Page 193 of Rough and Rugged

I rub my temples as I stand on shaky legs. I feel Gunner rub against my leg and let out a low whimper. “I’m okay, buddy.” But I don’t feel okay. I’m so confused. I need to talk to my mom. She has to know more.

Just as I make it through the office door into the hallway, Hunter reaches the bottom of the stairs, and apparently I’m not too upset to notice his sleep-rumpled hair, low-slung sleep pants, and shirtless state.

As he looks over and sees me, I see the exact moment he puts together where I’ve just come out of and the state I’m in.

“Ariana…” he starts, but I just shake my head and put out my hand.

“I’m sorry, Hunter… I’ve got to go.” With that, I jog past him up the stairs and quickly put on my clothes from yesterday. With only a quick pat on Gunner’s head, I rush out the door.

Later that afternoon, I’m sitting on the patio of my mom’s condo, surrounded by crumpled tissues and clutching a large mug of steaming coffee.

“Wow, Mom. I wish you would’ve told me the truth sooner. I understand now why you and Dad chose to keep it from me, but I would have understood. I might have been able to help more,” I say on a soul-deep sigh.

She pats my arm as she says, “I’m sorry, honey. It took your dad a lot of time and therapy to own up to the trouble he caused. He felt such shame, and he didn’t want to dull the spark in your eye; you always thought he hung the moon. I promise, in the end, he knew that Jackson Industries did the best thing for his company and employees; he didn’t leave this earth holding any anger or animosity.”

“Mom, I need to tell you why I asked about this today. It turns out that Hunter Jackson has been coming into the coffee shop for over five years. I didn’t know that he was the CEO of Jackson Industries until today when I stumbled upon a file with Dad’s name on it.

“I’ve had feelings for Hunter for a while now, and I spent the night with him and found that file at his home. I felt so conflicted, and like I turned my back on Dad.”

“Oh no, honey. Your dad would be so happy you’ve found someone that makes you happy. He makes you happy, right?”

“Yes, of course. But it’s new, and I don’t know where we stand. I left in a rush this morning. Anyway, I don’t know what will happen, but I just wanted to know the full story. I think I’m going to head home; I have an early start tomorrow.”

We say our goodbyes, and I head home with a lot to think about before I see Hunter next.

Chapter Nine

Hunter

AsIwatchArianadrive back down the mountain, I can’t help but mentally beat myself up. Iknewthis would be how it all ended, but I still decided to play with fire anyway.

I can’t regret last night with Ariana, even if it’s my only time with her. She was as stunning and giving as I knew she’d be. The memory of her glorious body and the sounds of pleasure she made will live on replay in my brain.

Just as I turn to the kitchen to get my caffeine kick start so I can sort out the mess I’ve made, my phone buzzes on the counter. A quick glance shows that it’s my best friend and former right-hand man, Gage.

“Hey, man. What’s up?” I grunt into the phone as I head over to the pour-over station. I see that Ariana had it all set up, and a fresh batch is sitting waiting for me.

“Morning, Hunter. Sorry to call so early, but I wanted to see if you’d be up for some company next week. I’ve got a meeting out that way and thought I’d take some time off and detour your way when I’ve wrapped things up,” Gage rumbles out in a much too cheerful voice.

“Yeah, come on by.” My answer comes off a bit abrupt, and the silence on the other end makes it clear he noticed.

“What’s going on, man?”

“Shit. You got a few minutes? This is a shit-storm,” I respond.

“Hit me with it, Hunter.”

I proceed to remind him of the deal between Jackson Industries and Dublin Inc. and then explain about Ariana and what all went down.

“Well damn, Hunter. When you get yourself into a mess, you go big. The best thing you can do is talk to her. The company bailed her dad out of a real mess; we did him a favor. I get that he slandered the company pretty vocally afterward and that she probably wasn’t told the truth of what went down, but you weren’t the villain in that story,” Gage says.

“Yeah, I’ve just got to figure out how to get her to listen to me and how to word it so her dad doesn’t sound like a total piece of shit,” I say with a heavy sigh while I absently pet Gunner to calm my racing mind.

“I gotta run, man. I’ll call you later to see how things went and to let you know when I’m arriving next week. Good luck,” Gage says before hanging up.

All right, I’ve had some caffeine and a pep-talk now to go work out how I’m going to fix things with Ariana. The best place to do some planning and plotting is in my workshop while I get lost in a project.

I let Ariana have yesterday, and honestly I wanted to make sure I knew exactly the right way to explain what happened between me and her dad before I saw her again. So here it is, the second time this week I’m heading back down the mountain and to Whole Latte Java.

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