Hell, he’d gone back to Kamloops to run the orchard in an attempt to save it while also working in the local hospital’s surgical ward. All safe and serious. Necessary if he was going to help his parents, but he should’ve had more fun along the way. More than an odd beer with his friends, but he hadn’t had the energy left at the end of the day for more than looking after Dylan.
But I did have fun; with my boy.
Lots of great times squeezed in between all the hard work and stress that had gone on at the orchard. He’d organised Dylan’s third birthday party in the packing shed with robots and clowns for entertainment. Yep, there’d been good times in the last few years, most of them centred around his boy. If that made him boring, then he’d put his hand up. He was a father, first and foremost, and not too proud to tell anyone asking.
But he needed to start doing things for himself, like getting back into softball this summer, maybe coaching a junior team. He could try dating Brenna.
Like that was going to happen.
Crunch. Splat. The mower’s engine raced.
‘Dad, look where you’re going. That was Poppy’s ball.’
Once again Brenna had messed with his head.
* * *
‘Sorry, the ferry was late leaving Victoria,’ Brenna called out as she barged into her house on Sunday night and headed to the kitchen, where she dumped her bags. ‘I didn’t expect you to stay until I got back. I do have another key.’ But it was lovely seeing him here. Especially when she felt restless and sad.
Hunter was standing behind the bench, looking right at home and devilishly handsome in his navy-blue jersey and blue and white checked shirt. ‘Dylan didn’t want to leave Poppy on her own.’ He grinned.
‘They got along, then?’
‘Inseparable. Though Poppy’s take might have something to do with the food titbits she received whenever I wasn’t looking.’ His grin widened. ‘I know it’s not healthy for a dog to eat toast and honey, but routine takes over again as of now.’
‘As long as chocolate wasn’t involved, I can live with that.’ Brenna opened the fridge to retrieve the bottle of wine she’d put in there on Friday for a pick-me-up when she got home, knowing how drained she’d feel after the emotional weekend.
‘I told Dylan chocolate makes dogs very sick. He wants to know when we can come and stay again.’
‘You’d have to fight Gina for it. She’s always looking for a chance to get away from her flatmates and their boyfriends.’ Damned top wouldn’t crack open. ‘Anyway, it’s unlikely I’ll be away again before you shift into your house.’
‘Here, let me.’ He took the bottle from her hand, got a glass from the cupboard and poured her drink, before picking up his beer and raising it to his lips. Lips she’d had the hardest time forgetting since Wednesday. ‘Dylan will be disappointed, but then he doesn’t know I’m going to get a dog when we’re in our own place.’
‘Where is he?’ She’d met the cute little guy, a replica of his dad without the lines on his face and worry in his eyes, on Friday when they’d arrived early with their overnight bags and groceries so that she could introduce Poppy to the boy.
‘Fell asleep in his dinner. I put him to bed until I’m ready to leave. He’s been running around outside non-stop all day. And before you ask, Poppy’s sprawled on the mat beside the bed.’
‘That explains my non-welcome home.’ Parking her butt on one of the stools at the counter, she sipped the wine, and finally allowed full rein to the exhaustion bugging her. ‘It’s good to be home.’
‘A big weekend?’ he asked gently.
His concern was like old times. ‘Very. I don’t know why this one was more intense than usual when it’s now three years since Dad went. Mum cried a lot, and Em and Lily weren’t much better.’ Nor was she.
‘There’s no finite date for moving past something as hard as losing someone you love. Some people swear you only need a year; one anniversary for all the important dates you shared. Others say it happens when you’re ready.’
‘I thought I was.’ That was before Hunter had reappeared in her life and stirred up a load of memories. Not all those memories were about them in bed together, or laughing, sharing food, dates. Some were from the times they’d spent with her family at the cabin, and during the weekend she’d been very aware of those occasions. ‘The maple tree we planted three years ago has turned up its roots. I’m going back with a new one when spring’s settled in.’
Hunter laughed. ‘Chris and his maple trees. Not to mention the syrup he poured over his breakfast every day. That man had the sweetest tooth I’ve ever known.’
