She laughed, and the sound was music to my ears. “I’ll try and make it up to you.”
I loved playful Jules; it was nice to see she still existed.
“Aw. Look at you two. I’ve missed this.” Stephanie was clearly feeling nostalgic.
We both turned to her mom and gave her a look.
She put her hands up in surrender. “All right, calm down.” She sat up straighter in her chair. “Why don’t you two take a seat. Let’s do a crossword. Wait, would you mind making me that tea first, please?”
“Of course.” I made her tea and pulled up two chairs, putting them close together. I didn’t have a lot of time, so I wanted to spend all of it as close to her as possible.
We spent the next twenty minutes or so finishing the crossword, between the three of us, it was pretty easy.
“So, Mama, how did your tests go yesterday? Any news?” She sounded really anxious.
I reached out and rested my hand on her thigh. I couldn’t help it, I had to touch her.
“Nothing to worry about, sweetie. Just some routine tests.” I could tell that Stephanie was trying to sugarcoat it.
“Has the doctor given you a prognosis? I haven’t been able to get any information out of anyone since I arrived, and I would love some more answers.”
“Jules, I told the staff they are not to share my medical information with anyone, so they won’t be updating you. I’ll give you any important information, I promise, but for now, there’s nothing new. Please don’t worry.” She was hiding something.
I would have to talk with her another time when Jules wasn’t here.
Jules’s shoulders slumped “All right, Mama, if you say so, but promise me that you’ll keep me up-to-date.” Jules was tense, and her knee was bouncing forcefully.
I squeezed her leg softly to let her know I was here, she looked over at me and smiled.
“I promise I’ll update you when something changes.” Stephanie smiled at us both.
“Hunter, how are your grandparents?” She changed the subject.
“They’re great. Thanks for asking. They send their best.”
My grandparents were really worried about Stephanie since she’d been in here for over a week. They kept asking questions, and I didn’t have any answers for them.
“That’s good to hear. Please tell them thank you for their concern.” She smiled at me sweetly.
“Jules, how’s that grandbaby of mine? Giving old Margaret a run for her money?” Stephanie was smiling from ear to ear as she always did when she talked about Calum.
“He’s good. He adores her, and that playroom is any child’s dream room. It’s amazing.” She turned to me. “You should see this place, Hunter.” She described the coolest kids’ playroom ever with enthusiasm.
“That sounds awesome. I can’t wait to meet him this weekend.” Before she could respond, my phone started to ring in my pocket. I looked down at the screen. “Crap. It’s Mike. I have to take this. Excuse me for a minute.”
I stepped out into the hallway. “Hey, Mike, this better be good. I’m sitting here with Jules and Stephanie.” I knew I sounded impatient, but I just wanted to be with her.
“I’m sorry, you know I wouldn’t call you if it wasn’t important. The inspector showed up on the site today, and he shut us down, claimed we were missing paperwork. I know how diligent you are about that shit, so I assured him there must be some kind of mistake. He didn’t care. You’ll have to go down to the county and see what’s going on.” He sounded frantic. Most employees would love to have a day off work, not Mike. He loved coming in every day.
“Thanks for calling, Mike. Tell the guys to go home, and enjoy a day off on me. I’ll get this sorted out. I’m sure we’ll be back up tomorrow. Go home to your wife, spend some quality time together.” I could see his face now, scrunched up and looking like I was insane.
“Yeah, I think I’ll head to Charlie’s and have a couple beers first.” He laughed. “Sorry to cut your visit short with Jules. How is she? Did you know she’d be there?” He sounded hopeful.
“I can’t even describe how good it is to see her.” I pulled at the back of my neck and sighed. “She looks amazing, I can’t get over it. It’s killing me not to grab hold of her and kiss the living shit out of her.”
He laughed gruffly. “I can only imagine, buddy. I’ve been listening to you talk about her for so long; it’s about time you got her back. Don’t fuck it up this time around.”
