believe it was a possibility. But how could it not be? Why else would Stone's former employer drive two hundred miles from Houston? It wouldn't surprise Nico in the least if they'd come to their senses and wanted Stone to come back to work for them. The reason they'd fired him had been petty. So what if he didn't want to get serious with the owner's daughter? No one should be expected to do that.

Or maybe it was the owner's daughter who'd made the long-distance trek, and she was here to convince Stone—

Nico cut off that train of thought. He was not going there.

At least he was trying not to as he headed home. Stevie had texted to ask if Stone had agreed to join them for dinner, but Nico hadn't responded. He didn't want to relay anything in text because it could be misconstrued. Despite Stevie's optimism, he knew there was still a boatload of doubt underneath. She claimed the past was the past—and he believed she was trying to believe that—but with Stevie, it would only take a little choppy water to capsize that boat.

Nico snorted. "If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck…"

It didn't take much imagination to think that the visit from the Double J was precisely what it looked like.

Despite his best efforts, Nico's anger intensified the closer he got to his house. He should've turned around. Should've gone to Stone's and confronted the man rather than leaving. At least then he would know what he was dealing with. He wasn't prone to jumping to conclusions, but how could he not? Did Stone deserve the benefit of the doubt? After what he'd done fifteen years ago, the simple answer was no. But then that would mean Nico didn't trust him. And without trust, why the fuck was he even considering a future with the guy?

His random thoughts dried up instantly when he pulled down the driveway and found a familiar car parked next to Stevie's Bronco.

"What the fuck?"

Nico prayed he was dreaming and that he was about to wake up and find out that none of this was real. He would open his eyes and find Stone and Stevie sleeping beside him. He could laugh all this off as a nightmare because there was no way the universe was cruel enough to pile all this shit on them at one time.

As he parked, he willed himself awake, figuring surely if this were a dream, that would do the trick.

It didn't work.

And it still didn't work as he opened the front door and walked inside to find Stevie sitting on the couch across from Melanie.

J?ger raced over, slipping on the hardwood as he came to a quick stop at Nico's feet. He considered stalling, but he could feel the tension coming from a few feet away, and the last thing he wanted was to leave Stevie alone with Melanie any longer.

"Hey," he greeted as he shrugged out of his coat.

Melanie smiled.

Stevie frowned.

"What's goin' on here?" he asked, although it was quite possibly the stupidest question ever.

"Melanie dropped by to … see you," Stevie explained from her perch on the couch.

"Well, you've seen me," he said, meeting Melanie"s gaze briefly before turning his attention back to Stevie. She looked as though a light breeze would make her crumble.

Not good.

Nico hung his coat on the rack. "About?"

"I was just tellin' Stevie that I missed you," Melanie said sweetly. "I've been thinking about how rashly I behaved and thought maybe we could talk."

It had been over a year since he broke things off with Melanie, and this was the first time she'd stopped by for anything. When she left, she'd taken everything she could fit in the moving truck and Nico hadn't stopped her. Not even when she started pilfering his things as punishment. He'd been too wracked with guilt to care at the time.

"I'll leave you two alone," Stevie said, getting to her feet.

Nico wasn't sure what prompted him, but he shook his head and took her hand before she could slip away.

"No need." He guided her back to the couch and sat down beside her.

It was pointless to pretend they were merely roommates. Melanie would find out sooner or later, and he saw no point in delaying the information. And yeah, it was a chickenshit move on his part. Using Stevie as an excuse not to have this or any conversation with Melanie. But hey, survival instinct fed on desperation, not rational thought.

He could feel Melanie"s confusion. It filled the empty space, growing heavier every second that Nico didn't release Stevie's hand.

When he conjured enough nerve to look at her, he noticed she was staring at their linked fingers.

"Are you…?" Her gaze shifted to Nico's face.

"Yes," he said simply because the last thing he wanted was any more uncertainty. He was dealing with enough not knowing what was taking place at Stone's right now.

"Oh." She swallowed but didn't move to stand.

Pretending this wasn't completely awkward or that Stevie wasn't doing her best to extract her hand from his grip, Nico asked, "What did you want to talk about?"

A weighted pause lingered while Melanie continued to stare, and J?ger did his best to get everyone's attention.

"How long has this been … a thing?" Melanie asked, gesturing between him and Stevie.

"A while," he said at the same time Stevie said, "Not long."

Melanie looked both surprised and horrified. "When we were together?"

"God, no," Nico exhaled harshly.