It was nice hearing Hunter laugh over something she, Mum and the sisters had cried about more than once since Friday. Dad had had the sweetest tooth ever and originally planting the tree had been about acknowledging that. ‘Nothing was safe from his bottle of maple syrup.’ Brenna smiled. ‘Hard to believe how much he got through and still had normal glucose levels. Even on his worst days with dementia a dollop of syrup made him smile.’ She brushed her eyes before lifting her glass to her mouth.
‘You’re the same about chocolate. I had to put a lock on the pantry to keep Dylan out.’ Another laugh filled the air between them. ‘You need another pantry for normal food. There’s no room in that one.’
‘I try not to eat too much, but it is my go-to treat.’
‘No wonder you’re into aqua jogging. It’s got nothing to do with those teenagers at all. You’re your father’s daughter.’
‘Yeah,’ she sighed. ‘I am.’ Nothing like her birth mother, except for the over-the-top curly hair and mud-coloured eyes. ‘I found my other mother two years ago.’ Sort of.
Hunter leaned his elbows on the counter, his legs splayed behind him, and locked his eyes on her as he sipped from his bottle of beer. ‘How did that go?’
He knew how much she’d wanted to meet up with the woman who’d given her life, even if only to tell her how cruel she’d been to desert her and her dad. ‘Dad left me an envelope not to be opened while he was alive.’ The wine sweetened her mouth when it might’ve turned sour. Because she was with Hunter? Breathing deep, she smelt something hot and savoury and tasty. ‘What’s cooking?’
‘My pine nut and chicken casserole. I figured you might not have had dinner and thought we could share a meal. If you want to be left alone I won’t take it with me. Not all of it.’ His smile was devastating because it was kind and gentle and all about doing something for her. It undid some of the knots that had formed the first day he’d walked into the rescue base.
‘Dinner sounds delicious, and I’m more than happy to share. After I’ve finished this glass and poured another.’ This was her private time—Hunter notwithstanding—to have a drink and think of her father in the context of the anniversary without looking out for Mum, Emily and Lily. It had been a difficult weekend, everyone sad, but at least they had been there for each other and able to let their hair down, say anything they liked, and no one took offence. They’d all unreservedly adored Dad.
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Although there was one thing she would’ve liked to have had out with him. ‘Dad didn’t want me to know about my birth mother while he was alive.’ It wasn’t as if she’d missed out on getting to know the woman because of his reticence, but he still should’ve told her. ‘Unbeknown to anyone except Mum, he’d been trying to find her for years. All he’d had to go on was that she came from Australia.’ Apparently, her birth mother hadn’t been big on sharing facts about herself.
‘Big country, that.’
‘Which makes it all the more remarkable that he eventually found her family. Two sisters living in Perth. My aunts. They didn’t have much to say except that my mother had returned to Australia after leaving us, and she’d died from cancer not long after.’ She’d never mentioned Brenna or her father to the sisters. ‘They got a shock when Dad got in touch, and I gather it took photos to prove he wasn’t lying. Once they accepted the truth, they got all concerned he was after the family fortune.’
‘That’s not like Chris at all.’ Hunter locked eyes with her. ‘Or you.’
‘I don’t think the aunts believe me when I say I don’t want a cent of it, but they’ll get used to the idea eventually, I guess.’ Hunter knew her well. Right now, feeling decimated from the emotional two days, it was hard not to fall into the depth of his steady, reassuring gaze, to fall and hold on until the sadness drained away. Hard, but not impossible, if she straightened her spine one vertebra at a time. ‘I flew out to meet them, and learned I have cousins as well.’ Four, all determined not to make her a part of the family. No doubt because of that fortune.
Hunter took her glass from her clenched fingers and topped it up. ‘They hurt you.’ He understood without being told.
Another notch of emotion dropped away. ‘They want nothing to do with me.’ All she’d wanted had been familial recognition, to be able to phone them occasionally for a yarn about what she’d been up to and in return hear what they’d been doing. Instead, she’d received the same lack of interest and concern as her birth mother had given her. None, except for the determination to keep her from the family coffers.