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Tiara
Having dinner with Hunter’s dad and her mom the following Tuesday, Tiara found herself feeling truly at home in Ronald Chase’s home along Vallejo Street, in Emeryville, California. The 3-bedroom house was less than twenty-minutes’ drive from hers.
“Wedding plans, uh?” Ronald Chase grinned, gnawing some chicken bone. “I didn’t think you had it in you, Hunter.”
“Why is that?” Hunter fed fat on the steak and roast potatoes on his plate.
“You’ve never brought anyone home before.”
“Because no one was important. Tiara’s special.”
Before Tiara could figure out if both men where silently at war, the older man, a splitting image of his son directed his gaze to her.
“When is the wedding, Tiara?” He raised his eyebrows. “Do I get a short or long notice.”
Tiara skewed her head toward her fiancé.
“It’s a short one. We want to have a small wedding before we travel. It’s next Saturday, 12th Dec.”
“That’s less than two weeks away!” Ronald sat back, huffing as if he was traumatized by the good news.
“Is that a problem, Dad?” Hunter fixed a hard glare on his dad’s smoothly-shaven face.
Meanwhile, Tiara’s heart raced with unease.
“I’ll be honest with you all,” Ronald declared without a grin. “I’m excited and relieved.”
Tiara and Rachele gasped.
“For a moment there, I thought you were angry.” Tiara filled her mouth with grilled chicken and baked potatoes.
“I was worried too,” Rachele added with a grin.
“Thanks, Dad. I didn’t realize you couldn’t wait to get rid of me.” Hunter sounded grumpy.
“I’m gaining a daughter-in-law, not getting rid of you, as you so callously put it.” Ronald shook his head.
Rachele and her mom chuckled while Hunter turned his eyes to Tiara’s.
“Aww. Thank you, Ronald.” Tiara nodded. It felt good to be accepted by his dad without a fuss.
When the visiting trio walked through the door over two hours ago, Ronald Chase had hugged Tiara and told her upfront, call me, Ronald, not sir, or Hunter’s dad. Rachele Freeman had eyeballed her daughter and shook her head.
Before their trip today, Tiara had worried about meeting the man who raised Hunter. So, when her mom had insisted on tagging along, Tiara had been relieved. The older man with a nice blend of brown and grey hair had an easy-going personality and a lovely sense of humour.
“And if I’m lucky, I’ll also get a few grandkids who’d call me grandpa before my exit. That’s what I’m looking forward to more than seeing you get hitched.”
Hunter’s eyes steadied on Ronald’s.
“We’re travelling for a while, Dad. Having kids might go on hold, depending on what Tiara and I decide.”
“Tiara, if you have my grandkids, or our grandkids,” Ronald grinned at Rachele, we’ll raise them for you while you carry on touring the world. What do you say, Rachele?”
Tiara’s mom nodded. “While that’s a good idea, the kids would love to have their parents around, not touring all the time.”
“Of course!” Tiara and Hunter chorused.
“Looks like you’re on your own on this one, Dad.”
“Rachele doesn’t disagree with me entirely,” Ronald pointed out. “What do I have to do at the wedding?”
Beaming, Tiara glanced at her fiancé.
“Whatever you want to do, Dad. It’s a small wedding. We’ve invited only thirty guests.”
“We want an exclusive reception after the church ceremony.” Tiara felt the need to explain further.
Ronald slanted his head and eyeballed his son. “Oh. It’s not a civil ceremony? What church?” The older man genuinely seemed taken aback.
“Our church,” Rachele inserted with a lovely smile. “Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church. From here, it’s only a four-minutes’ drive via Mandana Boulevard.”
Stroking his beard, the older man grinned. “Great. I’ve never been a church guy.”
“This is a good time to become one if you wish, Ronald.” Rachele shrugged.
“Hm. Something to think about.” His dad finished eating and sipped from his red wineglass.
“If you want peace, Dad, get to know the big guy upstairs. Now is the time to join a church.”
Tiara’s heart melted as Hunter evangelized to his dad. It was an endearing moment, so she reached for her fiancé’s fingers and squeezed gently.
“The rehearsal evening is next Thursday, Dad. Will you be there?” Lines appeared across Hunter’s forehead.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world. I’m proud of the man you are, Hunter. A war hero, an army veteran and you’ve brought your fiancée and her mom to visit me. I couldn’t have asked for a more honourable son.”
