Almost immediately headlights lit up the street. A four-wheel drive cruised to a halt beside her and Hunter stuck his head out the window. ‘I hear you need a lift.’
‘Thanks.’ There were definitely butterflies batting around in her belly. Unbelievable. His second day on the job and he was picking her up, and she was falling apart. She’d had no intention of ever inviting him onto her street, let alone near her house. That was too close, too laden with memories. Yet here he was, a knight in a shining black four-wheel drive. Too close and laden with those memories. Like the one where she’d ogled his biceps and flat abs because he’d worn only jeans cut off at the knees as he’d mowed the lawns for her dad.
‘You going to stand there all morning?’
Good idea. Ducking around the vehicle, she got in, saying, ‘I should phone Roadside Assist.’ She’d been too busy thinking about Hunter to do it before.
‘You left a key with someone for them?’
‘No, I could hardy go knocking on a neighbour’s door at this hour. And before you ask, there isn’t a spare under the door mat.’
‘I’ve got a battery charger in the back. I’ll deal to your car after work.’
That was the last thing she wanted. But what were her options? ‘I’ll see.’ Inside the warm vehicle she buckled in and tried not to breathe aftershave spice.
He didn’t blink at her terse reply. ‘You forget to turn the lights off last night?’
‘Yep.’ She shook her head at her stupidity.
‘Lucky I’m staying close by.’ Was that a smile lifting the corner of his mouth? But, then, Hunter did like helping people out of a fix. Like the time she’d locked herself out of the house when she’d had the book group coming. They’d only known each other a week, though they’d begun knowing each other very well, and yet Hunter had left the pub where he’d been having a drink with his mates and raced around to lever the door open.
‘Yes.’ She should stop being grumpy. It wasn’t his fault Kevin had asked him to swing by and pick her up. It was his fault her head was heavy and full of memories she no longer had use for. ‘You can’t have been far away when Kevin called.’
‘I was running late, so now I’ve got an excuse.’
‘You? Late? Um, hello. You are Hunter Ford, right? The guy I used to know was always at the airport watching the flight before his leave for the same destination?’ A chuckle rolled up her throat. She swallowed it.
‘Says she who liked to swan in at the very last second.’ Hunter flicked her a smile.
‘These days I prefer early and prepared.’ She was not falling into that smile.
‘I was saying goodbye to my son. I hate leaving him. Especially while everything’s new and strange. Though Jess says it’s me with the hang-ups, and that Dylan’s settling in like he’s meant to be here.’
Jess and Dylan. The whole family package. Nice. Her shoulders dropped and her arms tightened against her sides. ‘How old is your boy?’ Might as well get it out of the way.
‘Four last month. He’s started preschool in Kitsilano with one of Dave’s kids.’
He didn’t seem to mind her questions, so she kept going. ‘You said the idea of coming back here kept you going over the years, but why?’
Hunter slowed for a red light, accelerated away when it changed to green. His fingers were gripping the steering wheel, his face no longer as relaxed. ‘Seemed like a plan to have at the ready, something to look forward to.’
A mind-your-own-business answer. ‘We all need those,’ she muttered. Not that she had any at the moment, her life being in cruise mode with lots going on to keep her busy and out of trouble. So, Jess. What was she like? How long had they been together? Were they married? Yes, they would be. Hunter used to say he wanted to marry the woman he loved, not live in a relationship without all the legal trimmings. That woman used to be her. Why bring her to Kitsilano when that had been where they’d been so happy? ‘You and Jess been married long?’ Dylan was four. She and Hunter had broken up six years ago. She’d been replaced quick smart.
‘Are we what?’ Abrupt laughter filled the four-wheel drive.
‘Concentrate on the road, will you?’ she snapped, not sure what his response meant.
Hunter drove straight and true in the outside lane. ‘Jess is Dave’s wife. Not mine,’ he added through gritted teeth.
‘Oh.’ So where was Dylan’s mother? She was not asking. Not now when Hunter looked like he wanted to strangle her. Over an obvious question? He’d brought Jess’s name up in the first place. Or was it the wife word that turned his mood from friendly to sour? Not asking that either. Brenna reached into her jacket pocket to retrieve her phone. No new messages. Great. Now what? Talk about the weather. Always a safe subject. Or she could go with shutting up.
