Finding Forgiveness(13)

God, he needed to get a fucking grip. He was here to figure out if he could pull off another deal that would pad his and his investors’ bank accounts, not worry about the tender emotions of some barely legal kid who was clearly dealing with a mess of shit that Roman had zero interest in getting involved in. Besides, maybe Hunter needed to see how the real world worked.

“Yeah, right,” Roman muttered as he got out of the car. If the events of last night were anything to go by, Hunter needed a lot more than Roman would ever be able to teach him. Knowing that the young man had actually decided the way to not be gay anymore was by subjecting himself to a brutal gang rape had had Roman wanting to both hold and strangle the kid at the same time. And then he’d wanted to turn around and drive back to town so he could tear Hunter’s father a new one because it was clear from the man’s domineering behavior that he was likely the one Hunter was hiding his true self from.

It took less than a minute to catch up to Hunter because the younger man was waiting at a fork in the trailhead. He was shifting his weight back and forth but it was the way his hand was stroking over his front pocket that had Roman taking notice. He hadn’t noticed before but he could tell there was something in Hunter’s pocket by the slight bulge in the loose fabric but he couldn’t make out what it was.

“This way leads up the mountain,” Hunter murmured as he pointed to the trail heading west. Roman followed him down the trail to the right and within minutes it began to widen and the trees became less dense. The lake was much larger than Roman expected and he could see several small streams emptying into the clear water along the west side – runoff from the mountain he realized. The east side of the lake had a really nice beach that would be perfect for anyone willing to brave the cool, blue water.

“Look,” Hunter murmured and Roman felt his dick harden to painful proportions as Hunter brushed his arm to get his attention. He followed the direction Hunter was pointing in and saw a bald eagle sitting high in the branches of a tree just a couple hundred feet away.

“That’s Fred,” Hunter said.

“Fred?”

The eagle suddenly took flight and then dove towards the water. A few seconds later it was flapping its giant wings as its claws closed over something in the water and then it was airborne again, an enormous fish clutched between its talons. Roman tracked the bird to the other side of the lake where he was able to make out another eagle sitting near a nest.

“And that’s Ethel.”

Roman chuckled and warmth sifted through him when Hunter did too. “Gran has a thing for I Love Lucy.”

“What about Lucy and Ricky?”

“Let’s hope we don’t run into them.”

“Why not? Are they bears or something?”

Another laugh.

“No, skunks.”

“You’re shitting me,” Roman muttered.

To his amazement, Hunter laughed even louder. “No. Gran found Lucy when she was just a baby – her mom and brothers and sisters were killed by a coyote so Gran took care of Lucy till she was old enough to make it on her own. Every time Pops and I would come out here, she’d show up and follow us around like a dog which was just fine since she never sprayed us. But then one day there’s another skunk with her. Pops didn’t realize she wasn’t alone until it was too late.”

Roman smiled but he wasn’t sure if it was because of the story or because of its effect on Hunter. A wide smile split his lip as he said, “I was only twelve so I couldn’t drive us back so Gran had to come get us. She showed up in their neighbor’s truck and was pulling a horse trailer behind it. She made Pops ride home in it so he wouldn’t stink up the car.”

Hunter began walking and Roman fell in step next to him. “I could hear him bellowing even from way up front in the truck. He had to shave his beard off to get the stink out. Cursed Lucy and Ricky every time he saw them after that.”

“Did you spend a lot of time out here with him?”

Hunter sobered and Roman instantly regretted the question.

“We’d camp out here most weekends. He’d bring me out here after school during the week to go fishing but it was harder to get away as I got older.”

“How come?”

Hunter glanced at him, his emerald eyes heavy. “My dad wanted me to focus on other things. School, sports.”

“What did you want?”

Hunter stopped walking all together and looked at Roman as if he’d grown two heads. His reaction was answer enough and he wasn’t surprised when Hunter said, “I wanted to make him proud.”

Roman merely nodded because he couldn’t fault Hunter for the admission. How many times had Roman tried his best to impress Victoria and Walt with a stellar report card or some academic award? When that hadn’t worked, he’d gone the route of athletics to seek their approval. A cold reality hit him as he realized if his father and Victoria had even shown him the tiniest scrap of attention for all his efforts, he could have easily ended up like the young man before him.