I let the ax fall again. “No.”
Hunter walked around me and started to pick up the wood pieces, tossing them into the back of the truck. “Getting ready for some firepit action, I see.”
“Yep,” I said with a grunt as I swung the ax again.
“You know, last time I checked, you had a machine that split firewood for you. Is it broken?”
“No.”
He picked up more wood and tossed it into the truck, then threw the ball for Jack again.
I stopped and wiped the sweat from my brow. Exhaling, I walked over and jumped up onto the tailgate of the truck, reached for my water, and took a drink.
“What do you make of Arabella’s little outburst yesterday?” I asked while Hunter watched Jack search for the ball.
Shrugging, he replied, “I’m not sure.”
“The day Abby stopped by to talk, Arabella called and left me a message. She was looking for Abby. I called her back because I was curious about what was going on. She did the same thing on the phone to me.”
Hunter threw the ball again and turned. “What do you mean?”
“Spoke her mind. She went right for the jugular.”
The corner of Hunter’s mouth twitched with a hidden smile. “What did she say?”
“That I’ve spent the last two years drowning my heart in whiskey and women.”
His brows lifted. “I’ll be damned.”
I smiled softly, then let it fade away. “Yeah, well, her sucker punch caused me to throw one of my own.”
His mood changed in a flash, and I saw an instant look of anger on his face. “What did you say to her?”
I rubbed my temples in an attempt to rid myself of the headache I felt like I’d had for the last week. “I might have said she was one to talk. Then I might have said something about her hiding out with bees, pretending she hadn’t broken your heart.”
Hunter closed his eyes. “Son of a bitch, Bishop.”
“Dude, I felt like a dick as soon as it came out. Don’t worry, though, she made sure to tell me I was an asshole before she ended the call. I was so pissed at myself for taking my anger out on her, I threw my phone at the wall.”
Hunter’s gaze snapped to mine. “That’s how you broke your phone?”
I nodded. “I’m telling you, women are going to be the death of me.”
“Amen to that, brother.”
Hunter’s phone beeped, and he pulled it out of his pocket. “It’s from Kyle.”
That piqued my interest. “What did he say?”
“He just says all is fine. Girls are enjoying themselves, and they’re almost to the top.”
We both looked over toward the mountain ridge Kyle had taken the girls. It was a clear day and I knew he wouldn’t put them in any danger.
“He knows what he’s doing,” Hunter said, breaking our silence.
“Yeah, I know. Why do you think they both wanted to go hiking?”
Hunter let out a bitter laugh. “Hell if I know. I’m tired of trying to figure Arabella out. I wish I could move on, but it’s fucking hard when you gave your heart and soul to someone and they let it go without a second thought.”
I turned and looked at Hunter. “I have a feeling it wasn’t that easy for Arabella to let you go. She still has feelings for you, Hunter, or she wouldn’t have made that comment about Brighton.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know.” His gaze met mine. “What are you going to do now that Abby is back in town to stay?”
“Fuck if I know. A part of me wants to pull her into my arms, and another part wants to tell her off. Every time I see her, I’m a jumbled-up mess of emotions. I saw her in the grocery store the other day and hurried down an aisle before she saw me, then fucking stalked her through the store. Tess finally hit me on the side of my head from behind and told me to grow some balls and go talk to her.”
Hunter laughed. “Damn, leave it to Tess. No wonder Maggie was never able to get away with anything.”
“I feel sorry for Maggie, having a mother like Tess. The woman seems to show up at the oddest damn times.”
He laughed again, then turned serious. “You gonna take Jax’s advice and talk to Abby?”
I nodded. “Yeah, I just need some time to process the fact that she’s back and how that makes me feel.”
“I get that.”
Jack barked to get Hunter’s attention. He picked up the ball and threw it once more. “I better get going,” he said. “You want to meet up tonight, drink a few beers? I already invited Aiden and Kyle. Adam had to go to Boston for a few days.”
I smiled. “You just want to get the scoop about what happened today on the trail.”
He huffed. “Like you don’t want to know.”