“Maybe he lied.”
“I don’t think so. He’s happy at the resort. He gets to work with V every day. I don’t think he’d trade it for anything.”
That was the impression Curtis had been under, too. And he’d tried to convince the boys the land would be good for a lot of things. None of them wanted it, though. That was the reason they’d offered it to Stone. He knew the boy would do right by it.
It hadn’t been an easy decision either. Especially since they knew Donovan was looking to buy more land in town to build more houses. As much as Curtis wanted to support the boy, he didn’t want to see Coyote Ridge turn into a housing community like the ones popping up all around them. They had set aside another tract on the outskirts that he intended to give Donovan, but he was holding onto it so he could give it as a wedding present when the time came.
Lorrie’s soft hand pressed gently to his chest, pulling him out of his thoughts. He peered down at her.
“It’s gonna work itself out. I promise.”
“I know, darlin’. I just wish I could do somethin’ to move it along.”
“How about some brownies and milk in the meantime?”
He smiled at his beautiful bride of sixty years. “I’m thinkin’ maybe I should whisk you off to the bedroom while they cool down.”
Her smile lit up her face. “I wouldn’t say no to a nap.”
He chuckled. “Honey, I don’t plan to let you sleep.”
“You never do.”
Thirty-Eight
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
“Have you talked to Stone?”
Nico looked up from his computer when Stevie strolled into his office.
“Not today, no. Why?”
“He’s not respondin’ to my texts.”
“At all?”
She shrugged. “One-word responses don’t count.”
“Depends on the question.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’m serious. That’s all I’ve gotten since Saturday.”
Nico didn’t want to tell her that was all he’d gotten in the past three days, too. He hadn’t seen Stone since he left their house on Saturday morning, but he’d traded a few texts back and forth. Nothing of substance, but he figured that was because they’d said all they needed to say on Friday night. They were in a good place now. Or so he’d thought.
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll swing by his place when I go out there this afternoon. I’m meetin’ Deborah to get things scheduled. You wanna come with me?”
Stevie shook her head, still leaning against the doorjamb, feigning a nonchalance he could tell she didn’t feel. “Can’t. I’ve got meetings all day.”
It was that time of year. As they inched closer to spring, things would pick up, especially the design consultations. Stevie met with clients to get an idea of what they wanted before handing the file off to him for the preliminary design. The system was one Stevie set up a long time ago, and it worked for them.
He wondered if they would still do that when she went into business with Stone. Would she have time? Would she even want to do it?
Those were just a couple of the questions that had been running through his mind the past few days. He hoped to sit down with Stevie and Stone in the coming days so they could sort through how this would work. He wanted to ensure they didn’t get in over their heads on either side, so he figured it would help to set some guidelines in the beginning.
It was still surreal to think this was happening. That they were going to tackle another enormous endeavor together. This time, the three of them. If he were being honest, he would admit it was terrifying in a sense. It was also exciting, and he was doing his best not to confuse the two things.
“I’ll check in with him,” Nico promised Stevie. “Want me to invite him to dinner?”
