Just Three Words (Soho Loft Romances) (20 page)

If she’d peeked into Pandora’s box with that college confession some weeks back, then she’d just blown the whole damn lid off the thing with that little escapade. But maybe this arrangement with Sam was just what she needed to kick her back into business-as-usual mode. The itch wasn’t going away. And now she’d scratched it. Problem solved.

As she climbed into her own bed, a chill moved through her. Much the way it had shortly before the Midnight Chocolate that brought her to the loft in the first place. She pulled the covers tighter around her body and sighed against her pillow. Something important was working its way to her.

Hunter checked her watch. Late.

She stood on the white steps in front of the NCO club on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. It was a quarter to eight and her father’s birthday party had started at six. Her flight had been delayed an hour, and the gate guard was newly on duty and had trouble locating the guest list for the party. Without a military ID, she’d been sent to the visitor’s center to fill out the necessary paperwork. So much for making a good impression.

She made her way into the lobby of the club and could tell from the direction of the music that they’d selected the Daedalian Room for the party. She looked around at the brown tile, the black-and-white photos on the wall of some of the famous squadrons from years gone by, the shadow boxes that commemorated so many of the pilots who’d come before her father. He’d once been a member of the Air Mobility Command Unit, but Hunter couldn’t tell you much about what that was. He’d never really talked about it with her. God, it was surreal to be back on base, though. The same club in which her family’d had breakfast once a month for most of her life. Her mother’s idea. Her father, meanwhile, had spent much of his spare time in the bar straight ahead of her. He wasn’t an alcoholic. In fact, he never had more than a couple drinks at one time. No, it was more about dodging as much time with his kids as he possibly could. Sometimes she wondered why he’d even agreed to have them.

“There you are!” Hunter turned and smiled at her older sister, Claire, who was picturesque in a white dress. Her dark hair was touched with blond highlights and swept into an overly fancy twist. And just like that, Hunter felt underdressed in her black pants and sleeveless dark green sheath.

“Hiya, Claire. Sorry I’m late. The flight.”

“Mama’s been worried sick. She thought you’d changed your mind. Give me a hug, and then come and say hello to everyone.” Claire paused. “Oh. You wore pants. Well, you look nice anyway. It won’t matter.”

“Thanks, I think.” The hug was quick but it was enough for a potent hit of her sister’s Chanel perfume. A trademark. Claire had fully assumed her position as Debutante Barbie—that much was true. Hunter followed her sister into the ballroom, scanning the faces from the perimeter. “Where’s Kevin?” she asked, excited to see her little brother. The kid used to follow her around incessantly, her consummate shadow. The larger age gap made her extra protective of him. While Hunter was only three years younger than Claire, her brother was twelve years her junior and had been a bit of a surprise to her parents. But as a result, they’d avoided the typical sibling bickering, and instead Kevin had developed sort of a hero worship for Hunter. But she adored him right back. He was kind, and funny, and come on, just adorable. He’d turned sixteen this year, and a shot of guilt hit as she remembered she’d not been there to celebrate the occasion. She really needed to be around more for him.

“You’re here!” Hunter turned at the exuberant sound of her mother’s voice and folded herself into the open arms she saw waiting for her just a few feet away. Her mother was quite a bit shorter than she was, but won the award for the best hugs on the planet. She savored the safety she felt when enveloped in one.

“Hi, Mama. I promised you I’d be here, didn’t I?”

“You did, and you’re here. How was the flight? Did they serve a meal?”

“It was fine, and no. They don’t really do that anymore.”

Her mother shook her head. “That’s horrible. Someone should write a letter.” She’d released Hunter from the hug, but still had a firm hold on her arm. That was the thing about her mom, once she got Hunter home, it was like she couldn’t stop touching her to make sure she was really there. Hunter complained about it as a formality, but deep down it made her happy. “Let’s go say hello to your father. I think the crowds make him uncomfortable.”

Yeah, well, what didn’t?

