These next few weeks that he was going to be home were for him to spend time with Eli and take care of things around the house, not go gallivanting to resorts in the mountains or go to Nashville. As a parent, he couldn’t just pick up and go and especially not right now! It was bad enough he’d had to bounce Eli around between all his siblings this past week, there was no way he was going to pack him off just so he could go on a trip with Violet.
Pushing all that aside, he walked into Eli’s room and found him building the castle he’d promised to Violet. He helped him and a few minutes later, Violet joined them. After that, it was hard to feel anything but happy because this was the kind of setting he always envisioned for himself when Eli was born–a family sitting together for breakfast and then playing together and just enjoying each other’s company. That never happened with Melissa, but it was now and…
Holy shit! Is that what I’m doing? Am I putting Violet in this role because I genuinely have strong feelings for her and want a future or am I doing it because she fit in easily?
Okay, yeah. That was something he was going to have to deal with.
Fast.
Like before he started making any more plans in his mind for the two of them.
Thirteen
“Want to tell me why Hunter thinks you were home with us last night?”
Busted.
It was just after six in the morning and the last thing Violet expected was an ambush at the front door.
After putting her purse on the sofa and her overnight bag on the floor, she faced Katie and sighed. “I needed some time alone to think.”
Motioning for her to sit down, Katie made herself comfortable as well. “Before I say anything else, are you okay? Where did you stay last night? I kind of figured you’d spend the weekend at Hunter’s. I thought the whole going to a hotel story was a little flimsy.”
“Well…my plan had been to go down to Wilmington for the weekend to give you guys some time alone, but I stopped at Hunter’s on my way out of town Friday night and spent the night there.”
“You know his place is in the opposite direction of leaving Magnolia for Wilmington, right?”
Violet simply stared at her.
“Okay, fine. So you stayed there Friday night. Why didn’t you just stay for the weekend? And for what it’s worth, he was kind of freaked out that you weren’t taking his calls.”
Sighing, she asked, “What did you tell him?”
“Well, considering you told me you were going to a hotel for the weekend, that’s what I told him.”
“Shit.”
“Sorry, but…” She shrugged. “Okay, so what happened that you lied to him and left?”
“I told you, I needed some time alone to think.”
“About what?”
“Everything.”
“Um, yeah. I’m going to need something a little more specific than that.”
Violet explained about her time with Hunter and Eli—from spending the night to breakfast omelets, building castles, shopping for plants, and designing a deck.
“Okay, clearly I’m missing something because that all sounds great. Like everything that just came out of your mouth was positive.”
Twisting on the couch, she let her head fall back and let out a huff of annoyance. “He wants me to stay, Kate! Like...move here! With him! I mean...that’s crazy, right? People don’t do that!”
Slowly, Katie raised her hand. “I did. If you remember, I met Brian when he was on leave and visiting Nashville for a long weekend. We did the long-distance thing for a month when I packed up and moved here. Well, not here to Magnolia Sound, but Jacksonville by the base.”
“Okay, fine, but...that was different.”
“How?”
“What do you mean how? It was you and Brian! You guys were like in love at first sight!”
“Ooohhh...okay. I get it now.”
Violet’s head snapped up. “Get what?”
“You’re freaking out.” She shook her head. “I should have seen this coming.”
“What on earth are you even talking about? Seen what coming?”
Reaching out, Katie took one of Violet’s hands in hers and squeezed. “Sweetie, I love you like a sister. You’re seriously the only family I have besides Brian and Rose, and I know you better than anyone.” She paused. “But you kind of have a tendency to...sabotage your relationships.”
“What? You’re crazy! I do not do that!” She went to jump up, but Katie kept a tight grasp on her.
“Yes, you do.”
She tried to yank her hand free, but Katie wasn’t having any of it. With another huff of annoyance and a low growl, she let her hand drop to the cushion. “Give me one example of how you think I sabotage my relationships.”
“Remember David Klein? Junior year of college? You were crazy about him and he was even crazier about you and you dumped him when he started talking about moving in together.”
“It wasn’t sabotaging, Kate. I just wasn’t ready to live with him.”
“Okay, after David was Max Collins. He was hot and sexy and played guitar and wanted to take you on tour with him the summer after you broke up with David. You dumped him too.”
“He was touring with a band called Riot Hammers! Why would I want to go on tour with them?”
“Because he wrote a ton of songs about you and would talk about you at every show! He practically worshipped the ground you walked on, and on top of that, he was a genuinely great guy!”
She sighed loudly. “None of this is sabotage, Kate.”
They sat in silence for a few moments. “So what’s wrong with Hunter, huh? He’s great, he’s got a career, he’s a solid, standup kind of guy who must seriously be crazy about you if he not only wants you to move here but move in with him and his son.” She paused and let that sink in. “You have to realize something; Hunter has been almost obsessive about keeping any woman he’s dated away from Eli. If he trusts you with his kid, then he’s not messing around, Vi. So what is tripping you up here?”
Oh, God…
There wasn’t anything in the world that she couldn’t tell Katie. Her friend wasn’t lying when she said she knew Violet better than anyone, but that didn’t mean she was ready to admit her biggest fears.
Or maybe…she needed to.
“He’s just interested now because things just sort of crashed and burned with his ex,” she said flippantly, even as the words made her heart ache. Swallowing hard, she added, “I’m the rebound.”
“Oh, Vi. You don’t really believe that, do you?”
She shrugged. “Trust me. It’s all it is. And you know the rebound thing never works out, so why should I linger? It would be better for everyone if I just…you know…let this be a fling and leave like I had planned.” She paused. “Okay, not quite as I planned. I’ve got the wedding to go to with him next weekend and then I plan on staying for another week.”
“Really?” Katie asked excitedly.
“Yeah, but…don’t be upset with me…”
“Oh, lord. Now what?”
“I’m going to stay at the B&B.”