Chapter 11 Hunter
ELEVEN
HUNTER
SIX WEEKS LATER
“You sure about this?” I ask, glancing down at Sylvie, who clutches the gift bag between trembling fingers.
She meets my stare with a hesitant smile. “I mean, she technically won the date.”
I chuckle, heart pounding as we wait for Opal to come home. The surprise is something I never could have given her, but Sylvie has pulled through in ways I never could have imagined.
She doesn’t live here—yet—but has returned to her townhouse in New York to pack. She’s sent some of her belongings back here, which is a start, and hired a moving company to finish packing for her.
I know there’s some tension between her and her brother about it, but in the end, he hasn’t given her any trouble. The other brother doesn’t care much, but he’s on tour, and that’s drama Sylvie isn’t ready to get into. Meanwhile, I think she’s taken the break from party planning well.
Except there’s always something for her to plot.
My youngest brother’s truck pulls in, dropping Opal off like he always does on Fridays. I’ll be forever grateful for my brothers, especially now. Because we’ve needed all the help we could get regarding her surprise.
Sylvie and I share an excited look as Opal bounds up the front porch steps and enters the house. As soon as she spots me, her eyes narrow, looking warily between us.
“What’s going on?” she asks slowly, closing the door behind her. “You guys are being weird…”
I clear my throat as Sylvie shoves the gift bag towards her. “Open it.”
Opal’s frown only grows as she drops her book bag at her feet. “You guys aren’t announcing you’re pregnant already, are you?”
“What? No,” I say, as Sylvie laughs.
“God no.”
I look down at my girlfriend—who hates the term girlfriend because it makes her feel juvenile—and shake my head.
Opal snorts, taking the bag with a smile. “Okay, okay. You guys are being weird.” She looks between us, eyes widening. “Are you finally moving in?”
“Not yet,” Sylvie admits, leaning into me. “But we’re working on it.”
Sylvie has the go-ahead to break her lease whenever she’s ready, but she hasn’t yet out of respect for Opal. As much as my daughter claims she’s more than happy for this huge change, we’re taking our time.
Opal eyes us for a moment before opening the bag. I think we both hold our breath as we wait for her to pull out the gift.
“Is this…” Opal chokes on a sound as she reveals the Eiffel Tower keyring. “This is a joke. Right?” She looks up at us, hopeful and sad.
“Look in the envelope,” I murmur, holding Sylvie tighter as we wait.
Opal doesn’t take her time in finding the white envelope and ripping it open. “Oh my GOD!” she squeals, looking between us. “Are these real? Please tell me they are.”
I nod, while Sylvie grins. “Those are return tickets to France for this summer,” Sylvie says. “We can be there for the full three months, or we can go see more of Europe if you want.”
The colour drains from Opal’s face. “Wait. But how? Dad, you can’t afford this. You can’t take the time off—”
“You technically won the date with me,” Sylvie says, “so this is a partial girl’s trip.”
“I’ll be there with you for the first two weeks.
That’s all the time I can get off,” I admit guiltily.
Unfortunately, anymore and I’d probably get fired.
I might basically run the mill, but that doesn’t matter to the big bosses.
I haven’t taken a vacation in years. Only the occasional day off when I’m sick or Opal has something I can’t miss.
I also need to pay the bills, which is another reason I can’t be there for the entire three months.
But I trust Sylvie, and Opal’s mother can’t say no.
“Oh, my God.” Opal sets the bag on the entryway table and throws herself at us. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
I keep one arm around Sylvie and wrap the other around my daughter. “You like it?”
“Like it?” She pulls away just enough to meet my stare, tears streaming down her face. “Dad, I love it. Thank you. Both of you.”
I feel the tension release from Sylvie as she pulls Opal into her embrace. For the longest time, we just stand there, and I realise there’s nowhere else I would rather be than with them. My daughter and the woman I love.
Somewhere in the distance, an owl hoots, its cry loud in the quiet of the night.
The sound has me pulling Sylvie closer to me, breathing in her sweet shampoo, tension from the surprise finally leaving me for good.
The snow is melting, winter drifting off into spring.
There are still remnants of it around the cabin and forest, but as the weeks pass, Mother Nature finally releases our mountainous town from her grasp.
“I love you,” I murmur, kissing the top of her head. “So much. For everything.”
Sylvie freezes, a breath catching in her throat. The hand that’d been on my lap moves to her own as she pulls out of my embrace. “You what?”
I blink hard, clearing my throat. “I love you.”
Her eyes go wide as she stares at me. The longer she does, the more my heart races, but I don’t plan on taking it back.
I’d been itching to say it for a while. Ever since we convinced her to stay, it’s been in the back of my mind, and after Opal told her about what her mother did and Sylvie came to me with her idea, it solidified within me—I love her.
More and more every day, she shows me why.
It’s not just that she’s taking my daughter on the trip of a lifetime.
It’s the little things she does, too. It’s helping Opal with her homework after school or going with me to the firehouse to help convince the county we can maintain the station and everything that goes with it.
It’s the moments where she has her next great idea for a party and can’t wait to explain it to me, or when she rolls out of bed when the sun finally rises and kisses my cheek every time without fail.
It’s the fact that over the last six weeks, she’s been such a stable part of our lives that I don’t see a future without her in it. As hard as it is for me to admit, I can’t imagine a world where she isn’t with me.
And neither does Opal.
Not once has Sylvie disappointed her. Not once have I had to wipe away tears or scream into the void on behalf of my daughter. Today was a big thing, but it’s the little moments that count, too.
Like watching Sylvie change the dates of her flight home to make sure she wouldn’t miss the spring art showcase. It’s the fact that she cancelled all her upcoming client events or passed them off to someone else for this Paris trip.
It’s the fact that she’s prioritised building and maintaining a relationship with not just me, but with Opal, too, that makes me love her more every day.
“I love you, and I know it’s only been three months, so that shouldn’t—it shouldn’t be the first thing I think of when I look at you,” I admit, cupping her cheek, wiping a stray tear as it slides down her cheek.
“But if there’s one thing you have to know about Willow Ridge, it’s that love isn’t conventional here, and those of us born here tend to fall hard and fast. And when it comes to you…
Sylvie, there’s no reason to deny it. I love you.
Opal and I both do. More and more, I feel it every single day I’m with you. And I know it might be too soon, but—”
Sylvie cuts me off with a kiss. A slow, burning kiss that makes my heart ignite with a fire only she can stoke, a love fanned by the flames of her presence and the future I see with her. Nothing else compares to the soft way her lips mould against mine, the gentle way she leans into my body.
Every instinct within me begs for the rest of her; to tear off her clothes and claim her desperately. But with what strength I have, I manage to keep those desires to myself, especially as she pulls away and gasps for breath.
“I love you, too,” she says, voice choked. “It doesn’t seem plausible, and I swear if you’re messing with me now—”
My hand moves from her cheek to the back of her neck as I kiss her lightly. “No messing,” I murmur. “I love you. You love me. And that’s all that matters.”
There’s nothing else I need. Just my girls. Our love. And the future I know is to come.