“Hey, asshole, you know I didn’t fuck anything up. She left me for school. That’s it. End of story.” I knew he heard how irritated I was.
He laughed again. “I’m just pulling your leg kid. Calm down, boss man.” He was only playing with me, but when it came to Jules, I didn’t mess around.
“Go have your beers and head home to the wife. Be a good husband for once.” Take that, asshole!
“Whatever. Go spend a little more time with Jules, but make sure you get down to county before they close today. I don’t want to be at home with the wife for a whole day. I love her but can’t do it.”
“Man, you’re a dick. See you tomorrow, Mike.”
“See ya, boss.”
I turned around to walk back in just as the asshole doctor walked by. What I wouldn’t give to be able to punch his pretty-boy face. Be good; it’s for Jules.
I gave him my biggest fuck you smile as I walked back into the room.
17
Jules
Hunter had a shit-eating grin on his face when he walked back in. Man, he was sexy. How did I forget that? My brain did me a favor all these years. And that beard and hair had my lady bits screaming for release.
“Is everything okay?”
He looked at me with a forced smile. “It will be. I need to go down to the county office before they close and deal with a paperwork issue. The guys have the rest of the day off, so they should be happy.”
I was sure he could tell by my expression that I was disappointed. I may not have been expecting to see him today, but after the shock wore off, it felt like old times.
“We’re still on for Friday and Sunday though, right?” Wow, did my voice sound needy or what? Calm down, Jules.
With the smirk he gave me, I knew he noticed my eagerness as well.
“I wouldn’t miss it for anything.” He grinned.
“Great, I’m looking forward to it. Bring your suit Sunday; Calum is obsessed with the pool.” I smiled at him, and he beamed back. I honestly couldn’t wait for this weekend. Before, I was nervous since I wasn’t sure what to expect, but having this short visit today definitely helped ease the anxiety.
“Sounds like fun. I can’t wait.” He genuinely sounded excited.
Personally, if I were meeting a kid, I would be nervous. I may be a mom, but I’m not a fan of other people’s children. I just didn’t do well with them.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t stay longer. Stephanie, I’ll try to stop by later this week, but if not, you know you’ll see me Wednesday.” He leaned down and kissed my mom on the forehead. He’s such a great guy, I missed him more than I admitted before today. Hunter turned to me and stepped in close; I averted my eyes, looking anywhere but at him. “It was great seeing you, Jules.”
I could feel his breath across my face, and it caused goose bumps along my flesh. The urge to reach out to touch him was so strong. But I refrained.
“It was great seeing you, too.” I finally looked up.
His hazel eyes were stunning with the way the light was shining in from the window; they were glowing an intense shade of green. He started to reach for me but stopped and took a deep breath instead. “I’ve missed you. I’m glad you’re home.”
Home. That word just took on a whole new meaning. I was smiling like a loon.
“I missed you, too.” I reached out and wrapped my arms around his waist. “It’s great to be home,” I said softly, the words were meant more for me than anyone else.
He gripped me tightly, both of us not wanting to l
et go. We stayed this way for quite some time. He shifted slightly and smelled my hair.
I pulled back a little, so I could look up at him, smirking I asked, “Did you just smell my hair?”
He looked a little shy. “Sorry, uh, it’s just that you still smell the same, like coconut and vanilla.”
I smiled and avoided his eyes again. “You remembered.” I didn’t know why I was surprised; he was always thoughtful.
“I remember everything, Jules.” He swept some of my hair behind my ear, his hand lingered on my cheek.
I looked back up to find him gazing into my eyes. He was so close. I didn’t want to ever let him go.
“As much as it pains me to say this, I really do have to go.”
We both pulled away and turned at the sound of a loud sigh. My mom was sitting up on the bed looking at us longingly. We both laughed. She was a hopeless romantic.
“All right, you better go before she starts planning our wedding or something.”
He laughed, but it sounded unnatural. “Ladies, it’s been lovely as always, but I gotta run.”
