Eight

By 5:30 p.m., Stone was readyto pass out.

Unfortunately, before he could do that, he needed to run into town and pick up his truck and trailer. Reilly had driven it with the promise to bring it back. Only she called to tell him she had to take care of something at the store and she wouldn't be able to come back until after eight.

Stone intended to be horizontal and well into his first REM cycle by eight.

So he offered to make the swap.

As he drove through town, he took it all in, letting the memories swarm him. He'd been back many times since he left fifteen years ago, but most of those visits involved him dropping in at his parents' house and slipping out just as quickly. He wasn't even sure he'd stopped by the General Store at all. Maybe once since Reilly took over, but if so, he couldn't remember.

While the town looked different, it still had the same feel. Small-town living in the middle of areas that were booming. Coyote Ridge had defied the odds, maintaining its country charm while cookie-cutter subdivisions, fast food joints, and emergency clinics grew at a rapid pace all around them. Coyote Ridge wasn't quite as rustic as the areas Stone had resided in over the years. Not anymore, anyway. Although large parcels of land were still used for farming and ranching, it was slowly being divided up, making it impossible to build something like the Double J. There simply wasn't enough room.

Despite that, it was good to be back. And though he wasn't sure what his plans were going forward, he knew whatever he decided to do, it would be here. In his hometown. He hadn't run out of here because he wanted to get away. He loved Coyote Ridge, but it couldn't offer him what he'd been looking for at the time. Stone wasn't sure it could now, but as had been the case when he left, he was once again running. Only this time, he hoped to run toward something rather than away.

Once he reached downtown, he pulled around to the small lot behind the shopping center and parked Reilly's truck beside his. She'd blocked half the lot with the trailer, but he squeezed into one of the open spots.

The sun was getting lower in the sky, the days still short. Winter and all. According to the weather report, they were about to feel the full brunt of it in the coming weeks. A chance for ice and possible snow was in the five-day forecast. Stone wasn't looking forward to it.

When he came around the side of the building, the cold wind that had picked up since that morning blasted him. He tucked his head down and headed for the door. The bells overhead jingled when he walked in.

He shook off the chill as the door closed, his eyes on the scene before him.

"I don't think these things are workin'," Stone said, jingling the bells with his hand to get Brady and Reilly to stop making out like teenagers behind the register counter.

"We knew it was you," Brady said, not bothering to look over.

Stone shook his head as he watched the pair. No, he never would've predicted those two would end up together, but based on the look on Brady's face, it wasn't surprising that they were. Now that he thought about it, Stone recognized that look. He merely hadn't ever connected the dots. Brady was head over heels for Reilly and wasn't bothering to hide it.

Good for him.

"Here's your keys," Stone said, placing Reilly's set on the counter.

She planted one more loud, smacking kiss on Brady's mouth, giggled, then shifted so she could hop down from the counter. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes bright. Love looked good on her.

"I like what you've done with the place," he told her as she reached under the counter.

Stone hadn't been sure what to expect since Reilly had boasted proudly that she was updating the store to be more like its original design. That had been about the time Donovan and Brady started renovating the barn for Reilly and Tate. Since there'd been a significant amount of rotted wood, they'd all but taken the thing down in order to build it back up. Reilly had insisted she could put that old wood to good use. Looked as though she'd used it to practically wallpaper the interior of the store, and though it looked rustic and worn, there was still a clean, airy feel to it all.

Reilly placed his keys down. "You're welcome to work here anytime."

Stone laughed. "Why in the world would I do that?"

Reilly shrugged. "Boredom?"

"Who said I'm bored?"

"You wouldn't be here if you weren't."

Maybe she was right. "Well, if it's any consolation, I'm headin' home to pass out. I don't plan to get up for at least ten hours, so don't stop by."

She smiled. "I make no promises."

He cocked an eyebrow.

