“Yeah, I’m fully recovered now. I even brought my prescriptions, so if I gotta stay a little longer, I’ll be fine here. There’s motel a few miles away. I’ll just crash there for the night.”
I nodded and we sat there for a moment, holding each other.
“Listen,” he said, “I know you’ve got a lot to think about, but can I see you tomorrow?”
It had been a long day. Having some time to think about it and talk after a good night’s sleep sounded like a positive step to me.
I put my head on his shoulder. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
Letting out a deep breath that I hadn’t realized that I‘d been holding, I wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my shirt. We sat in silence for another few minutes. Dr. Schwartz had been right about Hunter. It wasn’t over for us yet.
After a while I realized it was starting to get dark. How long had we been out here? The last time I had been in these woods for too long, Aunt Caroline had called the police because she thought I’d disappeared. That definitely didn’t need to happen again.
“Let’s head back to the house,” I said, standing up and dusting my pants off. “I don’t want my aunt to worry about us.”
Hunter didn’t say much as we walked back to the house so I gave him his space. He seemed thoughtful, which comforted me. If we were going to make it, we needed to be on the same page.
The world had thrown us into the deep end, and we were both just trying to keep our heads above water. He had rescued me from drowning once, before he even knew me. Now that all of our secrets were in the open, was it even possible for us to save each other?
Even though I was terrified of the fallout if we failed, I was happy we still had a chance.
Chapter Four
AWKWARD
We returned to the driveway by the same path we had walked into the woods, the dim light fading fast in the sky.
When we got to the front of the house where Hunter’s car was parked, he turned to me. “Hey, don’t be mad, but I have something to show you.”
He went to the back of the the beat-up blue car and beckoned me over. I followed him, curious. Then he pointed into the dirty windows of the backseat. I shrugged and peered in, not knowing what to expect. The thin layer of dust on the window made it hard to see anything—especially in the low light—but then I spotted it.
In the backseat was a large cardboard box covered in a blue blanket made of thick wool. A tiny fuzzy tail poked out from underneath.
“Oh my god! Why did you bring them all the way here?”
He shrugged boyishly. “Dunno. I figured you might wanna see your babies.”
“Were they okay on the drive over?” I asked, a little worried that the kittens had spent hours in the car.
“Yeah, no problems at all. They mostly just slept.”
I shook my head, but even in my exhausted state I had trouble keeping a smile from my face. The little tail poking out wiggled a bit and then disappeared under the blanket.
“Why didn’t you just leave them in Studsen and have Gary take care of them?”
“Gary’s been pretty busy with his frat, and besides, I figured they’re our responsibility. Don’t worry, I made sure they were comfortable during the ride.”
Judging from the fact that the six little monsters were all asleep at the moment, they must’ve been just fine.
The front door to the house opened and a splash of light illuminated us. Aunt Caroline stood in the driveway.
“Dinner’s ready!” she called. “Hunter, why don’t you come in and join us?”
My spine straightened. I’d been ready to say goodbye to Hunter and regroup on my own. We’d just started to work things out, and I didn’t relish the prospect of an awkward family dinner before we could spend more time talking alone. Plus, Uncle Stewart could be pretty conservative. I wasn’t sure how open he would be to anyone dropping in on the family, never mind someone who looked like Hunter.
Hunter turned quickly to her and stood up straighter himself. “Hi Ms. Perkins,” he said. “Lorrie and I just finished talking. I’m sorry I kept her so late.”
Aunt Caroline brushed it off. “Oh don’t worry about it! Now come inside, so I can fill you up.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but decided against it. Spending more time with Hunter would be good, and if my aunt wanted to invite him, she had to figure Uncle Stewart sharing a dinner table with Hunter wouldn’t be too awkward.
Hunter seemed to consider, then his face screwed up into a sheepish grin. “Well, the thing is, the kittens are actually in the car, and I didn’t want to bring them in and mess up your place.”
After he said that, it was pretty much a done deal. Aunt Caroline practically squealed. “You brought the kittens? Bring them in! I’m sure the boys would love playing with them.”