The dinner with Dahlia’s parents couldn’t have gone better. As promised, it was Dahlia’s turn to hold up her end of the bargain and travel down to Tennessee, where Hunter grew up. She didn’t know what to expect, but a house in the suburbs with wood plank fences for privacy was not it. No wonder he felt like he couldn’t breathe when he came back. She is antsy and doesn’t have a reason aside from her closet neighbor was at minimum one hundred acres away.
Lydia steps out of the two-story brick house that looks identical to the one next to it. Hunter barely has time to put the truck in park before his mother is reaching for his driver’s handle. Her eyes land on the woman sitting beside him, and Dahlia ignores the fall in her smile to let Zip out of the backseat. The grass is so well maintained; it looks—fake. Zip sniffs hesitantly with one paw off the ground like he has the same thought.
“What a surprise. I see you brought Dahlia with you,” Lydia says with an overly saccharine smile as they follow his mother into his childhood home. There’s a newly built ramp leading up to the porch and Lydia steps toward it while Hunter stays on course for the porch steps.
Dahlia sighs is disbelief and Lydia stares as her son walks past her. “I’m excited to show her around,” he says, not missing a beat.
Did they really build a ramp because of his leg? She fights the urge to snap at Lydia for making Hunter feel less-than, but she bites her tongue for her soldier’s benefit.
Inside, the house is set up like out of a magazine. Dahlia glances at her shoes and debates if she should take them off or not. “Dad! We made it!” Hunter shouts, and Jared steps into view from the end of the hallway. Surprisingly, he bypasses Hunter and pulls Dahlia into a hug and takes her suitcase from her hand. The foyer feels tiny, with the four adults standing around.
“Hunter didn’t say you were coming! I hope the drive wasn’t too much for you.” He turns his attention to his son with a disapproving look. “You made her ride straight through?”
Hunter’s brows raise and he glances at Dahlia. “Well—I,—”
“It was fine,” Dahlia says with a yawn and Zip whines at Hunter’s feet.
“Hunter, we raised you better than that, son. It’s late. Why don’t I show you your rooms, and we can talk tomorrow? She looks exhausted,” Lydia chimes in.
Dahlia doesn’t know if she should be offended about looking exhausted, but he’s right.
Hunter groans and reaches for Dahlia. “Mom, I’m not a horny teenager. We’re not staying in separate rooms. If that’s the case, then I’ll get a hotel and we’ll come over tomorrow.”
Dahlia rolls her lips between her teeth to hide her smile. She hadn’t even caught that his mom said rooms. Thankfully, he was quick to shut that down.
“That’s—” Lydia tries to say. She glances at her son’s prosthetic leg hidden under his jeans. “We just thought you’d want to stay downstairs, but with that bed being a twin…”
Dahlia watches Hunter for his reaction. First the ramp, and now this. Dahlia has never once second guessed if Hunter could do anything. He lives alone, for Christ’s sake—well, most of the time. But she doesn’t help him do anything day to day. Did they see a fucking ramp in South Dakota?
No. She has to school her features to keep from showing the annoyance growing for this southern woman.
The house goes silent and Zip pushes against Hunter’s leg. Dahlia takes her bag from Jared with a sympathetic hand on his shoulder. “We’ll take the room upstairs.”
Hunter doesn’t wait for his mother’s approval or other remarks.
“We’ll see you at breakfast,” Jared says as he wraps a hand around his wife’s waist.
Hunter leads the way up the stairs to the spiral stairs that start by the front door. They’re carpeted and again, Dahlia’s politeness screams to remove her shoes, but she does the same as Hunter. The only room up here is a loft style guest room with an attached bathroom. He drops his luggage on top of the chest at the foot of the bed and Dahlia sits hers beside the chest of drawers.
“You should shower,” he says, his voice hollow and empty. “I’ll take Zip out.”
She notices the slight wince around his eye when he steps on his left leg. “Hunter, it’s me. Look at me,” she urges, desperate to ease some of the strain rippling across his muscles.
“Don’t, little flower. I’m okay.”
“I know,” she says and walks over to lay her head on his chest. “I was just suggesting…” He glances down to see her looking up at him through her eyelashes.
He smirks. “And what is that?”
“I’ll take Zip out. You get our shower ready and we can act like those horny teenagers you were talking about.”
He sighs and kisses her forehead. “I’m fine, really.”
“I never said you weren’t, solider. But you drove the entire way and I know it’s because you’re scared of my driving. So, I’m taking Zip out as payback.”
She pulls away and Zip eagerly prances to the door. “I don’t think that’s how punishments work.”
Dahlia pushes her hair behind her ear and smiles over her shoulder. “How about I don’t let you come until I say so?”
Hunter reaches for her, his eyes darkening with desire. Her stomach flips, but she jumps back before he catches her and jogs down the steps, a ridiculous grin on her face.
“Take him out back!” Hunter shouts, and Dahlia takes a turn at the bottom of the stairs in search of a back door.
When she steps out on the deck, she’s able to breathe easier. It may look like all suburbs from the front, but there are wide open fields and woods at the back. She sits on the steps while Zip runs around, stirring up quail and occasionally checking that Dahlia is where he left her.
The screen door opens and Dahlia spins. Jared smiles down at her and gently closes the door behind him. “I thought you were Hunter,” he admits.
“He’s taking a shower. I offered to let Zip stretch his legs.”
He nods and wipes his palms on his jeans.
“Lydia is one tore up mess in there. She’s worried she’s offended Hunter and I’ve had to talk her down several times to keep her from climbing those stairs.”
Dahlia doesn’t say anything. She can’t help but suspect it’s her Lydia is trying to purposefully offend. But that could be her imagination getting the best of her, too. At least that’s what she keeps telling herself.
“It’s hard. Our son left for the war and the person who came back…his face is the same. He sounds the same, but—” Jared leans on the porch railing and stares out at the painted sunset sky.
“He’s still Hunter,” she says. Running her hands up her arms to knock off the chill.
“It’s like I don’t know how to talk to him. And Lydia,” he blows out a breath. “I told her insinuating the stairs were too much was a bad idea.”
Dahlia stands and Zip quickly races across the field, tongue hanging out and panting. “He’s still your son. Just don’t treat him any differently than you did before.”
Jared smiles at her advice.
“I’m glad he found you up there in South Dakota. Thank you for coming with him.”