Page 25 of Heart of Stone
It was like I’d been slapped across the face. “What?”
“This concept is confusing to you?”
“You live here?” My eyes darted around to the cabins around the lake. “Which one is yours?”
“I don’t live in these cabins. There’re the spots across the property where some of the staff stay. Buckeye Lodge. From the outside, they look like two cabins stuck together. They aren’t nearly as spacious as the ones right here, but they do the job. I have all I need there. And I realize it’s on the other side of this land, but I thought I was free to roam wherever I wished on theproperty, whether to skip stones on this lake or to hike on the trails weaving through the trees. But since it appears to be an issue for you, I can stick to driving myself out to Lake Erie to get my fix in the future.”
“Natalia, I wasn’t saying?—”
“It’s fine, Reid. I get it. You don’t like me.” Something that looked a lot like hurt flashed in her face as she dropped the stones that had been clenched in her fist to the ground. It was like I’d done just what she told me the day she’d fallen on the stairs of my cabin—I was stealing her joy. “I’ve been out here for a while as it is. I can go.”
She took one step to move around me when I said, “You don’t have to leave. I… I…” My voice trailed off. I should’ve apologized. If I’d been home in Pittsburgh, I would’ve done that. It was likely I wouldn’t have been so miserable to begin with. But I was bitter being here, and this woman was getting the short end of the stick as a result. “You can stay. I’m not going to be here this morning anyway.”
Her eyes dropped to what I held in my hands, and judging by the look that washed over her, it was the first she’d even noticed it. “Is that… Are you a skateboarder?” Natalia’s attention shifted between my face and the board. The look of pure shock on her face was enough to have me clamping my lips together to swallow my laughter.
“It’s a streetboard.”
Questions filtered into her expression, her brows knitting together. “And that’s different than a skateboard?”
“It is.” I held the board up between us to show her the difference as I explained, “With a skateboard, you can hop on and off easily. With a streetboard, your feet are strapped in.”
“That’s kind of like a snowboard.”
One half of my mouth quirked up. “Exactly. But if you look at this board, you’ll see that you can pivot on your feet in a way youcan’t on a snowboard. These pivots and the movement of your body are the way you get the board to move.”
Surprisingly, Natalia reached out to the end of the board and shifted it. “Wow. I’ve never heard of streetboarding. And I’ve never seen one of these. It sounds like it’d be fun.”
Whether she genuinely meant that, was hoping for an invite to try it out sometime, or perhaps a combination of both, I didn’t know. Even if I thought that teaching someone like her could be enjoyable, I didn’t dare make the offer. “It is fun. And it’s great exercise, too.”
The defeated look in her expression that had been present only moments ago was gone, replaced by a warm smile and relaxed shoulders. “Well, you should get to it, then. Don’t let me keep you here.”
I nodded, jerking my chin slightly at the lake. “And you should stay. Throw your stones.”
Her features softened further, her eyes gleaming. “Okay. Just for a little bit longer. Enjoy your day off, Reid.”
The genuine tone in her voice had me swallowing roughly. So quick. Natalia had been on the brink of devastation moments ago, and just like that, even if I didn’t necessarily deserve it, she found it in her heart to be kind to me.
“You, too, Natalia.”
Without another word, I turned and walked off. And though I didn’t dare look back to confirm if I was right, I swore I could feel her stare on me until I disappeared out of her line of vision.
NINE
Natalia
“Please don’t be mad at me. I know this is last minute, but I need to cancel brunch this morning.”
Last minutewas an understatement. I’d already arrived at the café and ordered for the both of us. Danielle got the same thing every time we came here. “You’re my best friend, Danielle. Of course, I’m not mad at you. But is everything okay? This is unlike you.”
She sighed, revealing the truth I hadn’t wanted to face. Something was weighing heavily on her. “Technically, yes. Everything’s fine. It’s just that… Well, I’d been putting off having the talk with Stephen about me moving in. But I finally did it last night, and things didn’t go as well as I’d hoped. He was disappointed, and we spent a lot of time talking. I probably should’ve waited until this morning to say something, because I think we were both so tired, the conversation wasn’t very productive. He went home last night, but he just called me this morning. He’s on his way back over to talk.”
My heart squeezed. “I’m so sorry. Please don’t worry about meeting up with me. Just focus on you and Stephen and your relationship right now. I’ll be here for you if and when you need to talk.”
Silence came through the line. I could only assume Danielle was running through whatever conversation she and Stephen had last night.
“You’re already at the café, aren’t you?”
She knew me too well. “Already ordered.”
