Page 38 of The Stone Family Warrior

Some of the pictures were clearly newer. Liberty peered closer at one that featured Trey, Ava, a son who must be Charles, and their cute baby. So cute. Next were pictures of Kensi, Tim, and their baby. Her heart melted. There was a picture of Marshall and Kat and a bigger son, along with a new baby. She couldn’t believe it; all of their beach crew was right before her eyes. Then Brooks and … she actually didn’t know who he was standing next to. Sure, she’d seen some pictures when she’d googled the Stones and she’d seen a picture of Brooks and this woman, but she wondered how he knew her.

The back door burst open, and Trent came in with a huge plate filled with steaks and a huge pair of tongs draped over it. “It’s done and it’s perfect.”

She moved back into the main area and worked her way to the table. It was set with Christmas plates and décor. It struck her that she still hadn’t done anything for Christmas this year.

Trent put the steaks on the table, next to a salad and some rice. “Bon appétit.” He moved behind her chair and pulled it out for her.

“It’s not a date. You don’t have to do that,” she said, feeling awkward as she lowered herself into the seat. Not a date. She repeated it to herself, but she couldn’t make herself believe it. Why had she gone to such lengths with her hair and makeup if it wasn’t a date?

Trent helped her scoot in, then turned to his chair. “Yeah, yeah.” He sat and waited, looking between them.

She wasn’t sure what he was waiting for. She remembered all the times she’d come to dinner at the Stone family house when they were kids, and his mother would always make sure someone prayed. “Do you want me to pray?” she asked quietly.

He hesitated, and it felt like he didn’t really know either. “Sure. Might as well.” He put his hands together and closed his eyes.

“Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for this food. Thank you for Trent and all his work. Thank you that we could be … friends. Amen.”

“Amen,” Trent said loudly. Then he reached for his silverware. “Okay, you’re in for a treat with this meat. It’s a Southwest blend, and I’ve had it on the smoker the perfect length of time.” He flashed her a grin and picked up a steak, then put some salad onto his plate.

Liberty couldn’t help but smile at how manly he was. She thought of how he’d grunted over meat the day before. Will had been a vegetarian, and to accommodate his beliefs, she’d stopped eating meat. Maybe fish once in a while, but …

She stared at the hunk of meat on the plate.

“Mmm,” Trent said around a huge bite of meat. “You okay? Did you want this cut?” He swung his knife to point at the steak. “I can give you mine if you want it.”

The sincere way he said it made her laugh. “Uh, no.” She picked up her silverware and put her napkin on her lap. “It looks wonderful, thank you.”

Trent watched her. “Shoot,” he said, hurrying to do the same with his napkin. “I always forget that. Kensi tells me I’m a disgusting pig.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Liberty said. She used her fork to pick up the steak and ease it onto her plate, following up with some salad and rice. Will hadn’t done much of the cooking, and she appreciated Trent’s efforts. “It smells delicious. You really went to too much work.” She met his gaze and took a bite, dramatically closing her eyes. Wow, it was good.

He grinned and reddened a bit, which felt funny to her. “Nah, it’s okay.”

“So good.” The man was embarrassed that he’d cooked for her? Interesting.

“I love to smoke meat. I usually do a salad and rice with it. So you got the whole Trent special.”

That made her smile. “Not the slaying special?”

He pointed his fork at her. “Stop.”

She giggled.

His smile widened. “I like it when you giggle.”

It was strange that she had been giggling around this man. “I guess my giggle has come back.”

“That’s a good thing.”

“I guess it is.”

He cleared his throat and took another bite. “Actually, you can always tell a true warrior by how he smokes his meat.”

“Really?”

“I’m sure that’s somewhere in Aztec history or something.”

She laughed. Had she really turned into this kind of girl? The kind who laughed at all the guys’ jokes? She put a piece of steak in her mouth, and it literally melted. “Wow this is good.”

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