Chapter 4 Hunter
Sunday December 2, 3:07 p.m.
Hunter would recognize those pink boots anywhere. And the adorable dark eyes that went with them. Actually, she was the whole reason he put a pink hat in the window display that morning. He did not remember ordering it, but there it was, hiding in the back room in a box of winter hats.
“Oh. Hunter. Wait, you work here?” Rosa stopped a few steps inside.
He scratched his beard with his right hand, trying not to stare at her. “Well, yeah. I sort of own the place.”
Rosa’s eyes widened. “No wonder it came so highly recommended.” She smirked.
Hunter smiled back. He shouldn’t have been surprised to see her, except that he was. Tourists were an unpredictable bunch. Some of them swept into town and bought everything for their outdoor adventures, only to never use them before heading back to their regular lives.
Was R osa the same wishy-washy type?
“So, I assume you want to try on some real hiking boots, then?” Hunt asked.
She nodded. “Yeah. But only the kind that will keep me from falling off the sides of mountains. If you have anything available.”
He shook his head, looked down at the floor and laughed. When he glanced up again, she was smiling, staring at her hands. Hunter’s heart beat faster as his gaze stayed on her, the way she bit her lip causing heat to rise up his neck.
J ust a customer, Hunter. Chill, dude. But she was more than that. He had rescued Rosa. And despite many cute girls walking through the doors of Bavarian Boots over the past few years, he could honestly say none of them pricked his heart.
Until now.
Hunter led her to the right side of the store, bathed in light from the large front window. The right wall was full of hiking boots of all shapes and sizes on display shelves. “Anything look interesting?” Hunter asked, facing her.
She stopped, her piercing dark eyes taking in the array of options, then glancing at him. “Uh. Yeah. I mean.” Rosa smiled, her long lashes fluttering. “Listen, I honestly don’t know what I want. Er, need. ” She shook her head. “Can you help a city girl out?”
He stroked the right side of his beard, taking a step towards her. “Sure, I can help a city girl. But I need to know what you plan to do with them. The boots, I mean.” The memory of her on top of him on Icicle Ridge flashed in his mind. His heart raced.
She let out a sigh. “Hiking. Lots of hiking. In the snow?” Rosa shrugged. “But safe distances from any ridges.”
He searched her face, her pink lips alluring. Why was he thinking like this? He wasn’t ready to feel like this after his wife. Hunter didn’t think he would ever feel ready again. So why was this happening?
“Shoe size?” He swallowed, folding his arms. Act professional, Hunter.
“Uh, six.”
He nodded toward a carved wooden bench indicating Rosa to take a seat, then disappeared into the back room. He rushed through the rows of inventory, stopping at the shelves of women’s hiking boots.
“You okay, buddy? You just run a marathon?” his employee and best friend, Tate asked. He stood a few feet away, writing on a clipboard.
Hunter took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. “Yeah, fine. Just, you know. Busy.”
Tate turned toward him, raising an eyebrow. “Still thinking about that daring rescue from yesterday, huh? What was her name?”
Hunter’s eyes went wide, but he kept staring toward the stacks of shoeboxes. “Rosa.” Hunter searched up and down the stacks, grabbing boxes in size 6. Once he had five boxes, he turned toward Tate, who was staring at him. “She’s here.”
Tate cocked his head to one side and smirked. “Ahh. Nice. So you told her where you worked. Way to go, buddy. Putting yourself out there finally.”
Hunter peered around the stack of boxes at his friend. “No, I told her where to buy the best hiking boots. So she’s here looking–for boots.”
Tate nodded. “Riiiight. Got it. Girl gets rescued by you yesterday, shows up here today, and all she wants is boots.”
“It’s not like that.” Hunter shook his head and turned to head towards the door.
“Then why are you breathing so hard?” Tate flipped the pencil around his fingers as he waggled his eyebrows.
“Gahh. Gimme a break, man.” Hunter’s friend always had his back, but lately Tate had relentlessly tried to get him to ask girls out. Didn’t Tate understand that he wasn’t ready? When he lost Megan, he lost part of himself. To be honest, even if Hunter did want to pursue something, he didn’t know if he’d be able to have a relationship.
Just the thought of her made his stomach drop. He still loved Megan. But she was gone. No matter how many times he reminded himself, Hunter couldn’t accept it.
Passing through the door and back onto the sales floor, he approached Rosa who sat on the bench. “All right. I brought some options for you to try. I have my favorite brands, but it’s all about how it fits your foot.” He set the boxes down and removed the tops of each box so she could see the boots.
She started removing her pink boots. Tate was right. Hunter was breathing too hard. He tried to focus. Calm himself.
“So, uh, you’ll notice these boots are lined with sherpa to keep your feet toasty warm, but they also have rubber on the outside to keep dry. Of course, these are for winter use. If you want something for the spring, you’ll need to get something else. Or come back…”
Hunter was unconsciously fishing for how long she’d be staying.
“Just the winter ones,” Rosa said.
