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“What am I going to say to Cameron?” I asked as tears filled my eyes. “He lost Ev. What can I say to make that better?”
“Nothing, baby,” Hunter sighed as he wiped a tear from my cheek with his thumb. “There is nothing anyone can say to make that better. But you’re here and I have a feeling that is going to help way more than anything Kai or I have tried in the last three years.”
“I can’t believe he’s gone,” I sniffled as I fought not to start crying again. “I didn’t get to say goodbye.” I looked up to Hunter with a little resentment. “You all left me and I never got to say goodbye. Now he’s gone and I…I’ll never get the chance to say so many things I should have told him,,” I whimpered.
“I’m so sorry, Maddie,” Hunter said as he squeezed his arm around me comfortingly, but I didn’t want his comfort. I tried to pull free of his hold, anger taking a grip of me once again, but he refused to release me. “I’m not letting you go. You’re too unsteady.”
“Hunter!” I growled.
“No Maddie. I’m not letting you push me away. Everett may be gone, but we’re all still here, damn it! We’re not wasting any more time,” he told me angrily.
“And what if it’s too damned late?” I demanded as I looked up into his eyes indignantly.
“It’s not. We’ll prove it to you,” he replied confidently. I sighed deeply, too tired to argue, and swiped at my tears as we continued into the house.
“I can’t imagine Cam without Ev at his side,” I said, needing to change the subject. I didn’t have the energy to stay angry.
“It takes time. It still hits me hard sometimes, even after three years,” Hunter confessed. “Just be you, Maddie. That’s what he needs.”
I nodded and allowed Hunter to lead me further into the house. I froze on the spot once we were inside the entrance way. If I thought the outside was fancy, it had nothing on the inside.
“Holy crap,” I gasped as I looked up at the modern chandelier that hung down from a double height ceiling. The floor was polished, very shiny white marble and off to my right was a huge, wide, sweeping staircase with the most beautiful dark wood balustrade. The stairs were marble too, with a runner of dark gray carpet running up the center, The entrance way was huge, with a large table at its center, which held the biggest fresh flower arrangement I had ever seen. The walls were paneled and had been painted in a pale grey tone that gave the whole space a perfect mix of modern colors and traditional features. “You guys arrange flowers nowadays?” I asked as I looked to Hunter with raised eyebrows.
“Nah,” he laughed. “That’s Sam. He’s kind of like our housekeeper. He and his husband, Garth, have worked here for over twenty years and when we moved in, we kept them on. Garth is the gardener. You’ll see him around too. They live in a cottage on the grounds, and they keep us all in line.”
“I don’t believe that for a second,” I scoffed, remembering just how hard it had been to keep the four of them in line when we were kids.
“True, but Sam does keep this place in order better than any of us ever could. Plus he’s the most amazing cook.”
“Mommy!” Willow squealed as she came running at me from nowhere, ploughing into my legs so fast she almost took me out. Thankfully, Hunter was still close enough to keep me upright.
“Steady there, munchkin. You almost knocked your mommy over,” Hunter told Willow playfully as Kai walked up behind her.
“Sorry.” Willow clung to my leg and looked up at me with a little worry in her wide eyes.
“It’s fine, peanut. Just slow down a little though, okay?”
“Okay, but did you see this house mommy? It’s absolutely giant! There really is a pool in the yard and they gots a whole room just for games downstairs!” she explained animatedly, making me smile.
“That’s great, honey,” I agreed as I looked to Kai and smiled gratefully. I was so relieved to see her looking so happy and excited.
“Kai said I can see my room now. Will you come too? I wants to show you too!” she pleaded and there was no way I could deny her sweet little face, even though the idea of tackling the staircase before me seemed almost impossible.
“Okay, let’s go,” I agreed easily.
The four of us fit almost side by side as we walked up the staircase, it was that wide. When we reached the top I looked around me at the mezzanine which overlooked the entrance way. Around it were dotted a number of doors, and two long corridors led off of it, with even more doors.
“How many rooms does this place have?” I asked as I stepped onto the lush, thick carpeted landing.
“There’s eight bedrooms, and a ton of bathrooms up here.” Hunter wrapped his arm around me again as Kai led the way towards the hallway off to the right, Willow right on his heels.
“Itisa castle mommy, remember?” Willow reminded me with a shake of her head, as though my ignorance exasperated her.
“Sassy, isn’t she?” Hunter chuckled.
“You have no idea,” I laughed, but I was just relieved she felt safe enough to be sassy. She would never have dared say something like that in front of Edward, knowing it could set off one of his tempers.
“I picked these rooms because they’re interconnecting, but if they’re not suitable, just let us know. There are others to choose from,” Kai said as he stopped at the second door on the left and turned to look at me.
