Chapter Fifty-Eight
Hunter
“Holy shit, where did all this stuff come from?” I say, staring at the stuffed moving van. I’ve been practically homeless, living in a fucking vacant house, and still, come moving day, I have so many goddamn boxes. As vexing as the situation is — seriously, where the fuck did this all come from? — I’m grinning.
Because it’s moving day.
And moving day means Emily leaves her place, I leave mine, and we move into a place… together.
This doesn’t feel real. Just a few months back, I was living out of a duffel bag, with no one around to care for except whatever companions I’d find in a bar that night and kick out the next morning; just couple months back, I’d lost most of the last of my family, with the only survivor being a baby that I had no idea how to take care of and who left me feeling more disarmed and incapable than any adversary I’ve ever come up against; just a week after that, I bump into some young, wide-eyed, kind-hearted woman who turns me from thinking about everything I’ve lost and all I want to strip away from those who’ve wronged me, to the things I want to add to my life, to thinking about things like family and a home.
I nearly lost her.
But now, as I watch her carry a box labeled ‘Textbooks — one of five’ in neat, cursive handwriting, while I carry a duffel in one hand and Charlie in the other, there’s a swelling in my chest that overwhelms any sense of loss.
“What are you staring at? Aren’t you going to help?” She says as she places her box of books on the floor.
“You. I’m looking at you.”
“This is going to take all day if you just keep standing there.”
“That’s fine by me,” I say. “I could soak in this view for a damn long time.”
“A view of packed boxes, a disorganized apartment, and your sweaty girlfriend?”
“Looks like heaven to me.”
She laughs like music and rolls her eyes. “And to me, it looks like you need to help out, or else you’re going to have one tired girlfriend and you’ll have to pay for another day on the moving van.” When her words don’t spur me to do anything but stare some more, she sighs, smiles, and says, “If you really start working, I’ll wear that thing you like.”
My eyes widen. I’d thought she’d packed it away, deep in the mess of boxes in the back of the van.
“You will?”
“I know exactly where it is, and it’s closer than you think. So the second you start seriously moving some boxes, I’ll put it on.”
I set Charlie down on the floor next to the living room sofa and set myself to work. After two loads of boxes, I come back into the apartment to find her pulling a ‘Property of’ cut over her shoulders. She smiles at me as I stop and stare.
“I’m still getting used to it, and you know I can’t wear it when I go into work this afternoon, but I am starting to like it. How do I look?”
I can barely breathe as I take her in. The black tank top clings tightly to her, highlighting the curves that first caught my eye and the strength beneath that I admire.
“You look incredible,” I say. “You always do.”
Emily’s smile widens, and for a moment, the boxes and chaos disappear. There’s just her, standing there with that blend of vulnerability and confidence that’s so uniquely hers.
“Good,” she says, stepping close enough for me to feel the heat of her skin, smell the faint scent of lavender soap she loves. She reaches up and plants a quick, soft kiss on my lips. “Because we still have work to do.”
With that, she turns on her heel and heads back toward the van. I exhale slowly, shaking my head at how easily she manages to ground me while simultaneously driving me mad.
As I hoist another box onto my shoulder and carry it inside, I think about all the roads it took to get here — the mistakes, the minor victories, the moments where everything seemed lost only to be found again in a different light.
Charlie laughs as I come back into the living room toting more boxes. His eyes are wide with curiosity, taking in the sight of his new home. My heart clenches at how small he looks in this vast space filled with possibilities we’re just beginning to explore together.
My life is coming together, but it’s not there yet.
There’s something more I need to do.
“Hey little man,” I say, picking him back up and holding him at arm’s length. Looking at him, I see my brother, but some of myself, too. And as time’s gone on, I’ve only come to see more and more of myself in him. “How would you like to take a little trip today?”
“Hunter?” Emily says as she comes back into the living room carrying more boxes and sees me looking deep at Charlie. “Is something wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong, but I can’t be moving boxes right now. There’s something more important I have to do. We — Charlie and I — have to do.”
“More important than moving into our new apartment?”
“More important than that. I need to make a couple calls, but then, you want to come with me to the courthouse?”
“The courthouse? Look, if this is about eloping or whatever, yes, I love you, but it’s a little too soon for me.”
“It’s not about you, Emily. It’s about Charlie.”
“What?”
“Don’t worry about it. You drive and I’ll explain on the way.”
Thirty minutes later, Emily, Charlie, and I are pacing in front of the Ironwood Falls courthouse — well, Emily and I are pacing, Charlie’s bouncing in Emily’s arms and almost asleep — when Rabid’s ol’ lady, Claire, and Officer Maya Alvarado, both arrive at nearly the same time. Claire pulls up in a shining black BMW and steps out dressed like she’s just come from a meeting with a high-powered client, which, considering her status as one of the top lawyers in the state, is not entirely out of the question. Officer Alvarado pulls up in her Ironwood Falls PD patrol car, dressed in her usual uniform. She approaches us with a quiet, casual confidence and a ready smile that is almost enough to make me forget who she works for.
“Morning, Hunter,” she says. “After the stuff that’s happened lately, I hope you’re planning on making my life interesting in a positive way today.”
“Morning, Officer Alvarado. Actually, I’m here to ask you about a murder,” I reply.
