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But it didn't stop her from wondering what might have been. It didn't stop her from wanting him more than she'd ever wanted anything in this world. And even though she still had feelings for him, there was something far more pressing at the moment than her emotional needs. She needed to help her father save Renault Industries, and with the help of the Wonder Boy, aka Hunter Rawlings, she might be able to rescue her family legacy from the brink of bankruptcy.
“There will never be anything more important than family. Don’t ever forget that, sweetheart.” Gigi Renault
Chapter Three
As soon as Hunter drove past the Old Mill farmhouse his heart began to thump wildly within his chest. When he crossed over the gray covered bridge he glanced up and saw the heart he'd carved into the wood so many years ago. HR + OR. The letters were weathered and faded, but they were still there. He couldn't believe it. It was hard to imagine it had withstood a decade’s worth of storms. He smiled at the memory of being so in love with Olivia that he'd wanted to leave an indelible mark to record his feelings. He'd wanted it to last forever. It was probably the most romantic gesture he'd ever made in his life, he realized.
Where had that boy gone, he wondered? He couldn’t remember the last time he had made such a romantic gesture.
A half mile down the road he saw the sign for the Oak Lawn cemetery and he impulsively made a left hand turn to enter the hallowed ground. A few twists and turns of the road took him to his father's resting place, and he stopped the bike in front of the small, grey headstone engraved with his father's name. Tyler Rawlings. Husband. Father. Friend. Loved by all. Gone too soon. A fresh bouquet of sunflowers had been placed in front of the grave, no doubt by Mama, who made weekly visits to the cemetery.
A few years ago he'd suggested to his mother that they should replace the meager headstone for a fancier, more elaborate one. She'd summarily rejected the notion, telling him in no uncertain terms that his father's life was testament enough to the honorable life he'd led. Hunter would never forget her words. “A fancy headstone doesn't change a thing, son. He lived his life as a simple man. Don't you think it's fitting that he stays that way?”
Her words had shamed him, drawing attention to his habit of trying to overcompensate with his fortune. More than once Mama had taken it upon herself to remind him that money and happiness were two different things. No one would ever question his vast fortune, but contentment was an entirely different matter.
As he left the cemetery and headed past the Stallingsworth horse farm he could practically smell it in his nostrils. Home. He revved the engine and floored it the last half mile as pure adrenaline coursed through his veins. The grey clapboard house with white and blue trim welcomed him before the street sign even came into view. 101 Redding Way. At last. He was home.
Despite the fact that he'd deposited huge amounts of money in his Mama's savings account, she'd refused to move from the family home. Although he'd wanted her to live in the lap of luxury, the truth of the matter was he couldn't imagine her living anywhere else but here. Instead of moving lock, stock and barrel into the ritziest mansion in town, Mae had remodeled his childhood home by adding three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a massive kitchen, a mud-room and a stately living room. Although he'd seen photos of the renovations it was the first time he'd seen the remodeled home in person.
As he zoomed into the circular driveway he saw his Mama rush out of the house and onto the wraparound porch. She stood there for a moment, her eyes filled with tears as she drank in the sight of him. Hunter hopped off the bike and flipped the kickstand down with his foot before he rushed towards his mother and swept her up into his arms. Mae Rawlings was a raven haired, pleasingly plump stick of dynamite. Being in his mother's arms was the most comforting sensation in the world, Hunter realized, one he hadn't experienced in months. The last time he'd seen her had been six months ago when she'd flown to Tahiti to join him on vacation. That's the way it usually went down with their reunions. Hunter would ask his family to join him at various locations they'd always dreamed of seeing when they were kids. Hawaii. Bali. Africa. Canary Islands.
The Lord had blessed him with a very successful career and the assets to be able to make long-held dreams come true. He knew that he hadn’t done it on his own. God had been with him every step of the way.
Hunter pulled away from the embrace, for the first time noticing the streaks of white
in his mother's hair and the crow's feet settling in around her eyes. At fifty-seven years old she was still a looker, but she wasn't a spring chicken anymore, he realized with a pang. Where had the time gone? It seemed as if it was just yesterday she was chasing him and his three siblings around the three acres surrounding their property. It had always surprised them how fast their mother could run – she flew hard and fast, just like the wind.
“You're home,” his mother gushed, her round, pecan colored face lit up with joy as she gazed upon his features. “My handsome boy is home.”
