Page 54 of Hogging the Hunk
“Why did we have to come so early?” Parker raised his hands high above his head and yawned loud enough that any fish in the area that had been considering my lure were probably scared away. “Don’t fish bite any time of the day?”
“What, is the pampered Hollywood darling too sleepy to wake up before the sun rises?” Preacher stuck out his lower lip for emphasis. Parker responded by chucking a banana at Preacher’s head, which he caught. A former pro football quarterback maintained the quick reflexes that were the basis of his career.
“Shut up,” Parker said with an exasperated chuckle. “I was just looking forward to spending the prime, early morning weekend hours snuggled up with Maren.”
“I don’t think you have to tell any of us that we’re missing some prime snuggling time.” Clint reeled in his line. “Hudson will probably be all sweaty and covered in sawdust by the time I get back.”
“Don’t pretend like you don’t like it,” Preacher teased. “That’s probably what made you all weak-kneed for her in the first place.”
Asher couldn’t take the razzing anymore and poked his fingers into his ears. “I can’t hear you guys anymore! La la la la laaaaaa!”
Everyone laughed at Asher’s annoyance, though a sharp pain cut me off short. Everyone on that boat had found their soulmate. Their life partner. Their one true love.
Everyone except me.
Although, if we were speaking technically, I had found her, then foolishly, I hadn’t held on tight enough. She slipped right through my fingers.
“You’ll understand when you get older.” Wil ruffled his son’s hair, the same dark, unruly hair as his own. “Girls become good company when you realize they don’t have cooties.”
“Yeah, but then they realize boys have cooties,” Clint interjected, “and it’s another few years after that until women condescend to spend their time with us smelly ogres.”
“Maybe I’ll be like Dr. Fox.” Asher’s pointer finger found me. “He’s not with anyone and he’s happy.”
Happiness existed in so many shapes and forms, that maybe Asher was right—in some ways, I was as blissful as could be expected. Ellie was thriving, business was good, Truffle was entertaining and had been a breeze to potty train. Life was meaningful… except the giant black void in my heart that Beckett had filled with her vivacious spunk, only to rip it out again when she left. Her swift and decisive exit from Button Blossom had sunk a sharp needle deep into my balloon of happiness that had been swelling ever since we’d rescued each other in the feminine products aisle. The pop was so sudden and violent, I wasn’t entirely certain how I was still in one piece.
All eyes were on me. Some were sad and empathetic, others were slightly more judgmental and demanding with raised eyebrows and expectant stares.
“How come nothing happened with you and Beckett?” Preacher was the first to ask what was on everyone’s mind. “Everyone thought you were pretty sweet on her.”
That was an understatement. I knew there was a growing attraction for her—for all the cute and clever things she did and said—but I’d completely underestimated how central she’d become to my existence. Oxygen and sustenance and water all came in after Beckett.
Then why hadn’t you told her that?
“Have you heard anything from her?” Wil asked. Of anyone, he and I were most alike. Men of few words and deep love for the women they adored. The difference was that he’d convinced Remi to stay, whereas I’d only scared Beckett into running. She wasn’t trying to avoid me in a small town. No, she’d packed up and gone half a world away to do charitable medical work. I’m sure it was super satisfying for her, but I couldn’t shake the feeling she’d chosen to do it so she wouldn’t have to see me.
I shook my head, focusing on the bobber jostling in the tiny ripples on Long Rock Lake.
“I have,” Clint spoke up. “Maren stopped by to lend Hudson a bunch of wedding stuff and they got to gabbing. Beckett’s supposed to come home this week.”
“Where’s she been again?” Preacher scrunched his face as he searched his memory. “Vaccinating orphans in Samoa?”
Asher piped up. “She’s been in the Solomon Islands. It’s near Australia.”
“Right.” Preacher fist bumped Asher. “I knew you’d set me straight.”
“So, are you going to wait for her at the airport?” Parker asked.
Wil sighed and shook his head. “Way to entrap him, dude. Let him decide what he’s going to do without guilt tripping him into something.”
Parker’s boat had seemed spacious enough when I’d gotten onboard. Now? A cruise ship with these guys would have been cramped quarters. “Since when does everyone care what’s happening between Beckett and me?”
Raising his hand, Parker grinned. “I’m kind of a given since she’s my sister-in-law.”
Everyone else was silent, quieted by my frustrated rebuke. They’d poked the bear and now I was getting angry. I hadn’t wanted things to end this way with Beckett, except no matter what I seemed to do, we had been destined to fail since… when? We hadn’t even had an official beginning. No first kiss or awkward first date.
Clint clapped his hand down on my shoulder. “We want to see you happy, man. When you and Beckett were hanging around each other, I don’t think we’d ever seen you so animated and, I don’t know… smiley.”
“It’s true,” Preacher agreed. “Grinning like an idiot every time I saw you together.”