Summer Rose (14 page)

Ever since Kenny had graduated and moved to the West Coast, he and Hunter had only had sporadic contact. And since Kenny hadn’t seen fit to
drop in
on him in over three years, Hunter couldn’t swallow that explanation. “Sure, and pigs fly. Now, why are you really in West Virginia?”

Kenny laughed. “I was afraid you’d see through that. I’m actually here to look at a hotel for sale in Charleston.”

“Thinking of expanding your hotel empire?” Hunter felt a surge of pride that his brother was doing so well.

Kenny’s chest expanded a bit. “This will make number three. I thought I’d pick up one on the East Coast. The Green Mountain Resort. Ever hear of it?”

“Everyone around here has heard of it. Next to The Greenbrier, it’s one of the biggest hotels in West Virginia. Are you—”

“Wow! Who’s that?” Kenny was gaping over Hunter’s shoulder.

Hunter turned. “Well, the brunette is Lydia Collins—”

“Lydia Wallace you mean? Didn’t she marry George Collins right after graduation?”

“One and the same. She and George are divorced. And the redhead is Rose Hamilton, my receptionist, and she’s off-limits.” The words no sooner passed Hunter’s lips than he wanted to snatch them back. Kenny was never gonna let this pass without explanation.

Hunter’s brother didn’t disappoint him. “Off-limits? Is there something I need to know?”

Immediately, a vision of the parade of girls who had passed through his handsome brother’s life in high school assaulted Hunter. Thinking quickly, Hunter threw out the first thing that popped into his mind. “No. It’s just that I recently lost my receptionist, and I’m not eager to have to go looking for another one just because you take a temporary liking to her.”

Kenny continued to stare at the approaching women. “Actually, it was Lydia who caught my fancy. Man, she’s gotten even more beautiful than when I had a crush on her in high school.”

Kenny was interested in Lydia. Hunter breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately realized how foolish he was being. He was acting like the proverbial dog with the bone. He didn’t want the bone, but he didn’t want any other dog to have it either. Hunter, unlike the dog, had to make up his mind. He either wanted Rose for himself, or he’d have to stand back and let some other guy have her.

That thought had his stomach in knots. Rose with another man? He could more easily accept his business burning to the ground. But before he had time to think about it, the two women had reached them.

“Rose and Lydia, this is my little brother, Kenny.” Without conscious thought, Hunter moved to Rose’s side.

“Ken. Hello, Rose. Lydia.” Kenny extended a hand to Lydia. “I haven’t been Kenny in a very long time. Not since high school.”

Recognition filled Lydia’s expression. She let out a tiny gasp of surprise. “Oh my goodness! You’re Kenny Mackenzie! You were one grade ahead of me.”

“Guilty,” Kenny said, flashing a charming smile at the woman whose hand he still held.

Hunter looked at Rose and saw by her expression that she felt as much like a fifth wheel as he did. “Well, we’ll catch up later,
Ken
.” He took Rose’s arm and steered her away from the couple.

She looked back at them over her shoulder and chuckled. “Do you think they know we left?”

By mid-afternoon, the open house
was in full swing. The parking lot was a constant scene of activity as buses arrived, let off their passengers and went back for another load. Granny Jo had run out of hot dogs twice, and Hunter had to make a run to Keeler’s Market for more. Lydia had snapped photos of everyone with the animals, while Ken followed her around like a faithful puppy.

Rose flopped down beside Hunter at one of the picnic tables they’d set up around Granny Jo’s food tent. She sighed.

“Tired?”

She nodded and smiled. “But it’s a good tired.” Truth be known, her feet ached, her back hurt and a faint throbbing had begun in her left temple. But if Hunter got to keep his beloved animals, it was all worth it.

Rose watched as Lydia snapped a photo of one of the kids holding a baby lamb. “The kids are having a ball in the petting zoo.”

Hunter nodded. “And we have homes set up for all of Pansy’s kittens. It wasn’t easy explaining to some of the kids that the kittens had to stay with their mom for a few more weeks. They wanted to scoop them up and take them home today.”

