“Bec?” he asked, running his fingers through her hair.
“Hmm?” Her hand splayed across his chest as she rested in the crook of his arm, their bodies touching skin to skin. He’d pulled the blanket over them.
“With all the craziness going on, I realize we haven’t…” He stopped. Should he bring this up now? Well, why not? It was important to both of them.
“What is it?” Concern laced her voice. She raised her head.
“We haven’t gone to the cliffs this year. Did you do it all four years?” Without him, he wanted to add, but didn’t.
“I made sure to drop extra in for you. I can’t believe we almost forgot!”
She’d thought of him each year? She’d gone herself. The image of Becca standing alone at the cliffs broke his heart. He really should have been there.
“You want to eat real quick and then go?”
“Yes I do.” They shared another kiss. Hunter didn’t want to let her go. Like, ever.
Would a summer be long enough? What happens when she had to go back to Vermont for teaching? What did they do then?
Now he was overthinking. They had time to figure things out. Right now, he just wanted to enjoy every moment he could with her. He slid out of bed first, rolled off the condom and tossed it in the trash, then reached for his boxers and pants. Turning on the light by the dresser. he moved toward the cart of food. As he lifted the lid on one of the plates, he realized their dinner was still somewhat warm. Hunter turned to Becca just as she had her arms raised over her head, slipping into her shirt.
About a half hour later, Hunter and Becca stood at the cliff looking over the water. The moon was full tonight, casting a bright silvery glow over them. Holding the petals, Hunter faced Becca. He swallowed. This was never easy, even after twenty years. The void in his heart from losing his parents still felt fresh. He didn’t think it would ever go away, especially losing them at a young age and the way it happened. “Ready, angel?”
Becca nodded. Hunter handed her half the petals. He reached to hold her hand as they stepped close enough to drop the petals over.
“In loving memory of Charles and Savannah Beckman,” he said, tipping his hand upside down. His petals began their descent. His heart was heavy. Pain and longing burned in his chest. He squeezed Becca’s hand.
“In loving memory of Rusty Lange, Anne Lange, and Ellie Lange.” Becca’s voice was full of tears and emotion as she dropped her petals. “I love you and I miss you.” She let out a slight sniffle.
They stood, side by side, clasping hands and started their moment of silence. The roar of the waves was the only sound. When Becca sniffed again, Hunter pulled her close, wrapping his arms protectively around her. He rubbed his hand up and down her back. “I bet your parents and sister would be proud of the woman you’ve become today.” He finally broke the silence. “You jump over hurdles like they are nothing. You let no one hold you back and you’re an inspiration. I have so much admiration for you.” He’d said it many times, but he would say it again as many chances as he could. He meant every word, too. He didn’t know anyone else that had the same determination Becca did. “I don’t like what this place took from me, but it did give me you. I’m fortunate to know you.” He tipped her chin up to look in her eyes. A tear rolled down her cheek and he wiped it away, then kissed her lips softly.
“Sometimes we have important things or people taken from us, but are given things back in return. I miss my family, always will, but I love that I have you in my life. And I think your parents would be proud of the man you are today. Your heart is big and even though you’re hurting, you’re still a giving person. Thank you for coming back.” She clung to him, holding on tight. His heart ached for her, for the loss she had, and for his.
Now they had each other. They were strong.
“I love you, Becca. I think it’s always been you.” Hunter shocked himself with the words, but he knew they were true. He did love her, so much. “You’re everywhere even when you aren’t physically there. I don’t know what will happen by summer’s end. All I know is I want a chance with you, a chance for there to be an us.” A forever us.
Tilting her head up for another kiss, she whispered, “I love you, too.” He took her hand and held it over her heart, which he noticed was beating faster than normal.