Immediately, Claire frowns. “Is that why you’ve asked me here, too? Get patched into the club and decide you want to throw a few more cases on my plate?”
I shake my head, smile at her in a way that I hope sets her at ease. Then again, Claire’s always the type-a type who I doubt rarely ever is at ease. “You’re here for legal advice, but it’s got nothing to do with murder.”
Claire’s frown doesn’t waver. “Still, considering you’re in my ol’ man’s MC, and considering I am a lawyer, I’m going to ask you to state right now, in front of Officer Alvarado, that you are taking me on as your attorney so that attorney-client confidentiality applies. Then I’m going to ask for you and I to step aside and you can tell me just what mess you’ve gotten into.”
“No, we won’t be doing any of that,” I say. Before Claire can do her lawyer-thing and charge through my objections, I press on, “You both are here because I’m putting down roots here in Ironwood Falls. Course, you two are both smart women, and you’ve probably figured that out, because I’ve joined the MC, signed a lease with Emily, and have not tried to hide that I enjoy living in this town. But what I need your help with is making this little guy here,” I gesture to Charlie, who’s resting half-asleep in Emily’s arms, “my legal son.”
“He’s not your son?” Claire says. “Did you kidnap him?”
I shake my head. “Nothing like that. I took him from the scene of a murder.”
“Fuck, Hunter, don’t go admitting to that in front of the police,” Claire says.
“He’s my nephew. His parents — my brother, Tyler Hayes, and his mother, Kate Hayes — lived in Billings. I was on my way to visit them, and when I arrived, I found the two of them murdered and Charlie all alone in his crib. I took my nephew, and, since I’m his last surviving relative, I’d like to adopt him,” I pause, look at Charlie, who must’ve realized I’m talking about him, because he’s gazing at me with curiosity and a flicker of something else in his eyes that puts a parental hitch in my voice. “I love the kid. Didn’t know what I was doing when I first found him, Emily can attest to that, but I think of him as my son, and since I’m building a life for the two of us here, I want to do it right.”
“Hunter, I’m so sorry,” Claire says.
“Me too. Tell me what you need, Hunter. Anything, I’ll do what I can to help you and Charlie,” Officer Alvarado says.
I look at Officer Alvarado first. “I don’t know how this whole process works, so I want your help to know that I’m not breaking any laws in adopting Charlie, considering his parents were murder victims. Maybe the police over in Billings might need his help with the case or whatever.”
Officer Maya Alvarado smiles. “He’s only five months old, and, though they may be missing out on not having a cutie like him around, considering he still needs help with his diapers, I doubt they’ll need his help to crack the case. Still, I’ll make a few calls.”
She takes out her phone and, in a second, has someone on the line. A few words go back and forth, and she hangs up, frowning.
“It’s odd. There are some flags on it. Something’s got this case under tight lock and key. You should be fine, Hunter, but for Charlie’s sake, I’m going to call a friend in the State Patrol over there, see if I can’t use a favor and find out what’s really going on with the investigation.”
She makes another call. Beyond the introduction, which brings out a big smile, the frown returns to her face. Moretti’s name gets tossed around more times than I’m comfortable with, enough that, by the end of the call, the hair is standing up on the back of my neck. Still, she ends the call and nods.
“I don’t like whatever they’ve got going on over there. It doesn’t smell right. But my friend said there’s nothing stopping you from adopting Charlie. You’re all clear, Hunter.”
“Thank you, Maya,” I say.
“It’s Officer Alvarado. And you’re welcome,” she says.
“What do you need from me, Hunter?” Claire says.
I shrug, but there’s a grin on my face that doesn’t match the nonchalant gesture. My voice shakes, and my heart dances in my chest. “Not sure. This is the biggest thing I’ve ever done. I’m taking on a son. A son. Just saying that scares the ever-loving crap out of me and excites me more than anything I can imagine. There’s going to be papers, questions, decisions, and I’ve never been the type to handle things in a legal matter. But this involves my family, and I want to do it right. So, what I’m asking, Claire, is if you’ll come in there with me and watch my back.”
“It’s all fairly standard forms. Boilerplate, really. You just need to make sure…” She stops, looks at Charlie, then at me, and says, “Of course. I’ll be there. We’ll make sure everything happens the right way.”
“Thank you.”
The five of us walk into the courthouse, and Emily slips her hand in mine as we pass through the entryway and Claire leads us to the clerk’s office. A storm of papers finds its way into my hands, and forms get filed, re-filed, checked, and double-checked, all while Charlie alternately naps, craps, and eats. He gets cranky near the end, not that I blame him — the clerk’s office is a cramped, fluorescently lit, toyless and joyless place — and, eventually, there’s one last form placed in front of me.
“This is it,” Claire says. “You sign this, we file it, and once it’s processed — which takes some time, because the law is the law and it moves at its own pace — Charlie is your son.”
I hold my pen over the page, looking down at the little guy who alternately scares me shitless and fills me with more loving pride than my heart can handle.
I sign, then pick him up. “Welcome to the family, little man.” For a moment, I hold him, feeling an upswelling of love within my chest that’s so strong it feels like it could lift me off the floor. Gently, I kiss him on the forehead. “I’m proud to have you as my son. I love you, Charlie.”