by Kayla Perrin
“I seduced you, did I?” He gave her a pointed look. “I think we both seduced each other.”
Lorraine’s face flamed. The situation was unraveling. They were so off point, it was ridiculous. “You’re right. I can’t keep the store because of you. This, us, it’s wrong, it’s awkward. Do with the store what you like. I have to get out of here.”
She started for the door.
“Did I just imagine our amazing connection?” Hunter asked. “Or are you running because you don’t want to admit how much you enjoyed yourself in my bed?”
Lorraine halted at the door. Oh, how she wanted to turn around, throw him the keys and tell him to never talk to her again.
Liar, a voice sounded in her head. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Her body was flushed, her pulse racing. Lust for Hunter was coursing through her veins as though she’d been injected with a potent drug.
She sensed him behind her before she heard him. And when he slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her back against the hard wall of his chest, a long breath oozed out of her, her pent-up sexual frustration slowly being released.
“Tell me,” Hunter whispered into her ear. A low groan rumbled in his chest as he smoothed his hands over her stomach. “Why do you keep running from me?”
“Hunter...” Lorraine lolled her head backward against his shoulder. Good Lord, it felt so good to be in his arms again. “You said you wanted me to...to show you the store. I don’t understand what’s...happening.”
“There’s something about you,” Hunter said softly, in a voice that was both unnerving and arousing. “Honestly, I didn’t come here to do this. I came here to understand my father’s motivations a bit more. See you through his eyes. But instead, all I can do is think about us and that night and the way you left me wanting so much more.”
“This is crazy,” Lorraine said, even as she leaned back against his body.
“If you’re playing a game with me, just tell me. Because if you don’t want this—” He stroked her cheek again, then let his fingers roam under her chin and down to the base of her neck. “I need to know.”
His voice was soft and feathery, and Lorraine’s eyes fluttered shut. She wanted to tell him to leave her alone. She wanted to give him the keys right now and run and never see him again. But not because she didn’t want what he was offering. She wanted to run because she did want it.
He brushed his lips against her cheek. “Am I crazy?” he whispered into her ear. “Was what I felt with you in my bed one-sided?”
She swallowed. He’d asked the right question. Or rather, the wrong one. Because she couldn’t answer him honestly now. She couldn’t tell him that she hadn’t enjoyed her time in his bed. So she said nothing.
“You don’t like it when I touch you?” he asked, one of his hands moving up to cup her breast.
“You know I do,” she rasped, finally telling him what he wanted to hear.
A satisfied groan emanated from his throat. He trailed his lips along her cheek. “I remember everything. Just how you like to be touched.”
Lorraine’s center pulsed. She was lost.
When the cell phone rang, her heart slammed against her rib cage. It sounded like an alarm going off in the room.
When it rang a second time, Hunter said, “Damn, that’s mine. Hold on.”
As he stepped away from her, coolness enveloped her. She blinked rapidly, her breathing haphazard. Though her brain knew that they’d just been interrupted by a phone call, her body didn’t seem able to cope with the sudden desertion.
“No, this isn’t a bad time,” Hunter was saying when Lorraine turned to face him.
She placed a palm on her chest, surprised at how quickly it was rising and falling. What was wrong with her? A few heated words and a few gentle strokes and she’d been ready to get naked with him again?
The phone call had saved her from reacting with her libido, instead of thinking like a mature woman.
“I know,” Hunter said. “We got delayed.”
Lorraine’s eyes narrowed. We? Who was he talking to?
“She’s going to need another few days,” he said.
Lorraine gaped at him. “Are you talking to Joe?” she asked.
Hunter held up a hand to keep her at bay. “Wait a minute, what letter?”
He’d lied to her, hadn’t he? He’d told her that he’d canceled the appointment with the lawyer!
“Definitely, I’ll come by and get it now,” he said. “All right, see you soon.”
When he ended the call, Lorraine shook her head. “Was that Joe?”
Hunter didn’t meet her gaze. “Yes.”
“You didn’t really cancel the appointment, did you?”
“I did. But I promised to get back to Joe and let him know what was happening. He said he could fit us in this afternoon if we wanted to move forward with the paperwork.”
“This afternoon? What time?”
Hunter’s face fell. His disappointment was obvious. “I was hoping you’d agree not to make a rash decision today. To think the situation over, consider my offer.”
“I’m happy to keep the appointment,” Lorraine said. It was the only way to escape Hunter and the power he had over her. But when he closed his eyes and rubbed his temple, Lorraine knew in an instant that something was wrong. “What is it?” she asked. “What’s going on?”
Hunter opened his eyes and sighed. “Apparently, my dad left me a letter. It’s at Joe’s office.”
Lorraine frowned. “And he’s just telling you about it now?”
“He said my dad told him he didn’t want me to get it right after the will was read. He wanted Joe to give me the letter a few days later, maybe a week. Joe said he was planning to give it to me today. He’s heading out of town tomorrow, so he asked me to pick it up this afternoon.”
