Kyle took a huge bite of his sandwich before answering, “Not a damn thing. I’m not uptight like you.”
“I am not uptight.”
“Dude, we all call Dean the careful one, you’re the uptight one, and Scarlett’s the girl.”
It was a ridiculous conversation, but he had to ask, “And what do you think we all call you?”
“Me? I’m the laid back and lovable one.” And with a stupid grin, he took another disgustingly large bite of his sandwich.
Unable to help himself, the bark of laughter came out.
And kept on going.
After a minute, the sandwich was gone, and Kyle stood glaring at him.
“Bro, you are definitely laid back, but…that’s not what we all call you.”
Taking what Hunter supposed was a menacing step toward him, Kyle said, “Oh, yeah? Then what do you call me?”
“Weren’t we talking about travel? I had a legit question about that.”
“First tell me what you call me and then we’ll get back to your weird travel issue.”
“It’s not an issue, per se…”
“Tell me what you all call me! It’s not that hard! For the love of it, just answer me!”
Smirking, Hunter leaned in close and told him what he so desperately wanted to hear. “We call you the attention whore. There.” He paused to let his words sink in before pulling back and sitting down at the dining room table. “Now, do you think I’m in the minority because I don’t have any interest in traveling?”
Kyle pulled up the chair opposite him–while pouting–and let out a long breath. “Honestly, yeah. You’re probably in the minority. It doesn’t make you a total weirdo, but…”
“But…?”
“I don’t know, maybe if you’d unclench a bit, you’d find that it’s kind of fun. Maybe take Eli someplace fun like Sea World or Legoland–you know, something the kid would probably enjoy.”
“Those places aren’t free, Kyle.”
With a groan and eye roll, his brother slumped down in his chair. “Okay, I get you’re a single dad and you have to watch your money. But that doesn’t mean you can’t live.” He paused. “Do you remember when we were kids and Mom was still alive and how we’d go to Busch Gardens for a weekend?”
It had been years since he’d thought about that, but now that it was there, it did make him smile. “She hated most of the rides,” he said with a quiet laugh.
“Yeah, she did. But we would go, and Dad would take us on most of the bigger ones while she’d take Scarlett on the merry-go-round. We never had a lot of money, Hunter, but it was something they did with us. We’d eat sandwiches Mom made for us and kept in a cooler in the car and it was a big deal when they’d buy us ice cream or popcorn in the park. And after Mom died, Gramps would take us up to the Port of Virginia to watch the cargo ships come in and we’d stay overnight and just hang out. It was his time to hang out with just the grandkids.”
Another memory he hadn’t thought about in years, however…
“Okay, those are weekend trips, not big ass vacations.”
Studying him, Kyle said, “Okay, what exactly is this all about? Why the sudden interest in your travel habits?”
As much as he enjoyed being a private person, Hunter knew he needed to talk to someone about this before his head exploded. So he told his brother all about Violet and their night together and how it was so obvious that traveling was a huge part of her life and…he didn’t get it.
“Wait…so this is the gymnast? The one who got Eli talking more?”
“Um…”
Holding up his hand, Kyle chuckled. “First, let me say good for you.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because you haven’t been seriously interested in a woman in a while.”
“That’s not true. I’ve dated.”
“Yeah, casually. A date here, a date there. And you’ve never talked about one like you’re talking about Violet. So I’m guessing this is serious, huh?”
Why did I think this was a good idea?
“Hate to burst your bubble, but…no. It’s not. It can’t be.”
“Why not? I can tell you’re crazy about her, and even though I’ve never met or seen her, I can already see she’s good for you!” And before Hunter could even respond, Kyle was talking again. “If this is about Melissa and you holding out some hope…”
“This has nothing to do with Melissa!” he cried, frustrated that everyone seemed to think that was his problem. Jumping up from his seat, he started to pace. “Here’s the thing that no one seems to understand–the only reason Melissa was a factor in anything was for Eli’s sake. I never held out romantic hope for us after the divorce. I knew our relationship wasn’t working for a long time, but I had hoped she’d at least put in an effort for our son’s sake.”
“O-kay…then why don’t you date more?”
Eyes wide, he stared at his clueless brother. “Dude, I have a son to raise, I work crazy hours, and there are only twenty-four of them in a day! When am I supposed to find time to date?”
“You’ve found time now with Violet.”
And there was no way to argue that.
“It’s just…she’s…she’s different. I don’t know. It’s sort of like the planets all aligned or something because there was suddenly…time.” He shrugged.
“Then what’s the problem?”
“She’s not staying, Kyle. She’s here for a few weeks to help out Katie and then she’s leaving.”
“Maybe she won’t.”
He gave his brother a bland look. “Brian’s coming home and there’s going to be a new baby. The last thing they need is a houseguest. Plus, Violet’s got a life back in Nashville.”
Kyle excitedly got to his feet. “Then there’s your answer!”
“What’s my answer?”
“Yeah, the travel thing! You can go to Nashville! I hear it’s awesome! Go and spend a long weekend there and then she can come here…you know…the long-distance thing!”
But Hunter was already shaking his head. “Nuh-uh. That’s a big no.”
“Why? Because it means you having to break out of your boring routine?”
“Oh, so now I’m uptight and boring. Do I have that right?”
“Add big fat baby to the list, and yeah. That’s you.”
The pacing was getting him nowhere, so Hunter sat back down. “Okay, let’s just…stop with the name calling because it’s not helping.”
Kyle shrugged.
“The thing is…I have a legit feeling of…I don’t know…I’m starting to feel things for Violet that I never felt before, and then there are feelings there that I know are going to come back and bite me in the ass.”
Thankfully, his brother refrained from making a joke and realized he was serious. He straightened in his chair and studied Hunter hard for a moment.
“I get what you’re saying, and I’m sure it sucks to feel the way you do.” He paused. “But can I make an observation?”