"Kidding." She took her keys from the counter and tucked them underneath. "All you gotta do is clear the biometrics on the lock. The instruction manual's in the kitchen somewhere."

"Good to know."

"We left a few things up in the loft, but we can get 'em next week sometime."

"I can always drop 'em off this—"

The sound of the bells clanging cut him off as all eyes, including his, shifted to the person walking in.

"Oh, my God!" Reilly squealed, dancing out from behind the counter. "Is that a yellow Lab?"

Stone stared at Nico, watching as he braced himself for Reilly's approach.

She didn't give Nico a chance to answer when she said, "Boy or girl?"

"Boy," he answered, his gaze shifting to Stone briefly.

"He's so cute!"

"Thank God for that," Nico grumbled, holding the dog toward her. "He peed in my truck."

Reilly laughed, taking him into her arms as gently as she would a newborn baby. "I've got some paper towels behind the counter if you need 'em."

"That'd be great. Thanks."

Stone heard movement behind him, then grunted when Brady smacked him with the roll of paper towels. He turned to find Brady thrusting them in his direction.

"I don't work here," Stone said deadpan.

"You don't work, period, from what I hear," he whispered, grinning.

"Touché." Stone took the roll of paper towels. "Catch," he told Nico before launching them in his direction.

"I have the cutest little collar for you," Reilly said, talking in that silly way people do with dogs.

Nico's gaze slid over Stone once more before he turned and walked out.

"I thought it was cold outside," Brady said. "But an arctic wind just blew through here. What's up with that?"

"What're you talkin' about?"

"He still holdin' a grudge?"

Stone tried not to react to that question. "For what?"

"For you punchin' him when he dumped Chelsea."

"You talked to Reilly."

"She couldn't get it out fast enough."

Yeah, his little sister certainly made a vast contribution to the town's rumor mill.

From the back of the store, Stone heard Reilly giggling.

"Might have to get her one of those," Stone told Brady.

"I'll get her a dozen if it'll make her happy," he mumbled, staring toward the back as though he could see her.

"You're whipped."

"Completely," Brady agreed.

Stone laughed. "Have y'all picked a date for the weddin' yet?"

"Sometime in June. That's all she told me."

Stone had gotten a call from Reilly on New Year's Day. She'd apparently been running through her contacts, telling everyone that Brady had asked her to marry him. He'd asked her then if they had a date. She'd said sometime in the summer. Good to know Brady was able to get her to narrow it down a little.

The bells chimed again, and a chilly breeze accompanied Nico into the store.

Stone did his best not to stare, but it wasn't easy. Seeing the man brought back memories of that night, and while he'd been attracted to Nico then, it was nothing compared to his body's reaction to him now.

He was still staring when Reilly came racing to the front, chasing the puppy despite him wearing a collar and leash, neither of which he'd had on when he came into the store.

"I found a few things," Reilly said cheerfully, passing over one of the small baskets that some customers carried through the store. "Collar, leash, some dog food. I don't have a huge selection."

"That's okay," Nico said, but his words were drowned out when Reilly kept going.

"There's a toy in there and some bells. I hear if you hang 'em on the back door, you can teach him to alert you when he needs to go out."

Nico nodded, his gaze sliding to Stone once more.

"You'll have to get him some bowls. Oh, and the collar and leash won't last him long," Reilly continued. "Based on his paws, he's gonna be big. But it'll work for now."

"That's per—"

"Oh, wait!" Reilly shouted as she spun around and raced through the aisles.

"Maybe you wanna get a line of credit," Stone suggested.

Nico laughed, and the sound was so sexy he had to shift because his jeans were becoming more uncomfortable by the second.

"Where'd you get the dog, anyway?" Brady asked.

"My sister."

"Niyah's still here?" Stone asked before he could think better of it.

"She left for California today." His eyes narrowed. "With her husband."