“Wanna head back now, or do you want the swing one more time?” The swing seemed to have a calming effect on Becca. Every time they left the cliffs they would head for the swing for some quiet, thoughtful time. She’d always loved it. He remembered the first time he visited her with her aunt. She’d still been in the wheelchair but she’d wanted that swing. Hunter had helped her over to it. Her aunt had rushed outside and wasn’t sure what to think. At first she’d been angry and scared. But she saw the way Becca’s face lit up and how she’d moved her legs to give herself a good push. Between that and Becca’s reaction to Hunter when she’d been in a coma, her aunt took so much of what Hunter said into consideration.
Everyone else wanted to give up on Becca but somehow, even not conscious, she’d reacted to him. Just from the sound of his voice. When all the doctors gave up hope, they’d all been surprised by the activity in her brain when Hunter was around.
You couldn’t break a bond that strong.
Hopefully Shara found a swing. What he’d give to get a look of shock and happiness from Becca when she saw it. And the art supplies! He really wished he could make sure everything went as planned, but he trusted Shara to get the job done.
“I’d love that.”
They turned one last time to the water and both stared down, each in their own thoughts before they made their way to the swing.
“I can’t believe it was just a few days ago when I walked up to you. What a sign. I thought I was imagining you on the swing.”
Becca laughed. “I’m wondering if I’m only dreaming this about us,” she replied. “I never pictured this, but now that it’s here, it feels right. It feels like you and I were always meant to be together. Is that weird?”
God, he loved this woman. Loved her gentle laugh, her smile and the way the simplest things made her whole world light up. He stopped, pulled her into his arms right there in front of the swing. “It’s not. I feel the same way. I know it feels like we’re moving fast. We’ve only been reunited for a few days, but I think since we’ve known each other so long that it works. It’s almost like that huge gap of time never happened. I’ll tell you one thing, you were never far from my mind. When the worst days hit, I thought of you and what you’ve done. It helped. I pulled myself together. You saved me more than once. I want you to know that I will do whatever I can to make you happy. You deserve it.”
“You already do. Just keep being you. I love you, Hunter. I love saying that I love you. I think I always have.”
“I love you too, angel.” He gestured to the swing, still holding her with one arm. “Let’s give one good push and then head back for the night. Sound good?”
She kissed him before turning to the swing. It sounds-” She gasped mid sentence.
“What is it?” Hunter looked in the direction of the swing. Something was on it. “What the hell?” Gently keeping Becca behind him, he rushed forward to inspect. Dozens of rose petals were scattered all around the swing, some even on it. There was a paper taped to it. Hunter snatched it up and read the words scrawled in black marker.
In Loving memory of … me.
Chapter Fourteen
“How the hell could someone know, unless they’ve been watching us the entire time?” Hunter yelled, spinning on his heel and looking around. Becca stood frozen where she was and couldn’t tear her eyes away from the swing. The petals, the set up, the letters and their mysterious messages. What did it all mean? Why? Was someone playing a very sick joke?
It wasn’t like she could fully trust her memory from the accident. She knew that they’d been the only two to survive, so why would these letters make it seem like there had been a third person?
She turned around to reach for Hunter, but he was nowhere in sight. Her heart sped up as she frantically looked around for him. “Hunter? Hunter!” From somewhere behind her, leaves rustled. Where did Hunter go? Becca was just about to bolt when her knee gave out and she fell, hitting the ground with full force.
“What happened?” Hunter ran through the bushes where she’d just heard the rustling. Had that been him? Now she felt like a fool. He sank to his knees beside her and checked her over. “Sorry for scaring you. I thought you heard me when I said I was going to look around and see if I could find someone. Did your knee give out?”
“Yes, unfortunately,” she muttered, wincing at his touch on her swollen knee. “I never heard you. I think I spaced out trying to figure this out.”
“I didn’t find anyone. I think we should get back to our room. Someone knows what we’re doing and when. Come on, tonight was spur of the moment! There’s no way this is random! And Range’s can’t seem to come up with anything on their video, but there’s no way we’re not being watched. I’m really glad we’re leaving tomorrow. Maybe whoever this is will leave us alone. I just don’t get the timing. Why, after twenty years?” Frustration laced his voice. He shot to his feet and held out a hand to her. When she stood on shaky knees, Hunter picked her up.
