4. Hunter #3
Oh boy is right. She’s kept a firm boundary between us forever, but now that she’s weakened it, there’s no going back.
My fingers hover over the conference room table, sweat prickling at my temples from the memory.
“Hunter.” A voice jolts me. “You okay over there?” Chris, my partner, is beaming at me.
Reality hits like a splash of cold water. “Yeah, I’m good.” I shake my head, clearing the lust. I need to get my head on straight because this case isn’t going to solve itself, and Chief sure as hell won’t wait around while I daydream about Sutton.
“You’re looking a little flushed,” Chris says. “Anything you’d like to share with the class?” Chris barks out a laugh.
I roll my eyes. “None of your business, asshole.” Chris should know by now I’m not the kiss-and-tell type.
Chief calls our briefing to an end, and we head out.
When Chris and I step outside, I’m pleasantly surprised to find dark, gray clouds have filled the sky.
I love summer, but fall in Suncrest Valley is something else.
Soon the trees will transform into embers.
I step into the chilled air, putting on my hat and sunglasses.
“Where to?” I open the squad car door and slide in.
Chris is one of our rookies and trained with me before I got promoted. With a little sweet talking, I got Chief to allow me to finish Chris’s probationary year. Lucky for him, he’s getting firsthand detective experience.
“You weren’t listening at all, were you?” Chris sets his coffee tumbler into the cupholder and buckles up.
“Not a bit.” I turn on the ignition and let the car warm up.
“What’s on your mind today?” Chris logs in to our laptop.
“Nothing of your concern.”
“Based on the look on your face, my guess is Sutton Bradley?”
I cut him a warning glare.
“C’mon, man, I know you well enough to know when a certain woman is waging war inside that . . .” He taps his head.
“Am I really that obvious?”
“You both are. So, tell me, what’s new in that department? Everyone’s talking about seeing you both at Big Joe’s and leaving together.”
“We’re always together. That’s nothing new.”
“Apparently, Barbara told Rita who told Janet she might have seen you and Sutton headed down the road to your place.”
“You can always count on Barbara to fuel the gossip train.”
“Facts.” He laughs. “But you know there’s been rumors about you two for years, right?”
“I have heard something to that effect a time or twenty.”
“Any of them true?”
I release a deep breath and lay my head back against the headrest. “Sutton is complicated.”
“Never pegged you as the chicken-shit type.”
I sit up and turn to him. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Hunter,” he says, sipping his coffee, “I’ve known you and looked up to you for years.
You’ve always gone after what you wanted.
You’ve never played it scared before except when it comes to Sutton.
You two fight like cats and dogs, but then look at each other like you can’t breathe without the other.
When are you going to go after the woman? ”
“Sutton hasn’t dated or been in a relationship for six years.”
“Why do you think that is?”
She’s afraid of her life falling apart again if she lets her heart have what it wants. She’s afraid of being hurt.
“Look, Hunter,” Chris says, “it’s clear as day to anyone in this town that you’re in love with her, but can you please, for the love of god, make your move already? Because you’re holding up the line.”
I laugh. “What do you mean?”
“There are plenty of men who would love to ask Sutton on a date, me included, but we respect you and we know how you feel about her, even if you refuse to do anything about it.”
“Don’t even think about asking her out,” I say.
“And I am trying to do something about it.” We might have made progress in Colorado, but whatever door she opened that night to allow herself to be with me has been closed and locked again, no matter how loudly I knock.
Sharing a bed together last week gives me hope, but it still feels like three steps forward and two steps back.
“Did you know she joined a dating site?” Chris’s voice lilts up, goading me on.
My stomach drops. I shake my head, trying to contain the rush of surprise that tightens across my chest.
“Yep, saw her profile pop up the other day. Seems maybe she’s finally ready to date again.”
I try not to get worked up, but this information stings.
With everything that’s happened in Sutton’s past, she’s kept her heart locked up tight.
She hasn’t talked about dating or even put out the vibe that she was considering it.
It’s selfish, but I thought when Sutton was ready to give her heart to someone, it would be to me.
“I’m telling you, Hunter. It’s now or never. You’ve got to tell her what you want.”
I put the car into reverse and back out of the lot. Sutton and I both know there’s something between us. She has to. She likes to remind me all the time, We can’t do this. And I get it. She’s scared of losing our friendship, scared of falling and having no one there to catch her.
But I will.