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Hunter managed to stand his ground and nod but he dropped his eyes since he knew it was the fastest way to diffuse his father’s anger. Well, one of the fastest ways. “He will, Dad. He did…he did mention something about how refreshing it was to be working with a realtor who knew what he was doing for a change.”
The trick worked because his father’s chest puffed out somewhat. His father finally eased back a bit and Hunter murmured, “I thought I’d head back to school tonight. I’ve got a paper due on Monday.”
“No,” his father interjected. “You’re not going anywhere. If Blackwell wants to see the property again, you’ll need to show him. Dr. Meyers says I’m out of commission for another week at least.”
The idea of spending even another day in Dare had Hunter saying, “I can’t afford to miss any classes-”
His father’s palm cracked against his cheek before he could even finish the statement. “You will do as I fucking say, you hear me?” Another slap followed and Hunter bit back the tears that threatened and nodded quickly.
“Now get in back and finish cleaning out that storeroom.”
Hunter stepped back from his father and turned to head towards the back room. A glance at his mother showed that she was still focused on the computer screen, her thin fingers moving tirelessly over the keyboard. He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t even look at him once as he passed.
* * *
Hunter enjoyed the soothing sound of an owl hooting somewhere nearby as he tossed another piece of wood onto the fire before laying back down on his sleeping bag. Even with the temperature dropping into the mid-forties, he didn’t regret his decision to spend the night at the lake for even a second. The cloudless sky meant he’d sleep under a blanket of stars tonight and the sound of the forest coming alive as the nocturnal wildlife went about their lives was a hundred times better than listening to his father rant and rave about whatever trivial thing he’d decided was unacceptable in the world that he thought only revolved around himself.
It hadn’t taken much to convince his father to let him leave the house to hang out with “friends.” For some reason it had always been some kind of badge of honor for his father that Hunter had managed to become one of the more popular kids in his high school. As long as Hunter hung out with the kids his father deemed “the cool ones,” Hunter was golden. But if he’d dared gravitate towards the wrong ones, his father had never hesitated to let him know it in the only way he knew how. And for the most part, Hunter had managed to follow the unspoken rule…until the one day when his inner need had overshadowed his fear. One weak moment when he’d given in to the desperate craving he couldn’t ignore.
It took Hunter a moment to realize the owl and all the other inhabitants of the forest around him had gone silent and he automatically sat up and reached for the rifle sitting next to his sleeping bag. It wasn’t unheard of for bears to show up at the lake in search of food but he would have expected his fire to keep them at bay for tonight. A light off in the distance flashed through the trees and fear tripped through Hunter at the thought that his father had finally discovered his sanctuary. Fuck, there’d be hell to pay if he had.
“Hunter?”
The sound of Roman’s deep voice had Hunter climbing to his feet with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.
“Over here,” he called as he began walking towards the flash of light. It suddenly went out completely and he heard a muffled curse. “Just stay put, I’m coming to you,” Hunter said as he picked his way through the trees. It took just minutes to reach Roman who was stuffing what looked like his phone into his pocket.
“Forgot to charge it,” he muttered as he lifted his hand to keep the light from the flashlight Hunter was holding from hitting him square in the eyes.
“Sorry,” Hunter murmured as he dropped the light so it was pointing at their feet. “What are you doing here?” He could see Roman was holding something bundled in his arms.
“You mind if we talk by the fire,” Roman responded.
Hunter could tell Roman’s coat wasn’t heavy enough for the elements so he led him back to the fire and pointed to his sleeping bag. He sat down next to Roman and bit back a groan when their bodies brushed as he reached for another log to toss on the fire.
“You expecting company?” Roman asked as he glanced at the gun Hunter didn’t realize he was still holding.
“Bears come down here every once in a while,” he answered as he put the gun down. “What are you doing here, Roman?”
“Hell if I know,” Roman muttered as he began unfolding the blankets that had been bunched up in his arms. Hunter helped him spread the blankets over both their laps. He could tell from the material that they were the kind of blankets you’d find in a cheap motel.
“Are these from your hotel?”
“I don’t know if theDusty Spurqualifies as a hotel but the owner was quick to reassure me it was Dare’s finest accommodations,” Roman answered.
“It’s Dare’s only accommodations,” Hunter interjected. “That still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here,” Hunter reminded him.
Roman was quiet for a long time. “I didn’t like how we left things this afternoon…how I left them. And then I realized that I didn’t even have your number so I couldn’t call or text you. I didn’t know how long you’d be in town for and I remembered you saying how much you liked coming out here so I took a chance…”
When Roman didn’t say anything else, Hunter pulled out his phone and handed it to Roman. “Put in your number.”
Roman glanced at him and then took the phone and did just that. When he gave it back, their fingers briefly brushed and Hunter nearly shook his head. How the hell could one innocent touch make his whole body feel like it was on fire? He forced himself to concentrate on the phone and typed out a quick text message to Roman’s number and hit send.
“I owe you an apology,” he heard Roman say softly.
Hunter wanted to laugh. “You don’t owe me anything. What you did for me last night…”
“I wish I’d gotten there sooner…” Roman suddenly whispered and Hunter turned his head and saw that Roman was staring at him. Even with the little light that the fire offered, Hunter could see the other man really meant it and he felt his insides do a crazy flip-flop.