Her mother led the way through the throngs of party guests, stopping to point out Hunter’s arrival to all they passed. Friends and neighbors of her parents gushed about how grown up she now was and exaggerated about how pretty she’d turned out. She smiled and hugged and said the appropriate thank-yous, all the while dreading the moment that was fast approaching. To distract herself, she took in the colorful decorations, birthday-themed mostly, but with the ever-present Hawaiian luau accents on the side. Clearly, her mother and Claire had raided some contrasting aisles at Party City—pretty typical of any Blair gathering.

As they approached her father at the front of the room, he was talking to a man Hunter vaguely recognized as a former serviceman—one of his cronies from the good old days. He’d aged, her father. That was the thing that jumped out at her most. The hair that on her visit just last year had been salt-and-pepper was now entirely white. The lines impressed upon his face had deepened as well. It was a startling realization when your parents aged. Her father turned in their direction, and after only a minor pause, went back to his conversation.
Nice.
Inside, she laughed wryly. How very Richard Blair of him.

“Rich, say hello to Hunter. She flew in for your birthday.”

For her mother’s benefit, she played the part. “Happy birthday, Dad.”

“Thank you, Hunter. You look well. I’m glad you made the trip.” Also for her mother’s part. The crony, whoever he was, grinned warmly in her direction.

“I remember when you came up to here,” he said, indicating a spot close to his hip. The man opened his arms and pulled Hunter into a full-on embrace. “It’s so good to see you, sweetheart.” She accepted the warm hug, noting the irony. This stranger was overjoyed to see her, while her own father could barely be bothered to glance in her direction. He stood there, clearly uncomfortable and unsure what to do about it as the man released her. Hell, it was his birthday. Why not throw the old guy a bone and let him off the hook?

“I’m going to go find Kevin,” she told the men, slipping away effectively with her mother at her side. Once they were a safe distance away, her mom squeezed her arm. “You did good, Hunter. It was the right thing to do to come to the party, and he will remember this. That you were here.”

“Look, Mama, I came for you. Because I love you and it’s what
you
wanted. You’ve been both mother and father to me for a while now. Let’s be real about that.” The smile that had been on her mother’s lips just moments before had dimmed noticeably, and Hunter was sorry to have been the cause. “But I don’t want to concentrate on any of that. I’m here now, and I want to spend time with you and Claire and Kevin.”

Her mother nodded, and it seemed like something else was on her mind. “About your brother…”

“What about him?”

“He’s had a rough time lately. I was hoping your visit might help to cheer him up.”

“Cheer who up?” Claire asked. “Mama, the McElroys are leaving and want to say good-bye.”

“On my way,” her mother said. “Will you find Kevin so Hunter can say hello?” she asked Claire. At the mention of their brother’s name, Claire sighed audibly. “He’s out back. He pulled off his tie and tossed it in the Dumpster.”

Seemed a little extreme. “How do I get there?” Hunter asked. Claire pointed at an unmarked door at the back of the room.

“Maybe you’ll have some luck. I’m done trying for tonight. Have you seen Chip? I want to slow dance.” Hunter pointed across the room at her rather preppy brother-in-law. “There’s that handsome guy. Remind me to tell you later some tricks I learned.”

Hunter blinked at her sister. “Tricks?”

“In the bedroom, silly. Good stuff, too. We use props now. It’s revived us in a big way.”

Hunter was instantly uncomfortable at the thought of her sister and Chip going at it, but did her best to push aside the upsetting visuals in favor of sisterly support. “Can’t wait,” she said, forcing a smile. Claire winked and took off in search of said husband as Hunter tried to erase that conversation from her brain forever and always. Claire had always been a bit of an over-sharer.

Hunter followed Claire’s directions to the back of the club. She couldn’t wait to see the little rugrat, knock him in the head, and work their secret handshake. Smiling, she pushed through the door to the outside and found herself on the loading dock where three boys stood together in conglomeration. Dark hair, dark clothes, and yep, that was eyeliner. Goth kids, perfect. “Hey, guys. Have you seen Kevin?”

The three regarded her with what could best be described as bored tolerance. “What?” the one in the middle asked, totally uninterested in the question. He had his hair spiked, his eyebrow pierced, and dark makeup that made him look a little bit like the undead, but that was her brother all right. Good God. What had happened to that happy-go-lucky smiler she’d seen just under a year ago?