‘Dylan’s mother and I were married for a couple of years, but it was a fail. Always going to be, I guess, since the only thing we had in common was Dylan, and I love him to bits, but he couldn’t keep us happy with each other.’ This was more like the Hunter she remembered. Not reticent with his words. ‘Not that it was his role to.’
Now her heart ached for him. Reaching across, she touched his arm, felt him tense under her palm and quickly withdrew. ‘I’m so sorry. That must be hard to deal with. So did Dylan’s mum move to Vancouver too?’ As in separately. If she’d moved first, he’d have come so he could spend time with his son, wouldn’t he?
‘No.’
Brenna waited for more. Got nothing. Back to being the taciturn Hunter she didn’t know. ‘So, you’re a full-time dad.’
‘Evie died in a car crash after we’d split up. She’d dropped Dylan off so he could spend the night with me, and on the way back to town she crossed the road into the path of an oncoming truck and trailer unit. She didn’t stand a chance. The police believe she was texting at the time.’
I think I prefer it when he doesn’t talk so much. This was awful.
‘Hell, Hunter, how did you cope? That’s...’ She paused. ‘I don’t know what to say really.’
‘Don’t even try. It’s all been said, often, and none of it helps.’ He pulled into the car park at the rescue base, hauled the brake on, turned the ignition off and slowly turned to face her. ‘We were never in love. Evie fell pregnant soon after we met, and we decided to give it a go for the baby’s sake. Bad idea. We got on better when we lived separately, and Dylan was happier.’
There was a whole load of self-blame resonating in his words, even when he hadn’t been in the car and apparently not texting with Evie. No surprise there. It was who he was. A man who believed he had to stand up and help people, not destroy them in any way.
He destroyed me by standing by his parents.
Yes, and she’d survived, made a comeback, been with a man for nearly two years, got engaged, then unengaged. At least she wasn’t so naïve any more. Nudging open her door, she said, ‘I hope the move works out for you and your boy, Hunter.’ Surprisingly she did. Once he left this job and took up his permanent one, she’d be absolutely fine with it.
* * *
Why had he gone and spilled his guts? Hunter shivered in the chilly air. While it was good to have the facts about Evie and Dylan out of the way, h
e hadn’t needed to say half as much as he had. Or had he? Had he been trying to show Brenna that he hadn’t fallen in love with another woman after he’d left her? But he’d noticed the sudden tightening of her hands on her thighs when he’d said how old Dylan was. She’d done the sums.
What he hadn’t told her was that he’d hooked up with Evie because he’d been desperate for some warmth and kindness in his life, something to temporarily fill the gaping hole that only Brenna could fix. And would never get the chance to. He’d deliberately set out to put Brenna out of his life.
Yet here he was, encroaching in her work zone, and in her neighbourhood. Yesterday, spending time working together, being crammed into the back of the chopper or sitting in the tearoom, had rammed it home to him that he hadn’t got over her as much as he’d thought. If at all.
The attraction that had seen them falling into bed the first time they’d gone on a date seemed to have been lying in waiting for the match that had fired his libido into a frenzy yesterday. A frenzy that could not get a look in. He and Brenna were long over. She’d have a man in her life, and when Bren did anything, she did it with everything she had, including loving.
Sadness, or jealousy, or longing, or some blasted emotion grabbed him, squeezed so tight he stepped towards his vehicle, needing to race away some place that didn’t palpate with Brenna vibes. So much for returning to the one location he’d ever been completely and utterly happy. But Kamloops was no longer an option.
His boy was not getting tied up in the fiasco that was his parents’ marriage and their inability to stand on their own two feet and help each other—when he wasn’t available—for everything from snow on the lawn to the mailman being late. Plus, Mum had already begun telling Dylan about his grandfather’s strange thinking and how there were voices in his head, and how Dylan had to be strong for them. Enough was enough.
‘You standing out here all day?’ Brenna called from where she held the outside door open.
Good idea. ‘What’s for breakfast?’ He’d snaffled some buns from Jess’s pantry when she’d been filling the kettle.