“Nice.” He held up his arm to show her his watch. “Mine does, too. I love it. Well, I’ll get to work on this and see what I can find. You’re lucky. Jace is a good one.”
Kale smiled again and someone fainted behind her.
Ariana rolled her eyes. “He’s just a man, y’all.” She crossed her arms and glared at Kale’s retreating back.
Jace looked at the ground and coughed. Aniyah shook her head. “He’s not just a man. He’s one fine-ass man.”
“Why don’t you like him?” Stella asked as Kale stopped to talk to Ariana’s family.
“I do. We’re like brother and sister, that’s all. We grew up together and we’re just seeing differently right now. A momentary spat.”
Aniyah leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Did you all hook up?”
Ariana’s eyes went comically wide. “No. Eew. Did you not hear the brother- sister part?”
“Then what is it?” Aniyah asked and Stella had to admit she wanted to know, too.
“We used to be in this immature competition about who could get the most famous person to date them. It was totally juvenile. After I got involved with Daughters of Elizabeth and started traveling the world to see human rights issues in person, I put a stop to the stupid competition. I grew up. He didn’t. We got into a huge fight and said some mean things to each other. However, they hurt more because they were true. He called me a materialistic spoiled brat. And I was. Truth always hurts the most, right? But I’m not anymore. I’ve really worked hard to see what I can do to help others. But last year Kale accused me of doing it only to get more attention.”
Ariana let out a frustrated breath. “We haven’t really talked since. We say hello and such when we see each other, but I miss my best friend.”
“You want me to shoot him?” Aniyah asked with all seriousness.
“I can dump a bunch of manure-covered mulch all over that fancy sports car,” Stella offered.
“I knew I liked you. That’s some devious shit right there,” Aniyah said with appreciation.
“No. I need to suck it up and go talk to him. But thanks, you two.”
Stella watched Ariana take a deep breath and square her shoulders as if preparing for battle.
“Ari,” Jace said, putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her from walking toward Kale. “I talked with Kale a couple of weeks ago about you. I think he misses you as much as you miss him. I also think he’s been going through a transition, too. You did call him an immature man-child who people made fun of because he never took anything seriously.”
“Yeah, and that really looks like it changed him,” Ari said dryly as she tilted her head toward the sports car.
“It did. There’s a lot going on behind the flashy car and easy-going attitude. But, it’s not my job to make you believe that he’s not a twenty-one year old party boy anymore. Talk to him. I think you both need to clear the air.”
“You didn’t tell him I missed him, did you?” Ari asked.
“Of course not. You’re my friend. I wouldn’t betray your confidence, just like I won’t betray his by saying anything else.”
“Fine.” Ari began to walk forward before turning back to them. “If he’s still being a jerk, I vote we go with Stella’s idea.”
Aniyah went off to tell her Sugar Bear how she didn’t shoot someone and Stella turned to Jace. “You think he can really catch who is behind this?”
“If anyone can hack it, it’s him,” Jace said reassuringly.
“Hey, y’all! There’s the talk of the town.”
Stella turned and gave Molly a hug as she joined them. “It’s so good to see you. Thanks for coming out to my garden center.”
“I’m happy to. I was going to plant some flowers tonight. Hey, I heard family dinner went well. Looks like I’ll have to share my work husband.” Molly gave her a wink and used her hip to playfully bump Stella’s hip.
“Typical man, right?” Stella teased. “Needs someone taking care of him during the day and at night.”
“Ha-ha.” Jace slung his arm around Stella’s shoulders and pulled her to him. “As long as I get to take care of you in bed,” he whispered for her ears only though Stella was sure the blush gave it away.
“You two are so cute.” Molly looked over to where Nolan was loading some flowers in her car. “Nolan assures me those all somehow go together to make a fancy decorative pot. Now I just have to figure out how to place them.”
“I can help you with that,” Stella said instantly.
“You did promise a rain check for a girls’ night. Although using you to decorate my pots doesn’t sound much like a fun night,” Molly said with a little laugh.
“You have wine, right?” Stella joked.
“You bet I do!”
“I can take you over to Molly’s in about an hour,” Jace told her.
“Did you miss the part about it being a girls’ night?” Molly teased. “I can wait around and take her when she’s ready. I can even drive her home later. Does that work?”
“It sounds perfect. I’m really looking forward to some girl time,” Stella said excitedly. Stella knew Jace didn’t like the idea of her going off alone, but she wasn’t going to be alone. She was going to be with Molly.
“Okay.” Jace agreed reluctantly. “I was going to go check on Porter before doing my rounds with Riley. I’ll see you back at my place. No one knows to look for you at Molly’s, so I don’t think you’ll need any backup. But, still, check in with me, okay?”
“Sounds like a plan.” Stella rose up on her toes and curled her dusty hands into his T-shirt as she kissed him. “I look forward to seeing you tonight. Give Porter my best.”
“Do you want me to come with you to check on Porter while Stella wraps up things here?” Molly asked Jace, who shook his head.
“No thanks. You two do your girl things. I’ll pick up dinner and hang with Porter for a bit before taking dinner to Riley and Matt. You two have fun.” Jace placed a slow kiss on Stella’s lips. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
Stella watched Jace head toward his SUV while the town began to decamp from her parking lot. The remaining customers were paying as Nolan and Karl help load the final trucks.
“Oh my gosh,” Molly giggled. “The L word? Girl, you need to dish.”
Stella knew she blushed, but she was also excited to get some giggle time in. “Give me just a minute to wrap up and I’ll tell you everything.”
21
Jace was about to knock on the cottage door when Parker hailed him. Cy and Gemma had an enormous farm where they raised cattle and grew crops. When Reagan and Riley left for college, Cy and Gemma had built two cottages on opposite ends of the back acreage.
Reagan and Riley shared one until they each got married. When Reagan married Carter, they moved to Ashton Farm, and Matt and Riley moved back into the cottage house after selling their house in the suburbs.
Porter and Parker spent so much time traveling on the professional rodeo circuit, they were hardly ever home. Four years ago while recovering from one the more serious injuries he’d gotten, Porter decided to build a barn near his house and start his own breeding program. Parker had instantly agreed to be his partner and together they started PD Rodeo.