11. Hunter
Hunter
H unter’s head was still spinning as she sat down on the hard plastic bus seat, her new smartphone in her hand.
She had wanted to say something more meaningful, or at least more clever, than thanks for inviting me to stay for dinner , but she was having trouble thinking straight.
She’d just kissed her elderly client’s granddaughter and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
Of course, there was no doubt about the kiss itself. It had been incredible and Hunter had been daydreaming of it since the moment she laid eyes on Kiera. Her lips were soft and warm, her perfume was floral and inviting, and she just wanted to sink into her.
But it had hardly been a professional thing to do, and Hunter was on the job at the time.
She’d already started pushing her boundaries by bringing Josh to the house last week – and she knew that wouldn’t be the only time Piper leaned on her, as well as on Abby’s hospitality.
Was it really a good idea to further blur the lines between work and personal life by getting involved with Kiera?
And then there was the possibility that Hunter was getting way ahead of herself. It was one kiss. Would Kiera even want to pursue it further?
Besides, there was a reason why Hunter hadn’t dated anyone in years.
Where would she find the time for it, between her two jobs and responsibilities at home?
When she wasn’t at Abby’s house, she was at the nursing home, or getting Andrew and Josh through their afternoon routine, or sleeping.
There were no more hours in the day that Hunter could put aside for romantic interests, as much as she wanted to.
Her whole life was nothing but Piper, the boys, and work, and she didn’t see that changing any time soon.
Still, the kiss was nice.
Hunter spent most of the bus ride home looking at Kiera’s name in her new phone’s address book and replaying the kiss in her mind. Kiera Murphy. The name had taken on an almost magical quality, rolling through Hunter’s mind and sending tingles across her skin.
She liked the fact that Kiera’s was the only number in her phone, as if she could separate that part of her life from the rest and live in a fairy tale where Kiera was the only thing that mattered.
Hell, it would have to be a fairy tale world where Hunter could spend her days in a mansion and her nights kissing a princess like Kiera.
It was a fantasy, but one that she hoped she would have more opportunity to explore.
Just before the bus arrived at her stop, Hunter got up the nerve to type out the first text message on her new phone.
I had a nice time tonight. Maybe tomorrow after class you could show me your favorite place on your grandmother’s property.
Hunter hit send, then tucked the phone into her pocket and got off the bus, switching gears in her mind back to the mundane details of life.
It was about seven o’clock, well past dinner time, and the house should be relatively quiet by now.
If all was right with the world, the boys would be quietly doing their homework upstairs (or else, pretending to do their homework and playing video games with the volume turned down low).
Hunter took a long, calming breath and headed up the sidewalk, but before she’d even gotten to the house, she could tell it was not going to be a peaceful evening. They rarely were.
There was an ugly yellow notice pinned to Piper’s front door. Hunter’s heart dropped into her stomach and every last remnant of good feeling that she had left over disappeared. She’d seen papers like that before and she didn’t need to get close enough to read it to know what it said.
It was an eviction notice.
Hunter walked up the porch steps and ripped the notice off the door, folding it roughly and tucking it into her back pocket. Then she focused on putting on a smile as she walked inside – there was no reason to worry the boys about this grown-up problem.
Just as Hunter stepped into the living room, a Nerf ball flew through the air and it was all Hunter could do to swat it to the floor instead of letting it hit her in the face.
“Sorry Aunt Hunter,” Andrew said, wincing as Josh kept running after the intercepted pass and crashed into her. She caught him and set him on his feet again, then gave them both a stern look.
“Do you think it would be possible to not play football inside the house?” Hunter snapped.
She wasn’t all that irritated with Josh and Andrew – her head was still on the eviction notice – but they got the brunt of her frustration anyway.
“Tossing the Nerf ball to each other over the couch is one thing, but running plays is quite another.”
“I’m sorry,” Josh said, wrapping his arms around her and looking remorsefully up into her face. Hunter sighed – he was impossible to stay mad at and he knew it – then he said, “Andrew got his jersey and I was helping him practice for his first game.”
Hunter looked over at Andrew. She hadn’t noticed on account of the Nerf ball flying at her face, but he was wearing a Grimm Falls jersey, along with padded football pants.
“Mom ordered it last week and it came this afternoon,” Andrew said with a wide grin. “Now I don’t have to sit on the bench during games anymore!”
“That’s great, bud,” Hunter said, giving him the most genuine smile she could muster while the eviction notice burned a hole in her pocket. “Hey, I think it’s homework time. Why don’t you two work upstairs? Don’t try to tell me it’s already done because I won’t believe you.”
“Okay,” Andrew said reluctantly as Josh passed the ball back to him. They probably thought they were lucky to avoid a lecture about safe indoor Nerf practices, and not that they were being sent upstairs so that Hunter could talk to Piper in private.
