Mum gave a tired chuckle. ‘I’d be surprised if she hadn’t.’
‘You all right?” Brenna asked. It wasn’t like Mum to sound so flat, though they were going to the island for the third anniversary of her father’s death, so it was to be expected. ‘Apart from the obvious,’ she added.
‘Think I’m coming down with a cold. Nothing major. How was the weekend? Get lots of amazing photos?’
‘I’m hoping they’re good. I haven’t downloaded them yet. It was so late when I got back last night I just crashed into bed. The weather was perfect, and the snow excellent. Plus, the kids were amazing in their determination to do well.’ Not mentioning how she’d nearly slammed into a boulder while concentrating on getting the best picture of the race leader on a downhill section. Her mum would have fifty fits.
The most caring woman, she’d always been there for Brenna from the day she and Dad had got together, not once making her feel any different from the two girls who’d come along later. She’d been very lucky, if she didn’t think about her birth mother.
‘Guess who I saw today?’ Oh, bugger. Now she’d gone and set herself up for a lecture. But she had to tell someone, to get it off her chest, out of her head, and who better than Mum?
‘Hunter Ford.’
‘What? You knew he was in town and didn’t tell me?’ Her jaw tensed, and her fingers were claws.
‘No, but I’ve only ever known you to speak like someone’s got a rope drawn tight around your throat when you’re thinking about Hunter. Oh, honey, I’m sorry it was Hunter. You don’t need all that hurt rearing its head again.’
I talk differently when thinking about Hunter? Since when? Probably for the last six years.
‘You’re right. I don’t. But it gets worse. He’s working at the rescue base for a month.’
‘You really have annoyed someone out there.’ Mum sighed. ‘How are you? It must be hard after all these years. Has he changed much?’
I’m coping. If I ignore the images floating before my eyes.
Brenna sipped her now lukewarm soup. ‘Older, more worn, otherwise still Hunter as far as I can tell.’ Until she knew more, she wasn’t mentioning the mystery of who the ‘we’ was.
‘Maybe you can get rid of that grandfather clock now he’s here.’
Brenna gasped. What? Just turn up on his doorstep with a gift she bought more than six years ago? Hardly. ‘Better go. I’ve got hundreds of photos to sort through and send to the school.’ She regretted saying anything about Hunter. Though it had to come out sometime. As did the clock. Why had Mum kept it for so long for her, knowing Hunter was never coming back? She wondered how Hunter would react if he ever got to see the damned clock.
Why did you come back, Hunter?
Life had suddenly become a roller-coaster ride of emotions, none of which made a lot of sense. Why couldn’t she just accept he’d once devastated her, and she wanted nothing more to do with him?
Because I’m still attracted to him.
And wasn’t that the dumbest thought she’d had in years? Attractive or not, he’d hurt her big time and could do it again. Get a grip, be tough. Act the part if necessary. ‘I’ll see you Friday, Mum.’
‘Okay, honey. Take care.’ The phone clicked off with no parting shot about how to handle Hunter. Showed how tired her mother was.
But take care. Of what? It wasn’t as though Hunter was going to feature in her life again. Other than working on the choppers with her for a few weeks. Too many weeks. One would’ve been more than enough. Hopefully Kevin would roster him with Carl later on. Why would he do that?
Because I need him to.
But if she wasn’t going to get all hot and wound up over Hunter then it didn’t matter if they worked together.
Plugging the lead from her camera into the computer, Brenna clicked on the icon to begin the download of the weekend’s photos. And while she waited she clicked on ‘Pictures’ and scrolled back beyond six years.
Her and Hunter in Stanley Park with his dog.
Hunter lying on her couch sound asleep after a hectic night in the ED.
Her in a bikini on the beach just down the road, her windsurfing board at her side.
Hunter smiling at her as though she was the best thing that had ever happened to him. He’d always said she was. Yeah, and then he’d left her.
Click. The screen filled with images of snow and mountains and teenaged skiers wearing bright red and white outfits.
Her head remained full of images of Hunter. Smiling, laughing, sad, tired. These pictures were stored in her memory; pictures she’d forgotten, or deliberately pushed away. Why had she transferred those real photos onto her new computer? She hadn’t kept more than a few of Shane when they’d separated last year, yet there were hundreds of Hunter. Pictures that she’d not looked at once since a month after he’d left town and she’d known the only way forward was to stop torturing herself over them.
‘Poppy,’ she called as she shoved up from her office chair. ‘Walkies.’ Selecting which photos to send to the coach could wait. She needed fresh air.
Poppy lifted her head from her paws and flicked her tail up and down on the carpet, before leaping to her feet and doing her customary circles around Brenna’s legs. It was never too late for her to go walking.
Outside the wind whipped around the house.
Brenna shrugged into her puffer jacket and pulled on gloves. Poppy nudged her thigh and waited patiently for her lead to be clicked into place. ‘It’s not going to be much fun, Pops, but you need the exercise and I need to clear my head.’
It worked. By the time Brenna returned home Poppy was soaked, requiring a good towelling. Then, after a large bowl of food, the Lab snuggled into her big soft cushion for the night, and Brenna reheated her soup before sitting down to concentrate on the skiing photos, selecting the best, editing, chopping and making up a portfolio to send to the school’s sports coach. By the time she climbed into bed she was exhausted, and soon unconscious.
When her favourite song romped into her brain at four forty-five she took Poppy for another walk. ‘At least you’ll be dry this time.’ Rubbing her pet between her ears, they headed out onto the road to do eight blocks before returning to get ready for the day.
Another day squashed into the helicopter with Hunter sharing the same space, the same air. Twelve hours of being polite and not too nosy, while wanting to know every last thing that had happened to him in the intervening years.
Hunter, Hunter, Hunter. Why did you come back to my turf? Canada’s a huge country, yet you’ve landed splat in the middle of Kitsilano. I don’t get it.
Apart from the fact he’d said it was the area he knew and had been happy in, and where his closest friend now lived. Four weeks, minus one day. Somehow, they’d manage to survive. They had to. Hunter wasn’t going to make her regret going into her favourite job every day.
Tossing her bag onto the passenger seat of her car, she got in and turned the ignition. Grrr. The engine coughed and died. What the heck? She tried again, same result. Dead. She flicked the light switch and swore. She hadn’t turned them off last night. How hadn’t she noticed they were on when she’d got out of the car? Too busy thinking about Hunter, that’s how. Go on, blame the man. If he hadn’t come to town, she’d be on her way to work right now.
Grabbing her phone, she pressed the button for Kevin. ‘Sorry, I’m going to be late. Flat battery. I’ll call a cab. Hopefully they won’t be too long getting here at this hour.’
‘Give Hunter a buzz. He’s staying not far from you.’
‘I don’t have his number.’ She didn’t want it. Might be too tempting to ring him in the quiet times. ‘A cab’s just fine.’
‘I’ll ring Hunter for you. Does he know where you live?’
Arguing wasn’t going to get her anywhere, and she did need to get to work on time in case the
re was a call out. ‘Tell him my dad’s old place. He’ll know it.’ Unless his memory was shot to pieces, which was highly unlikely. He’d know she didn’t mean the house Mum and Dad had owned together. ‘He might’ve left already,’ she added hopefully. Hunter was always on time for everything, even to the dentist. But she was talking to herself.
Kevin obviously had better things to do than shoot the breeze with a grumpy woman at this hour. Who wouldn’t? By most people’s standards it was early for anything more than coffee, toast and driving to work with rock music in the background. Slamming the car door shut, she stomped down to the kerb to wait, trying to ignore the unease churning in her stomach. If only this wasn’t happening.