Instead of responding to his dad, Hunter got on his feet and began clearing up the dishes. Tiara sensed he was affected by his dad’s praises yet he stayed tight-lipped. However, his eyes shone, revealing his thoughts. After they washed up the dishes, they all sat together in the living room, chatting and laughing for the next hour until their flow of conversation was interrupted by a call.
Hunter’s phone jerked in his jean’s pocket. Once he pulled out his cell phone, he tapped Tiara’s thigh and got on his feet. Moments passed while he listened to the person on the other end talk. Ronald and Rachele carried on laughing at something either of them said.
All Tiara saw was her fiancé’s face crumble piece by piece as his colour deepened to a crimson shade. Jumping off the couch, Tiara darted forward and reached for her boyfriend’s arms. She squeezed his toughened muscles and caressed his skin through his dogtooth, zip-through brown overshirt and black t-shirt. Whatever the other person said got Hunter running his fingers through his hair and his whole body stiffened like a board.
When the call ended, Hunter let out a low grunt.
“Shannon passed away peacefully in her sleep last night,” he said in an eerie voice. “That was her elder sister, Eva.”
There was a collective gasp at the news.
“According to Eva, Shannon had asked for our wedding to go on as planned and she promised to smile down at us from heaven. Shannon also stated we owed her at least three kids.”
Tiara pressed her face against Hunter’s upper arm, whispering, “I’m so sorry, bae.”
Clenching his jaw, Hunter curved one hand around Tiara and pulled her into his arms. He leaned his chin on top of her head muttering, “That sucks.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” Rachele murmured.
“Sorry, Hunter. Shannon fought long and hard,” Ronald added from where he sat on the couch.
“I’m deeply sorry, bae,” Tiara consoled.
Without saying anything more, Hunter excused himself and hurried out to the backyard. Tiara followed him outside and hugged him from behind, posting her palms on his chest. She could feel his heart pound. He cuddled her arms and covered her palms with his own over his chest.
They stood there staring up at the unevenly-lit evening sky for a long time. All she thought about was how utterly sexy his body felt against hers. Maybe the timing for her sensual thoughts was off. But tell that to her boobs bearing against his muscular back. Heat seared her nipples and coursed through her cleavage, strengthening the hot tide flowing south. Sad, or cheerful, Hunter Chase was hot and fine.
“I wanted to be there for her, you know. Shannon has always been there for me,” he muttered at last.
“That’s not what Shannon told me.”
He turned around in her arms and narrowed his darkening eyes.
“What did she say to you?”
“Shannon told me you always had her back. Even after she got married and her husband passed, you arranged for her to come back home.”
He shrugged. “Anyone could have done that.”
“But no one did. You always did your best for her and she loved you for it. She’s gone to rest.”
“She went too soon, Ti.”
“It’s been ten long years, Hunter. Give the woman a break. She deserves to rest for good.”
Light entered his melancholic eyes and he gave her a wry grin.
“You really think she’s gone to heaven?”
“Where there’s no more tears, or pain, yeah.”
“Shannon’s free.” He whispered, hugging her tight.
“Forever free, Hunter.”
“She gave me the best gift I ever wanted.”
“What gift?”
“You.”
Angling her head, she stared up at him. “What do you mean?”
“Shannon Dirk was a therapist. She felt as if she had failed me because she couldn’t help me cope with my fears, my demons. It wasn’t her fault. I couldn’t open up to her even though we were great friends. Now, I feel like I let her down.”
She cupped his face. “No, you didn’t.”
“After I first visited your office, she told me–”
When he paused, Tiara teased his cheeks with her fingers. “What did she say?”
“That I’d found myself the woman who would change my life.”
Laughter welled up in her gut. “How did she know?”
“I don’t know. When I told Shannon, I was falling for you, she told me to go for it, even though she knew it would cost you, your career. She told me life was fragile and we only live once. Listen to me, she said. If Tiara chooses her career over you, it would be worth it because you know you tried.”
“Did you think I was going to walk away from you?”
“A hundred percent. I was so messed up and aggressive, I didn’t see a way for you to love me.”
“Has it ever occurred to you that I’m equally an emotional mess? Maybe that’s why I’m a therapist?”
He caressed the sides of her face with his fingers before bowing to kiss her lips to draw comfort.
“Mm...” she moaned, driving her tongue past his teeth with the passion torching her inside.