“You can’t seriously carry me all the way back!” Becca protested. “Come on, put me down. Just hold onto me and I can walk.”
Hunter sighed. “You’re right. I guess I have this bigger need to protect you.”
“Hey, I’m the same woman that needs to walk on her own two feet. Just because we’re in that line-crossing phase doesn’t mean I’m any different.” As he set her down, Becca leaned up to kiss his cheek. “You know I appreciate it, but please don’t hover.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. Let’s get out of here, my stubborn angel.” Hunter held out his hand and as she took it, they walked away from the swing. Leaving the island once again was bittersweet, just as it felt on the last night from every single trip. This time, she also felt a little relieved. The strange messages left for them left her unsettled. She dug through her memories for the tenth time, trying to recall every detail of the tragic night, hoping for any detail that would spark some kind of idea of why they were being targeted with the cryptic notes.
*****
Since he didn’t sleep well last night, Hunter took a nap in Becca’s car on the way to Vermont. He promised her after a few hours of shut eye that he would take over. She easily agreed. She’d mentioned how worn out he had looked. The morning had been hectic. They slept past their wake up call and barely made the ferry by less than a minute. He’d asked the hotel management last night again about any suspicious activity around their rooms, but of course they came up with nothing. What did they have the damn security cameras for if they never seemed to catch anything or anyone? Not that it did any good for figuring out how the person knew about the swing and where’d they’d be. He’d have to do some more digging and see if there was a detail they’d missed.
He opened his eyes, suddenly alert, and rubbed his neck. Damn, it was stiff and a bit sore. He did get a decent rest, which surprised him.
“Welcome back to the land of living,” Becca teased, casting a quick glance at him before turning her eyes back to the road.
“Mmm,” he mumbled, focusing. He had no idea where they were or how long he’d slept. “It’s been a long time since I fell asleep in a car. Where are we? How long have I been out?”
“We’re actually fifteen minutes away from my apartment. You slept about four hours,” Becca informed him.
“Oh angel, why didn’t you wake me?” Four hours? Really? There were nights that he couldn’t even get that amount of sleep total!
“I knew you needed the sleep,” she replied softly. “Besides, it was cute to look over and see how content you were.”
“Hey!” he grumbled playfully. “Are you stealing my lines? I said something like that recently.”
“Me? I don’t steal lines. I might borrow them, but I never steal,” she teased, laughing. “And it really is true. You had your head leaning back and your eyes closed. At one point you sighed and put your hand over your heart. It made me wonder what you were dreaming.”
“Must have been about you.” He didn’t recall his dreams. At least he hadn’t had any flashback nightmares. “I think it was something about the motion of your car. Even for just four hours, that was a restful sleep.”
“Hmm. Maybe on the nights you can’t sleep I should take you for a car ride,” Becca giggled.
“Here’s the problem with that. If I fall asleep, as soon as we got home I’d have to wake up again to go inside and it would defeat the purpose.”
“Well, snap!” Becca snapped her fingers.
He raised a brow. “Snap? Oh come on. That’s a word an innocent woman would use,” he taunted, knowing he’d rile her a bit.
“Back to that again? Really? I thought we’d put that to rest the other day!” Becca shook her head. If she weren’t driving right now, he’d lean over and tangle his fingers through those beautiful locks of hers. Want shot through him, straight to his groin.
“Oh no, you only passed one test. I just have to come up with some others.” He grinned, loving the idea. Oh the things he could do.
“You’re determined to make me crazy,” Becca pulled into a parking spot. He never even noticed they had arrived because he’d been too busy teasing her and having fun. “We’re here,” she announced, turning off the engine and pulling the keys from the ignition.
