No, Stone hadn’t set out to get tangled up with Leah Johnson, but not because he wasn’t attracted to her. She was certainly fuckable if you were into spoiled, smart-mouthed, overeducated women. She wasn’t exactly his type, but he’d learned that pickings were slim when you lived on a ranch.
When he’d first started, Leah had been twenty-three, living at home without a plan for her future. According to her, it wasn’t necessary because Daddy was going to take care of her. A few years passed, and he’d developed something of a friendship with her. She didn’t have many friends because she thought she was better than most people, but Stone had looked past that. To be honest, he hadn’t intended to screw her, but resisting her became damn near impossible when she set her sights on him. He eventually caved, insisting it was only sex. They’d kept their liaisons on the down-low for nearly two years. Then, a month ago, Doug walked in to find Stone and Leah in a rather compromising position. In the main barn.
Doug had been livid, insisting Stone man up and do the right thing, which, according to Doug, involved a wedding ring and a minister. When Stone told him he had no intention of marrying his daughter, the shit hit the fan. And when that declaration reached Leah’s ears, Doug wasn’t the only one chasing Stone off the property. Unbeknownst to him, Leah thought things were moving toward a walk down the aisle, too, and his rejection resulted in him peering down the business end of a double-barrel shotgun.
Needless to say, he’d high-tailed it.
Now, as he watched Nico’s truck turn and head back the way he’d come, Stone was reminded why he’d never even considered settling down with anyone.
That night with Nico and Stevie had been eye-opening for him. He’d gotten his first taste of hardcore,ride ’em till they begsex, which for many years was what he told himself it was. Deep down, he knew better. In the coldest recesses of his soul, Stone could admit something else happened that night. A connection had been established. One he’d refused to acknowledge because of how potent it had felt. But the timing couldn’t have been worse. At that point, none of them had even begun to live their lives, so he’d done the only thing he could do. He’d run like hell.
Seemed he’d gotten really good at doing that.
Stone started toward the barn, wondering whether Nico was married. Had he settled down, gotten himself a wife? Maybe a horde of kids? And what about Stevie? Was there some lucky bastard she went home to every night? They were both a few years younger than him. Most people who intended to settle down likely did so before then. At least, that seemed to be the case for the people Stone knew.
Didn’t necessarily mean it had happened for Nico or Stevie.
“Who were you talkin’ to?” Reilly asked when Stone reached the barn’s porch.
“Nico Daugherty.”
“Really?” A huge grin flashed on her face. “He’s the one you punched when you thought he dumped Chelsea, right?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s cool that he’s a big-shot landscapin’ architect now, right?”
Really? Architect? Why hadn’t he made that clear when Stone asked?
“He owns his own business,” Reilly continued. “D and S Landscape Solutions. Got an office out by Uncle Curtis’s ranch. His sister Niyah just got married to some super smart tech nerd. Adam’s his name. Adam Takahashi. They’re movin’ to California.”
Where the hell did this girl store all this information? Jesus.
“He sniffin’ ‘round Chelsea again?” Reilly asked.
“Who?”
“Nico.” She laughed. “The guy we’re talkin’ about.”
Right.
Stone cocked his head. “Why would you think he’s interested in Chelsea?”
She shrugged and spun on her boot heel before walking back inside. “He’s single now. He was engaged to a girl he dated for a long time. Melanie somethin’. She’s not from here.”
Stone assumed she meant specifically from Coyote Ridge.
“They were together for like two years before he popped the question. The engagement didn’t last all that long. Rumor is he called it off.”
He followed her, trying to pretend he wasn’t hanging on every fucking word.
“But I guess he wouldn’t be sniffin’ ‘round Chelsea.”
“Why’s that?”
“I heard he broke things off ’cause he’s gay,” she chattered on as she grabbed one of her boxes.
Stone helped, taking the two beside it and following her. “He’s gay?”