“You look worried.”
“I’m surprised.” But the way his lips twisted told Lorraine he was more than surprised. He looked alarmed.
Perhaps a little afraid.
“You, um... You want me to—”
“I’ve got to go,” Hunter said, cutting her off. Had he even heard her speak?
Briskly, Hunter started for the door. “Hunter?” Lorraine said.
“I’ll talk to you later,” he said without breaking stride.
And then he whizzed out the door and was gone.
Chapter 12
Hunter ran along the waterfront, pushing himself to go harder and faster than he had before. His heart was pounding, his breathing shallow, and sweat was pouring down his face and bare torso. But he sprinted the last fifty yards to his condo building in the bike lane. He jumped the curb onto the sidewalk, then slowed and doubled over. He braced his hands on his knees and gulped in several deep breaths.
He raised his head, looked at the streaks of orange in the sky. The sun was setting, and the clear moon hung high. His mother had always loved sunsets, so whenever Hunter saw a spectacular one, he couldn’t help thinking of her and feeling a sense of peace. But today, his stomach was twisting. No matter how far and fast he had run, he couldn’t outrun the reality that the letter from his father was upstairs in his apartment, unopened.
“What are you afraid of?” he asked himself.
An older man who was walking by him looked in his direction. He must have thought Hunter was speaking to him. Hunter gave the man a brief nod, then headed toward the building’s door.
Once he was upstairs, he went into the living room. He looked at the envelope, which he’d placed on the coffee table. His name was written in his father’s familiar penmanship, though it was shakier than it used to be. How weak had his father been when he’d written this letter?
Hunter walked past the living room and into the kitchen, where he opened the fridge and
pulled out his pitcher of filtered water. He poured some into a tall glass, then downed it all in several gulps. He put the pitcher back into the fridge, then started toward his bathroom.
He stepped into the bathroom, then stopped and pivoted on his heel. Why was he delaying opening the letter?
He marched back to the living room, snatched up the envelope and opened it. He pulled out the single sheet of lined paper. A quick glance told him that his father had written on both sides.
He swallowed, then started to read.
Son,
I write this letter with a heavy heart.
I know I don’t have much time left, and as I look back on my life, I’m filled with regret.
There’s nothing more that I wanted than for you to be here with me, making up for lost time. But I understand why you’re reluctant to talk to me.
My sincere hope is that when you read this letter, you and I will have spoken. I do not want to die without closure from you.
I know I was a horrible father. When we lost Ava, I didn’t know how to cope. I blamed your mother because it was easy. And it tore her apart. It tore me apart. When our relationship soured, I put a wall around my heart. I suppose it was the only way for me to be able to deal with losing such a vital part of me. My little girl.
And then when we lost your mother, the pain was unbearable. I couldn’t let it show. Not to you. I tried to be strong, but I was weak. I turned to someone else to make me forget. And in the process, I neglected you.
That wasn’t my intention, and the worse things got for us, the less I knew how to fix them. I take full responsibility for how our relationship fell apart. I don’t blame you for leaving—you had nothing here. But even while you were gone, I loved you with all of my heart. Even if I couldn’t express it. Even if I was too stupid to realize that your acting out meant you needed me even more.
Hunter, I hope that you’ve had some time to reflect on our relationship now that I’m gone. I hope we were able to talk first, because I know what regret feels like. When I lost your mother, part of the pain came from knowing that I had pushed her away. She’d died without us fully resolving our relationship and our love. And that broke me.
Please look back and remember me as the man I was before we lost Ava, and before we lost your mother. That’s who I was without the pain. I became a different person because I was hurting so much. But I always loved you.
And I hope that when you think of me, it will be with love in your heart.
Sincerely,
Dad
PS—I’ve left a young woman named Lorraine a gift in my will. She was a godsend to me while I was sick. She’s a nurse at the hospice, and in so many ways she was my angel. I’m sure you’ll be surprised by my gift to her, but I hope you don’t fight my wishes. Throughout my illness, Lorraine was my angel. In fact, she was like a daughter to me.
Hunter’s stomach wrenched painfully, as if someone was pulling his insides in two different directions. He reread the letter, his throat constricting. He could hardly draw in breath.
These were the words he had wanted to hear from his father so desperately when he’d been young, and in the years that had followed when he’d fled to Nevada. He had simply wanted to know that his father still loved him.
And yet, his father hadn’t been able to say any of this to him in person. Not years ago, and not even when Hunter had gone to visit him in the hospice the day before he’d died. Perhaps he’d been weak then, not able to say much. And maybe that conversation would have been too emotionally heavy when he didn’t have much strength. Instead, his father had taken his hand. Hunter had seen the tears well in his eyes, and he’d choked back his own. The visit had been awkward, but welcome. For their short time together, physically connecting with his father had been enough.
And the next day, he’d passed.
