Julie hadn’t known then that that period of innocent romance was the beginning of the downfall for Hunter, and that he was in the spiral that caught her on his way down.
Recalling those days on the ranch, it seemed odd that Katie was now in love with Caleb. She knew by the way Caleb talked about Katie that he was head over heels in love with her. She hadn’t had to see them dancing in the parking lot to know it to be true. And if he didn’t utter a word, all Julie had to do was see the way her brother looked at Katie.
Her heart squeezed just thinking about it. It was the way Hunter used to look at her. She remembered that even though she’d spent many days trying to forget it.
They’d both done stupid things in their youth. She wasn’t a teenage girl anymore. Hunter was a grown man in his mid-thirties. Still rugged and handsome, and he still stole her breath away every time she looked at him. That hadn’t changed.
But he didn’t look at her the way he used to. Hunter hadn’t looked at her that way when he’d seen her last week at the Lone Creek Ranch, or at the post office. And he hadn’t looked at her that way when he’d opened the door and found her standing on his porch.
She missed it. She hated herself for it, but she did. And she instantly regretted coming to his apartment in search of something to fill a void that she knew was never going to be filled.
Hunter had grown into the man that she always knew he was deep down. She’d seen it in him even when she was a teenager. Julie had met many losers in her travels over the last ten years. It had gotten to the point where she’d felt like she was a magnet for them. She knew a good one when she saw one and that was Hunter.
She’d teased him about the apartment but the digs were nothing. It was window dressing that could be bought at a department store. Everything he was inside was what she craved.
After a few minutes, Julie realized she was just standing in the kitchen lost in the past. The silverware drawer was open and she hadn’t even looked underneath the tray to see if there were any restaurant menus in there. It wasn’t until she heard the shower shut off the she realized she’d just been lost in her thoughts. She quickly lifted the silverware tray and rummaged underneath it, pulling out the menus Hunter had tucked inside.
Leaning against the sink, she leafed through a few of them and realized it didn’t matter what she chose. So she opted for the sub shop up the street. It was close and sub sandwiches were quick and easy to make. She could run up there fast to pick them up.
Then she’d be able to turn around and go straight back to Caleb’s apartment. Maybe she could put this nonsense behind her. It wasn’t a bad thing to be alone. Hunter lived here alone. Okay, so she had given him a little bit of grief about living like a bachelor. But so what? Her brother was like that too. Now her brother was building and renovating an old chapel out on Lookout Ridge with a woman he loved.
God, she was so jealous and she hated herself for it. She should be happy. Part of her was. But a big part of her still felt that hole that she’d been trying for the last ten years to fill. Dr. Matthews insisted it would never be filled if she didn’t come home and face what she’d run from.
She heard footsteps in the bedroom and the door swung open. Hunter was standing in the doorway in a pair of clean jeans, barefoot and shirtless. He had a towel draped around his shoulders.
“Did you decide on anything?” he asked.
Her mouth went cotton dry. With a trembling hand, she grabbed the sub shop menu. “Don’t hate me, but I’m in the mood for a tuna grinder.”
He smiled. “You haven’t changed one bit in ten years.”
He didn’t know the half of it.
Sweet Montana Secrets: Chapter Five
It was such a mild evening that they decided to walk to the sub shop rather than drive. It was only about a quarter of a mile from Hunter’s apartment and the sky was filled with stars so bright that it made no difference that the moon was barely a sliver in the sky and provided no light.
“How did you do it?” Julie asked, after a few minutes of silent walking.
“What?”
“Get clean.”
She sensed his body getting tense as he kicked at the ground twice while walking. “It wasn’t easy.”
“I’ll bet. When?”
“Soon after you left. Something happened. Something awful. It woke me up.”
“My leaving didn’t?”
“That was the beginning. It made me look at myself. And then when Doug was killed, I took a harder look.”
“Doug?”
“Doug Mitchell. Marie’s brother.”
She nodded. “I didn’t know.”
“Why would you? You weren’t here.”
“How was he killed? Drugs?”
“In a manner of speaking. But no. It was a freak accident. Brody and he fought and Doug fell back and hit his head on a stone wall. It was manslaughter. Brody did some time.”
Her mouth dropped open. “I guess I have missed some things.”
“Nothing you needed to know. Anyway, I’d been trying my best to beat the addiction. After Doug’s death, I saw how destructive my life was. I’m sorry. I never meant to do that to you.”
She nodded and continued walking as she held back a sigh that had been building up inside her since she’d arrived in town. He had no idea what had ultimately made her leave. She’d seen the drugs in his truck. She’d seen
