My parents had figured it out as soon as I’d announced Avalee’s name—of course they had. But I never thought I’d come back here, so I never expected anyone else to. I never expected anyone to see the depth of love I still held for Hunter after all this time.
After leaving . . .
My lips parted as the truth gathered on my tongue.
“Mommy!”
I turned to find Avalee running into the room, one of my fingers coming up to my lips. “Shh. The baby is sleeping.”
Her steps slowed dramatically and a comical look appeared on her face. “Mommy,” she loudly whispered.
“What, baby girl?”
“The dream man . . . the one from yesterday . . .”
My heart wrenched. Screamed. Dropped to the floor.
“The sad-mads one,” she offered as if I wouldn’t know exactly who she was talking about. As if Savannah and I hadn’t just been talking about him. As if I hadn’t been about to confess why I’d named Avalee what I had, and how it had everything to do with Hunter Dixon. “He’s here.”
Everything went still.
My racing mind. My body. My heart that was still lying on the floor.
“What?” I managed to get out.
“He’s here. I saw him through the window. He’s here.”
I looked at Savannah. Betrayal blooming in my chest like poison. “Hunter—you told Hunter I was here?”
Her head was moving in quick, faint shakes. Her lips parted as confusion touched her face. But then her expression fell and her head stopped moving. “It’s Monday.”
I didn’t know what day it was.
I barely had a grasp on time after driving across the country while trying to keep mine and Avalee’s lives together.
“Okay?” I said when a firm knock sounded from the front of the house.
“The Mondays after Cayson comes home, he and Hunter always stop by to talk. It’s my way of trying to repair things,” she hurried to explain as she stood and started through the house. “It’s the only time Beau will let them come over because he’s at work—he won’t let them in otherwise because he doesn’t want to see them.”
“What do you mean after Cayson comes home?” I asked as I followed her, trying to figure out what I was going to do.
How I was going to handle seeing him again when I already felt so raw and exposed from my conversation with Savannah. How I was supposed to keep the necessary distance between us when I’d barely managed not to fall into his arms, not to sway closer at his touch, the day before.
“He works down south on an offshore rig. He’s there two weeks, here two weeks.” Savannah looked at me pleadingly as Avalee skipped ahead of us as if she owned the place. Waiting at the door as if the people on the other side were there for her. “I didn’t do this on purpose. I wasn’t even thinking.”
“I know,” I managed through the rock lodged in my throat.
When another knock sounded, she continued toward the door, then glanced over her shoulder at where I stood in the archway between the kitchen and foyer. As if she were afraid that the next time she looked my way, I would be gone.
But I stayed there, locked in place, watching as the door opened to reveal the love of my life.
“I’m excited for you, Cays.” I looked at him as we walked toward the Blossom porch, a hint of a smile playing at the corner of my mouth. “Can’t believe you’re gonna be a dad.”
The amazement and joy that had been etched on his face since he began telling me what I’d missed during the whole there’s-my-heart moment with Madison faded. He looked straight ahead, unease pouring from him.
“You not excited?”
A breath punched from him. “So damn happy. I can’t explain it.” He stopped on the first step and faced me, staring off to the side for a second before asking, “Hunter, what if I don’t wanna do it anymore?”
Shock froze me in place. I waited for him to continue or correct himself—sure I’d heard him wrong. “Be with Emberly?”
“No—what? Why—of course I wanna be with her,” he said in a rush, stumbling over his words. “Leaving. Going to Port Arthur every couple of weeks. Being gone.” He rubbed at the back of his neck, shrugging a little before letting his arm fall. “It was one thing before . . . and even now, I guess. Emberly works so much that this schedule works for us. But that’s all gonna change when she has the baby.”
I rocked back a step to lean against the railing, nodding as I did.
“I mean, I know her. She’ll go back to Brewed as soon as she can. She’ll work as much as she can. And I can’t imagine not being here for that—for everything. I can’t imagine missing those weeks, being hours away, and not being able to come back if they need me.”
“Did you tell her this?”
Cayson gave me a knowing look before glancing away.
He hadn’t.
“You’re the one who told me not to give up my career,” he went on. “Not that I’d planned on it then anyway. But this changes everything, so I wanted to get your opinion.” His eyes met mine again, worry swirling there. “I wanna know if you think I’d be making a mistake if I left the rig.”
The fact that he came to me at all, that he valued my opinion on something so life-altering when we’d spent so many years avoiding each other, had something pulling deep inside my chest.
“I think kids change things,” I finally said, clearing my throat when I did. “I think if you wanna be home and closer to your family, you should.”
If we hadn’t been standing as close as we were, I wouldn’t have noticed the way his body sagged in relief, as if that was the answer he’d been hoping for.
“Trust your gut, Cays. Talk to Emberly,” I added, stressing the last one. “You have a while before the baby comes, figure out a job here before you go quitting the rig.”
“I was thinking about buying into Dixon,” he said quickly as I climbed another step.
I paused, staring straight ahead for a few seconds before looking back at him.
He was watching me, confidence and determination practically dripping from his stance and expression. But I was pretty sure he was holding his breath.
I rubbed at my jaw to help fight a smile. “You’re about to pay taxes on the land and house you were just gifted. Y’all are gonna have a baby. And now you wanna buy into a business?”
Cayson’s only response was a single dip of his head.
“You wanna work with me?”
“I had a feeling that might be part of the job considering you’re the only owner . . . for now.”
My chest shook with a muted laugh. I pretended to think about it and let out an apologetic sigh. “You ruined my life.”
“Didn’t I tell you?” he asked as he passed me on the steps, an easy smile playing on his face. “You got over that a while ago.”
I bumped him when I caught up to him. “Okay, but talk to Emberly. Get her thoughts, then y’all get back to me. I’ll talk to Izzy,” I said as I knocked on the large front door of Blossom.
A breath of a laugh left Cayson. He glanced at me, face pinched in confusion and humor. “Talk to Isabel about what . . . me buying in? Why would—” His expression fell along with my stomach.