While Hunter had been on his way back to Reno to testify in a criminal trial for which he had been a witness on the scene of the fire, his father had been taking his last breath.
Hunter folded the pages and stuffed them back into the envelope. Then he held the letter against his chest. His father had laid his heart out, finally giving Hunter the closure he’d always wanted. But not in the way he would have liked.
“Damn it, Dad. Why didn’t you talk to me about this? Give me a chance to hash things out with you face-to-face?”
His head felt heavy, clouded with conflicting emotions. Sadness. Guilt. Regret. Because as much as Hunter wanted to blame his father for how badly things had gone, he knew he shared some of the blame, too.
And that reality rocked him to the core.
* * *
Lorraine scrolled the mouse down on her laptop screen, perusing the listings of businesses for sale and for rent in Ocean City. Each price she saw made her eyes widen and her heart sink. They were a lot higher than she expected.
The more reasonably priced places were about a half hour outside the city, but that wasn’t where she wanted to have her business. At least not ideally. It would mean a daily commute, which wasn’t what she desired.
Her eyes landed on an ad for a pleasant-looking storefront, with hanging pots of flowers on either side of the front windows. It looked pretty small, definitely smaller than the property Douglas had purchased for her. It was listed as a rental.
Lorraine lifted her phone. She was about to press in the number for the real estate agent, but hesitated. Months earlier, when she’d started casually checking out properties, an agent had advised her against a rental situation, because the landlord could change the lease terms at the end of the term. It had happened with a couple of money-hungry business owners who’d dramatically raised rental prices, leaving a few favorite dining places and boutiques out of business. Lorraine hated that kind of shamelessly selfish greed.
Lorraine’s phone began to vibrate in her hand an instant before it started to ring, startling her. As she looked at the screen, she saw Rosa’s smiling face. She quickly swiped to answer the call.
“Hey, Rosa,” Lorraine said. “What’s up?”
“I’m not sure. That’s what I was hoping you could tell me.”
Lorraine frowned. “What?”
“Did you see Hunter again yesterday? And I’m on my lunch break, so don’t keep me waiting.”
Lorraine’s frown deepened. “How do you know that I saw Hunter?”
“Because he sent me a text. He asked me to tell you to call him because he needs to continue your conversation from yesterday.”
“What are you talking about? How could he send you a text?”
“At first I was startled, too. Then I remembered that the night in the bar I wanted his phone number to make sure that if you went missing, I’d be able to go to the police with information.” Rosa paused. “So...spill the beans!”
“We were supposed to meet at the lawyer’s office yesterday so that we could sign the required paperwork for me to sign the store over to him.”
“You’re giving it up?”
“I was just about to call a real estate agent about another store when your call came through. It’s a rental, but—”
“And how are you going to afford it?” Rosa challenged. “When you were looking for places months ago, they were all very expensive. Your divorce cost you a pretty penny. You’ve been left a gift by—”
“Look, I know.” Lorraine blew out a frazzled breath. “I want to do it on my own, but you’re right. It’s going to be a huge challenge.”
“And it’s completely unnecessary. Stop being so stubborn. Oh, wait. I’ve got a call coming through.”
Lorraine continued to peruse her laptop while she waited for Rosa to return to the line.
“Girl, Hunter really wants to reach you,” Rosa said when she spoke again.
Lorraine’s heart pounded hard. “That was him?”
“Yeah. He asked if I’d given you the message. I told him that I’m on the line with you now. He kind of sounds stressed.”
The letter. When he’d left her yesterday, he’d looked frazzled. Had he read something in the letter that hurt him? “He found out that his father had left him a letter. He seemed pretty upset. What’s his number?”
Rosa recited the number for her. “Keep me posted.”
“Talk to you later.”
Lorraine immediately typed in Hunter’s number. He answered after the first ring. “Hello?”
“Hunter, hi. It’s Lorraine.”
She heard a small exhalation of air. “Thank you for calling,” he said.
“No problem. Are you okay?”
“I need to see you,” he said. “It has to be today because I work tomorrow.”
“Some time later this evening?” Lorraine suggested.
“Earlier would be better. I start my next twenty-four hour shift in the morning, so I’d like to get to bed early.”
“Twenty-four hours!”
“That’s standard for firefighters. But then we get two days off.”
No wonder he had so much free time. “All right,” Lorraine said. “I’ll meet you now if you want.”
“At the entrance to City Park?”
“I can be there in fifteen minutes.”
“See you then.”
Chapter 13
Lorraine approached the entrance to City Park, scanning the crowd of people milling about. It was a gorgeous day, and people were jogging, power walking, whizzing by on Rollerblades. A group of boys with skateboards under their arms ran past her. The addition of the skateboard park a few years ago had been a huge success.
The entrance to the park was packed with seniors, most with cameras in their hands. And that’s when Lorraine saw Hunter. His back was to her as he was hunched over, apparently helping an older woman with her cell phone. He handed her back the phone, and the woman gripped his hand and smiled at him.