Stone figured it was safe to say Nico was aware that his sister'd had a crush on him back in the day. Nothing ever happened because she'd been too young when that revelation came to light, but Stone wouldn't deny he'd entertained the notion for a bit. But that was before he'd gotten his hands on Stevie. After that, no other female in Coyote Ridge had appealed.

And though he tried to tell himself otherwise, Stevie was a big part of why he'd left. What he'd felt for her had defied logic. It had been a whirlwind from the start, and it only picked up speed the longer they were together. If he had stayed, there was no doubt he would've disrupted her life, and the last thing he'd wanted was for her to look back and hate him for it.

Reilly came racing to the front again, holding out a bag of—

"Here's the gummy watermelon things Stevie likes," Reilly said, dropping the package into the basket. "What else?"

Nico said something back, but Stone couldn't process words because his thoughts were on Stevie now that his sister said her name.

"What does Stevie think of the puppy?" Reilly asked.

"She hasn't been home yet to see him."

"Home?" Stone asked. As in, they lived together?

He could feel all eyes on him.

"They live together," Brady said from behind him.

Stone frowned. Were they together? Thankfully, the question didn't fall out of his mouth.

"What do I owe you?" Nico asked Reilly.

"I'll tally it up and let you know."

"Here's a bag," Brady said, bringing one from behind the counter.

Stone stared, unable to speak. His thoughts were muddied by images of that night so long ago.

Stevie and Nico? Seriously?

***

"All right, little guy. We're gonna haveto call it good. At least for tonight," Nico told the puppy, who was curling into a blanket he'd laid out on the front seat. "We'll figure out the rest tomorrow."

Nico put on his seat belt and started the truck, adjusting the vents so the heat would blow on the dog. Did dogs even get cold if they weren't out in the elements? He didn't know but decided he wouldn't take a chance. He would take his cues from the puppy.

For a brief moment, as the heat blew directly on him, the little dog lifted his head toward the air and closed his eyes. Again, Nico was pretty sure there was a smile on his face.

How was it that Niyah always seemed to know exactly what he needed? He was pretty sure this was the first time he'd slowed down in months. Slowed down long enough to appreciate something other than the hard work they all put into the business, anyway.

"Ready to go home?" Just as he turned to put the truck in reverse, Stone appeared, rapping his knuckles on the window.

The puppy's head popped up.

"It's cool," Nico assured him with a scratch on the head as he pressed the button to lower the window.

Stone held up a brown paper bag. "Reilly said to give you this, too."

Nico laughed. "Your sister's somethin' else, you know that?"

"Truly one of a kind."

Nico took the bag and reached back to put it in the back seat.

"You're not gonna look to see what's in it?"

"I like surprises," Nico told him.

When he turned back, he found Stone staring at him.

"What?"

"How is she?"

There was a wealth of emotion in Stone's voice. Enough that Nico couldn't bring himself to tell the man to fuck off because he didn't have the right to ask that question.

"She's good."

Stone nodded, his eyes seeming to search for something.

"What?"

Stone shook his head. "Nothin'." He backed up a step. "See you around."

Nico let him get a few feet away before he called after him. "You back for good?"

Stone turned around but continued to walk backward. "That's the plan for now. Who knows what tomorrow brings."

Nico nodded. "Maybe we could grab coffee or somethin' sometime."

"Maybe."

Nico cocked an eyebrow. "That didn't sound like an answer."

Stone smirked, and damn if it wasn't sexy. "That didn't sound like a question."

Before Nico could decide whether he wanted to ask him officially, Stone climbed into his big F350.

"I'm an idiot," he told the dog, closing the window.

The dog yipped, then burrowed into the blanket once again.

Half an hour later, after they got home and Nico convinced the dog to go to the bathroom—which evidently was inconvenient when there were so many things to sniff—he went to work putting up the supplies. He also went through the house and closed all the doors, ensuring the dog didn't wander away and get into something he shouldn't. When he returned, the little ball of fluff was lying on the floor, gnawing on the laces of one of Nico's work boots.