I deflated internally. I wasn’t prepared to watch him walk away. “Text me when you get a chance.” Ugh, there I went, sounding needy again, but I couldn’t help it.
“I will, and I’ll see you on Friday.”
Leaning over, he kissed me on the cheek. My eyes closed on their own accord. “See ya, Jules.”
My eyes fluttered open as he pulled away. “Bye.” I was all breathy. Jeez, it was just a kiss on the cheek. I watched him walk out the door and continue to stare long after he’d disappeared.
“Earth to Jules.” My mom broke me out of my trance.
“Yeah, Mama? Sorry.” My words came out light and daydreamy. I was so fucked.
She was smiling like a crazy lady. “It’s so great to see you two together.”
“Mother,” I said a little more sternly than was needed.
She put her hands up in surrender but continued. “I can’t help it. You two are meant to be. I’ve always known that, and until you two are living happily ever after, I won’t keep quiet.”
I walked over and sat next to my mom on the bed to snuggle. “I don’t want to talk about it, but I will say seeing him after all this time has brought up a lot of feelings that I’d kept hidden. Now that they’re at the forefront, I can’t make sense of them all.” I sighed and kissed her on the top of her head.
“Don’t worry, sweetie; you’ll get there. Just give it some time. It’s meant to be so it will be.” She sounded so matter-of-fact, and I secretly hoped she was right.
“I missed having you around, Mama.” I wasn’t sure why I’d stayed away so long.
There was a knock at the door. “Am I interrupting?” Bradley stood in the doorway.
“Yes,” my mom muttered under her breath. She sounded a little angry, so I looked back at her questioningly. She was looking down at her hands fiddling with the blanket.
“Not at all; come on in.” I waved him over.
He walked to the end of the bed and picked up the chart to read it. “How are you feeling, Stephanie?”
She didn’t look up. “Fine.”
“I see here that you didn’t eat your breakfast, and you’ve been having some trouble sleeping. Are you feeling up to lunch?” He was watching my mom closely.
“I’m fine.” She still hadn’t made eye contact.
“Stephanie, would you prefer if we spoke in private?” he asked her softly, his eyes kind.
Her head whipped up. “No, I would actually prefer not to talk to you at all.”
Bradley stepped back slightly. He could see she was upset, and I’m sure he wasn’t looking for a confrontation. “No problem. Let me check your vitals, and I’ll be out of your hair for the time being.” He looked her over and wrote in her chart before heading for the door.
I got up and followed him out. “I’m sorry about that. I’m not sure what’s gotten into her.”
Turning around, he smiled. “No need to apologize. It comes with the territory.”
“Well, that’s not all right in my book.”
“That’s nice of you, but I’m used to it. When people are sick, emotions run high. I’ll leave you two to visit.” He smiled and walked away.
Back in the room, I scolded my mother. “You really need to mind your manners, Mama. He’s your doctor and only trying to help. Okay?”
She looked back down at her hands but said nothing. We spent the rest of the visit talking about Calum and doing crosswords. Before heading out, I heated up the second cup of tea for her.
By the time I left the hospital, it was a little past lunchtime, so I called Margaret to check on Calum. She let me know he was eating and about to go down for a nap. Since he’d be out for a while, I let her know I’d be going for lunch and then doing some running around.
Dialing Taylor’s number, she picked up on the second ring. “Hey, girl, how are ya?” She sounded breathless.
“Hey, Tays. What are you doing? You sound out of breath.”
“I just ran to grab the phone. It was on the other side of my office. What’s up?”
“Are you able to get away for lunch?”
“I don’t know. I’m kind of swamped today. Can I take a rain check?”
“I saw Hunter today.” I couldn’t wait, so if there was any chance she could make it, I’d use what I could.
“Fuck, hang on.”
I heard muffled speaking on the other end of the line. “All right, liquid lunch it is. I’m leaving in five, I’m going to take my car home and Uber over, I’ll meet you at Joe Dog’s in twenty.”
