Page 78 of Christmas Crisis
At first, I couldn’t process the sight in front of me. The fuzziness of my brain gave new meaning to the term cognitive dissonance. “Stone?”
“In the flesh, babes.”
I looked him up and down, as though to confirm. “What…what are you doing here?”
“Figured I’d surprise you,” he said. “Hope that’s okay.” His words were benign, but his face didn’t match them. I’d been ignoring him for days.
He looked at Marley, who stood between us.
I recovered my equilibrium. “This is my sister, Marley.”
“Nice to meet you,” she said, clasping Stone’s hand briefly. “I’m a fan. My kids—I teach high school—love you too. Our family was so shocked to find out you knew Miranda.”
“I’m very glad to meet you too,” Stone replied affably. “To finally put a face to the name. And as far as knowing Miranda, I'm just glad the secret's out.”
“Can I have a minute with Stone?” I asked my sister.
“Wha—Oh, yes. Of course.” Marley started toward the living room just as James and Leo appeared in the archway.
“Leo! My man,” Stone exclaimed, stretching an arm out to clap Leo on the biceps. “Long time no see, bro.”
Leo whipped his face to mine. All it took was a subtle shake of my head and a widening of my eyes to let him know I hadn’t been expecting our visitor.
Stern-faced, Leo bobbed his head. “Stone.” He stepped behind me and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Stone, this brown-haired version of Leo is his brother James, Marley’s husband.” I introduced the two men, and they shook hands.
Leo kept his possessive grip on my arm. Stone stared at it with consternation, but his expression turned knowing when he eyed Marley and James again, as though to say,oh right. Leo’s touching you because they think you’re dating.
“This is…a surprise,” I said. A colossal understatement. Why was Stone here? I patted Leo’s hand before removing it, turning to him, Marley, and James. “I’m going to chat with Stone on the porch.”
It was cold outside, but I preferred to face the chilly air than to have this conversation where Leo or my sister could eavesdrop.
“Oh, of course,” Marley said. “How nice of your…friend to visit.” She turned her back to Stone and mouthed, “You sure you’re okay on your own?” to me. I nodded.
“I’m filming in Vancouver right now.” Stone grinned roguishly. “When I found out Miranda had come to Coleman Creek and was so close, I couldn’t resist.”
Marley seemed to buy it, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Evidently, she was not registering my lack of enthusiasm at the unannounced appearance of myfriend.
“Need me?” Leo asked under his breath.
“No. I think it’s better if Stone and I speak privately.” He frowned. I leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “I don’t know why he’s here, Bear. It’ll be easier if it’s only me asking. Keep Marley busy so she doesn’t try to listen in.”
He grunted softly before turning to Marley and James. “Let’s get this tree into the stand.”
I heard Marley whisper, “His car pulled up when I was in the carport. Crazy. Stone Caseman in our house.”
I grabbed my coat and exited onto the porch with Stone, closing the door behind me with asnick.
He reached for me, but I stepped back.
“So it’s like that?”
I ignored his pouty tone. “I don’t appreciate being ambushed. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”
“You weren’t picking up my calls, and you haven’t returned a text in days. We wrapped early today, so I figured I’d drive here to find out why. Make sure you were okay.”
From the way he phrased it, I gathered he would not have made the effort if they hadn’t finished filming early. As far as grand gestures went, that made this one on-brand for him.
