Sweetest Salvation (14 page)

The house she had shared with
Patrick was being remodeled room by room—except Peter’s. Andy planned to leave
it and remodel it herself when the rest was finished. She’d claimed she wanted
a fresh start and since she hadn’t felt comfortable spending any of Patrick’s
life insurance, there was more than enough to do so now.

Hunter was so proud of her.

In the six months they’d
dated, she found herself again. Pride filled him that she’d done what she’d set
out to do—push aside the guilt and live again.

“The contractor said it will
be another couple of months. The master bedroom is the last room. I confess,”
she chuckled and looked at Jeanine, “I’ll be glad to have some normalcy again.
Waking up to the mess every day is getting old.”

They all laughed.

Hunter kept the grin from
spreading across his face, thinking about the mornings she hadn’t woken up to
the mess—nights she’d spent with him.

They hadn’t hidden how much
time they spent together—except for the evenings—from Tony or Jeanine. But out
of respect, and because they were all still healing, they’d kept public
displays of affection to a minimum.

Hunter gave his honorary
parents a lot more credit, though.

Andy had fooled
herself
into thinking they weren’t completely aware of their
relationship since neither of them asked. But from the occasional glance from
one or the other when he and Andy stood too close or shared a look of their
own, Hunter was sure they’d caught on to how serious they were about each other
by now. It was just like the older couple to not to pry into their lives,
though.

“You could have stayed at our
house, love,” Tony reminded her.

Andy took a sip of her white
wine then smiled. “I know, Dad. But I wanted to do this on my own. Everything
has gone well.” She gave his hand a pat. “If it gets too crazy in the next
couple of months, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

Hunter smiled as their gazes
connected.
 
She wouldn’t do that, but it
was just like her to make Tony feel as if he could take care of her.

“So, Hunter, you’ve been
awfully quiet. What’s on your mind, son?” Jeanine questioned.

He looked at her, grabbed her
hand and gently squeezed. His heart always warmed when she called him “son”.

“Just sitting back after that
great meal Andy slaved over.
Great job, by the way.”
He winked at Andy, smiling when she blushed.

He found it funny that she
could still blush after everything they’d done together in bed.

“Oh, yes, Andy. It was
delicious, honey. Do you need help with dessert?” Jeanine offered.

“I thought we’d sit out on
the balcony off Hunter’s den and have our strawberry rhubarb…” Andy paused and
looked at Tony. “…pie with whipped cream.”

Tony scooted his chair back
and let out a whoop. They all laughed as he gathered dishes and carried them to
the sink. He was obviously in a hurry for some of his favorite dessert.

“Andy, you spoil him,”
Jeanine admonished, a wide smile on her face.

Tony wrapped his arms around
Andy as she laid the dishes on the counter.
 
“I love to be spoiled,” he boasted and bussed Andy’s cheek with a kiss.

Andy giggled. “You’re
incorrigible.”

Hunter set the wineglasses on
the counter and grabbed the white wine from the fridge. He refilled everyone’s
glass, his heart full at the noise filling his home. They should have done this
before—his family at his place for a holiday meal. In years past, they always
got together at the
Sheavers
or Patrick’s. He vowed
to make a point of having everyone over more often.

“She’s a good daughter. Now,
wife,” Tony pulled Jeanine into his arms. “You spoil me on occasion, too,
remember?” Tony waggled his eyebrows at her causing her to blush crimson.

Hunter nearly spit the wine
he’d just taken a sip of back into his glass. He swallowed and turned to look
at Andy.

She stood against the
counter, her hands clasped in front of her, eyes watery. She met his gaze,
shook her head, then turned to the counter and sliced into the pie.

Hunter glanced quickly at the
lovebirds whispering to one another and sidled up beside her. “You okay,
sweetheart?” he asked gently.

Andy nodded. “It’s just so
wonderful to see them happy.”

He rubbed her shoulder. “They
love how happy you are too, you know.”

She looked up at him and
grinned. “Thanks to you,” she whispered.

Hunter wanted to lean down
and kiss her. But until they’d told them, he’d wait.
 
His gaze held hers, hoping she’d see the look
of promise for later.

When she blushed and licked
her lips, Hunter knew she understood.

She turned back to the plates
on the counter, hands shaky. Hunter grabbed the silver serving tray from the
counter and added the plates. He turned and chuckled at his parents.

“All right,
you two.
That’s enough.” He pushed open the kitchen door
and held it open for his family. “Let’s eat.”

Tony laughed and slung an arm
over Jeanine and Andy’s shoulders. “Good idea.”

Andy passed everyone a plate.
Hunter relaxed in chair on one side of the table, and eyed the blue sky.

The evening was beginning to
cool. The October weather was crisp but the evenings were still clear. He was
glad the rain that had been almost a daily occurrence over the last week had
stopped. Andy had hoped to have their dessert out on the balcony tonight.

He wasn’t looking forward to
the late November, early December snowfalls. He loved this time of year and
wished winter never had to arrive. Maybe this year he and Andy could escape for
a few weeks when the cold, snowy weather really descended on the city.
Somewhere he could see her in a bikini every day and not a parka, scarf and
mittens.

“Hunter,” Andy demanded.

Pulled out of his decadent
thoughts, he looked around the table. Three sets of gazes were on him. Andy and
Jeanine looked concerned.
Tony’s
look was sly as he
smirked. Hunter felt the warmth in his cheeks at being the center of attention.

“Sorry, my mind wandered. I
was appreciating the weather.”

“Appreciating something all
right,” Tony said softly.

