Page 27 of The Stone Family Warrior

Liberty came out of the hug with Cheryse and Trent pulled her into a hug. “I wish I would have gotten the note twelve years ago, though. We could have written letters and stuff.”

Liberty let out a giggle, and she chastised herself for enjoying his cavalier attitude. She pushed him away. “I was a confused teen. It didn’t take me long to realize I was better off without the great Trent Stone.” Which wasn’t true, but she had to save some face.

He grinned. “The ‘great’ in front of my name sounds good.”

She slugged his shoulder. “And cocky.”

“True. For good reason.”

“I can’t believe you’re here,” Cheryse said softly.

“Me, either.”

Cheryse chuckled sheepishly. “I want you to know that I didn’t even open the note. It was still sealed when I gave it to him. I have felt guilty over this for twelve years, but I should’ve asked you before I even gave it to him.”

Maybe it was simply a release from the sadness and worry and built-up tension of the past few months, but Liberty found herself laughing.

Then Cheryse laughed.

Then Trent laughed.

Of course, Trent played the role by ripping his shirt off and flexing. He was clearly hamming it up for them. “Hey, if I was a woman, I couldn’t resist myself either.”

Cheryse rolled her eyes. “He is insufferable, isn’t he?”

Liberty felt like this whole conversation could be a repeat of when they’d been sixteen. “Puny. Your muscles are tiny.” She winked at Cheryse. “I would think a Navy SEAL would be much buffer than you.” Which was ridiculous, because the guy was built.

Cheryse laughed. “Right. You should see Hunter. He is way more built.”

“I did, and you’re right.”

Trent threw his arms up. “Lies!”

Cheryse put her had up for a high five.

Liberty laughed and high-fived her back.

“We still got it.”

Both women laughed harder. They were connecting, just as they had always connected as friends.

Trent pulled them in for a quick hug that was a little too rough. “Take it back, ladies, and no one gets hurt.”

“Oh my goodness.” Liberty put a hand to her cheek. “I haven’t laughed this hard for so long.”

“Hey, if I can bring you two back together by letting you pretend that my brother has bigger muscles than me, then I guess I will take one for the team.”

Liberty pointed at him. “You notice, Cheryse, that he still has his shirt off.”

“Oh, the real trick is getting him to put his shirt back on.” Cheryse giggled at her own quip, and Liberty joined in.

With a defiant look, Trent kicked off his flip-flops and jumped into the hot tub. “Hey, I need to soak. With my workouts, my muscles need soaking.”

“You splashed me!” Cheryse looked a bit peeved.

Trent splashed both of them. “Get in and it won’t matter.”

Cheryse rushed to the edge of the patio. “Stop it, Trent! I have that party!”

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