Page 13 of Heart of Stone
I’d been doing this for as long as I could remember. Ever since I was a little girl. It was the one thing I did whenever I needed time to think or clear my head. If I were ever stressed about something, I’d find a body of water and skip stones.
“He asked me last night. After you and I called it quits on the decorating, Stephen picked me up. We grabbed some takeout, went back to his place, and spent some time together. That’s when he asked.”
I tossed another stone across the lake, watching the plinkers at the start of the run and counting all the way through to the pitty-pats at the end of it. “What did you say?”
“I told him I wanted to think about it.”
That surprised me. So much so that when I crouched to find more stones, I remained squatting and brought my attention to her. “Really? Are you worried about doing it?”
Even beneath the layers of her clothes and the heavy wool blanket, I couldn’t miss the way she shrugged. “I don’t know. We’ve been dating almost a year now, and everything with him feels great. I guess I’m just worried I’ll end up in another situation like I did with Travis.”
Travis was Danielle’s ex-boyfriend. They’d been together for five years and had moved in with one another after two. He never popped the question, and she was left feeling like she’d wasted years of her life on someone who never intended to get serious.
The two of us weren’t exactly getting any younger, so I could understand her hesitation, especially when she was at the point where she was ready to settle down.
“Stephen’s not the same as Travis,” I assured her. “And consider yourself lucky. I’d give anything to be in your shoes right now.”
“Why? Are you hoping to get married within the next year?”
Laughter spilled out of me at that question, and the stone went flying from my hand, sinking into the water just a few feet in front of where I was standing. “I’m so far away from havingthatbe my reality. You must have lost your mind, Danielle.”
“Well, what is it, Natalia? What’s making you say that I’m so lucky to be in this predicament?”
I kept my focus on the stone I sent out across the surface of the lake. Only after it had stopped did I turn to face my friend again. “I might need to start looking for a new job.”
She gasped. “What?”
“It’s possible I took things a bit too far yesterday,” I confessed.
Her brow furrowed. “I don’t understand. When? What happened? Are you being serious with me, or is this some kind of joke to make me feel better?”
I tossed out the last stone, walked over to where Danielle was sitting, and lowered myself into the chair next to hers. “It’s Reid.”
“Reid? The new guy?”
I huffed. “He’s Barrett’s son. That makes him far more than justthe new guy.”
“I don’t think so.” Danielle tipped her chin down just slightly to sip from the mug she’d been holding beneath the blanket, warming her hands. “Tell me what happened with him yesterday.”
A long, frustrated sigh escaped. “I think it’s been more of a culmination of things throughout the week that ultimately led to me throwing an ice pack at him yesterday.”
The morning air was so crisp, Danielle seemed unable to tuck herself as tightly as she needed to into her blanket. “What did I miss?”
I tugged the sleeve of my sweatshirt up high enough to show her my arm and explained, “I tripped as I climbed the stairs to the first cabin. As it turns out, Reid is staying in that cabin…”
I went on to tell Danielle all about what happened yesterday when I climbed the stairs to the porch of the first cabin I chose to decorate, one I had presumed was empty. I explained how I tripped and fell, injuring my arm, and how Reid stepped out of the cabin, noting the blood and pain I was in, and took care of me.
“Oh, Nat, it sounds like he was being sweet.” Danielle was swooning so hard; she couldn’t hide the hearts in her eyes if she tried.
“Yeah, I thought so, too. It was the best mood I’ve seen him in since I met him. But then he went back to being a grouchy jerk.”
Her brows pulled together. “He went back to it? Are you telling me that he’s been a jerk before? What did he do?”
My thoughts instantly drifted back to the encounters I’d had with Reid earlier in the week, none of which I’d shared with my closest friend. “From the moment I was introduced to him, Reid’s been less than pleasant. At first, I tried to give him some grace. I assumed his grumpiness and lack of interest in conversation was the result of the change of scenery with moving back here temporarily or even the worry he experienced over what happened with Sylvia, but I don’t think that’s it any longer. He was so pleasant—kind, even—as he worked on bandaging me up and giving me some ice. And I was my usual self, so I went on and on about how much I enjoyed helping you with decoratingaround the retreat. That’s when he told me he didn’t want me to decorate the cabin he’s staying in.”
“Why not?”
I shrugged. “He’s just being miserable, I guess. I don’t know. It was like he had this one small moment of decency and compassion before he went right back to being a certified jerk.”