Hunter looked down at his disheveled appearance and said, “I don't know how handsome I look at the moment, but I'm here. I told you I'd be back for Jax and Callie’s wedding and I wasn't about to break that promise.”
Mae tweaked her son's nose and planted a kiss on his cheek. “You'd be handsome if you were covered head to toe in mud. You're the spitting image of your father,” she said in a voice tinged with pride.
“There you go again, Mama, feeding his massive ego,” a female voice drawled. Hunter turned just in time to see his sister Sadie as she pushed open the screen door and joined them on the porch. He threw back his head in laughter, happy to return to the familiar rhythms of childhood. Since he and Sadie only had two years between them they'd always shared a close, jovial relationship. Sadie held out her arms and wrapped her brother in a welcoming hug.
His sister was the family caretaker, the one who made sure everyone was healthy, happy and connected to one another. She was a tall bean-pole of a woman, her lean body a source of personal irritation in a world where womanly curves were all the rage. To her dismay, Sadie had the body of an athlete. Her chocolate complexion was flawless, and her striking features had won her the attention of numerous boyfriends, none of whom she considered as keepers. Although Mama swore someone had broken Sadie's heart, his sister had always been mum on the subject.
“Where's Braxon and Joshua?” he asked as he shot a casual look around the place. He was happy to see the lawn was impeccably maintained and the grass was a pretty shade of green. Clearly, things had changed since the days when their grass was wildly overgrown and burnt a pale yellow shade from the sun. Gone also was the peeling paint on the house and the distinct look of ill repair.
Sadie and Mae exchanged furtive glances. Neither one of them seemed eager to answer his question.
“Oh, no. What's wrong?” he asked as a feeling of dread rushed through him.
“It's Joshua. He got arrested last night in a bar fight. They ordered him to be held overnight in the county jail. Braxon went to bail him out.” Much like Sadie, her words were blunt and to the point.
Hunter let out a groan. Joshua was the eldest Rawlings brother. He'd been to hell and back fighting as a soldier in the Middle East and he'd recently returned home after three tours of duty. Ever since his return Joshua had been plagued by flashbacks, night terrors and extreme mood swings. His return to civilian life had been extremely rocky and the entire family was concerned about his well-being. Not once prior to being in a war zone had Joshua ever been involved in a brawl. He'd always been a gentle giant – tough but tender. A teddy bear through and through.
“Things haven't gotten any better, have they?” he asked, fear rippling through him as he thought about the bleak possibilities of his brother's condition.
“No, son, they haven't,” his mother answered with a pained expression on her face. “In some ways things have gotten worse. At the moment we're shooting around in the dark looking for a way to help him.”
It wasn't easy being a parent, Hunter realized. Even when your kids were grown up and out of the nest, the worrying never went away. He could see the worry lines on Mama's face, the frown lines that were now permanently etched beside her mouth. The chinks in his mother's armor had first appeared after the sudden death of his father. And she hadn't had a moment's peace the entire time Joshua was enlisted. It was almost as if fear had become her constant companion – fear of losing yet another person she loved. And now, despite the fact that Joshua had returned home from military service, there was still a battle raging inside of him.
Joshua was the oldest, with Hunter sandwiched in the middle and Braxon the youngest of the boys. Sadie brought up the rear as the baby of the bunch. Although they'd always been a handful, Joshua had been the calmest of the bunch. Other than his father, Joshua had been the person in the world he'd most admired. He couldn't imagine having the courage to withstand three tours of duty in a war zone. He didn't know if he'd have been able to do one tour of duty, never mind three.
The crunch of tires on the gravel heralded the arrival of Joshua and Braxon, who drove up in a broken down Jeep Wrangler that had certainly seen better days. A flash of irritation nipped at Hunter. He'd given Braxon unlimited access to his fortune and he still insisted on driving around in a beat-up car. What in the world was he doing driving around in a wreck? Couldn't his little brother ditch that chip on his shoulder long enough to invest in a better car?
At just under six feet, Braxon was a few inches shorter than Hunter, with a compact, rugged physique. With skin the color of burnished wood and heavy-lidded, brown eyes, Braxon was a striking looking man. On a dare he'd shaved every strand of hair off his head in the dead of winter. Two years later and he was still sporting a bald head. With his strong, masculine features and rugged physique, it only served to make him more appealing to the ladies, who thought he favored the buff actor, Vin Diesel. Much to Mae's displeasure, Braxon had a reputation around town as a lady’s man.
