Stone pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the screen. “It’s Zane.”
“Answer it,” she said urgently.
She was obviously hoping it was good news. The morning after their eventful evening, he’d explained to Nico and Stevie that Zane was refusing to give his approval. They’d taken it in stride and even encouraged him to take some time to figure out what he wanted to do next. But he was through biding time. He’d called the school superintendent that morning and scheduled an appointment to talk about the future of the FFA program and how he could contribute. It might not be his ideal job, but it was something.
“Stone,” Stevie hissed as his phone continued to ring. “Answer. It.”
He swiped the screen to take the call and put the phone to his ear. “Yeah?”
“Hey. You got some time this mornin’ to talk?”
His first instinct was to tell Zane they had nothing to talk about, but he bit back the retort and said, “Yeah. Sure. Where?”
“My parents’ house. In half an hour?”
“I’ll be there.”
“Cool. See you then.”
The call disconnected.
“What did he say?”
Stone looked into Stevie’s hopeful gaze and relayed the few words they’d exchanged.
“Good thing it’ll only take you five minutes to get there.”
“Why’s that?”
She flashed a grin, and her gaze turned molten. “Because I was thinkin’ I needed to pay you for the gate.”
“I don’t need you to—”
“I wasn’t talkin’ about money, Stone,” she said pointedly, her eyes glittering with mischief.
“Oh.”Ohhhh.“What’d you have in mind?”
“Follow me and find out.”
Twenty-five minutes later, Stone was parking his truck next to Zane’s at his aunt and uncle’s house. Despite his reservations, he had a spring in his step. That was all Stevie’s fault. She’d blown more than his mind right there in her office with her seductive twist on her repayment—which had been completely unnecessary, but he damn sure wasn’t complaining.
It didn’t matter what Zane had to say because he was pretty sure the smile was firmly rooted to his face. Being back home in Coyote Ridge and having Stevie and Nico in his life was the best of everything as far as he was concerned. The rest would fall into place as it was meant to.
However, he would hear Zane out. It was the least he could do.
He got out of his truck and started toward the front porch but stopped when Zane called out to him.
Spinning around, he watched as Zane hopped out of his truck and made his way over. “Why aren’t you inside?”
Zane stuffed his hands in the pocket of his coat. “That conversation doesn’t involve me.”
Stone was confused. “I don’t under—”
“Look, man. I acted like an idiot.”
The about-face caught him off guard, but he faced Zane, willing to hear him out.
“I let my personal feelings get in the way. I’m sure Reilly told you, and I’m sorry about that. I fucked up.”
