Page 66 of Embraced at Seaside
Hunter nodded, smiling to himself with the memory of that afternoon. “You know, Pop, there was a time when my work was everything. I lived for it. I craved the feel of the cold metal in my hands. Knowing that whatever I had inside me would come out in what I created.” He gazed into his father’s deep-set eyes. Eyes he’d looked into his whole life and seen endless support.
“And now?” his father asked.
“Now I still feel the same love of my work. I could never stand in front of a class and teach, like Matt, or tattoo people’s skin, like Sky. And the way you and Pete refinish boats is incredible, but it’s also too regimented for me. I need the freedom my work offers. I need to be able to visualize what I want and turn those visions into reality.” He inhaled and blew it out slowly. “But for the first time in my life, I found something else that fulfills me in ways I never imagined possible, someoneelse. She challenges me, Pop, and makes me want to be a better person. More caring. Stronger, but in a different sort of way.”
“Sounds like me when I met your mother.”
He smiled, thinking of his mother. “The funny thing is, with her it’s not about fulfilling my hopes and dreams. It’s about fulfilling hers.”
Hunter pushed to his feet, filled with purpose and determination. “Pop, I have an idea.”
“You usually do,” his father mumbled as he got to his feet. “You know, you don’t always have to act on your impulses, Hunter. You could contemplate, let things settle for a little while, and then make a decision with a level head.”
He smiled and draped an arm over his father’s shoulder. “Wasn’t it you who told me that levelheaded decisions have no place where women are concerned?”
His father laughed. “Probably so.”
“Well, then, you should say ‘I told you so.’ Because it’s definitely true where my woman is concerned.”
WHY DID EXHIBITION matches always run late? The match was supposed to begin at two o’clock, and by four o’clock they were just finishing the third weight class. Jana was up next, and she was a nervous wreck. She was running on no sleep, too much coffee, too little training, and a heart that felt like it had been filled up like a helium balloon that soared to cloud nine, only to find it had a pinhole leak and was making a slow descent back down to earth.
“Ready, sis?” Brock helped her put on her gloves while he spoke. “Whatever’s got you more jittery than a coke addict, kick it to the curb, because, baby, you’ve got this. You’re fierce, determined, and you’ve got a harder punch than any woman in your weight class. Focus, Jana.”
How could she focus when she felt like her world was careening out of control again? She should be at the competition with Hunter, not fighting in a match she didn’t really care about.
She held up her boxing gloves. “Can you just check my texts for me quickly? Hunter had his competition today for a sculpture he was making, and I was supposed to go. I just want to know if he won.”
“That’s what you’re stewing over? Jana, we could have forfeited this match.” Brock grabbed her cell phone and checked her text messages. “You’ve got, like, a zillion messages from Sky and one from Hunter. Which do you want first?”
“Sky.”Because Hunter’s might not be as nice.
Brock began reading Sky’s message. “‘OMG. Hunter is a finalist. SQUEE! He is one of three finalists, fingers crossed.’” He arched a brow. “Squee?”
Jana smiled, too happy to respond to his question. “He’s a finalist. That’s amazing.”
“There’s more. Do I really have to read them all? You go up in seven minutes—”
“Read them!” Her happiness was layered in guilt. Hunter had placed as a finalist, but she’d missed it. He never asked her for a thing, and here she was, fighting instead of going to the event he’d been working toward for weeks. She really did suck as a girlfriend. She made a decision right then and there that from now on she would focus on Hunter. No matter what else was going on in her life, she was going to make sure she was there for him. And if he needed her to modify her sexy dancing in order to feel more comfortable, then she’d do that, too. It was a small concession, wasn’t it? He’d done so much for her.
Brock sighed and continued reading Sky’s texts. “‘He looks so nervous. And OMG if you could see the guy he’s up against. He’s such a nerd LOL.’” He lifted his eyes. “Jana. I’m not doing this.”
“Fine, just skip to the last message from her and read that.” She waited, hoping Hunter had won the competition.
“‘They’re not doing the final judging until later. Maybe you can still make it.’”
“Good,” Jana said. “Everyone’s late today. Maybe I can make it.”
The announcer called for Jana and her competitor.
“You’re up, sis.” Brock set her phone in her bag and took her by the shoulders. “I want you to use that feel-good energy to win this fight, you got it?”
Jana nodded. “Just tell me what Hunter’s text says.”
“Come on, Jana. That’s not focusing.” He grabbed the phone with a huff, swiped the screen, and read, “‘We need to talk.’”
Chapter Thirty-One
THE CROWD CHEERED as the winner pranced around the ring with her hands in the air. Jana took her wounded ego and battered body back to the locker room, shrugging off Brock’s consoling words and trying to ignore the blood dripping down her cheek. She’d been so sidetracked about Hunter’s cursory text, and the guilt of missing his competition, that she’d completely lost focus.
