Page 26 of The Stone Family Warrior

Chapter 6

Liberty had worked all day long, going through things in the office. Her grandmother, for all her very good qualities, was a hoarder. Liberty had gone through so many files of “correspondence” and so many years of birthday cards, she could scream. Yet even though she knew the cards were silly, they had meant something to her grandmother, so she had spent the better part of her day reading every single one. She wasn’t surprised to find a file with her name on it. Every card or letter she’d ever sent to her grandmother was saved. She put aside that file to keep, even if that made her a hoarder too.

One of the photos in her file gave her pause. She stared at a picture that depicted her, Will, Ian, and her grandmother in California, when her grandmother had come to visit. She remembered how expertly her grandmother had held the wiggly little Ian, pulling him in tight and telling her she needed to swaddle him in the blanket tighter to settle him. Her grandmother had been so wise. Now they were all gone, leaving her with loss and pain. That had been the theme for the day. Liberty had been sitting here too long. A run would probably do her good. Quickly, she changed into shorts and a T-shirt. She checked the sky; it might rain on her again, but she didn’t care. She needed the release.

She hit the sand as quickly as she could, pushing in her air pods and putting on her old 2000s Pandoraplaylist. Running had become her release over the past year, and she didn’t miss a day. The running, coupled with barely eating, had left her thin. Maybe too thin by someone like her grandmother’s standards, but she didn’t do it on purpose. She just wasn’t hungry.

She ran all the way down to the Stone Family Inn, then paused. The home was gorgeous. There was a tiny bit of anticipation as she stared up at it. Maybe Trent would somehow see her and emerge, that stupid grin on his face, and ask her to dinner again.

Wait. Did she want to go to dinner with him?

She took off running again, going past the house and all the way into town where the city park ended the public beach. Her thoughts were with Trent Stone. She remembered the way he’d so gently held her the night before and told her that if she wanted to hang out for any reason, she could call him. A distraction. His words echoed in her mind. She thought of their hour of texting the night before. Should she text him again? Ask him how he was doing?

No. No. No. Why was she even thinking that?

It unnerved her that she’d tossed and turned the night before, finally falling asleep and having a dream that she was on the beach. Ian had been there, and she’d been so happy as she’d played with him. She’d searched for Will, but she hadn’t been able to see him no matter how hard she’d tried. Finally, she’d gathered up Ian in her arms. Trent had chosen to show up just then, wearing shorts and puffing out his bare chest. She’d awakened feeling scattered and shocked that Trent had been in her dream.

By the time Liberty returned from her run to the house, a drizzle of rain had started. She paused next to the pool. The cement guy had done a good job of scraping and re-painting today. He’d said that in one more day, he would fill the pool. Boom. Done.

She marveled at the hot tub, which was filled to the brim. Wow, the guy had worked miracles by simply draining and cleaning and refilling it today. Even though she hadn’t been in the pool or hot tub—or any pool or hot tub—in a long time, Liberty found herself pulling out one of her old swimsuits from the room that had always been hers. A soak in the hot tub would be heavenly.

She slid into the water and relished the bubbles, allowing herself to relax. Oh sweet heavens, this was nice. A chuckle escaped her at the thought; “sweet heavens” was something her grandmother had always said.

The relaxed feeling didn’t last long. She heard someone unlatching the side gate. “Hello?” she called out, halfway standing, hating that she was so vulnerable. “I have a gun!” she yelled, wishing she wasn’t lying.

“So do I.” Trent walked through the gate and held it open for someone.

“Trent?” She stood and grabbed her towel, stepping out of the hot tub.

“If I would’ve known it was a pool party, I would’ve brought my suit.” Trent winked as he walked toward her. “I can also just take my shirt off. That works too.”

Liberty wasn’t focused on Trent’s snarky comments; she was staring at the woman who’d come with him. “Cheryse?”

Cheryse had always been beautiful. Tall, with the kind of legs that went on for miles. The beach crew boys had commented on her legs quite often. She’d always taken great care of herself, and now was no exception. She had long jet-black hair down to her waist. She wore a black-and-white polka-dot dress with black leggings and heels. Her makeup was perfect, but there was a sad look on her face. She bustled toward Liberty and held her arms open. “Lib, I came as soon as I heard you were in town.”

It wasn’t polite to dodge such a hug, and there was really no way out of an embrace like this. Liberty found herself returning the hug. All the old feelings of anger and resentment started to dissipate. “What are you doing here?”

Cheryse pulled back but kept her hands on Liberty’s shoulders. “I need to apologize. I have been the worst friend to you. There’s truly no excuse.” Her eyes became misty with tears, and she hugged her again. “Trent told me about your husband and son. I’m so sorry.”

Wasn’t this type of friendship the exact thing the therapist had recently told her she needed in her life? Wasn’t this something she’d missed? “Thank you.”

The truth was, she had never gotten good at accepting apologies over her husband and son. It wasn’t often that she had to do it anymore, but it always felt horrible. Final. Like every time she acknowledged that they were gone, it was her fault all over again.

Cheryse let go of her, and her face fell. “I gave Trent the note today.”

Embarrassment washed over her. “What?”

Trent held up the letter. “Yeah, I knew you thought I was hot. I knew we could have been soul mates.” He put his fist to his chest, acting dramatic and a bit silly. “I love you, too.”

“Oh gosh.” More embarrassment pulsed to life within Liberty. “I can’t believe you still had it.”

Cheryse glared at him. “Trent. Don’t.” She turned to Liberty and smiled. “Sorry. Will you forgive me?”

Liberty couldn’t stay mad about something so silly. “I forgive you.”

Cheryse hugged her again. “Thank you.”

This was … not what she’d expected.

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