There was no way she was letting go of his fine lips. Slowly, his fingers dropped from her face to her shoulders, moulding her skin through her clothes. Sweet tremors punctured her chest and her heart pounded to the point she could hear it. At first, she wound her fingers around his neck, as the craving erupted between her cleavage and surged through her nipples. She caressed his back through his clothes. The images of his healed scars flashed at the back of her mind. Instead of peeling them away, she pressed her fingers to the exact spots on his back she had committed to memory.
Hunter did not stiffen, or flinch. His fingers tautened around her body and she felt close to him in a different way. Being able to console his broken heart gave her confidence they could overcome anything together. Instead of shutting down, or cutting her out of his grief, he had let her in, talked to her and snuggled with her. Meaning, her fiancé had made long strides since the start of their affair.
“Are you sure you don’t want to change your mind about dogs, Ti?” Hunter asked after he broke their kiss.
Every time he called her Ti, it had an intimate ring to it she adored.
“Not at all. I stay away from all things furry.”
“What a shame. I was thinking of getting a dog.”
“Not on your life. I’m allergic to dogs and cats.”
Bending his head, he kissed her lips some more.
“I had a dog just before I enlisted,” he muttered against her right eye and cheekbone.
“Keeper? The one you told me about?”
“No. Prize.”
“What happened to Prize?”
“My dad gave Prize away when I went abroad on my first assignment.”
“Ouch! I presume you didn’t take it well.”
“Um. I didn’t speak to him for a year or two.”
She chuckled. “Did he give it to a shelter?”
“No. He gave her to a ten-year-old boy who grew attached to him, I couldn’t take Prize back.”
“So, your dad didn’t tell you, he was going to start his generosity with giving away your pet?”
He smoothened her lips with his tongue.
“No. Why would anyone be generous with what isn’t theirs? I was mad.”
“Have you truly forgiven your dad?”
“Yeah. But I’ve not forgotten. I’d no idea he had a mean bone inside him.”
She pulled back to check if he was okay. Hunter’s eyes brewed with laughter. They both laughed.
“I was worried for just a second,” she confessed.
“What else scares you, Ti?”
“Bugs. I hate spiders, cockroaches mostly.”
“Many people I know hate bugs. But bugs are our friends. Imagine–”
“Eww!” She arched her back and crinkled her face.
Her fiancé laughed at the disgust written on her face. “I’m not the bug, Ti.”
Laughing with him, she shook one finger across his nose. “Then don’t plead for bugs.”
He drew her back into his arms. “Understood. So, if I found a dead cockroach on our bed–”
Shaking her head in revulsion, she smacked his arm. “Don’t end that sentence, or I’m going to vomit.”
“Not that again. I’ve experienced your vomit.” He scrunched his nose. “Not a great smell. Disgusting.”
Before she could smack his shoulder, he dodged her blow by stepping aside, snickering at her embarrassed expression.
“Everyone vomits, Hunter!”
“Then why do you feel the need to harm me, hmm?”
“Because you’re a gloating douchebag.”
“A douchebag you can’t do without.” He caught her arms with one hand and kissed her lips.
“Are you two okay there?” she heard his dad ask.
Peeling off his mouth from hers slowly, he grunted for her ears only, whispering. “I was just getting started.” To his dad, he said. “We’re good.”
“We were worried,” her mom added to explain intruding on their snuggling moment.
“That’s okay, Mom,” she assured Rachele.
But their untimely interference was not okay. Hunter was in a cheery mood despite Shannon’s passing and Tiara had wanted to extend the moment for his sake and for hers. Hunter slid one arm across her back and shot it out at her hip. It felt amazing to have him lean on her for comfort. That was her dream, to be a source of cosiness for her man through the dark times.
Hunter’s hand around her hips went rigid.
“Let’s go chat about Shannon’s funeral. I’ve got to call her family.”
“Sure.”
When they got inside, Hunter went upstairs to make phone calls while she sat to chat with his dad and her mom in the living room.
“So how long do you intend to travel for?” Ronald Chase asked, taking a sip from his whiskey.
“Six months. Maybe a year, depending on how well we enjoy our trips.”
Ronald nodded. “I’ve only started seeing Hunter more often. Thank you for being there for him, Tiara. I made a lot of mistakes with him after his mom passed away. I should’ve been there for him more. I should’ve set aside my own grief to take care of his own. Hunter was only sixteen. In my mind at the time, I thought, everyone to his own. I almost destroyed my son.”
