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Heart of Stone

Page 110

by M. Hartley

The door swung open, breaking the moment. Cooper strolled in, his boots thudding against the hardwood.

I sat up, running my tongue over my canine before rolling my eyes in his direction.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said, stepping up to Colton’s desk. “Wait,” he looked around the room, his eyes squinting. “Why is your desk crooked?” He tilted his head, investigating the space.

“Don’t worry about it,” Colton said, his tone gruff and forward. “Let’s just get on with this.”

“What are those?” I asked, pointing at the items hanging from Cooper’s grasp.

In his hand, he held two pairs of very small, very metallic short shorts.

My jaw dropped before laughter overtook me.

“You found them!” I shrieked, pointing at the tiny, glittering fabric.

“Yup,” Cooper smirked. “The exact ones we wore in high school. Though, we are much…bigger now.”

And I knew exactly how big Colton was.

There was no way in hell he’d fit into those while busting a move on stage.

Grinning, I stood and sauntered toward Cooper, plucking one pair from his hand.

“Hey, Tawns,” Cooper greeted, tossing a friendly wave in her direction.

“Hello, Mr. Stone,” she replied sweetly, flashing him a smile.

Colton stood, placing his hands on his hips as he examined the tiny scrap of fabric that was supposed to pass as clothing. He let out a sharp huff, muttering something under his breath as he stepped around Cooper, moving toward the open space in his office.

“What was that, brother?” Cooper asked, throwing me a wink before trailing after him.

“I said, ‘For fuck’s sake,’” Colton repeated but this time louder.

Tawnie and I exchanged amused glances before following them as Colton opened his office door. We were heading to the space where the talent show would be held. I needed them to see the stage, to get a feel for the space for their first official rehearsal.

Colton sighed, shaking his head. “Do you realize the ammunition you just handed her?” He shot a look at Cooper before nodding toward me.

“Precisely,” Cooper answered, grinning as the elevator doors slid open and we all piled inside.

Standing between them, I stole a glance at the Stone brothers. Seeing them side by side again, it was striking just how identical they were.

Same height. Same rough-cut, tapered style hair in that dirty brown color, both had a hint of gray at the temples. Same sharp jawline and deep blue eyes. The only difference? Cooper had a certain ruggedness to him, a rough-around-the-edges quality that Colton had mostly smoothed out. Not entirely, though. He was still rude to the world, and honestly, I liked that about him—especially since I had the privilege of seeing a deeper side.

My gaze flickered to Cooper again. His hands were dirt-stained, his skin a little more tanned. I imagined Colton had been the same when he worked more outside: calloused hands, fresh scrapes, and bruises marking his skin. Now, those injuries had faded into rough-hewn scars.

Then, because my dirty, dirty mind never knew when to quit, a thought flashed, unbidden and far too tempting.

How it would be to have both Stone brothers at my mercy…

Oopsie.

What was a woman to do when she had two insanely sexy cowboys in her orbit at once?

COLTON AND COOPER ended up not doing their dance from high school, and I’d be lying if I said a part of me didn’t wish I’d get to see it. Considering Cooper had brought the shorts in, I was thinking of ways I could convince them both to slap those bad boys on and just give a show for me. Colton fought the idea of reliving the Mr. Lucky Lake moment and Cooper had given in. They landed on something else that would still most definitely turn heads and fits the ranch perfectly.

Deciding I should at least try to be productive, I left Tawnie in charge of filming and made my way to the back of the room, settling into a folding chair with my laptop. There was still a lot to prep for the talent show. I needed to finalize the flyers and get them posted around the ranch tonight, giving people enough time to sign up. Not only were the guests encouraged to participate, but I’d also opened it up to the employees.

The goal? To create a sense of community. Stone Ranch thrived on its values of helping others, and I wanted to make sure this event stayed true to that message.