10. Hunter #2
My hands slide up her legs, catch the edge of her—my—sweatshirt, and grip her hips. I slowly lower her to the ground. We’re chest to chest, her hands now resting atop my shoulders. It’s hard to miss her sharp intake of breath when I pull her more firmly into my body.
“A deal’s a deal, babe.”
She grins and reaches up and over my shoulders to the back of the mask, but her arms aren’t quite long enough to reach.
“Kneel down,” she says.
I let her go and take a knee. More dew from the grass seeps through my already wet coveralls.
I tilt my head down, then Sutton squeezes her fingers under the edge of the mask and peels it off.
When the fresh air meets my overheated skin, I breathe a sigh of relief.
I throw my head back and look up at Sutton.
“Side note,” I say, “I am not a latex mask kind of guy.”
“Well, that’s disappointing,” she deadpans as she spins around to go back inside.
I lurch toward her, catch her at the waist, and pull her to me. “Not so fast.”
“Let me go, Hunter.”
I stand slowly, sliding my hands around her stomach, and pull her against my chest.
Leaning down, I whisper in her ear, “Never.”
Her jaw unclenches, and the stiff muscles in her back relax.
“Well,” Navy says from the doorway, “since you boys ruined girls’ night, you might as well come inside for dessert.”
“Hell yeah!” Luke says and immediately grabs Greer and drags her inside.
“You two coming in?” Navy asks.
Sutton nods.
Navy looks at me, eyes narrowed. “You know,” she says, “payback’s a real bitch.” She heads back into the house.
“She’s going to kill you guys. You know that, right?” Sutton turns in my arms and wraps hers around my waist. Color fills her cheeks, but her smile looks a little sad.
“Hey.” I tuck a red lock behind her ear. “What’s wrong?”
She gives me a half-smile. “Nothing’s wrong.”
It’s hilarious she thinks she can hide from me. I cup her face in my palms, thumbs gently caressing the apples of her cheeks. “Your eyes are red and swollen. Want to try that answer again?”
Her eyelids close, and she releases a breath. “I told the girls.”
My thumbs still, and her eyes snap open, meeting mine. I don’t have to ask what she’s talking about. For a brief moment, I’m at a loss for words. I knew this day would come, but she hasn’t given me any sign that she was ready to talk about losing the baby. Yet here we are.
“And how do you feel?” I ask.
She gives me a sad smile and lays her head on my chest. Her arms lock around me.
“I feel relieved,” she says. “But exhausted. Tonight was a lot.”
I thread my fingers into the back of her hair. “I bet, babe. But I’m glad you felt like you could let your friends all the way in.”
She nods against my chest. “It was time. Plus, if I’ve learned anything from Greer, it’s that we don’t always have to go through the hard shit alone.”
“You haven’t been alone, Sut,” I say. “I’ve been right here.”
“I know you have, but sometimes girls need girls.”
I chuckle. “Okay, that’s fair. But also .
. .” I don’t want to sound like a selfish jerk.
I’m happy that she’s at a place to open up to people, but after spending so many years being her person, I can’t help but be a little nervous that if she’s opening up to Greer and Navy, maybe she’ll no longer need to confide in me.
“Also what?” she prompts.
“It’s nothing. Just forget it.”
Sutton pulls away and looks me dead in the eye. “You know that won’t fly with me, right?”
“You didn’t say anything to me . . . you know, about being ready to tell them.”
I love the soft smile she gives me.
“I know,” she says. “I’m sorry. Things are changing so fast lately, and I’m not sure how to stop them or slow them down.”
“Do you want to stop them?” I rub my hands over her back, and she relaxes against my chest again.
“I’m—”
“Hey,” Luke says from the doorway, “you two coming inside or what?” He gives me a What are you two talking about? look.
“Yeah,” I say. “We’ll be right in.”
“You good, Sutton?” Luke’s eyes never leave mine.
She turns around and looks him right in the face. “Yeah, I’m okay, but . . . we should talk.”
Luke looks from her to me, confusion etched on every part of his face. “Yeah, okay, sure.” He sits on the patio chair and motions for Sutton to join him.
“You want me to stay?” I ask her.
Sutton smiles at me, resignation in her eyes. “No, I’m okay.”
Yet another thing in her life changing at warp speed.
I hold the back of her head and bend forward, placing a kiss on her temple. “I’m proud of you,” I whisper.
Inside the house, I grab a piece of blueberry pie from the counter and sit at the island.
