The Magnolia Cafe(36)

“I’ll see you in the morning, then.”

Keely nodded and watched him walk to the door. He paused briefly and turned to her, flashing that disarming smile of his. No fair that he had such a secret weapon at his disposable. She would see him in the morning… unless she talked herself out of it.





CHAPTER TWELVE





Hunt was up early the next morning, helping Natalie get the boys ready for school. He’d promised her he’d run the boys to school on his way to pick up Keely. Everything was going smoothly, except for missing homework, and they were out of bread to make sandwiches for lunch—he’d forgotten he told Natalie he’d go shopping. Natalie found some tortillas in the fridge and saved the day by convincing the boys that the new trendy thing in school lunches was wraps.

“Boys, go upstairs and finish getting ready. You’re leaving in ten minutes.” Natalie stood in the kitchen, packing up three lunch sacks.

“I told you Nat, I’m a dangerous one to give any responsibility.” Hunt shook his head. She’d given him one thing to do yesterday. Grocery shop. Failure. Big failure. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not a big deal. I know you’ve been really busy with the patio, and now this photography assignment. Besides, it’s not your responsibility to do these things, it’s mine.”

“I’m trying to help, though. I’ve just never been any good at being the one for people to depend on.”

“You talking about forgetting to go to the market, or are you talking about Mama?”

Hunt swallowed. “Maybe a bit of both. Trying to make things up to you.”

“She wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t even your responsibility to save her.”

But he’d felt like it was his duty to save her and protect Natalie. “I tried though. And I tried to keep you with me after she died, but Dad was so angry at me. He sent you off to live with Aunt Mae your senior year of high school.”

“It was probably for the best. Gave you a chance to chase your dream of photography, instead of being saddled with a little sister here in Comfort Crossing.” Natalie walked over and rested her hand on his arm. “You know, it was Mama’s fault, not yours. No one can make a person stop drinking if they don’t want to. Not even you.”

Hunt stared down at his sister’s hand. “I just wanted to make things right for you, give you some kind of home life.”

“I know you were always protecting me from the fallout of her drinking. Dad just went out of town all the time so he could ignore it. I think Mama drank because she was so miserable. Miserable being married to Dad. Miserable having hardly any money. I’m pretty sure being a mom wasn’t her thing either. She was a sad, lonely woman. I’m not sure how you could have fixed any of that.”

“But, when I came home that night and found her… I just felt like I should have been able to do something more. Stop her. Get her help.”

“She drank, Hunt. Her choice. That night she drank way too much and fell and hit her head.”

“If I would have come home earlier, instead of hanging out with Kevin, then maybe…”

“Hunt, you couldn’t have changed a thing.”

“But I so wanted to be here for you, give you some kind of home life for your last year in high school, keep you from having to move to Hattiesburg to Aunt Mae’s and change schools.”

“It was one year. One year. I was so upset when it happened. Who wants to change schools their senior year of high school? But it all worked out okay. Kevin started coming to see me most weekends. So, maybe you should look at it as you gave Kevin and me the opportunity to be together.”

“Maybe.” But Hunt didn’t believe her. Anytime he took on a responsibility, it seemed like he failed. “I’ve failed at more than that with horrible consequences.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This young kid. A photojournalist. He was with me on one of my assignments. Terrible place to be. Warring factions.” Hunt clenched his teeth, then took a deep breath. “He begged me let him tag along with me one day. I shouldn’t have. But once I said yes, it was my responsibility to get him back to safety. I knew the ropes. I knew the danger.”

Hunt’s stomach clenched like it always did when he thought about the young man. A boy really. Twenty-two years old and living in darkness now.

“I couldn’t keep him safe. He’s blind now. A blind photographer.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” Natalie walked up and placed her hand on his arm. “But you know what? Somehow you’re going to have to find a way to forgive yourself. Realize it’s not all your fault, and the young man chose to go with you. All we can do is try our best, Hunt. That’s all any of us can do.”