"No," he said firmly, reaching down and taking the boot.

He grabbed the other for good measure and set both on the bar stool before retrieving the toy Reilly had found for him.

"This is yours."

The dog pawed at it a few times, then rested his head on it, staring up at Nico with big, sad eyes.

"We'll get you somethin' to chew on tomorrow. Somethin' that doesn't belong on my feet."

His nose twitched.

"What? You want dinner?"

His eyes widened.

Nico took that as a yes and went to work digging slop out of a can and dumping it into a cereal bowl.

"Surely they make somethin' better than this." He set the bowl on the floor beside the counter and stood back, waiting to see if the dog was interested.

He was.

Very.

He scarfed down the entire bowl in a handful of bites.

Nico chuckled, filled another bowl with water, and placed it on the floor. The dog then went to work cleaning it out, too.

"I take that to mean you'll have to go out again in a little while?"

Something told Nico this was going to be a really long night.

Speaking of night…

He thought for sure Stevie would've been home by now. It was Friday, so she spent the evening at her dad's house. A tradition they'd been carrying on since Stevie's mother divorced her dad and moved to Buffalo to marry some guy she met on the internet. Stevie claimed she hung out with Stan so he didn't get lonely, but Nico knew she worried about him. Not that he saw the appeal of hanging out with a man who had no desire to converse with anyone. Nico had gone with her once but declined the offer the next time to avoid the awkward silence. Stevie and her dad had always been close, but Stan hadn't been the same since his wife left him.

Nico grabbed his phone and looked to see if he'd missed any texts from her. There were none.

He went to the window over the sink to look outside, checking to see if maybe he'd missed her Bronco parked in the driveway. It wasn't there.

Had she run into Stone? Were they in town right now talking about old times? Reminiscing?

Nico's chest clenched, and it felt a hell of a lot like jealousy that coursed through him. Why would he be jealous? It wasn't like he had a claim on Stevie. She was his roommate, nothing more. Sure, they'd … well, they'd scratched an itch a time or two, but never when they were sober. And after each encounter, they both agreed it would never happen again. For the most part, they managed to abide by that agreement. Until the next time.

He took a deep breath and turned around, leaning against the counter, watching the puppy gnawing on his toy.

"Where're you gonna sleep?"

The dog turned those big brown eyes on him, and Nico knew this little guy was gonna be trouble with a capital T.

"Maybe that's what we should call you. Trouble."

The dog tilted his head as though waiting for him to repeat it.

"Trouble? You like that name?"

His head tilted the other way.

"Maybe not. I'm sure I'll come up with somethin'."

Nico laughed, pushing off the counter and heading to the refrigerator to find something to eat. The sandwich he had earlier had long since burned off, and he was starving.

He opened the fridge and glanced at the contents, then looked in the pantry, tallying up what he would need. When he noted he had all the ingredients for chicken fajitas, he went to work preparing the chicken.

As he worked, his mind drifted to that night so long ago.

"What was Chelsea tellin' everybody?" Stone demanded, glaring daggers at Nico.

"She gave me an ultimatum. If I don't go to Texas Tech, she's not interested in me anymore."

"What about Jenny?" Stone asked. "You fuck her?"

"Hell no. She's Chelsea's best friend. I'm not a complete asshole."

"So what happened?"

"I flirted with her. Figured it would get back to Chelsea, and she'd have a reason to dump me without feelin' bad about it."

Stone continued to stare. "Youwant her to break up with you."

"It's what's best for her." Some of his frustration drained out. "Above all else, we're friends. It's easier for her to hate me now than to lose that."

"You two done? For good?"

Nico nodded. "It's been over for a while. This just makes it official."

"Good."

"Why?"

Stone smirked. "Because I said so."

"Where's Stevie?" Nico asked, more so to remind Stone that whatever was happening here shouldn't be happening.

"Where do you want her to be?" Stone taunted.

