Of course, there wasn’t any real rush for her to leave Magnolia Sound. Brian was coming home, and she had a feeling he and Katie would appreciate not having a houseguest, but…she didn’t have to stay with them. Last night she had gone online to look at some weekly rentals here in town. Since it was tourist season, there weren’t any available, but there was a bed-and-breakfast she found had availability for at least a week.
Ideally, she wished she could just stay with Hunter, but she didn’t want to even suggest it. Eli might only be three, but she felt weird about moving herself in–even temporarily.
So where did that leave her?
“I wish I knew, Ben,” she said, taking the bottle from his mouth and positioning him over her shoulder to rub his tiny back. “Of all the times for me to not want to pick up and go, why did it have to be now?”
Yeah, it didn’t matter how many times she said it–either out loud or in her head–Violet had never felt the pull to stay put someplace. Traveling had filled a void in her life and given her a sense of purpose while also keeping so many of her demons at bay. Picking up and moving on to the next travel destination or planning another trip gave her control of her destiny–or, in a less dramatic sense, simply gave her control over her own life. Since meeting Hunter, however, a little of that wanderlust had vanished.
She realized she never did look up any more details for the California road trip and didn’t feel like it was something she wanted to do.
Especially by herself.
Now if Hunter were up to it, she would love driving all over California with him. Or anywhere, for that matter. The need to experience a romantic getaway with him was so strong she knew it would be the only trip she’d be able to focus on.
Maybe if she planned something, he’d be open to it. Eli could stay with his grandfather, or one of Hunter’s siblings, right? It shouldn’t be too hard for him to get away for a week. He had time off coming to him while Katie was on maternity leave, so…why not book them someplace romantic to go?
Benjamin let out a rather noisy little burp, and she maneuvered him until he was cradled in her arms again. “For such a tiny boy, you let out very loud burps, little man. Good gracious.” He was already falling back to sleep, but she was content to stay where she was for a little longer. Katie would be up in another hour or so, but for now, all was right with her world.
While everything was still quiet, Violet thought about potential getaways for her and Hunter. They could go down to Hilton Head or Myrtle Beach if he didn’t want to go too far. Although she was pretty sure she’d have the same challenges finding a hotel at a coastal resort as she had trying to find a room here in Magnolia.
“We could get on a plane and go someplace,” she mused. “But where?” From everything Hunter had ever told her, traveling was not his thing, but she figured it was mainly because of his circumstances with his ex. Under the right conditions, she didn’t have a doubt he’d enjoy getting away for at least a few days.
“Maybe the mountains.” Looking down at Benjamin, she smiled as his little lips puckered like he was still sucking on his bottle. “What do you think, baby boy? You think a trip to the mountains at one of those fancy resorts might be appealing to Hunter?”
She almost laughed at how ridiculous she was being. There was a part of her that really couldn’t picture Hunter at a fancy spa-type resort. He would probably be more at ease at something more rustic.
“Options,” she said quietly. “I’ll have to have a few options for him to choose from.” Holding Benjamin a little closer, she kissed him softly on his head and decided to go inside and pull out her laptop.
“Look at me getting stuff done while holding you, baby boy. You should be seriously impressed. I wasn’t nearly this competent when your sister was born.” Then she paused. “Then again, I wasn’t living with your parents and helping out nearly as much, but still, yay us!” And with another kiss on his head, she got comfortable and began looking at some of the most romantic vacation spots that weren’t the beach or a cruise or anything too over the top that Hunter immediately wouldn’t like.
“Sort of eliminates a lot of stuff, but I am up for the challenge.” Then, for the next several minutes, she read descriptions of hotels and destinations out loud to Benjamin. Some of them sounded fantastic–so much so she wished she could get in her car today and take them there.
“Listen to this,” she said quietly. “Private, rustic cabins perfect for lovers. King-sized bed, fireplace, private hot tub, and a view of the mountains. Where do I sign up?”
“If you happen to find out, let me know,” Katie said before yawning loudly.
“You looking for a getaway to the mountains too?”
“In different circumstances, I would be all over that. But somehow, a romantic cabin wouldn’t be quite so romantic with an infant and a four-year-old.”
“You may have a point.”
“Trust me. I do.” She walked over and carefully took her son from Violet’s arms and kissed him. “Was he okay for you?”
“Are you kidding? He is perfect.” And as she watched Katie walk around cooing to the baby, Violet felt a little…envious.
Okay, a lot envious.
What is going on with me?
“I know I’m biased,” Katie said, interrupting her thoughts, “but he really is. Kira wasn’t nearly this agreeable.”
“Oh, stop. She was a good baby too. I just think you and Brian were a little more uptight because she was your first.”
“Maybe, but other than being a bit of a night owl, this little guy is just…”
“You can say it. He’s perfect.”
Katie grinned. “Yeah, he is.”
Violet closed her laptop and got up to stretch. “Did I hear you talking to Brian late last night?”
“Five days,” she said excitedly and immediately cringed when Benjamin startled in her arms. “He’ll be home in five days!”
“Oh, my goodness! That’s amazing!”
“I know! It’s a whole week sooner than we were expecting, so…”
“So…?” And then it hit her. “So five’s a crowd, huh?”
“What? No! Oh, my gosh, no! I was going to say it’s not a lot of time to prepare.”
“Prepare? Like how? This is his house, and you just had a baby. What could you possibly have to prepare for?”
“Just…give me a minute,” Katie said before going and placing Benjamin in his crib. When she came back into the living room two minutes later, she looked a little frazzled. “I need to make sure all his favorite foods are here, the whole place needs a good cleaning, and…and…his car could use a tune-up since it’s been sitting so long and…”
It would be wrong to give her a good shake and tell her to relax, so Violet opted to walk over and gently grasp her friend by the shoulders.
“Kate? Relax. I am sure we can get most of that stuff done, but if we can’t, it’s still going to be okay. Brian’s not going to be expecting perfection when he gets home. He’s just going to be so happy to see you and Kira and to meet his son.” She smiled. “It’s going to be amazing.”