I sighed deeply.“I feel so ashamed.”
“Why?”
I shrugged.“They are always telling me how beautiful I am, what a great catch I am, but as soon as a man like you shows interest, they all think it’s fake.Hunter never treated me like that.”
He softly brushed the tips of his fingers through the hair at my temples.“I’m not going to argue on their behalf, you’ll have to confront them yourself to get their truth.”His lips brushed the nape of my neck.“Tell me more about Hunter.”
“He had so many ideas.”A painful lump rose in my throat.“Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve saved him a seat at the table?”
Daire’s body jerked slightly behind me then he gathered me closer.“It’s been a while.Does that upset you?”
“I don’t want to forget him.He was crazy and wonderful and a massive, massive pain in the ass.The things he did…” My voice petered off.“He made to-do lists every year, and every year he included things he wanted to do for us.”
Daire murmured soothingly in my ear.“Like what?Give me some examples.”
“He sourced out Hawkley’s dream car so Hawkley could restore it.
“Secured funding for the resort’s golf course repairs.Anonymously.Hawk found out it was him when he went through Hunter’s things.
“He believed in me.Told me to aim high.Not to take no for an answer.To believe in myself.He ran interference for me with Mom and Dad all the time when they worried something was too much for me.”
The next memory made me smile.“He instigated The Amazing Lawn Tractor Race down Main Street.We wanted to go see this movie and mom wouldn’t take us as punishment for some other transgression.He organized a betting pool, and we made enough money to go see it.”
My voice thickened and I laughed through my tears.“It was also the night of The Great Snowmobile Heist.Dad damn near killed both of my brothers.We snuck the snowmobiles out.I let go of Hunter on a turn, tumbled off, and sprained my ankle.I’ve never seen Dad so angry before or since.Oh, God, we were so naughty with our secret missions!”
“Tell me more about these missions.”
A watery smile spread across my face.“Do you know about The Portal to Hell?When we were young, Mom gave my office to me and Noelle, and gave the boys the one next door.Hunter didn’t like us being separated so the boys dug a hole clear through the drywall.Once they broke through, Noelle and I helped widen it from our side.”
Daire’s chuckle warmed me.
“The Great Cotton Ball Mystery.”I laughed.“FYI: A wet cotton ball will freeze to anything.We spent hours sticking them all over Mom’s van.And she had to drive to Mistlevale first thing in the morning.She was so mad, but the momobile never looked so good.We got so many extra chores for that.And those were aside from the hours spent in the garage with a hair dryer melting the damn things off.
“Oh my God!I forgot about Operation Get Clucked!”I began to laugh in earnest.“He ‘borrowed’ chickens from Old Man Gilley.That man would do anything for Hunter.He tagged each chicken with a number: 1/5, 2/5, 4/5, and 5/5.The school was in utter chaos for the entire day trying to locate the third chicken that didn’t even exist!”
Daire’s chest reverberated with laughter against my back.
“This one was sad.Operation Flounder was a major fail on our parts.We filled the swimming pool with ten cent goldfish from the pet store.We didn’t know the chlorine would kill them.Hunter cried for weeks.He was at least fourteen or fifteen when it happened, but he was devastated.”
“Tender-hearted like his sister.”
At this point, I didn’t even try to deny it.“I already told you about him borrowing the keys to the carousel.He loved that carousel.Mom had to take him every day when he was little.Old Man Gilley loved him to death.”My voice hitched on a sob.“You saw the plaque on our horse.I told you about his will.”
He hugged me closer.“He was an amazing man.”
“Yes,” I sobbed, my next words near incoherent but I hoped he understood.“He didn’t get Hawkley a key.Just me.We used to go there in the middle of the night.Just the two of us.He said he wanted me to always be able to get to it even if he wasn’t around.”
“That carousel means a lot to you.”
“It means everything to me.”
His broad palm stroked the length of my back.“That’s why it was so hard to go back to it.”
“Yes.But now I think I’ll just pitch a tent and live there.Stage a protest so they can’t take it down,” I joked wetly.
The pendulum of my emotions swung wildly, fairly threatening me with whiplash.
“And what would Hunter say about you?”