She clearly didn't believe him, her eyes swimming with tears when she met his gaze. "Is she the reason you broke up with me?"

"No," he said adamantly.

It was clear from her expression that she wasn't listening. The next words out of her mouth proved it. "You were cheating?"

"No," Stevie said, this time jerking her hand from Nico's grip. "Y'all should talk. Alone."

She didn't give him a chance to call after her before she raced out of the room. A second later, he heard her bedroom door slam shut.

Melanie dabbed at her eyes as though she'd actually been crying. "When did you get a dog?"

Nico stared at the hallway, torn between sitting still and going after Stevie.

"Niyah gave him to me when she moved," he said absently, continuing to stare at the hallway.

"You hate dogs."

Nico's gaze slammed into his ex-girlfriend. "What?"

"You told me you hate dogs."

"No. You hate dogs. You decided I did, too."

Melanie had decided a lot of things for him when they were together, and he'd gone along with it because it was easier that way. In his defense, he'd been trying to build a normal life because he hadn't been brave enough to go after what he wanted.

"Why are you here?" he prompted, eager to move this along so he could talk to Stevie.

"I heard a rumor."

That got his attention, plus it made perfect sense, answering the question of why she was there. "Doesn't surprise me. It's a small town. People need shit to talk about."

"Someone mentioned they thought you were gay." Melanie glanced over her shoulder. "But I guess they were wrong since you're playing house with your sister's friend."

One thing he'd always admired about Melanie was how prim and proper she was. She didn't get riled easily, nor did she lose her temper. She buried shit underneath the facade of propriety. Except right now, he didn't admire it. It pissed him off because it was clear she wanted to confront him, but she would simply pick and poke until he erupted, and there was no time for that.

"They weren't wrong," he corrected.

Melanie"s head snapped back around, her eyes wide. "What?"

"And I'm not playin' house with Stevie."

Her mouth opened, but nothing came out.

"I'm in love with Stevie," he said, keeping his tone calm.

"How…?" Her forehead creased in confusion. "How does that make you gay?"

"Bisexual, actually." Nico exhaled. "I'm also in love with a man."

Her eyes widened, and he half expected them to pop out of her face and grow bigger, like they did in those cartoons he had watched as a kid.

"Who?"

"Does it matter?"

"Does Stevie know?" she shot back.

"Does she know what?"

"That you're in love with … a man." The distaste practically dripped off her tongue.

"She knows."

Her nostrils flared. "And she's okay with that?"

Nico didn't want to get into this. Explaining it wouldn't change the outcome, and right now, he had far more important things to address than Melanie"s confusion over his sexuality.

Forcing himself to stand, he peered down at the woman he'd once asked to marry him. He'd often wondered if he would feel anything if he ever saw her again. At the very least, he expected to be plagued with guilt and remorse. Sadly, he didn't feel a thing. The only reason that disappointed him was that he'd spent so long trying to make a life with this woman but looking back, he knew it had all been a lie he told himself in order to find a sliver of happiness when he doubted there was any to be had.

"I need to talk to Stevie," he told Melanie now.

It took her a moment to realize that was his subtle way of telling her to leave. She stood slowly, swiping her hand down her blouse, her chin tipping up.

"Why did you really break up with me?" she asked when they neared the front door. "Because you wanted to be with her?"

Nico looked her in the eye so she could see his sincerity. "No. And I didn't cheat on you."

She clearly didn't believe him. "Then why? I know it wasn't me," she amended. "I did everything I could to make you happy."

"But I wasn't." He felt his resolve soften. "And neither were you."

"That's not—"

He cut her off. "I was lyin' to myself, Mel. About a lot of things. I couldn't keep doin' it."

Her eyes were glassy. "We were good together, Nico."

He shook his head. She was rewriting history, but part of him understood that. It was easier that way.

"We weren't. Maybe we could've been. In a different life."

That obviously wasn't what she wanted to hear, but in true Melanie fashion, she squared her shoulders and turned toward the door. "If things don't work out…"

Nico exhaled with a sigh.

Melanie turned to look up at him. "I'm just saying."

"I'm in love with two people, Melanie, and I'll do whatever it takes to make it work."

"Too bad you never felt the same about me."

He nodded, just a gentle bob of his head. "I'm sorry."

To his surprise, she didn't blast him with reasons he should be before she turned and walked out the door.

He wasn't sure why she'd felt the need to drop by. Maybe she was hoping for reconciliation. More than likely, she was seeking closure.

Oddly enough, that was what this felt like.