Tiara sighed. Was she supposed to say something? After a brief pause, she filled the silence with words.
“Hunter’s a strong man.” Indestructible almost. “Everyone deals with grief differently, Ronald. I’m sure you did what you thought best at the time.”
“That’s right. I appreciate that. It cost me my relationship with my son. I’m proud of the man Hunter is and Shannon made it clear to me, you’re the reason, he’s now emotionally stable. Thank you.”
She shrugged. “Shannon likes to think it was all to do with me. But it’s not true. Hunter was ready to let someone in. And in my opinion, God was ready to attend to his case.”
They all chuckled.
“Love is a healing weapon. When unleashed, it does a lot of good, Tiara. I’m thankful you showed up.”
“I agree.” Rachele nodded. “Love in that sense has eluded me for the longest time. Hopefully, now my daughter has found her true love, I’ll find mine.”
“Aww...Mom. You’ve got a lot of love to give.”
“I was married to Annalise for eighteen years, but we had been together for twenty-one years in total. Those were my best years. How do I let in another woman after all these years?” His face twisted with sadness.
“While you two exchange notes on adult relationships, I’m going to check up on my fiancé.”
“Go upstairs. You’ll find your way.” Ronald gestured with his head. “There are three bedrooms, three bathrooms and one family room.”
“Thank you.”
Up the stair’s moments after, she touched down on the landing and walked on. “Hunter?” There was no reply. She knocked on room number two because the door was shut. “Hunter? Can I come in?”
The door sprang open.
Hunter stood there with the skin around his eyes reddened.
“Shannon’s funeral is this Saturday, December 5th. Can we be there for her family even though our wedding is next Saturday, Ti?”
“Of course.”
She went to him, flung her arms around his waist and pressed her head against his chest. For the longest time, they stood in the middle of the room decorated in blue and grey. After some time, she dragged her aroused self from his own.
“Let me guess. Is this your bedroom?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. This was where all the magic happened.”
Moving around the spacious room, she stared from one trophy to the other arranged on the cabinet set against the wall. Smiling, she fingered his numerous medals.
“You were a busy athlete, hmm?”
“Those were my best years, honestly. Basketball was my favourite. I loved running on the track as well.”
His tone had altered to sweetly sentimental.
“I’d no idea you played bass guitar. Really? You hid that talent from me?”
Laughing, he caressed her face with tender fingers.
“It never came up. I also play rhythm guitar and jazz drums.”
“Whoa! I didn’t think you had a musical bone in your sexy body.”
He winked. “You assumed wrong.”
Going to sit on his bed after she took off her shoes, she stretched along the length of the bed and pressed her side face to the pillow. The butterflies in her stomach flew in circles, urging her to kiss him. While she peered up at him, she saw light enter his eyes as his nose flared.
“Play a song for me, Hunter.”
“Now?”
His eyes deepened in colour almost to a sapphire shade of blue.
“Right now, yeah. Do you write your own songs?”
“Every single one I play.”
“Cool. This is your one minute of fame. Start.”
Laughing a lot, he reached for his guitar, sat beside her on the bed and started striking the keys. She watched the expression on his face grow intense as he started to sing. After he ended the solemn tune, she clapped, wiping tears from the corner of her eyes with the tips of her fingers. It was amazing but sad.
“That was for Shannon. Now, this is for you.”
And he struck a beautiful note.
“It’s a love song I wrote but never played it.”
“Aww...so I’m the lucky woman.” Happiness surged up to her chest and bubbled out into giggles.
“Blessed woman, I’d say.”
“Amen to that.” She listened as he struck note after note, melting her heart into an emotional sauce.
Once he finished playing the lyrical love song, he dumped his guitar on the table facing the window and climbed on the bed with her.
Smiling, she lifted the hem of his rip-and-repair blue jeans with her toes and stroked his ankle. Lying next to her now, he kissed the soft swell of her boobs through her ribbed, bodycon grey dress. Moaning as heat exploded inside her boobs, she cuddled his face with both hands.
“I love you, Hunter Chase. That was the most beautiful love song I’ve ever heard. No guy has ever written me a letter, much more a gorgeous song.”
He swallowed the end of her words with his lips and primed her body flat against his own. And she knew in that moment, she did not want to let go of Hunter in this lifetime and the next.