“Hey, Kevin,” she said smiling. “You’re not even going to hug me? It’s been forever.”

“My sister,” he said with mild annoyance to his friends. “Text me.”

The other two scary kids mumbled some sort of assent and took off into the night. Kevin turned to face her before his eyes settled on the ground. “Hey.” He was much taller now and his voice was an entire octave lower. It was more than a little shocking. He made no move to hug her, so she completed the distance herself and wrapped her arms around him in what had to be the most awkward hug in history. He was easily her height and probably not done growing.

“I can’t believe how much older you look.” Usually, this would be the point where Kevin would grin in triumph as he was always trying to impress her. Except for now, when he couldn’t care less.

“Yeah, well, time is real.”

Time is real?
Interesting. He was fixated on the door behind her and she understood that he was counting the seconds until she’d leave him alone. Hunter remembered what Claire had said. She’d given up on him. She remembered her mother’s imploring look
to talk to Kevin
. Clearly, there had been some changes in her brother over the course of the last year, and they weren’t all physical. Some were to be expected. Teenagers acted out. Hell, she did. But this was something else entirely. The kid looked like he hated the world. She wasn’t about to give up, though. “So when did you start wearing eyeliner?”

“When did you?”

Fair enough question despite the fact that his face gave off a lot of scorn. “Fifteen or so, I guess. I didn’t mean that as judgment. Just curious.”

“Cool.” He looked away.

“How’s school going?”

“Fine.”

“You still playing soccer?” She was grappling here. One-word answers seemed to be Kevin’s new thing.

“Nope.” Okay, no soccer? Now that really was a red flag. Soccer was Kevin’s entire life. He played it incessantly. Had posters on his wall of his favorite players. It was rare you saw the kid without a soccer ball under his arm.

“What do you mean you’re not playing soccer? Why did you quit?”

He shook his head in disgust, which just upset her further.

“Okay, what’s with the look? I’m struggling to understand what’s going on with you, kid, but you’re not giving me much.”

“Doesn’t matter.” He walked past her for the door.

“Well, it does to me.”

He shrugged. “That’s gotta suck.” It was the last thing he said to her as the door closed and he disappeared into the club.

Hunter was thrown. She didn’t know who that chip-on-his-shoulder, hate-the-world teenager was, but it certainly wasn’t the younger brother she knew and loved. She shook her head and stared out at the Ohio night sky. She should have been here more. Screw her father and the way he made her feel. Why did she let that dictate the relationship she had with the rest of her family? Her brother was a mess. Her sister had washed her hands of it. And her mother, bless her, was doing everything in her power to hold them all together. And what had she done? Ignored them for the past year? Only visited a handful of times since college? Hunter knew with painstaking clarity how selfish she had been, and she hated herself for it.

With renewed determination, she found her sister inside the club. “How long has he been like this?”

Claire looked suddenly tired and uncomfortable. She’d never done well with conflict and preferred to think the world was a happy, shiny place for all to live. “The black clothes hit about six months ago and the attitude was shortly behind them.”

“Do you think it’s just a passing fixation or is it worse? Is he into drugs?”

Claire shrugged. “It’s not like he’d tell me. I offered to take him for ice cream to talk, but he pretty much ignored me.”

“Ice cream, Claire? Are you kidding me? Have you seen the kid?”

Claire’s shoulders sagged. “What? I was trying to help.”

And she was. She was simply ill-equipped. “What does Mom say?”

“She’s concerned, but she’s letting Dad handle it.”

Had Hunter heard that correctly? “I’m sorry. Dad? Since when has Dad ever handled anything?”

Claire glanced quickly around to see who might have overheard. “First of all, keep your voice down. Second of all, he’s really been trying lately. And Kevin responds to him. Well, as much as Kevin can respond to anyone.”

She had to laugh, because really? “Somehow I just can’t imagine that happening.”

“He’s not
all
bad, Hunter. No one is all one thing. Maybe it’s because his health has not been so great, but I’ve noticed a big change in Dad. He’s taken an interest in us, and I for one am not going to deny him because of the past. Life is too short. If he wants to turn over a new leaf, let him.”

“Well, that’s bullshit,” Hunter said.