12. Hunter
CHAPTER TWELVE
hunter
“Hello, heathens.”
My nephews clunked up the porch steps. They were shooting up like weeds, getting taller every day. While they were twins, Jake and Davy thankfully wore their hair differently. They were even starting to get a couple pimples here and there.
I did not envy them. The teen years sucked.
“Y’all are getting too tall,” I protested.
“Mom thinks we’ll be taller than her next year,” Jake said, clearly excited.
“I’m sure,” I agreed.
“Maybe we’ll be taller than Sammy one day,” Davy said.
“Maybe. Although he’s really tall.” I chuckled as they slid past me. Colt and Sammy got out of the truck carrying several bags.
“What the hell are you cooking up?” I asked. “There’s only five of us.”
“Three grown men and two pre-teen boys? Don’t you remember how much we ate at that age? They’re horrifying. I got enough vegetables and chicken to feed the entirety of Citrus Cove,” Sammy said, raising his brow at me as he came up the steps. “Also, you don’t have enough pans. So we brought some of mine. I’m here to get info too, of course.”
“Mmhmm. Naturally. Hey, Colt.”
“Hey, Hunter,” he greeted. “Still mad about me suggesting you and Emma work together?”
He was too smug about it. I bit my tongue as his smirk broadened, following Sammy inside.
“Should I text Cam?” I called as I shut the door behind all of us.
“He’s working the bar,” Sammy answered.
Made sense. While he wasn’t working as many hours as he used to, he was usually behind the bar a few nights a week.
Jake and Davy plopped on the couch, immediately making a grab for the remote. They were quick, and soon One Piece was on in the background. I joined Sammy in the kitchen as Colt went over and sat next to the boys, the three of them chatting.
I smiled. He and Sammy were damn good dads. I envied them in a way. While I loved the idea of being a dad one day, I was terrified of being awful at it. Maybe because of how complicated my relationship was with my own dad.
“So,” Sammy said quietly. “What’s wrong?”
A lump formed in my throat. I crossed my arms and leaned against the counter.
Like Cam, Sammy could tell when I was lying. The difference was that Sammy had an unnerving ability to pinpoint exactly what was going on. He was quieter, more observant, and more blunt than Cam.
He wouldn’t hit me with a bag of birdseed. But he would draw the truth out of me if I wasn’t careful. I didn’t know which was worse.
“Nothing’s wrong,” I said.
Sammy heated up oil in a pan. “I’m making fried chicken with some baked veggies and biscuits.”
“You’re a hero,” I said, my stomach grumbling in response.
“Being a dirty liar works up an appetite, doesn’t it?”
My jaw dropped and I scoffed. “Really? That’s how we’re starting this?”
Sammy smiled. “I love you. You know that. And I haven’t said what I’m thinking to anyone else yet. I listened to what Sarah and Haley had to say. And Cam too, for that matter. Hunter, none of this is sitting right with me.”
“Do I have to give you the same spiel?” I muttered. “Convince you that Emma is who I love?”
“I’d rather know what’s wrong, actually. You and Emma haven’t gotten along for years. Why? I have no fucking clue. She’s kind, cool, smart. And arguably, so are you.”
“Gee, thanks,” I muttered.
Sammy reached to turn on the oven, then started chopping away. Warmth filled my little kitchen, and he moved like he’d done this a thousand times. Laughter floated from the living room and I glanced at them before stepping away from my brother.
“Am I in the way?” I asked.
“Nope. You can stay there and talk.”
Too damn intuitive for his own good. “I love her,” I said.
“No, you don’t,” he said smoothly. “If you loved her, you wouldn’t have hid anything from everyone. You would have had a ring already. You would have known that she’s someone who deserves everything good in the world.”
“I fucking know that,” I growled.
“Then what?—”
“Can you drop it, please? I don’t want to do this. I’m tired. I’m tired of everyone always expecting me to be perfect. If I didn’t do this how all of you expected, then so be it. But it wasn’t for you. It’s not for any of you, it’s for her.”
Sammy pressed his lips together as he shoved a pan of veggies into the oven. I was hardly paying attention to what he was doing, keeping my gaze fixed on the fridge.
Uncomfortable silence settled between us as he dipped the chicken in buttermilk batter. I scrubbed my face and started to move out of the kitchen, but he tsked at me.
“Nope. Not running away,” he said.
“Either punch me or leave it be,” I snapped.
He snorted. “It’s been a long time since we’ve thrown punches and I’m not interested in kicking your ass.”
“I’ve let you and Cam get way too fucking cocky about that,” I said.
He laughed. “I mean, one of us has silver in his hair and the other one doesn’t.”
“I grayed early because of you fuckers.”
He grinned. “Grab me a beer, will you?”
“Yeah.” I sighed, the tension finally melting. “I stocked the fridge with some sparkling water for the boys.”
“That’s sweet. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.”
I went to the fridge as the oil started to pop. I grabbed two sodas and three beers, taking the sparkling waters to the boys first.
Davy perked up. “Oh, my favorite.”
“So I’ve heard.” I handed him one can and the other to Jake.
“Thank you,” they both chimed.
Colt craned his head back as I gave him a beer. “How kind of you, sir.”
I physically bit my tongue before I told him to fuck off, and narrowed my eyes on him instead. “Did you bring your children as a buffer, Colton Hayes?”
“I sure did.”
Damn him.
He cracked the beer open as the pirate kid on the screen stretched like a piece of gum. I frowned. “What is this?”
“It’s One Piece ,” Jake said. “We’re on episode six-hundred-something.”
“Six hundred? Jesus. How many episodes are there?”
“Over a thousand,” Colt strained.
My brows shot up. “Damn. That’s a lot.” I watched the screen for a few moments and it dawned on me that I’d seen some of it before. “Sammy used to watch this, I think?”
“Yep,” he said from the kitchen. “Greatest show ever.”
I chuckled as I headed back to the kitchen.
“You don’t want to sit next to me and watch Luffy take down his enemies in a heartfelt way?” Colt said sweetly.
It was either that, or be trapped in the kitchen with my too-insightful brother. I was between a rock and a hard place.
“I’m going to let Sammy torture me some,” I decided.
“Good luck.”
Davy gave me a curious side glance. “Is it because of Emma?”
Not the kids, too. “Yes.”
“And how you’re engaged?” Jake continued.
“Yep.”
“But you love her, right?” Davy asked, studying me. He was like Sammy, always observant.
“Yeah…”
“Then it’s fine. Right?” Jake asked.
“You’d think,” I said.
“We all love Emma,” Colt said. “So we’re being a little overprotective, maybe.”
“But Hunter is great.” Jake frowned at Colt. “He’s always working or helping someone. So isn’t he good for Emma, too?”
I nodded, crossing my arms. “Yeah. Exactly. Exactly that.”
Colt and Sammy glanced at each other, but said nothing. I went back to the kitchen and handed Sammy his beer. Now I was the smug one.
“So glad you brought them over,” I teased.
Sammy sighed, his expression softening. “I just want you to be happy. And I want Emma to be happy, too.”
“Me too,” I said. “That’s all I want, Sammy.”
“Then I’ll stop giving you shit. But if you fuck this up, there will be hell.”
“I know there will be.”