Page 29 of The Stone Family Warrior

It occurred to her that Trent and Hunter were still close to Cheryse for a reason now. They wanted to protect her. The thought lifted her spirits, and it made her see Trent in a whole new light.

Cheryse exhaled as she stepped away. “Well, now that we’re both back here, we can have some time to catch up.”

“I don’t know how long I’m staying, but I’d like that.”

“Maybe you should stay.” Cheryse reached out, taking Liberty’s hand and giving it a squeeze. “South Port’s kind of the place to be. The whole beach crew seems to have made their way back. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you … I don’t know, kept it?”

It was strange that everyone kept saying that, and she’d been warming up to the idea ever since reading her grandmother’s letter last night. “It feels like it would be a lot of work,” she hedged.

Cheryse gave her a soft smile and looked at Trent. “We’d help.”

“Of course,” he agreed.

Their generous offer floored her. “Thanks, but I’ll probably sell.”

Abruptly, a horn blared from the driveway and Cheryse’s phone buzzed.

Cheryse looked startled, then took a look at her text. “Roger’s here.” She cast a glance at Trent. “I’m late, and you heard him talk about how much he hated being late the other day.”

Not only was Liberty a bit appalled that some guy would drive up into the driveway and blare his horn like that when they weren’t teenagers anymore; she was also surprised at how upset Cheryse was at the idea of making the guy late.

“Can we catch up another day?” Cheryse asked, offering Liberty a goodbye hug.

“Sure.”

“Okay, Trent send me her number.”

“Done!”

Cheryse backed away. “I’ll text you tomorrow.” Cheryse paused, then jerked a thumb at Trent. “Just so you know, this guy is a horrible date, doesn’t know how to connect, says the wrong thing … He’s pretty much the same guy he was at sixteen.”

Trent grunted. “She doesn’t date." He flashed her a smile. "And I love you too, Cheryse.”

Liberty couldn’t help but laugh at the crazy situation.

“But he is a great friend.” Cheryse winked at him, then turned back to her. “You might let him be your friend if you want to deal with whining.”

With a scoff, Trent asked, “Did I mention you’re off the friend list, Cheryse?”

Cheryse moved to the side door and waved a hand. “See you guys.”

“Bye,” Liberty said, trailing after her and watching Cheryse run for the car.

Roger honked again.

“Coming!” Cheryse yelled.

They drove away, and Liberty furrowed her brow in confusion. She closed the door and turned to Trent. “Did Roger just beep his horn for her and she went running?”

For the first time since she’d known Trent, he looked ticked off. “Yeah. Real nice guy, huh?”

She remembered that he and Hunter had spouted off things about the guy yesterday. On impulse, she put on a Northeastern accent. “That’s Haaarvard class right there.”

Trent looked surprised, and then a huge grin brightened his face. “Haaarvard through and through.” His accent was even better.

She burst out laughing. This was the lightest she’d felt in a long time. Caught up in the moment, she gestured to the door. “What if I call for a pizza and we soak in the hot tub until it gets here?”

Trent’s eyebrows went up. “If you’ve just asked me out, I accept, but let me order the pizza on my app. I have major pizza connections in this town.”

“I’ll let you.” Had she just asked Trent Stone to hang out with her tonight? “But remember, this is not a date,” she added as she turned away.

“I wouldn’t even date you if you begged now,” he called back.

She feigned righteous indignation. “Jerk.”

“The great Trent Stone never disappoints.”

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