“Where’s your mom?” Hunter asked as they headed for the staircase.
“Kitchen,” Andrew said.
Hunter watched the boys go upstairs and waited to hear their door close – a sure sign that there was more Madden on the menu than homework.
She’d find some time to address that later.
For now, she went into the kitchen and found Piper sitting at the table, sipping a sad-looking Frappuccino with melted whipped cream on top.
She smiled as Hunter approached, then glanced at the clock over the door and said, “Getting some overtime at the mansion tonight?”
Instead of responding, Hunter pulled the eviction notice out of her pocket and unfolded it, then set it on the table and said, “Now’s probably not a great time to splurge on overpriced coffee drinks.”
Piper picked up the notice and glanced over it, responding to Hunter’s comment with a half-hearted, “Didn’t pay for it. It was a screw up and my boss said I could take it.”
She trailed off as she read the details of the eviction notice, then tossed it back on the table and smacked her fist on top of it.
“That scumbag said he’d grant us an extension,” she growled.
Hunter felt about as deflated as Piper’s Frappuccino looked.
She’d been busting her tail to keep their heads above water.
She’d hardly slept in the last two weeks.
She’d done everything she could to keep her sister away from the shady dealings that Jed lured her into and to convince Piper that she didn’t need that lifestyle anymore.
And it wasn’t enough.
It was never enough.
She worried about what this newest development would mean for Piper’s resolve to stay away from Jed.
“I get paid on Friday,” Hunter said, “for both the nursing home and Abby. It should be a pretty good payday. How much do we need to get out of this?”
“A lot,” Piper said with a sigh. She used her foot to push a chair out for Hunter, then when she sat down, Piper slid the coffee across the table to her. “It tastes better than it looks.”
Hunter took a sip. She was right about that, at least. It was cool and chocolatey, and somehow that helped to take some of the sting off this bitter moment of defeat.
“It’s the property tax that’s the problem,” Piper said. “The bank can extend our mortgage payment if they feel like being generous, but the tax is overdue and the city’s not flexible.”
“I saw that you got Andrew his jersey,” Hunter said. She felt like a traitor to her nephew even bringing it up, but it had to be said.
“What was I supposed to do?” Piper snapped. “Tell him that he couldn’t play after all? It’s not like I could return the equipment we already bought him, and I figured, what’s another hundred dollars? At least someone in this house gets to be happy for a few hours a week now.”
“I get it,” Hunter said, passing the Frappuccino back to Piper. “And I probably would have done the same thing. How long do we have to come up with the property tax?”
“A month, maybe,” Piper said moodily. They sat in silence for a minute or two while she slowly nursed the Frappuccino, then she asked, “Do you remember when we had to sleep in that old station wagon? You were about Josh’s age and I did everything I could to make it seem like a game or something so you wouldn’t be scared. ”
“I was plenty scared,” Hunter said.
“I was, too,” Piper answered. “I don’t want that life for my boys.”
Her voice was soft and vulnerable. It reminded Hunter of the way Piper went servile and meek around Jed because he intimidated her into doing whatever he wanted. Hunter hated to hear that tone in her sister’s voice.
“They’re never going to sleep in a car,” she said with as much conviction as she could muster. “We won’t let that happen.”
“You and me,” Piper said after a while, reaching across the table and taking Hunter’s hand.
“Just the two of us against the world,” Hunter said. It was something they used to repeat to themselves to provide the illusion of strength when they were younger and getting bounced from foster home to foster home. She hadn’t said it in a long time, and Piper averted her eyes.
“Actually,” she said. “I was thinking about going to see Jed.”
“No.”
“He could help us out,” Piper said. “I don’t mean anything serious. Just something small to dig us out of this hole-”
“No,” Hunter said more adamantly, taking her hand out of her sister’s. She locked eyes on Piper and said sternly, “He’s bad news. I know you think he loves you, but he only cares about himself. He’s manipulative and he uses you.”
“Screw you,” Piper said, her face shrouding with anger.
It had been the wrong thing to say, but Hunter couldn’t think of a time when they’d talked about Jed and the conversation hadn’t ended in anger and hurt feelings. He had that effect on people.
“I’m serious,” Hunter said. “Do not talk to him. Don’t stoop to his level. You’re done with that shit.”
“Things are bad,” Piper said, a few tears forming in her eyes and washing away the anger. “I just want the boys to have a good life.”
“I do, too,” Hunter said. “That’s why you have to stay away from him. You’ve got work, I’ve got work. The extra income from Rhiannon will help. We’re going to fix this ourselves, okay?”
“Okay,” Piper said, her voice meek.