He felt a rush of unexpected heat as he stood there, pinned between Stone and his truck. He wasn't sure what the hell was happening or why he wasn't fighting Stone off. He couldn't move because he was mesmerized by the gleam in Stone's eyes.

For as long as he'd known Stone Jameson, Nico'd had a crush on the guy. Not the gay kind because … well, because he didn't swing that way. At least he didn't think he did. There'd been a few moments of confusion these past couple of years, but nothing Nico couldn't shove down deep and ignore.

But he wouldn't deny he was completely enthralled with Stone. Nico wanted tobe him. The guy everyone wanted to be friends with. The guy the chicks wanted to be with, even though until recently, Stone had never let anyone stake a claim on him. Nico remembered his first day of ninth grade. Stone had been a junior that year, and there was no disputing he was the big man on campus. Even the seniors gravitated toward him. That entire year, Nico had attempted to emulate the guy. It hadn't worked, but it had gotten him on Chelsea's radar.

Not much had changed. Stone was still wild, untamable and Nico still admired that in him. He even admired the fact that Stone had succumbed to Stevie Shepherd's charms, turning over a new leaf. Not that Nico was thrilled with the idea of his sister's best friend hooking up with Stone Jameson. Those two were like oil and water, incompatible in every way. Yet, somehow, they'd managed to ride it out for nine or ten months already.

A soft groan rumbled in Stone's chest. The next thing Nico knew, Stone kicked his feet apart, moving closer. Closer still. The firm grip on his throat remained a steady pressure, reminding him that he wasn't in control here.

Not that Nico was a lightweight. He wasn't. His brain, however, didn't seem to be aware of that as he surrendered to the dominance.

Stone leaned in, eliminating the gap between their bodies. Nico was shocked by the heat of the man against him. The rock-hard plane of his chest, the steel in his thighs.

Instinct had him looking over his shoulder, attempting to make sure Chelsea wasn't watching them.

"She can't see us."

He hoped not. The last thing he needed was Chelsea thinking he'd done something to provoke this.

"Push me away, Nico," Stone insisted, taunting him again.

His brain flickered with the instruction, and his hands moved to Stone's hips, gripping as though he might do just that. Only he didn't push.

Stone's voice lowered. "That's all you hafta do. Push. Me. Away."

His warm breath fanned Nico's lips, and again, he was locked in a trance, completely at this man's mercy.

Stone tilted his head, leaning closer until their lips were so close Nico could feel the whisper-softness when Stone spoke.

"Say no, Nico."

He couldn't. Words wouldn't form.

"Tell me to stop."

Did he even want to? He wasn't sure what was happening here, but Nico didn't want to shove Stone away. He didn't want to tell him no. He wanted … fuck. Possibly, for the first time in his life, hewanted.

The arousal was so potent it robbed him of breath and sense at the same time. There was no way Stone couldn't feel the steely length of his erection because they were pressed together from chest to groin.

"I didn't realize you played for both teams," Stone taunted.

"I don't."

"No?"

Nico hissed when Stone reached down with his free hand, grinding his palm along the outline of Nico's dick.

Yeah, you fuckhead, I'm hard. So fuckin' what?

"You like this. You like it rough."

Damn him. He wasn't asking for confirmation. He was telling him, and since Nico couldn't very well deny it, he gave a very slight nod.

"You want me to do dirty fuckin' things to you, don't you?"

Because he refused to be completely mowed down by this guy, Nico pressed his hips forward, grinding against Stone's hand as his official answer.

The sound of Stevie's excited squeal broke through the memory, drawing Nico to the present. He stepped back from the stove, remembering what he'd been doing before that memory had consumed him.

"You got a puppy! He's adorable. When did you get him?"

Nico didn't answer her, too focused on the smoke filling the kitchen.

"Shit," he hissed when he realized he was burning the chicken.

Just like that night, it looked like Stone could still drive him to distraction.