He pivoted, hating himself for hanging on to that single thread of hope that his cousin would somehow recognize he was being a royal douche.
“I’ll hear you out,” Zane told him, staring at his beer bottle. “But first, I wanna call your previous employer. If they give you a good reference, I’ll listen to what you have to say.”
Stone rolled his eyes. No way in hell Doug Johnson was going to say anything nice about him. Not after the way things went down. But he figured Zane already knew that. The rumor mill worked fast in this small town. More than likely, Zane had heard the story already.
Since he had nothing left to lose, Stone decided to let it play out.
“Fine.” He pulled out his phone and sent the contact information to Zane’s phone. “That’s the number. Talk to anyone you want.”
With that, he turned and walked out.
***
Curtis was sitting on the front porchwhen Zane’s truck pulled down his driveway. He didn’t need to talk to the boy to know he was still in a foul mood. He could tell by the way he slammed on the brakes and jumped out that whatever happened between him and Stone hadn’t resolved a damn thing.
As astute as he was, though, Curtis had no idea why Zane was hellbent on shutting Stone out. For the past week, he’d listened to one or more of his boys talk excitedly about Stone’s plans for the land. They were genuinely looking forward to this farmers’ market idea. Everyone except Zane, who’d made his feelings known from the moment he learned that they were planning to part with the land.
“Hey, Pop,” Zane grumbled as he stomped up the front steps.
Curtis watched him, silently feeling him out. He knew it was only a matter of time before his pent-up anger spewed out.
“I talked to Stone,” Zane said as he flopped into the chair beside him.
“And?”
“I told him I won’t support it.”
“It?”
Zane waved a hand. “His plan.”
“Which is?”
Zane shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not a good idea.”
“Your brothers think it is.”
“Yeah, well. They don’t know Stone like I do.”
Curtis couldn’t keep the wry smile from forming. “And just how well do you know him? He’s been gone for fifteen years.”
“Exactly.” Zane’s eyebrows slammed down. “He’s not back because he wants to be here. He’s back because he has nowhere else to go. I’m not lettin’ him leave us holdin’ the bag when he slinks outta here again.”
“Did he say he was leavin’?”
“It’s a given, ain’t it? If he wanted to be here, he would’ve come back a long time ago. Instead, he was out there screwin’ up, tryin’ to get somethin’ for nothin’. It backfired, and now he’s crawlin’ back lookin’ for a handout.” Zane shook his head. “Not happenin’, Pop. The land belongs to the Walkers. He’s not a Walker.”
Curtis’s shoulders stiffened. “He’s a Jameson.”
Zane stared out into the distance. “Exactly.Nota Walker.”
“Your mama’s a Jameson.”
“Used to be,” Zane corrected. “Not anymore.”
Curtis snorted a laugh. “You probably shouldn’t let her hear you say that.”
Zane’s gaze cut to him. “Why? It’s true. She’s been a Walker far longer than she was a Jameson.”