His heart fell as he nodded. As he suspected. A Christmas-only visitor.
“For now,” she added.
Oh, okay. Good to know. A Christmas visitor with potential for spring. Well, that was something. But probably nothing. Hunter wondered if there was any hope for his love life. Or lack thereof.
Obviously, he wouldn’t date another local. They all knew him, his past, his family. They knew Megan. No, his only chance at love now was probably a tourist anyway. Except that made things complicated.
Could he really start something only to have it turn into a long-distance thing that would fizzle out? No. His heart hadn’t healed. Hunter wouldn’t bounce back from another heartbreak. Even a casual one.
Hunter picked up the right boot of a black mid rise and kneeled next to Rosa. “This is one of my favorite brands. I have the men’s version of these.” He stole a glance at her while he slipped the boot onto her foot. Cinderella style.
“Perfect fit,” she said, biting her lip as she locked eyes with him.
Hunter stared back, forgetting he owned the store, or had a voice for that matter. He could barely breathe.
“How’s it going, you two? Finding what you’re looking for?” Tate sauntered behind Hunter, the comment pulling him back to reality.
“Yep. Great,” Hunter replied, shaking his head.
Rosa raised an eyebrow, peering behind Hunter at Tate.
Hunter sighed. “Employees. Can’t work with ‘em, can’t work without ‘em.” He turned around and gave his best friend the evil eye.
Tate ignored him. “Employee of the month, you mea n.” Tate waved at Rosa. “H i, I’m Tate. Is Hunter giving you the proper attention you deserve?”
Hunter rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw. Tate meant well, but Hunter’s body was already flushing with embarrassment.
“Yes. Hunter is very attentive. He rescued me, you know.” Rosa smiled as Tate walked by, heading toward a customer at the register.
“Oh, I know,” Tate said, then disappeared behind the register.
Hunter’s mouth dropped, and he gazed at Rosa, who raised her eyebrows.
He let out a slight chuckle as he scratched the right side of his beard. “I was just, you know, informing my team members about local activity.” He swallowed. Really Hunter? Is she going to believe that? “We also do adventure tours, so we have to make sure to keep tourists safe.”
Hunter looked down at the hiking boot on Rosa’s foot and finished tying the laces.
“You take your job very seriously,” Rosa said. Hunter stole a glance at her, the side of Rosa’s mouth turning up.
“Hey now.” Wow, this girl was a total flirt. “No need to mock me. Somebody’s gotta keep the big city girls from falling off mountains.”
“Is it that big of a problem?”
Hunter smiled and shrugged, then stood, motioning for Rosa to follow suit. “ Only the ones with pink boots.”
She stood and whacked him playfully on the shoulder. “Listen. Just because I’m a city girl doesn’t mean I can’t keep up with a mountain man.”
The bell above the door rang as a customer exited and Tate said goodbye, then looked over at Hunter and Rosa, and cocked his head again. “Get her number,” Tate mouthed as he waved his phone in front of him.
Hunter narrowed his eyes and shook his head.
“What? You don’t think I could keep up with you?” Rosa narrowed her eyes at Hunter.
“Oh, no. I mean, of course you can.” Shoot, he didn’t mean to offend her–he was responding to Tate! “Uh, why don’t you walk around, see how the boot feels.”
Rosa passed by him, and Hunter glanced back at Tate, who offered a big toothy grin. Hunter rolled his eyes.
“These boots feel good, actually. Better than my other ones.” Rosa clomped around, stopping at a mirror on the wall. “You sure these don’t come in anything other than black? Let’s just say I have a more colorful personality.”
Hunter folded his arms. “Black, gray, brown. Some of the other brands come in camo.”
She spun. “Wow. How can you stand the vibrancy?”
“One step at a time.” The phrase hit him like a ton of bricks.
Hunter didn’t know why he said it right then. The phrase his parents told him after Megan was gone. The phrase he told himself everyday after she left. Nothing had affected him so deeply as Megan coming into his life, except for her leaving it.
Grief struck him hard. Hunter’s head swirled. Dizziness was returning.
“You okay? You’re pale.” Rosa clomped toward him in one boot. “Hey, hey. Come sit down.” With one hand on his arm, she guided him over to the wooden bench and he sat.
Tate came running over. “What’s going–woah, you see a ghost, Hunter?”
He sort of did. Hunter semi-nodded at Tate, who offered a slight nod in return. Tate knew the reason that Hunter wasn’t himself. His best friend had been instrumental in getting him through those first few months.
Hunter wasn’t about to say anything about Megan to Rosa. “Sorry,” Hunter said. “Must have forgotten to eat lunch or something.”
“You need something quick? I’ve got granola bars in my purse.” Rosa rifled through her purse, then handed him a bar. Slowly he took it.
“Thanks. You know, I think I just need to lay down or something. Tate, can you help Rosa?”
He nodded and Hunter headed to his office. After he closed the door, Hunter plopped on the couch, pulled up a photo of him and Megan on his phone and cried.