A Masterpiece Of Our Love (The Masterpiece Trilogy Book 1) (27 page)

"Angel, you look beautiful, no matter what. It is a little formal, but we'll take you shopping. You can pick out anything you want."

"Nothing overly expensive," she stated firmly.

Hunter raised his hands in the air. "I'll leave it completely up to you. Now, what do you say I give you the surprise I picked out this morning?" He grinned, thinking about it. What would her reaction be?

"You're determined to spoil me, aren't you? I'm not used to this."

Her smile almost brought him to his knees. Hunter gave her a peck on the cheek. "I don't call it spoiling. I'm just bringing a new dream of yours to life." He grinned, knowing she'd be curious.

"You're being all mysterious!"

Without another word, he led her to sit. "Now, close your eyes and I'll be right back" Their eyes met for a brief second before her lashes lowered. He planted a kiss on the top of her head. "Thank you. Be right back. Keep them closed the entire time."

He heard her sweet laugh as he rushed upstairs to grab the bag. On his way back down, Hunter stopped at the foot of the stairs. Becca sat with her eyes still closed. Her hands were clasped in her lap and she leaned back in the chair. She sang something quietly, almost to the point he couldn't hear. But he heard enough. It sounded like a sweet song, one he'd never heard. His heart raced. This woman kept stealing his heart, piece by piece. He'd never heard her sing before.

"Just so you know, I'm back. Whatever it was you were singing, it's beautiful," he said softly, finally making his way over to her.

"It's something my mom used to sing. It helped me sleep. I sang it to Sienna before she finally gave in, and it's been in my head all day."

The emotion in her voice over the memory touched him deep inside. Something about the way she spoke so fondly of it, and how she'd passed it on to his daughter grabbed him and didn't want to let go.

"Hunter?"

"I'm still here, angel. You just caught me off-guard. I'd love to hear all of it." He wished he could have been there to see her holding Sienna and singing to her. He set the bag down by the chair and knelt down. He reached for her hands.

"Maybe I'll sing you to sleep tonight," she teased.

"I might hold you to it." He kissed her lips and ran his hands up and down her arms. "Okay. I'm going to hand you something. Then you can open your eyes." He lifted her hands and kissed the palm of each before letting them go. Once he pulled the box from the bag, he carefully set it in Becca's hands. "Careful, it's not light."

"I noticed!" She laughed. "What in the world-?"

"Open your eyes angel, and you'll see." Anticipation shot through him.

Her eyelids fluttered open, her gaze lingered on his face at first. Then she looked down at the box in her hands and gasped. "Hunter!"

"You mentioned an interest in photography, so I thought I'd give you something to start out with." Oh, it was something all right. One of the best cameras he could get. A variety of features and lenses, with a tripod.

"I don't even know what to say!" Becca kept looking at the camera, then at him.

"Do you like it?"

"I love it! I'm just in awe. You're always so supportive of my dreams, yet you keep surprising me. I can't wait to try it out!" Becca set the box on the floor and flew into his arms. "Thank you! You didn't have to do that."

Hunter held her close, running his hand through her thick hair. "I know I didn't. Please know I'm not trying to do anything but make your dreams a reality. If there's something you want, I want it for you. I am crazy about you, Becca."

Her cheeks were moist with tears when she looked up at him. "I don't know where I'd be without you. When I lose my way, you're always the one that brings me back."

"Come with me. I want to show you something." Hunter stood, helping Becca to rise. He put his hands on her shoulders and led her to a spot by the fireplace mantle. He stopped and stood behind her, sliding his arms around her waist. "See that painting right up there?"

"It's one of mine," she said softly.

"That's right. This is the first one you gave to me in person. That first summer we met up on the island. I remember when your aunt drove you to meet me. I'm not sure why I never went to get you myself, but it doesn't matter now. You ran up and hugged me, then moved away so fast because you felt awkward." He smiled at the memory of seeing her for the first time in years. Practically grown up. "Hell, I still remember your aunt warning me," he laughed. More than once. She'd been nice enough to bring Becca, but she'd made sure to scare the devil out of him. She might have been the one to help him keep in touch with Becca, but she meant business when it came to her niece. At least there'd been one person back in Vermont to look out for Becca's well being. He'd found an ally in the woman.

