It wasn’t like I was expecting anyone at this hour, least of all him. The silence had been comforting, a thin shield I’d wrapped around myself after another long shift. Now, with Hunter’s sudden appearance, the room felt smaller, every shadow sharper and more intrusive. Still, despite the jolt, I found myself oddly relieved not to be alone—though I’d never admit that out loud, not to him, not tonight.
The Cassidy family had practically raised me and my younger sister, Piper. We spent almost every day at their place after school when our mother was busy working nights. Hunter was my age and had been in and out of my life like a dependable weather pattern ever since.
He was tall and broad-shouldered, the kind of presence that seemed to occupy a room even when he was simply leaning against a doorway. His brown hair was perpetually tousled, as if he'd just run a hand through it out of absentminded frustration, and his eyes—pale blue, almost silvery in the dim light—missed nothing. He wore jeans, a gray hoodie that clung to his arms, and a look that said he knew exactly how much trouble he could get into, and he wasn’t even sorry about it.
“It’s almost two in the morning. You scared the crap out of me.”
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you. I couldn’t sleep, and you texted earlier that the light was flickering again,” he said, nodding toward the door leading into the bar.
My hand went to my hip as I answered. “I also said I didn’t want to deal with it tonight.”
“Well, lucky for you, I’m not dealing. I’m fixing. Let’s go.” He gave an easy shrug, the kind that said he’d made up his mind and there was no use arguing.
Hunter had always operated on his own sense of logic, quietly reliable, stubborn in the way of people who knew your worst days and never let you forget you had backup.
I tried to muster a glare, but it melted under the light from his lopsided smile. It was impossible to stay annoyed with him. “Fine. I appreciate it. I don’t mean to be such a grouch.”
“Grouch? You? Nah. But I can come back tomorrow if you’d rather go home and crash. I don’t want to mess with your sleep.”
“Don’t worry about it. I no longer have a set sleep schedule. All I have left now is chaos and insomnia with a dash of caffeine and stress to keep me going.”
“That’s relatable.” He gestured to himself. “I mean, here I am in the middle of the night, right?”
With a grin, he led me back into the bar, his gaze sweeping the room, scanning like he was doing a safety check. He always did that. Hunter was the kind of man who couldn’t help taking care of people, even if it meant showing up to boss my flickering light back into submission or whatever else was falling apart in this place. We moved through the familiar space of the bar, the wood floors creaking under our steps, the shadows playing tricks in the corners until the overhead light flickered again with a sharp buzz.
He paused, hand grabbing onto the pull cord. “You know, I’m pretty sure this thing has it out for you,” he said, half-grinning, half-serious.
“Maybe it’s just jealous that the margarita machine gets more of my attention,” I shot back, feeling the tension ease between us, replaced by the easy, offbeat rhythm that always seemed to settle in when he was around.
“The girls with Eli for the weekend?” he asked.
Eli, my cheating ex-husband, was now engaged to my high school nemesis. Do not get me started on that. Twenty years of marriage had gone up in smoke when my son caught them in the act a couple of years back. He’d told me immediately, but even our emergency therapy session couldn’t erase the sight from his mind. Noah would be scarred for life, and my grudge against my ex and his mistress would last for the rest of eternity.
“No, they’re home. Sleeping. Or fake sleeping. Teenagers are like raccoons; adorable, but you never truly know what they’re up to. My grandpa is with them. They’ve been binge-watchingFriendstogether when I’m at work. Technically, they’re old enough to be alone, but I don’t like the thought of them being by themselves this late at night.”
“Those girls are something else.” My kids knew Hunter and his family well. He had reached honorary uncle status. He’d been over to my place countless times with his flavors of the month for dinner. The phrase ‘serial monogamist’ fit him to a T. But, come to think of it, he’d been single ever since I’d filed for divorce. Weird.
He grabbed a stool and dragged it across the floor with a soft scrape to set it beneath the troublesome light.
“You know, on second thought, it is late. You really don’t have to do this tonight. Plus, I can’t keep taking your help without paying you. I feel bad. Let’s go.”
With a sidelong smirk, he climbed up and got to it.
“Seriously?” I crossed my arms. “You’re going to ignore my boundariesandclimb my furniture?”
He glanced down with a grin. “Boundaries are for people who don’t remember your prom dress or sat next to you in kindergarten. And I’ll never take your money.”
I groaned. “Hunter. Oh my god.”
“That thing was purple satin. You looked like a fancy cupcake. Kind of like that Hello Kitty dress in our kindergarten class photo. Sparkly.”
I shook my head, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth despite my determination to remain annoyed. “Whatever. I don’t remember anything about kindergarten, and you didn’t even go to prom.”
“Because I was helping my dad fix his Mustang. And because Eli was your date.”
“He was also the prom king.” I pursed my lips in disgust.
“And you were the queen,” he shot back. “He was such an ass. You deserved better.”