I sighed in relief. “I love you. I’ll do the same. See you soon.”
Fifteen minutes later and I was waiting at a table with a martini already in hand. Taylor walked in shortly after, picked up her drink, and took a huge gulp without even sitting down. “So, how many are we going to need for this convo?” She was teasing of course, but she also knew how monumental today was for me.
“If I didn’t have a toddler at home, it would be a keep it comin’ kind of lunch. But I do, so I’ll have to milk ’em while you pound ’em instead.”
She sat down. “Spill it.”
I took a deep breath in and let it out slowly. “I was at the hospital talking to one of the nurses and doctor.”
Her eyebrows rose. “The hot doctor?”
Rolling my eyes, I continued without acknowledging her question. “We were talking about the flowers I got this morning, and Bradley made a comment about them being from a secret admirer. Before I could explain that I knew who they were from, Hunter appeared behind me saying, it’s never been a secret how I feel about Jules.”
She gasped and smacked the table. “See, bitch. I told you.” She was ecstatic, smiling from ear to ear.
“Don’t read too much into that, Tays. He could have just spoken in the wrong tense.”
She rolled her eyes. “Are you really still in denial?”
“Denial?”
“Oh, don’t play dumb. You know exactly what I’m talking about. That boy is head over heels for you.” She sounded so sure of herself.
“Don’t be ridiculous, we haven’t seen each other in years. How could he possibly still have the same feelings for me?”
She gave me an exasperated look. “I don’t know. Why don’t you go to the bathroom, look in the mirror, and ask yourself how you’re still madly in love with a man you haven’t seen in so many years?”
“Touché.” I sipped my martini and pondered that for a moment.
She was right, it was possible since I did still love him just as much as I did all those years ago. “All right, get out of your head for a moment. What else happened?” She sounded hopeful.
“Nothing really.” I gave her the rundown on every detail I could remember.
After taking another sip of her drink, she looked up at me. “This is an important question. How do you feel now that you’ve seen him again?”
I wasn’t expecti
ng that. It’s a damn good question. “My feelings are all over the place. I was in complete shock when I first saw him, but I didn’t want him to leave when he did.”
“Girl…” She dragged out the word. “You are so fucked. I don’t know why you’re trying to fight this. You can’t. You deserve to be happy, and you know Hunter is the one man who can do that for you.”
“Ugh.” Tugging at my hair in frustration, I leaned my head back on the seat and closed my eyes. “I’m so fucked.”
She laughed and then squealed. “I’ve waited too fucking long for this.”
“Enough boy talk.” I changed the subject. “What’s the plan for Saturday? Hopefully, Margaret will say yes, and I can maybe take him over there around dinner. Do you want to get ready at your place? I haven’t even seen it yet.”
Her face lit up. “Hell yes. That’s perfect. Maybe all the girls can come over and have a few bevies before we head to the bar.” She was so excited.
I loved it.
“Girl, we are all looking forward to Saturday, a girls’ night out with all the girls.”
“I can’t wait. It’s going to be just like old times, but now we’re legal.” We both laughed.
Two drinks in and we needed food; well, at least I did. I couldn’t be heading back to my boy tipsy, and seeing as I rarely drank anything but wine, my head was feeling a little fuzzy.
We finished up lunch and headed back to my place. After a stressful day, hanging with Calum would take my mind off everything.
Margaret let us in. Calum was finger-painting. “Hey, handsome man, how was your day?”
He looked up at me and wiggled his little fingers. “Paint flowers.”
I loved seeing how happy he was here. Poor kid must’ve been bored out of his mind with me every day.
I heard Taylor introducing herself to Margaret.
“Did you guys have a nice lunch?”
“Yes, ma’am, we did.”
I tuned them out while I watched my little guy make a complete mess of the table and himself, barely getting any of the paint on the paper. He clapped his hands together and announced he was all done.
Wrecked by Her (Like a Hurricane Duet Book 1) Page 10