"She wasn't completely keen on the idea of my seventeen year old self going away for a week with a twenty-one year old." Becca turned to Hunter. "But what does that-?"

"Shh." He lifted a finger and pressed it to her lips. "I love reliving this memory." His lips curved up into a smile.

Becca blinked, a smile playing at her lips.

Hunter couldn't help himself. He kissed her again. "Okay, so about this painting. You brought this one to me that day. I fell in love with it. It wasn't just a painting of a woman standing at the edge of a cliff overlooking the water. I interpreted it as you, ready to conquer the world. Look at it. A rainbow after a storm. After I took this home and hung it up right here, I thought of you every time I saw a rainbow. I said to myself 'Becca made another amazing accomplishment'."

Her eyes brimmed with tears. "You see that just from what I painted?"

"Yeah, I do." He pulled her in his arms again. "I know. I'm a little sappy, aren't I?"

"Maybe a bit, but I love it. I love you." She stood on her tip toes to kiss him. "Do you write in your spare time or something? Your way with words ... it's either enough to steal my breath or make me laugh in utter shock."

"I told you. It keeps people on their toes, although I'm never this wordy about sappy-like things unless it's with you." He shrugged, playing coy. "I think I like this side of me. You're a good influence. I see that girl in the painting and I think of you, a shy, held back woman ready to take on the world. That's just what I want to help you do. Whatever it takes. So..." He leaned close and blew a gentle breath on her ear. "What do you say we take that new camera of yours out for a test in a few hours? A sunset, a little fun at a park for Sienna, and then get some dinner. You game?"

"I love the sound of that. Sure, I'm game." She emphasized the word, flashing a grin at him. "Want to see what Sienna drew for you?"

"Absolutely! How long has she been asleep? I don't want her to stay up all night. It's not good for her, and I plan to keep you pretty busy all night." Hunter winked. Just as she blushed, his jeans tightened. The effect she had on him drove him crazy. The good kind of crazy.

She arched a beautiful brow. "Oh, really? Do I have a say in this?" Her tone was playful.

He slid his hand suggestively down her back. "Oh, you have a say. You'll be saying my name, over and over again."

A sexy laugh escaped her lips. She shook her head, a smile lingering. "I've never known anyone like you."

"That's a good thing. I don't think the world could handle two of me." He cupped her face. "And besides, that means there's no competition." He slid her a grin.

"Hunter, no one could compete with you. Come on, I'll show you what we worked on today." Becca tugged on his hand. They were about to head upstairs when the doorbell rang.

"Damn. Who could that be? I swear, we seem to never get enough time." He released a sigh. He wanted so badly to ignore it, but with Eva not answering his calls and whole thing with the letters, he may as well answer it. He strode to the front door and yanked it open.

Becca felt a little out of place when Hunter introduced her to his former inlaws. Boy, there was a lot she didn't know, like how Hunter had started out flying with his ex-father-in-law. So, there was the connection to how he'd met Eva. Awkward that he still worked with her father. But after a few minutes of talking with them, it seemed they were still on good terms.

"Good to see you home, Hunter." The man clapped him on the back. "I trust you had a good break and are ready to resume flying soon? We've been worried about you." His warm gaze slid over to Becca. They were curious about her, she could tell right away. Hunter had introduced her as his good friend. Was that what they were? They hadn't become anything official yet even though they acted it. So why did it sting a tad when he'd only said 'good friend'?

Probably because these are the ex-inlaws. Get a grip!

It made her realize she had a whole lot to learn about Hunter. Not that she didn't trust him, but she knew so little of him, yet so much. How could that be? It made no sense to her.

Hunter reached for her hand and curled his fingers through hers. "I took a shorter break than planned, but am glad to be home. As for going back to work right away..."

He didn't sound that enthused about going back. She thought back to Shara's thoughts about PTSD. She didn't know that much about it, but she did know sometimes people suffering through it pulled away from the things they once enjoyed. No doubt Hunter had been through a lot of stress and changes recently. He mentioned the nightmares started after that near miss landing.

She had no idea what he'd say if she brought it up to him, but the wheels turned in her mind. She needed to say something.

