Читать книгу His Love Lesson - Nicki Night - Страница 12
ОглавлениеThe week had gone by in a flash and despite Hunter’s attempt to be prepared for his annual trip with his frat brothers, he found himself doing a lot of last-minute running around before hitting the road.
“Mom! Dad!” he called out as he entered his parents’ home in Long Island through the garage entrance.
“I’m in here, baby!” Joyce, his mother, called out from their laundry room.
Hunter followed the sound of her voice. “Hey, Ma!”
“Hey, honey!” Joyce reached up on her toes to give her eldest son a hug and kiss. “Are you all ready for your trip?” Joyce turned back to the clothes she’d just washed. “I don’t see why you need to go all the way to Utah when we’ve got enough snow right here in New York,” she said, snapping the towel she’d just pulled from the dryer.
Hunter laughed. “You know we try to go to different resorts every year. This will be our first time in Utah. Everyone is pretty excited about it.”
“Well, I guess that’s good, then. Your dad hasn’t gotten back from the gym yet.”
“Why didn’t you go with him?”
Joyce stopped what she was doing and looked at Hunter with twisted lips. “Your daddy bugs me when we go to the gym together. I have to do things at my pace. At my age, I’m not trying to be Serena Williams. Daddy doesn’t understand that, so we go to the gym separately.”
“Ha! Dad is still pretty competitive.”
“Yes, he is! Now, what time are you leaving?”
“Six in the morning. I have a few more errands to do, but I wanted to see you and Dad before I left.”
“Have you eaten breakfast yet?”
“Just a cup of coffee.”
Joyce folded the last towel and set it neatly on top of the others. “If you have time, let me make you a quick breakfast and he should be here by the time you finish eating.”
Hunter couldn’t say no to spending time with his mother. “Can you make me an egg sandwich?”
“That’s all you want?”
“Ma! You make the best egg sandwiches.” Hunter’s smile nearly split his face in half. “Nobody prepares them like you.”
Joyce shook her head and carried the laundry basket with her to the kitchen with Hunter on her heels. She washed her hands and then somehow guided the conversation in the direction of Hunter still being single.
“How are you going to let Blake get married before you? Do you even want to get married? I don’t know about you young people these days. Everyone wants to stay single. What kind of life is that? You need someone to rock on the porch with when you get old.” Joyce propped her hands on her hips.
“I didn’t say I don’t want to get married. I just haven’t found the right woman.”
“Are you even looking?” Joyce frowned, then turned her attention to the frying pan on the stove.
Hunter cleared his throat and then heard the churn of the garage door. He was saved! Jumping up, he headed for the door leading to the garage to greet his father as he pulled in.
“Hey, Dad!”
“Hey, boy! What brings you by?”
“I leave for my trip tomorrow. I just came by to see you guys before I left.”
“Oh, yeah! Tell the fellows I said hello.”
“Will do!”
Floyd stepped in carefully and walked over to Joyce in their sizable kitchen with a limp. Joyce inclined her head toward her tall husband. Floyd kissed her forehead. Something that all the towering Barrington men did with her.
“What happened to you?” She looked down at his leg.
“I think I pulled a muscle at the gym.”
She looked at Hunter with a look that said, See what I mean? Hunter chuckled.
“Go on and get your shower. I’ll fix you something to eat.”
“Thanks, babe!”
Hunter assumed that the interruption of his father’s entrance was enough to shift the conversation. To his dismay, Joyce went right back to the same subject.
“Well? Are you looking?”
“No, Ma. I haven’t exactly been looking, but I do think I’ll know when the right one comes along.”
Joyce placed Hunter’s plate in front of him and poured a glass of orange juice for each of them. She took a sip and eyed Hunter. When he noticed how intently she was watching him, he stopped chewing and looked back at her curiously.
“Humph. I hope she comes along sometime soon. I’d love to have a few grandchildren before I leave this world. I need granddaughters to leave my jewelry to.”
Hunter chuckled and began eating again.
“So, the woman you left Blake’s house with on New Year’s Eve apparently wasn’t the right one?”
Hunter almost choked on the chunk of egg sandwich he’d just bitten. For a quick moment, he wondered how his mother knew, but he was sure it had to be Drew who’d opened his huge mouth. He was the youngest and had been the tattletale since they were kids. Only he told everyone’s business except his own.
“Let me guess! You spoke to Drew?”
“Humph.” Joyce didn’t confirm or deny anything. “You’re thirty-two now, honey. It’s time to do what men do. Find a nice woman, have a family and take care of them just like your dad did. Trust me. You don’t want to grow old alone.”
Hunter quickly finished his sandwich so he could make a clean exit. He thanked his mother and ran upstairs to chat with his father before leaving. As he walked out the door, Joyce called out to him.
“Don’t forget. You’re a Barrington, son. Don’t waste too much time with women who aren’t well intentioned enough to bear your last name. The Barringtons worked some of the biggest, most important cases in our African-American history. You know they wanted your dad to run for office, but he refused—said he didn’t do politics.”
“Yes, ma’am!” Hunter stood erect and saluted his mother. He’d heard the stories all of his life. Of course he was proud of his family’s legacy.
Joyce tossed the cloth she was using to clean the counter at him. He caught it, carried it back to her and pulled her into a tight hug.
“See you when I get back, lady,” he said and bent over to kiss her on her forehead.
Hunter jumped into his SUV, revved the engine and pulled out of his parents’ wide driveway. Down the road his phone rang. He answered the call through the car’s Bluetooth system.
“Hey there, cutie.” Tricia’s seductive voice warmed the inside of the vehicle.
“Hey, yourself.”
“Are you ready for your trip?”
“Almost. I still have a few errands to run.”
“Want me to come over tonight and help you finish packing? I’ll make it worth your while.”
Joyce’s words came crashing into his thoughts. Don’t waste too much time with women who aren’t well intentioned enough to bear your last name. He couldn’t say he didn’t enjoy Tricia’s company. Any man with the senses he’d been born with would enjoy a woman like her. Yet Hunter knew he wasn’t interested in her for the long term and in that moment decided that he’d cut this thing short as soon as he got back from his trip. As for now, he’d try to find a way to politely let her down. Maybe.
“That would be nice, but with all that I have to do, I wouldn’t even have the time to enjoy your company. My flight leaves at six in the morning, which means I have to get up and out of the house by no later than four fifteen, four thirty at the latest.”
“I could stay the night.”
“I’d hate to wake you that early and you have to go to work.”
“I wouldn’t mind. I doubt we’d be doing much sleeping anyway. I’ll just down a five-hour energy drink to get me through the next day. I’ve done it before.”
Hunter fell silent. When she said that she’d done it before, he wasn’t sure if she was referring to downing the energy drink or staying up half the night with another man. He preferred not to ask.
“That didn’t sound right, did it?” She laughed. He didn’t laugh. “In any case. I’ll be home early. Call me if you want me to come by. I’ll be waiting,” she crooned.
“Okay...” Hunter paused there, refusing to finish with the words at the edge of his tongue, I will. That was because he knew he wouldn’t. “I’ll call you when I get back so we can have dinner. How’s that?”
“Bummer! I wanted to see you before you left.” She groaned. “Enjoy your trip. I’ll see you when you get back.”
Hunter thought it impolite to end their rendezvous in any other way than in person and tonight he truly didn’t have the time to deal with that. Besides, waiting until next week would give him time to come up with a mannerly way to let her know that despite the fun they had during the past week, he wasn’t interested in pursuing a relationship with her. Those conversations never went well, and he didn’t expect this one to be any better.
