“Daddy!” Eli called out as he ran into Hunter’s arms, hugging him tightly.
“Hey, buddy! You and Grandpa having fun?”
“Yeah! We saw fish!”
“You did? That’s awesome!” His father walked over and looked a little exhausted. “Thanks, Dad. I appreciate you keeping an eye on him.”
“No worries.”
“C’mon. Gramps is already getting antsy about eating and I’m supposed to go find Kyle.”
“I saw him over by the bar,” Dominic replied and then pointed to the far corner of the tent. “There he is.”
“I’m going to get Gramps his beer. You want one?”
“Definitely. You want me to take Eli?”
“Nah, I got him. Go and make sure Gramps isn’t boring poor Violet.”
“Are you kidding? You should be more worried about him flirting with her!”
They both laughed, but Hunter knew his grandfather was a consummate flirt and he loved nothing more than meeting someone new to charm. No doubt Violet would get a kick out of it.
At least…he hoped she would.
Within minutes, he and Kyle and Eli were all back at their table and taking their seats. Eli had insisted on sitting next to Violet, which complicated the whole seating arrangement. By the time they all got done playing musical chairs, his son sat on Violet’s right and Hunter was on her left.
“You doing okay?” he whispered in her ear.
“I’m fine. Your family is amazing.”
Thankful she felt that way, he made sure to point out how his father was sitting on the other side of his son and would help with Eli so she wouldn’t have to.
“Hunter, stop,” she gently chided. “I think your dad could use a break. He’s been chasing Eli around for a little while. Let him relax. I’ll help him with his dinner.”
And she did.
At one point, she even swatted his father’s hand away when he went to cut Eli’s chicken–something Eli thought was hysterical. Once dinner was through, Courtney and Dean got up for their first dance–something Hunter was looking forward to because it would be the first time he and Violet would be dancing together. As soon as guests were encouraged to join the bride and groom on the dancefloor, he immediately asked Violet to dance.
“This is nice,” he said as they found their spot. His arm banded around her waist, her hand in his. “I’m really glad you came with me today.”
She hummed softly and rested her head on his chest as they swayed to the music. “Me too.”
Looking around the tent, Hunter realized he was surrounded by everyone he loved and how happy everyone looked.
And for the first time, that included him.
Because, yeah, he hadn’t been happy for a long time. Not that he ever complained about it, but for years he felt like he was simply existing and going through the motions of getting by as a single dad. This was a whole new world for him, and he had so much hope for the future that he was ready to burst with joy.
And he realized how ridiculous that sounded and was glad it was his own internal dialogue. No doubt his siblings would make fun of him if he said it out loud.
One ballad led to another and his sister and her husband were now dancing beside them.
“Hey, you two,” Scarlett said, grinning. “You’re looking very cozy over here.”
“Scarlett,” Mason said with a bit of amusement. “Don’t embarrass your brother.”
“How am I embarrassing him? I was just making an observation.”
Mason gave him a look that said he knew exactly what his wife was doing.
“So, Violet,” Scarlett went on, “when do you have to head back to Nashville?”
Hunter found himself holding his breath suddenly. They hadn’t had time to talk about any specifics of when she was leaving and when she’d be back. The last week had been incredibly busy because she had a lot of clients to handle, and he was trying to spend some quality one-on-one time with Eli. Whenever he and Violet were together, talking about her move just never seemed to come up.
Well, he had tried to bring it up a couple of times, but somehow the subject always got changed.
“My original plan was to go back once Brian got home,” she was explaining. “But when Hunter asked me to come to the wedding, I knew I’d be staying until after this weekend.”
“So you’re heading back this week?” Scarlett asked, eyes wide as she looked between him and Violet, and he had a feeling his expression mirrored his sister’s.
“I’m still not a hundred percent sure. I was thinking of staying at that new B&B here in town rather than at Katie and Brian’s. He just got home so…”
“My aunt owns that B&B,” Mason said, no doubt trying to distract from what was becoming an awkward conversation.
“Really? That’s amazing! It looks gorgeous from everything I’ve seen online,” Violet replied.
“The house has been in our family for almost a hundred years. My great-grandfather lived there his entire life. When he passed away two years ago, he left the house to my aunt, and she turned it into a B&B.”
“It’s gorgeous,” Scarlett commented, but she was still glancing at him.
“I’m looking forward to seeing it. But I’m thinking I should head home by next weekend because I’ve already been gone for so long. Then,” she continued, smiling up at Hunter, “I figured your brother could come to Nashville and see where I’m from, and I can show him around. We’ll have to do the back-and-forth thing until I can get everything organized.”
“Oh, right,” Scarlett said. “Since you’re going to hopefully be moving here, I’m sure there’s a lot you have to do to get ready for that.”
“Absolutely. It’s not like I can just go home and pack up and move. But we’ll work it out. And who knows, Hunter may find he likes Nashville just as much as Magnolia Sound!” Violet said, and before the conversation could continue, the music turned to a more upbeat song, and it seemed they both were done dancing.
The four of them walked back to the table, but Hunter was done with family time. After checking on Eli and asking Kyle to keep an eye on him, he turned his attention to Violet. “Hey, how about a walk down on the pier?”
“Ooo…that sounds wonderful.”
Hand in hand, they walked across the yard and down to the massive pier. Hunter’s heart was pounding hard in his chest, and it wasn’t until they were halfway to the gazebo that he finally spoke.
“So, um…I’m sorry my sister put you on the spot like that.”
“What do you mean?”
The sun was going down, and normally he would be pointing out how spectacular the sunset was, but all he could focus on was what she had said to Scarlett.
“I mean, we haven’t even talked about getting you moved here,” he explained, hoping he sounded casual. “I know you were just speaking off the top of your head since we never discussed me going to Nashville.”
They reached the gazebo, and he motioned for her to sit.
But she didn’t.
Pulling her hand slowly from his, she faced him. “Well, I realize we haven’t talked about it, but…if I’m going to move here, I would hope you’d help with it. Plus, just like I said to your sister, it’s not like this is going to happen overnight. It’s going to take time, Hunter.”