30. Hunter
Chapter thirty
Hunter
The next morning, I’m walking on sunshine.
Ellie wants me to adopt Sweetpea. We’re that much closer to being a real family.
Even if Ellie never loves me the way I love her, I’ll be happy to be her husband and Sweetpea’s dad.
In the weeks since we’ve been married, the life we’ve built is better than I could imagine.
It almost feels greedy to want Ellie to be in love with me on top of that.
We putter around the house in the morning, both of us silently waiting for Ellie to go into labor.
When that doesn’t happen, we decide to visit Asher.
He’s recovering quickly so they moved him to a rehab facility.
They’ve put him on a very intensive therapy track, where he spends his time between occupational and physical therapy.
Mom tells us that he’s so exhausted that he often falls asleep between appointments in the middle of the day.
When we arrive, he’s just finished his last session of the day—cognitive group therapy. I can only imagine how difficult this is, especially for Asher, who’s used to extreme independence and athleticism.
“How’s it going, Ash?” I ask when we enter his room.
He’s sitting on the chair, looking half-asleep.
His bandages are off, which shows off his half-buzzed hair.
For the burr surgery he had, they shaved the part of his head where they needed to operate, but the rest of his hair they left in place.
The clipped side of his head shows off tidy little stitches.
“I’m a specimen of health,” Asher says, waving at his body. “Except that I can’t stand on one leg to put my pants on.”
Ellie snorts. “I haven’t been able to do that for weeks. Heck if I can even get pants on at all at this point.”
“We should start a no-pants club,” Asher says, holding up his hand to high-five Ellie.
“Nice try.” I smack his hand down as Raquel and Henry walk in. “The only one who’ll have a no-pants club with my wife will be me.”
Ellie’s cheeks flush at my words, but she doesn’t look upset.
“It seems we walked in at just the right time,” Raquel says to Henry, who grins at her like she is the most clever girl to have ever been born. “Hey guys. How are ya, Ash?”
“Fit as a fiddle, obviously.”
“We brought some treats,” Ellie says, holding out a small platter of treats from the Milky Way Café.
“I worked very hard on these,” I joke as I steal a sugar cookie.
“Celeste worked very hard on these,” Ellie says, handing the plate to Asher.
Asher grunts, taking the plate and choosing a scone off it.
Henry holds up a takeout box. “We brought cannolis from On a Whim. It was Italian today.”
“Y’all are just trying to fatten me up so I don’t rock climb anymore,” Asher says with his mouth full.
“Is it working?” Ellie asks with a smirk.
“I’ll let you know when I know.”
“I brought a razor.” Raquel holds up a little black carrying case. “We can even out your hair whenever you’re ready for it.”
“You know, I’m kind of getting attached to this look,” Asher says, running a hand through the left side of his head, where he actually still has some long hair left. “I think I could start a new trend in Starlight Valley.”