Page 115 of 2204 Hunter Lane
“Until Monday. I have to fly back for a meeting but we have a good four days to sit and do nothing.” My brother placed a hand over Michelle’s. “A much needed break.”
The server returned with our checks, handing one out to Adam and one to Hunter as one by one, they tapped their cards.
“I got some scenic areas to show ya if you’re up for it? Don’t know if hiking’s somethin’ you like to do, but I got Bambi on it and I don’t think she’d mind watchin’ the kid for an hour or two?”
He turned to me with those sparking blue eyes, showing me that he truly wanted to bond with my brother; not to get into any good graces, but because he cared about what I cared about and I loved him for that.
Besides, I was dying for an excuse to bond with my baby niece. And Hunter just gave me the best reason in the world.
“Adam, the trails are stunning here. I’ll swing by tomorrow morning and watch her.” I insisted.
“Wait, wait –” Adam raised a hand. “What did you just call my sister?”
My cheeks heated as Hunter said, “Bambi. Like the deer.”
“That’s adorable,” Michelle piped, sliding out of the booth with Rosy fastened in the baby carrier.
As we headed out of Berandino’s with full stomachs, my brother stopped to pat Hunter on the back. “How does eight a.m. sound?”
“Call it nine and I’ll buy breakfast.” Hunter countered, knowing he’d get his way.
Of course he did and we parted ways as I settled into the passenger seat of Hunter’s truck.
“Today couldn’t have been more perfect,” I smiled, relaxing into the headrest.
He cranked the engine and grabbed my fingers, kissing my knuckles carefully before pulling out of the parking lot. “It’s about to get a hell of a lot better, sweetheart.”
Chapter Forty-Three
Hunter
Call me Cupid and tattoo my fuckin’ name on your wrist cause I really sprinkled rose petals around my living room and lit a couple candles to set the mood.
Bambi insisted she didn’t want anything for her birthday, but me being me, I managed to get her something I knew she’d appreciate.
There were so many things she loved, after all she really savoured the little things. That was a quality I really admired about her, and found myself taking habit of it subconsciously.
She really did make me a better person in more ways than I could count, ways that I never thought possible. I realized that over the course of the last few years, my drinking and driving really was the worst way I could’ve dealt with the loss of my mom. A part of me knew that all along, but no one ever pulled that realization out of me until her.
At the front door of my shed, I stopped her before she could enter. “Put this on,” I ordered, taking out a black blindfold from my pocket.
Her chocolate spheres narrowed before she turned her back to me and let me tie it around her head.
When her eyes were covered, I led her inside, inhaling the vanilla bean candle I lit a few minutes prior to letting her in.
“It smells good in here.” She chirped. “Is this the candle I got you from the market?”
I nodded even though she was blind like a bat underneath the cloth. “Yep, now sit here baby.”
She planted her ass on the chair I used for painting, sitting quietly as I snagged the red gift box that housed my present and placed it on her lap, unravelling the blindfold.
Her head tilted to the side as she surveyed the room before even realizing there was an object in her hands.Classic Bambi.
“Rose petals?” She gawked, her jaw sweeping the goddamn floor.
“Petals of roses, sweetheart.”
“You…” She poked a puny pointer at me. “You are a romantic, Hunter Lane, don’t you ever deny it.”