“Can you blame them? Those kittens are adorable.”

Suddenly, Hunter’s hand closed over hers. She knew she should pull back, but reasoned that with all these people around, it would be safe to just enjoy the feel of him touching her again. Besides, she hadn’t seen him smile this much in weeks.

“Thanks, Rose. You did something that I haven’t been able to do. I think the townspeople will be more inclined to accept the refuge now.”

“No thanks needed. It was fun and very satisfying to see that the idea worked.” She squeezed his hand. “However, if you really feel like you need to thank me, you can make another one of those delicious steak dinners for me.”

He grinned. “You’re on.”

Hunter couldn’t seem to stop smiling. The open house was a success. Rose wanted to have dinner with him again. His brother had come to visit, and the people of Carson were seeing that the animals posed no threat to the community. Everything was going so well. Hunter sighed and finally relaxed.

And then all hell broke loose.

From the other end of the parking lot came squeals mixed with laughter and cheering. Because a crowd had gathered, Hunter couldn’t see what was causing the uproar. He grabbed Rose’s hand, and they raced toward the commotion. They elbowed their way through the people and stopped dead in their tracks.

Rose couldn’t believe her eyes.

George Collins raced around the trunk of a large maple tree with Rosebud hot on his heels. Davy followed right behind the twosome, frantically yelling the hog’s name and screaming for her to stop.

“Rosebud, no! Bad piggy! Stop! That’s my dad, and he’s gonna be real mad at you. Stop, Rosebud!”

Red-faced and sweating, George ran in circles in a useless attempt to get away from the snorting baby hog. Round and round they went while the townspeople stood by, making no effort to rescue their mayor and laughing uproariously at his predicament.

At one point, Davy got a hold on Rosebud, but she slithered from his grasp and went back to her pursuit. George had never looked so disheveled. His hair stuck out in all directions. His smart, custom-tailored, navy suit, encrusted with splotches of mud and sporting a big tear in one knee, gave evidence that he had fallen several times. The red power tie that he habitually wore hung askew and the tail of his white shirt had pulled from the waistband of his slacks. His face glowed red with the exertion, and his hands were caked with dirt. His wing-tipped shoes, which were covered with mud and dust, no longer shined. In short, the neatly dressed, peacock-strutting mayor of Carson looked like the deflated loser in a barroom brawl.

Rose fought to hold back her laughter. Hunter threw her a reprimanding glare, but she could see the signs of a suppressed grin teasing at his mouth.

“She runs really fast for having an injured leg,” Rose offered calmly.

“Yes, she does. I suppose we should do something,” Hunter finally said, his laughter very close to the surface.

“What happens if she catches him?”

Hunter shrugged. “He’d be okay. She’s not old enough to hurt him.”

“Rosebud, you shouldn’t be doing this,” Davy was yelling, still racing after the hog, which was still hot on George’s tail. The boy’s face mirrored his agitated state. His cheeks glowed and his forehead glistened with beads of perspiration.

Hunter sighed. “I guess I should take pity on Davy. It’s time to rescue George, even if I’d rather see him run around for another hour or so.” The laughter finally broke loose. He turned his back to the crowd and got control of himself. Rose dipped her head to hide her laughter.

A roar went up from the gathered throng. Rose and Hunter jumped, and then turned to see what had caused it. To their surprise, George had managed to haul himself up onto a low-hanging branch of the spreading maple and clung to the trunk like a drowning man hanging on to a life preserver. His buttocks hung over the limb, mere inches from the hog’s nose. Below him Rosebud stood guard and . . . waited.

Davy quickly scooped Rosebud up and headed for the cage from which she’d escaped. Rose followed him.

“How did she get out, Davy?”

The boy hung his head, and then lifted his gaze to look at her. “I gave her some water, and I guess I didn’t latch the cage good.” His lower lip began to tremble, and then tears suddenly poured down his face. “It’s all my fault. My dad’s ripping mad. Doc’ll prob’ly have to get rid of the animals and all ’cause of me.” Sobs tore from the boy.

