Chapter 37 Hunter
Hunter
Glenda’s already at the lodge when I get back from checking the north field, her tiny silver SUV parked haphazardly next to the barn like she skidded in sideways.
She’s sitting at my kitchen table, glasses perched on the end of her nose, receipts and ledgers spread out like she’s about to audit the entire county.
“Morning, sunshine,” she says without looking up, pen scribbling away.
“Morning.” I pour us coffees. “You’re early.”
“You’re late,” she shoots back with a grin. “But I’ll let it slide since you look . . . lighter.”
I raise a brow. “Lighter?”
“Like someone who got laid recently,” she adds, eyes twinkling over her glasses.
I nearly choke on my coffee. Glenda has never been one to mince words, but this is the first time those words have been . . . like this.
“Relax, I’m just saying there’s something different about you. Your eyes are shinier. You’re cracking jokes. I heard you even smiled in public the other day.”
I shake my head, chuckling as I sit across from her. “Don’t start.”
She points her pen at me. “People are talking, you know.”
“What else is new?” I roll my eyes.
“Yeah, but this time they’re saying you’ve got yourself a girlfriend.”
I snort. “Definitely don’t have one of those. Not yet.”
Her brows lift at that. “Not yet, huh? What’s her name?”
“Wren.”
“I knew it!” She pauses, trying to place it. “Wren what?”
“She’s an author. Grew up here. Moved back recently. Will Cunningham’s stepdaughter.”
That does it—her eyes widen in recognition. “Will Cunningham? Haven’t heard that name in a while.”
“Yeah.”
Glenda sets her pen down, folding her hands. “When do I get to meet her?”
I shrug. “Not sure if that’s on the table. She doesn’t seem to want much to do with me. I’m working on changing her mind.”
Glenda chuckles. “Well, sounds like you’ve got your work cut out for you. You know you’ve got a reputation around here, don’t you?”
I glance at her, sighing. “Yeah. Heartbreaker. I’ve heard.”
“Bothers you.”
“Of course it does,” I admit. “Makes me sound heartless. Like I get off on wasting people’s time. Like I catch and release for sport.”
She waits, knowing there’s more.
“I’ve never done that,” I tell her. “I just know what I want and what I don’t. If I’m not feeling it, I’d rather cut it off than keep someone around for convenience. Felt like the noble thing, not leading anyone on. Guess that doesn’t play well in a town like this.”
Glenda smiles softly, that knowing mother-hen expression she reserves just for me. “You’re the most eligible bachelor in Jasperville County. All the girls want to be with you. It’s not the worst thing in the world, you know. In fact, that alone means you’re allowed to be picky.”
“Yeah, well,” I grunt. “Don’t think it’s helping. Wren probably thinks I’m some antisocial, coldhearted perpetual bachelor.”
Glenda shrugs. “So what? Keep trying. That’s all you can do. With enough time, she’ll see you for who you really are.”
I nod, because she’s right. “That’s the plan.”