"We didn't come over to talk about work, Todd," Eva's mother admonished. Her inquisitive blue-gray eyes studied Becca.

She squirmed, afraid to know what the woman was thinking.

"Yes, of course." The man straightened and cleared his throat. "Did you get a text from Eva as well, Hunter?"

"No, and I've been trying to get a hold her for days. She dropped Sienna off at her sitter's and then just disappeared. The sitter finally called me after months of having concerns over Eva's behavior. Eva hasn't returned my calls. I get that she blames me and is angry, but this is her daughter, too. Sienna had an ear infection and wasn't feeling well." Hunter's voice turned hard as steel. "Would you like to sit down? I'll go get Sienna up so you can say hi."

"We'd love that." Eva's mother nodded. Becca tried to recall her name. "Hunter, even if Eva blames you and is lashing out, just know she's having a hard time dealing with things. I hate that she's throwing you in the middle of all of it, but she's struggling. She sent us a message, letting us know she needed some time away to think. I don't like the way she handled things with Sienna, but I wanted you to know."

Becca noted the kind tone in the woman's voice. They both seemed very comfortable with Hunter still, even though he was no longer married to their daughter.

"If she wants to blame me, I'll take it. Fine. Some days I blame myself." Hunter stood straight. He let go of Becca's hand. She could tell he was shaken.

She had no clue what they were talking about. It wasn't enough that Hunter had married, had a child and divorced in a span of a few years. There had to be so much more to the story. How much more was she going to learn about his life in the four year absence? She'd never realized until now how much Hunter never opened up. They would talk about life and about their feelings involving the crash, but there was so little that she knew about him. This whole day made for a long, drawn out awkward time.

He led them to the chairs he and Becca had been sitting in earlier. She carefully picked up the camera to take it upstairs.

"Want me to take it for you? I'm getting Sienna anyway." Hunter shot her an apologetic look.

She wasn't quite comfortable with the idea of sitting in the room with his ex-wife's parents, but she wasn't about to be rude. She handed him the camera with a nod. "Thank you."

"I'll be right back, okay?" His hand lingered over hers until she responded. She bit her lip, unsure what to say to Eva's parents. They couldn't just sit there in awkward silence.

All eyes were on her now. Becca half-smiled as her heart raced. She had no idea what to say!

"So you're the inspiration behind the Rebecca Lange fund," Mrs. Sundstrom noted, looking over her curiously.

Heat rushed to her face. "Yes, I guess that would be me," she squeaked out. Ugh! Awkward!

"You don't have to be shy, honey. I'm glad to finally meet you. Not everyone knows your connection with Hunter and what happened, but we're one of the few. The both of you are remarkable people. And what Hunter's done ... well, it's a beautiful tribute. He created something that has helped many people." Mrs Sundstrom bowed her head, breaking the connection. Her husband immediately scooted closer and wrapped his arm around his wife.

What was this? She wanted so badly to ask, but kept the questions to herself.

"I'm sorry. The pain is still fresh. It's not easy." Mrs. Sundstrom pulled a tissue from her purse and dabbed her eyes. She gathered her composure and sat up straight again. "Sometimes, as much as one wants, they can't all be saved."

Becca had no idea what she meant. If she had to take a guess, someone close to her recently passed away. "I'm so sorry," she managed. She just wished she knew what she was sorry for. Another example of things she didn't know.

"Gamma!" Sienna shouted, coming from behind Becca and dashing straight into her grandmother's arms.

"Well hello, sweetheart! Gramma is so happy to see you!" Mrs Sundsrom covered Sienna's face with kisses.

Hunter now stood behind Becca. She shivered when he brushed his hand gently across her arm, reaching for her hand. She was surprised he'd want to be so close to her while his former inlaws were here. It made her feel better, though. She thought Eva's parents would have torn into her about being here or something. She'd honestly had no idea what to expect, but their kindness toward her was not on the list of scenarios that briefly popped into her head.

Once Sienna broke free of the kiss fest, she hugged her grandfather. Then she turned to Becca and Hunter. With a big smile, she proudly displayed the few things she'd learned from Becca earlier. She signed 'I love you' to Hunter.