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“I have trout. I’m good with trout.”
That was true. If there was one dish Hazel had mastered, it was trout. Which was weird, because trout was tricky. Likely, Hazel had it down because she loved it, as had Pops, and Nan had taught her all the secrets. A bit of oil, some native herbs, and a dash of bottled lemon juice—which Nan would incorporate into as many dishes as she could, to avoid scurvy, because Pops hated just about every fruit and vegetable they could access.
Hunter nodded his agreement. “Trout it is. I’ll do the rice.”
She rolled her eyes, but a touch of amusement helped to soften the mossy green that rimmed the amber irises. Hazel had not mastered rice, and Hunter didn’t like it crunchy, clumpy, or burned.
“Sundown?”
“That will work.”
“Zel?” Hunter lifted the one-quarter-filled box. He waited to make his exit until she glanced at him again. “You going to be okay?”
She shrugged. “People change their mind.”
Something she’d said not very long ago as a reason she’d rejected Bennett’s sort-of proposal.
Hunter couldn’t believe that Bennett had changed his mind—or his heart—about Hazel. Not when he’d seen the two of them together. Not when he’d heard the longing and conviction in Bennett’s voice when the man had confided in Hunter that he wanted to marry Hazel. A sudden change of heart didn’t fit here.
But he wasn’t confident in that enough to say it out loud. What if it was just his desperate hope that Hazel wasn’t right—that the Wallace siblings weren’t doomed to lives of loneliness? Instead Hunter nodded and made his way back to the running truck.
Back at his trailer, he put away the few groceries and then wandered to the edge of the pond’s shore. To his left a gentle wind rattled the millions of aspen leaves, creating a soft, familiar rustling that lent comfort. The deep-green wall of those leathery leaves had transformed to wide swaths of vibrant yellow.
Some things did change. And sometimes that was a good thing. Change was needed—part of the rhythm of life.
But Bennett? Had he really changed his mind?
Hunter could think of one sure way to find out the truth. Reaching into his back pocket, he palmed his cell phone and sent a call out to his friend.
“Hunter.” Bennett answered right away. “I wasn’t expecting you to call. Everything okay with the lodge?”
“Nothing wrong there.” Hunter cleared his throat, an attempt to remove the bite in his tone. “My sister is upset though.”
A muffled sigh came from the other end of the call. “Yeah. I should have discussed this with her first.”
“So it’s true? You’re moving?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think she’d be upset about that part.”
“How could you assume that? Chicago is a long way away, and she hates the city.”
“Chicago?”
“Right.” Were they talking about the same thing here? “You’re moving back to Chicago. That’s what Hazel said.”
“It’s not what I said.” A pause rested in the back-and-forth. Then, “I told her I was moving to Luna. To be closer to the both of you because it’s going to be complicated enough with me being guardian for Nathan and Gemma. I don’t want the distance making things harder.”
“Here? You’re . . . you’re moving here?”
“Yes, that’s my plan. I must have been cut off when I was telling Hazel. It sounded like she was distracted.”
Mild guilt plunged in Hunter’s gut. That had been his fault. He’d been narrowly focused on leaving the café so he didn’t have to witness Janie with Game and Parks a moment longer. He’d barked at Hazel, interrupting her phone conversation with Bennett, demanding that they leave. Now.
“Yeah . . . I’m sorry about that.” Relief rushed to the spot that had just felt rotten. Bennett wasn’t leaving. He hadn’t changed his mind.
“Sounds like I’d better call Hazel and get this straighten out.”
“That’s a good idea. Like I said, she was pretty upset.”