“I’m anxious to see what your home looks like.” Hunter held her hand while they made their way to her apartment. The complex wasn’t large, but the buildings were nice. They were white brick and well kept. The patios were large and spacious.
A door flew open from an apartment nearby and a short, young woman came barreling out, straight for Becca. “I thought I saw your car pull up! You’re back already?” The woman’s voice was high pitched and excited as she wrapped Becca in a bear hug. When she let her go, the woman’s curious gaze wandered to Hunter.
“Hello,” he said, waving at her.
“Ooooh, I recognize you. You’re Hunter. I’ve seen your pictures in Becca’s apartment. You’re so much cuter in person. Becca, I had no idea you were bringing him!”
“Rissi, this is Hunter, of course. Hunter, meet my neighbor and friend Rissi.” She made the introductions.
So, Becca had pictures of him up in her apartment? It made him even more curious about what else she had in there. He held out a hand to the bubbly woman in an effort not to be rude. “Great to meet you. I’m glad to be meeting some of Becca’s friends.”
“Rissi, I’m actually going to Virginia with Hunter for the rest of the summer. Would you be okay to keep an eye out on everything while I’m gone?”
Rissi’s eyes went round as saucers. She shot Becca a knowing grin as if to say ‘You go girl’. Her ponytail swayed as she nodded eagerly. “Of course. Ugh, you know that I found Vince going into your apartment?”
Becca sighed. “I know all about it. He showed up on the island because I didn’t answer his calls for a whole night.”
“Seriously? Hunter, please tell me you kicked that guy in the nuts!” Rissi turned to him.
Hunter let out a laugh. “I like you already. Blunt and telling it like it is. How come neither of us have had that big of an effect on Becca yet? To answer your question, no. I didn’t give him a swift kick.” He did not particularly want to stand around talking about Vince.
Rissi leaned close and elbowed him. “Tell you what. Work on her this summer, and I’ll take over when she comes back.” The three shared a laugh after Becca folded her arms and stared at the two of them.
Hunter wrapped his arm around Becca, kissing her cheek. “Hear that, angel? I have a lot of work to do.”
“Rissi, don’t encourage him! He’s already trying to get me to prove that I’m not as innocent as he makes me out to be. Don’t add to th
e list or I’m going to be in for a long, interesting summer!” Her beautiful eyes lit up as she focused them on his face.
“I think you know me well enough to know I don’t need encouragement.” He shot her a saucy grin.
“My number is in her phone. Call me anytime and I’ll give you stories that will prove she’s not innocent.” Rissi winked.
“I think I’ll have to do that. I’m curious.”
Becca squirmed. “Just for that, I’ll change all my contact names to something only I’ll understand and you’ll have no way of finding out. Now stop it, Rissi!” She tried to act stern and serious, but the big smile on her face proved otherwise.
Rissi laughed. “Ahh, you have a good summer. You better call me as often as possible. Hunter, you take care of my friend. It’s good to meet the man this girl never stops raving about. I gotta run. It’s almost time to pick Jade up from school.” The perky woman hugged Becca again and surprised Hunter by hugging him next. “See ya!” she said with a wave before running back to her apartment.
“She seems nice,” Hunter mused as they continued their path to Becca’s place.
“Mmmhmm. She’s a real good friend. She’s been living here almost as long as I have, so we’ve known each other almost ten years.” They stopped at a door with the number 1934 on it. Becca pulled a set of keys out and unlocked the door, pushing it open. “Come on in.”
Hunter followed Becca inside, taking in the sights of her living space. The walls were a plain dull white, but Becca had filled them up with painting after painting, many of which he’d never seen before. Right by the patio door sat a large easel. A beige sectional took up a good amount of space in the living room. “It’s so homey. Very you.” he said, continuing to look around. Why had he never come to see her home before? “All these paintings… You know I’m going to have to ask again. Why are you not selling these in a gallery somewhere?”
Passionate Kisses 2 Boxed Set: Love in Bloom Page 93
