Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 27217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27217 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 136(@200wpm)___ 109(@250wpm)___ 91(@300wpm)
Instead of pushing the matter, I leave the church, walk outside, and hop into the truck beside my baby big brother. As my youngest Haven brother, Jimi still has about 16 years on me. He, and everyone else in my family, come through whenever I need them.
“Thanks for coming out in this, Jimi,” I tell Hendrix once I’m inside the truck’s cabin.
He tugs on his hat a bit, his focus on the road in front of us.r “Harper, cut it out. The President of the United States could issue an emergency warning and that wouldn’t stop me from making sure you’re safe. Besides, Ma would have our hides if she knew we left you stuck in the church by yourself during a storm.”
“I wasn’t by myself. Hunter was with me and made sure I was comfortable.” The grin spreading across my lips is unstoppable.
“Hunter?” There is more confusion in his tone rather than the shock of learning the priest has a name.
“Yeah, Father Hudgens. His name’s Hunter.”
“I know that. Why do you know that?” He looks at me with a questioning glare in his eyes. Big brother protection is in overdrive.
“Because it was going to be weird for me to be formal with someone I was fully prepared to spend the night with.”
“I don’t like the way you said that. He’s a priest. Have some respect.”
I shrug, letting my eyes wander out of the window. “He’s the one who told me I could call him Hunter, and I’m sure he likes me enough to not mind when I make a joke or two about us spending the night together. It’s innocent fun.”
Liar. Innocent? Not in the slightest. Fun? Absolutely.
“You know what, Harper? I’m not going to ask any more questions because I have a feeling that those are answers I don’t want to know. Just do me a favor and don’t make any rash decisions. I don’t want your heart broken or anything.”
“Do you think a priest can break my heart?”
My brother doesn’t want to have this conversation, but what kind of little sister would I be if I don’t drag him into things he doesn’t want to do?
“Harper, how about you don’t break that man’s heart? Ma would be upset if she lost her priest.”
“Mom just doesn’t want the church to move to a bigger parish. It’s going to be a pain if she has to drive over to the next county whenever she wants to go to mass. You guys only go on Easter and Christmas.”
“We volunteer all year round,” he says with a light chuckle.
“Anyway, I won’t break his heart. There’s this feeling I get every time I’m around him. Like even if he weren’t a priest, I can trust Hunter. I feel safe around him.”
Hendrix grunts. “As long as I don’t have a talk with him—”
My laughter cuts him off as he pulls up to Halo’s old house. With Halo living with my oldest brother Hayden, she likes having someone—family—stay in the house since it was her grandmother’s. I keep the place up and running and get some privacy while taking classes at the local college.
Laughter aside, I turn to Hendrix. “Hunter is harmless and none of you guys need to talk to him. Besides, the kind of man he is says that he’d speak with all of you before any of the Haven boys have to reach out to him. Don’t worry so much, Jimi. Thanks for the lift.”
I hop out of the truck’s cabin before he can give me any more dating advice or words of warning. The driveway is clear and so is the pathway to the front door. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that my brothers made sure it was done before they went out to help the county for the night.
The house is cold, but I know it warms up pretty fast once I set the thermostat. In the minutes I’m shedding my clothes and getting ready for a hot shower, I realize something’s missing.
My phone is nowhere to be seen. Frustration rattles through my entire body, knowing that my phone is in one of two places. It’s either in Hendrix’s truck or sitting on Hunter’s desk at the church.
I should be sitting on his desk. Flashes of our time in his office make my stomach flutter with anticipation. I hope we can pick up where we left off or he can pick me up where he left off. There’s a longing inside of me that only Hunter Hudgens can satisfy. It begs me to hear his voice, to call him, and I realize again that I don’t have my phone.
Hunter is probably home by now, crashing for the night and keeping out of the storm. I’ll probably have to wait until the day after tomorrow to get back to the church. There’s nothing I can do about it now.