CHAPTER FOUR
Hunt sat outside the boys’ school, waiting for the dismissal bell to ring. He was early, but didn’t much care. It was a nice warm day. The sun was shining. He had a nice brick wall to sit on. The sun chased its rays through the magnolias in the school yard. A light breeze tickled the branches and they twitched slightly in response. He wished he’d thought to bring his camera, it would have made a great shot.
He used to always have at least his small mirrorless camera with him, but since he’d come home he’d pretty much given up that habit. He wasn’t sure why though. It just seemed silly to be taking pictures here in Comfort Crossing. He was used to shooting drama, capturing traumas in the world. Sometimes the scenes he captured actually took his breath away with their horror or their realistic capture of a tragedy.
“Hey, you. You look lost in thought.”
He glanced up and saw Keely standing beside him. She had on, once again, a simple top, skirt, and some kind of sensible looking flat shoes. Her hair was pulled back into a twisted thingie on the back of her head. She must be headed to work. From what he’d seen, this was standard work attire for her.
“You caught me. I guess I was day dreaming.”
“What were you dreaming about?”
“I was thinking that would make a good shot.” Hunt nodded towards the schoolyard.
“So, why not take it?”
“Don’t have my camera. Could grab a shot with my phone, I guess.” Not that he considered phone pictures real photos. He admitted he was a self-proclaimed photo snob.
“I’ve rarely seen you without your camera. You always had one when we were in high school. Kind of annoying with it, actually.” Keely grinned at him. Her face lit up for a moment, relaxed, carefree.
“I wasn’t that bad, was I?”
“Let’s see, you took that one picture of me at the homecoming game… what year was that? The one where it rained all through the game? I looked like a drowned rat. And you put it in the school newspaper.”
“Well, okay. I did that.” He smiled. He remembered he’d done that specifically to provoke Keely. And it had worked.
“There was that one of Katherine when she fell on her butt from the cheerleaders’ pyramid. She was covered with mud.”
“Okay, I’ll admit to that one, too.” He’d forgotten about all the crazy shots he’d taken of his friends.
“Then there was that one of Kevin. You caught him sneaking into the teacher’s lounge to swipe a donut. The look on his face was priceless.”
“Yes, that one. It was easy to get great shots of Kevin. He was always up to something.” Hunt felt a pang of loss. It seemed to creep up on him from nowhere, just when he thought he had it all under control. He quickly tucked away the pain.
“You miss him, don’t you?” Keely’s voice was low and soothing. She’d never been one to just let things go. Which annoyed him and charmed him depending on whether she turned it on him.
“I do. Sometimes I almost forget he’s gone. Something happens and I want to pick up the phone and call him. Instinct, I guess. It’s kind of weird.” That was more of his feelings than he’d shared with anyone for a long time. He wasn’t sure what had made him tell Keely that now.
“I’m sorry. I know it’s hard on you. And Natalie. I don’t know how she deals with it and those three boys. That’s a lot for one person. I’m glad you’re back here helping her for a while.”
“I’m not sure how much help I am. I mean, I can drive them and pick them up. Watch them a bit. But I don’t really have a handle on this raising kids gig.” He’d never been good at the responsibility thing. He’d tried before, oh how he’d tried. But he’d failed.
He wanted to feel like he was helping, but more often than not, Jackson looked at him like he was from another planet. Hunt was so not like Kevin. He was sure Kevin was a natural born father, who knew instinctively what to say and what to do.
Keely leaned against the brick wall and dropped her purse on the ground. “I’m sure that’s a big help and I bet she enjoys having another adult around to talk to.”
“Yep, living the glamorous life, living on the back porch, pouring cereal for the boys. Big help.”
“How long are you planning on staying?”
“I’m not sure.” He wasn’t certain how long he could stay. The rational part of him reminded him that he made his living traveling and taking his photos. What was there for him to do in Comfort Crossing?
“The back porch doesn’t sound all that bad, though honestly, I think a place of your own would be the ultimate luxury. I’m still living at Mom’s. I help with Katherine. It just never seemed the right time to move out. I’d so love to have my own place though.”