Hunter shook his head and
pushed his fork into his pie. “Sorry, what were we discussing?”

“Andy was just telling me
that she was hosting the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation event next
week.” Jeanine said. “I’m so thrilled.”

Andy smiled and nodded. “I
can’t thank you enough for taking care of some of the fundraisers over the last
year when I couldn’t.” She laid her hand over Jeanine’s. “You have no idea how
much that meant to me.”

Jeanine squeezed her hand.
“Nonsense, sweetie.
That’s what family is for.”

“That’s right, girlie,” Tony
cut in. “We’re all family here. We’d do anything for you.
And
our boy here.”

Hunter sent a smile his way. His
heart clenched a bit, thinking about the two missing, cherished members who
were rarely far from his thoughts.

Looking at Andy, his heart
calmed and his mind pushed back the saddened thoughts. She was his saving
grace. While she thought he’d saved her, she’d done exactly that for him too.

“Can we count on you to
donate a nice lump sum to JDRF, Hunter?” Jeanine asked, unabashed as she took
another bite of her pie.

Hunter laughed. His mom—that
was how he thought of Jeanine—was nothing if not subtle, no matter how innocent
she might look.

“Of course.
I’ll make sure it’s the highest amount of the night.” He winked.

She chuckled. “Good boy. I
knew we’d be able to count on you.”

“Always.
I couldn’t let Andy’s first night back to hosting go without celebration. The
amount will just be a bit larger than normal.”

Andy slapped his arm. “Don’t
be silly. Any amount is appreciated. But thank you for the thought.”

He’d do anything for her.
Donate large sums of money, rub her feet,
take out the
trash—whatever
it took to make her happy.

Tony cleared his throat and
pulled Hunter’s attention to him.

“You know, Hunter, Andy
shouldn’t go without a date for the evening. Maybe you should take our girl in
order to keep all other men away from her. What do you think?”

“Tony!” Jeanine gasped.

“What? I’m just tossing the
idea out there.” Tony looked down at his plate, trying to appear innocent.

“Dad, you might be on to
something,” Andy commented.

They all focused on her.

Hunter’s heart rate picked up
speed when she sent an impish smile his way.

****

Andy looked at the three
pairs of eyes staring at her.

Heat rose in her cheeks, and
nerves settled into the pit of her stomach.

In preparing Thanksgiving
this year, she’d also had an ulterior motive.

She wanted to tell her
in-laws about her relationship with Hunter. While she’d needed the time to
heal, she didn’t like keeping such a thing from those she loved.

The last few months had
proved to be challenging but complex to her future. She missed Patrick and
Peter every day and she still worked through the pain of the loss and tragedy.
Thanks to the weekly conversations with Mrs. Morrow—her new therapist—she understood
that everything she once felt and her desire to move on were all natural and
healthy. It was the next step in the healing process.

To honor the ones she loved was
to remember the wonderful memories. Once her house was finished, she planned to
put her favorite photos back up and not hide from the past.

There were a couple of her
and Patrick she planned to hang in her office. While Hunter would understand
and accept the love she’d had with her husband, she didn’t want every picture
in the main rooms to show it too much. Her living and sitting areas would still
have pictures with Patrick, but only those with other family in them too.

And considering the question
she wanted to pose to Hunter tonight, if he said yes, she wanted parts of the
past to be resolved so they could begin a life together.

The future was always
uncertain, but she couldn’t imagine not being with him. He’d shown her that
life could be wonderful after experiencing such tragedy. She fought hard
against the grief and agony, and he’d shown her the way.
Even
after she’d given him every reason to walk away from her.

She looked at the faces
around her and realized they waited for her to speak. She smiled and looked at
Hunter. “It’s a great idea. You should accompany me to the JDRF event.”

Hunter blinked. Andy wanted
to giggle at the priceless perplexed look on his face.

He constantly surprised her
since they started dating, with flowers, weekend trips away, sexy lingerie and
home cooked meals. She was thrilled to have finally caught him off guard for
once.

Hunter cleared his throat and
shifted in his chair. “Of course I’ll take you. Not a problem.”

“Good. Thank you.” Andy
winked. “Then there’s the Breast Cancer Charity Auction at the end of the
month. You should take me to that one too.”

 
“Of course, that’ll be fine.”

Andy caught
Tony’s
gaze across the table. He nodded encouragingly at
her.

Her breath hitched. He knew
what she was doing and had just given her his approval. She smiled back at him
and tears filled her eyes. She took a deep breath and held herself together.

Perhaps she’d just been
fooling herself, thinking they’d hidden their feelings for one another better.

“And isn’t there an event in
November?” Tony
asked,
feigned innocence all over his
face.
“The AIDS awareness one?”

Hunter’s head moved back and
forth from Tony to Andy, trying to keep up with the conversation.

She chuckled and looked at
Tony. “Yes, you’re right. Mom and I are both handling the whole thing this
year. I definitely couldn’t go without a date.”

“There you go, sweetheart.
You can’t be going alone,” Tony said.

Hunter stared at her. She
hoped he understood that she knew exactly what she was doing, and ready to
reveal the truth to the two people who loved them as much as they did one
another. Weeks ago they’d discussed telling them everything but hadn’t
solidified it either. She hoped he understood her need to do it her way.

The light in his eyes
sparkled as understanding dawned and he reached for her hand. She squeezed his
tight and looked at Jeanine. The other woman, knowledge and happiness in her
eyes, grabbed Andy’s other hand. Jeanine’s smile was huge and her watery eyes
shone.