Rose gathered him in a hug. “It’s not your fault, honey. It could have happened to anyone, even Doc or me. It was an accident.”

Davy hiccupped and mumbled, “Will Doc fire me?”

Moving him so she could look him in the eyes, Rose smiled and wiped away the tears with the pad of her thumb. “Get rid of the best helper he’s ever had? I don’t think so. We all make mistakes, Davy. I made the mistake of letting Pansy and Thomas get together, and Pansy got pregnant because of me. Doc didn’t fire me.” She smoothed his cheek. “He’s a good man. And he’s very forgiving.”

Unbidden, a thought popped into her head. Would Hunter forgive her for not telling him about the twins?

Davy, shoulders slumped in defeat, walked away and climbed into Sadie’s cage, where he buried his face in the wolf’s neck and sobbed some more.

Feeling helpless to comfort the boy, Rose glanced across the parking lot to where a disheveled George was shaking his finger in Hunter’s face.

“This is the last straw, Mackenzie.
I tried to tell you those animals were dangerous, but oh no, you wouldn’t hear of it. You kept saying they weren’t. Well, what do you call that creature who was trying to eat me?” George’s face was crimson.

Hunter could plainly see that reasoning with the mayor was useless, but he tried anyway. “George, the hog is a baby. Even if she caught up with you the most she’d have done was rip a pant leg or something equally as unthreatening.”

George stomped his foot. “Unthreatening my—” For a second or two, George sputtered trying not to say the curses that he so obviously wanted to use. Finally, he took a deep breath. “That vicious thing was out for my blood.” He stepped closer to Hunter. So close that Hunter could feel his breath on his cheeks. “Mark my words, Mackenzie. I will see to it that none of these beasts threaten anyone ever again.” He spun around and stalked off toward his car.

Hunter stared after him, the bottom of his stomach rising up in dread. Something told him that what he’d found humorous moments before would ring the death knell for the refuge.

Unfortunately, the episode
with George and Rosebud seemed to have put a dampener on the day, and very quickly thereafter almost everyone had returned to town, the tents had been dismantled and the animals had all been returned to their respective cages. The parking lot had lost its carnival atmosphere and looked like it normally did on any work day.

Hunter watched Lydia talking to Kenny, then climbing in her car and driving away with Davy. Kenny came toward him, his face split in a satisfied grin. “I’ve got a date for Saturday night.”

Hunter forced a smile, then rearranged his expression into one of dead seriousness. “Do me one favor. Lydia has had enough of the downside of life for a while. Don’t mess with her heart. Don’t hurt her.”

Isn’t that exactly what you’re doing to Rose? Perhaps you should take your own advice.

Ignoring the niggling little voice of his conscience, Hunter waited for Kenny’s reply.

His brother’s expression also grew serious. “Lydia was never a one-night-stand kind of woman in high school and I can’t see that that has changed at all. And to put your mind at ease, I would never hurt her or her son by playing fast and loose with her heart. Right now, it’s just two friends having dinner to talk about old times.”

Hunter hesitated, and then nodded. “Good. Now, let’s go pop a couple of beers, get the grill started while we catch up, and then we’ll throw on some steaks.”

As they walked, they met Rose heading for her apartment. Hunter stopped her. “We’re gonna throw some steaks on. Want to collect on that dinner I owe you?”

She paused before answering. “Wouldn’t I be intruding? Don’t you two want some time alone?”

Kenny threw Rose one his charmer smiles. “A beautiful woman is never an intrusion.”

Hunter groaned and fought down the green monster that raised its head every time another man came close to Rose. Kenny hadn’t changed one bit—ever the lady’s man. When he was in high school, Hunter remembered a never-ending parade of different girls that passed through their house every weekend.

Hunter glared at his brother “No intrusion. We’ll see you on the patio as soon as you’re ready.”

Rose smiled up at the younger Mackenzie. “Okay. I’ll make a salad and be down in an hour or so.” She glanced at Hunter and hurried off.

When she was safely out of earshot, Hunter turned to Kenny. “Off-limits. Remember that.”