Navy and Greer post up next to me. We listen to the muted conversation drifting in from the patio, every rise and fall of Sutton’s voice pulling me back to the night of Sutton’s miscarriage—a night I’ve tried not to relive.
A sudden scrape of metal against concrete jerks me forward.
I look through the patio door just as Luke shoves his chair back and drops to one knee in front of his sister, gripping her hands like she might disappear if he lets go.
A lump forms in my throat. I know exactly how helpless he feels. Eventually, he sits back onto his heels, and they continue talking.
A lone tear drips down my cheek, and I swipe it away.
“You doing okay?” Navy’s voice cuts through the silence.
“Sure,” I say, “what makes you ask?”
“It’s a lot . . . keeping a secret like that for so long,” Greer says.
“It wasn’t my secret to tell.”
“Yeah,” Navy says, “but that doesn’t mean it didn’t live inside you too.”
I glance at Navy. Her eyebrows are raised slightly.
“I’m not the one who lost everything in the span of a few weeks,” I say.
“No,” Greer says, “but you lost Sutton.”
I sit with that for a long beat, letting it sink in. “I thought I lost her long before that. When she and Brandon had been together for years and seemed only to be moving forward, I told myself that was it. That I’d missed my window.”
I sigh, dragging a hand over my mouth. “But when she called me that night . . . something changed.”
Navy and Greer go still.
“She didn’t call him,” I add softly. “She called me.” My throat tightens.
“She was barely holding it together. And I remember thinking—this is it. This is the moment I either step up or step back.” I swallow hard.
“I drove her home. Sat on the bathroom floor while she cried. Slept on the edge of her bed because she didn’t want to be alone.
Made sure she ate. Took calls she didn’t want to answer.
I became her anchor in a storm of chaos, fucking terrified of losing her. ”
I drop my gaze to the counter, trying to hide the tears now streaming down my face. “Sutton was never mine to lose.”
“She’s always been yours.” Greer places her hand on my shoulder. “Just because you were never together doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt you to watch her move on with someone else, to watch her heart break from grief and be the only one who saw her most painful moments.”
“It’s not every day,” Navy says, “you have to help the love of your life mourn the loss of her baby with another man.” Navy adds, quieter now, “That’s a lot for anyone—including you—to process.”
“Maybe.” My voice drops. “That night . . . I didn’t know what to think or say or do. When she said the word baby, I was jealous. I hated myself for it. Even after she met Brandon, I kept praying that maybe someday we’d find our way to each other and she’d have my babies, not his.”
I exhale slowly. “But after that night, it stopped being about whether she’d ever choose me. I just needed her to be okay.”
“Hunter . . .” Navy sets her hand on my other shoulder and plates two more pieces of blueberry pie. “That’s not crazy, that’s love. But you don’t have to be her only anchor now. You know that, right?”
I look at Sutton and Luke on the patio. When Sutton smiles softly, my heart slows its rapid beating.
“I know,” I answer low enough that I don’t think Navy hears.
The door whispers open, and I immediately push back from the counter.
Luke doesn’t even give me an opportunity to speak before he’s across the kitchen and has me wrapped in a bear hug.
“Thank you,” he mumbles against my shoulder.
“You don’t have to thank me.”
“Yeah, I do.” Emotion clogs his throat, and he sniffles. “You were there for her when she felt completely alone. And you’ve been there every day since. You’re a good man, Hunter.”
I eye Sutton over his shoulder, and she gives me a lopsided smile. I don’t break eye contact with her as I say, “I’d do anything for her.”
“I know you would, bro.” Luke pats me on the back as he pulls away. “Alright, all this crying has made me even more hungry.” He rubs his stomach. “Can we have dessert now?”
We all burst out laughing. Navy slides a plate to him and hands one to Sutton.
Sutton sits at the kitchen table and digs in.
I grab the Cool Whip from the refrigerator and bring it to the table for her.
She smiles up at me, and I know she’s recalling our argument from a few years ago over Cool Whip versus Reddi Whip.
“Cool Whip, the superior topping,” she says through giggles and places a giant spoonful on her pie. Her eyes are still glassy, but I’m happy to see her real smile again.
I laugh, swiping my finger through the giant pile of whip, then pop it into my mouth.
“Thank you,” she says suddenly, her eyes downcast.
I place my finger beneath her chin and tilt her face up to mine. “You don’t have to thank—”
“Yes, I do, Hunter. When no one knew what I was going through, you did. You were my rock. And you never once left me alone in my grief.” Her voice grows faint.
I cup the side of her face. “I’ll always be by your side.”