Hunter popped the top
on his beer and settled back in the chaise lounge. The steaks were soaking in Hunter’s special marinade; flames shot off the charcoal in the grill and would take a while to burn off to red coals for cooking. He and Kenny had plenty of time to kick back and get reacquainted.

“So, Little Bro, you’re buying another hotel?” Kenny nodded. “Gonna become another Donald Trump.”

Kenny laughed. “Hardly. I’m just addicted to buying them and either pulling them out of the financial cellar or making them better than when I got them.”

Hunter sipped his beer and relished the cold liquid sliding down his throat. “So which is the Green Mountain Resort? A financial rescue or a building block?” He set his can on the table between them.

“The latter. Financially, it’s doing really well, but the owner’s looking to retire. I stopped there on my way up here, and I see a lot of potential for add-ons and improvements that should boost the revenue through the roof.”

For a moment, Hunter stared at his little brother, marveling at the successful life he’d built for himself. “You’ve come a long way. I’m proud of you, Ken.”

Ken continued to look out toward Hawks Mountain where the peaks were outlined by the setting sun. “I couldn’t have done it without you and your sacrifices. I never said
thank you
for all you did back then. Janice and I wouldn’t be where we are today without your help and guidance. You gave up so much for us, and don’t for a minute think we don’t know it or appreciate it.”

Neither brother looked at the other. A lump formed in Hunter’s throat, preventing him from saying anything. His siblings had never expressed their appreciation before for what he’d done back then, for all he’d given up so they could have careers, and it moved him beyond words.

“You’ll never know what an impact you had on our lives, Hunter, the example you set by stepping in and taking over for Mom and Dad. You were really just past being a kid yourself, but you grew up very fast. Not many people could or would have done what you did, gave up what you did.” He finally looked at Hunter. “Thank you for being my brother, my friend and my parent and being so good at all three.”

Hunter could only nod and smile. Words just would not pass the emotions shutting off his throat.

Ken scrubbed his thumb across the sweat on his beer can while they both worked their way through the emotions and the discomfort of expressing feelings that they’d never talked about before.

“So, tell me about this lady who’s off-limits. Exactly what’s happening between you two?” His voice held the telltale scratchiness of suppressed emotion.

Ken’s question threw Hunter into a mental panic. He hadn’t come to terms with himself concerning his feelings for Rose. How could he answer his brother’s question without stepping into a swamp that could suck him under?

“She’s my receptionist. That’s all.” Hunter got up and went to the grill, but Ken followed.

A robust laugh burst from Ken. “And pigs fly, too.”

Stirring the coals, Hunter sought another topic of conversation. “How long will you be around here?” But his tenacious brother wasn’t that easily sidetracked.

“Don’t try changing the subject. I saw the way you looked at her and she looked at you. That was love, brother dear, pure, unadulterated love if I ever saw it.” He leaned against the tree a few feet away and crossed his arms. “So what do you plan on doing about it?”

“Doing?”

“Yes, as in taking her out, proposing—”

“Whoa!” Hunter held up a hand. “You’re moving kinda fast. We’ve never been out on a date, and you’re talking marriage proposals.”

“Well, isn’t it about time you did go on a date then?”

“No. That leads to too many other things, one of which can be marriage, and I’m not marriage material.”

Ken’s arms dropped to his sides, and his mouth fell open. “Are you kidding me? You’d make a perfect dad to some kid and a wonderful husband. Where did you ever get the idea that you wouldn’t?”

How could Hunter tell Ken, after what he’d just said about how appreciative they were for all he’d done, that Ken and Janice and all the effort and sacrifice that had gone into playing surrogate parent to them had soured him on having a family of his own to be responsible for? If he wasn’t careful, he could alienate his brother and perhaps his sister.

“Family life is just not for me, so can we just drop it, Ken?”

“Drop what?” Rose placed a bowl full of salad fixings on the patio table, along with two bottles of salad dressing. Then she looked from one man to the other.

Neither of them had heard Rose approach. Hunter’s heart dropped to his stomach. How much of the conversation had she overheard?