Page 35 of Luna

A horn tooting at him drew Hunter from his musings. He waved at Flynn Elliot and his driver as they drove in the opposite direction down the street, more than likely heading to a meeting of some sort.

Hunter turned onto Ilsa and Tony’s street and was soon parking in front of their home. Before he could cut the engine, Luna raced out the door and down the front steps. He grinned as she got in, looking ruffled and lovely.

“Good morning,” he said, putting the car in gear and heading toward the depot.

“Morning,” she yelled to be heard above the noise of the car as she pressed a hand to her hat to keep it from flying off.

Hunter waited until he’d parked the auto and walked with Luna onto the train platform to allow himself the pleasure of studying her. She looked like she should be the subject of a painting entitled Sweet Anticipation.

It wasn’t the cream-colored dress she wore, dotted with little purple and pale yellow flowers and trimmed in airy lace, that made him think of her gracing a painting. It wasn’t her straw hat that featured a wide silk ribbon and a spray of purple flowers on the right side of the crown or the saucy angle at which it perched on her head. Nor was it her glossy dark brown hair fashioned in an elegant style with wispy tendrils that curled softly around her rosy cheeks.

The pure look of excitement in her expression and the sparkle of joy in her eyes were what made her seem exquisitely beautiful and the reasons why he could so easily envision her captured in oils or even sketched with a pencil.

A sudden breeze tugged at her hat and skirt. Luna placed a hand on the hat to keep the straw confection from blowing away. The action and the resulting pose completed the picture, especially when he envisioned flowers and branches waving in the wind in the background behind her.

The sight of her simply left him breathless.

Lest he do something rash and bold, like take her in his arms and kiss those entirely ripe lips of hers, he dragged his unraveling composure together.

Hunter tipped his head toward the train. “Looks like we got here just in time,” he said as the conductor issued his first boarding call.

“Thank goodness. As urgent as Caterina made this trip sound, I’d hate to put it off.” Luna turned and headed toward a passenger car. It didn’t take long for them to board and find seats near the front.

Hunter had hoped Luna would have a basket full of treats for them to enjoy, but she only carried a beaded purse in her gloved hands. As she settled back in her seat by the window, Hunter studied her from the toes of her leather shoes barely visible beneath her skirt to her lacy gloves to the violet-hued brooch she wore pinned to the throat of her dress.

“Why purple?” Hunter asked, surprising himself as well as Luna with the question as the conductor made a last call to board.

“Why purple?” she repeated as she turned her gaze from the window to him. “Why do I like purple?”

“Yes? You seem exceptionally fond of the color. I just wondered why. It does look particularly nice on you, but that can’t be the only reason you seem to prefer it.”

Luna shrugged. “I guess there are many reasons, the least of which would be how it looks on me. I’ve been told dark red is my best color, but I feel garish wearing it. To me, purple is a happy color. It reminds me of my mother. She had a deep purple dress she wore on Sundays. It was my favorite day of the week. After church, we would often go visiting, or welcome friends to our home for a meal. In my memories, my mother is always wearing purple. Beyond that, I think purple is a regal color, one of creativity and wisdom, and goodness knows I can use all the wisdom I can get. Also, my favorite flowers are violets, which are also purple. Does that answer your question?”

“Indeed, it does, Luna.” Hunter could picture her as a bright-eyed child sitting at a table surrounded by family and friends, secure in their love for her and her place in the world.

“What about you?” Luna asked, pointing to Hunter’s blue and white striped silk shirt, which he wore with a dark blue tie. After getting up two hours early to see to his chores, he’d taken a bath, shaved, and dressed with care in a dark gray summer suit with his favorite blue shirt and tie. “If I had to guess, I’d say blue was your favorite color, followed by gray.”

“You wouldn’t be wrong,” he said with a grin. He’d always loved the color blue, finding it both calming and pleasant. It was a color Dally had always said looked good on him. Gray was also a good color for him, matching his eyes and going well with his dark hair.

Luna offered him a pleased smile, then glanced out the window as the train chugged away from the depot. Although she’d traveled this stretch of track before when she’d arrived in Pendleton, Hunter knew it looked entirely different when seen from the opposite direction.

While the train traveled up into the Blue Mountains and down the other side to La Grande, Hunter pointed out things Luna might have missed, like two fawns hiding in the trees and a flock of turkeys in the distance.

When they arrived in La Grande, Luna produced an address Caterina had written on a piece of paper.

“Do you know where this is?” Luna asked, handing the address to Hunter.

“Nope, but we’ll find it.” He held out his arm to Luna, and they walked off the platform and down to the street. An elderly couple stood on the corner, apparently waiting for someone, most likely a ride, Hunter thought, as he walked over to them.

“Pardon me, sir and ma’am, but could you perhaps tell us where to find this address?”

The man took the paper from Hunter, read it, and handed it back. “It’s not far from here. Just follow Depot Street down to Fourth, take a left, and you’ll see Spring Street. I don’t know the exact address, but if you’re looking for the new restaurant, it’s just a block further on Spring Street.”

Hunter touched his fingers to the brim of his hat. “Thank you. That is indeed our destination.”

The woman smiled. “Enjoy your meal. It’s quite good, but the Italian restaurant in Pendleton is far better.”

Hunter grinned and could almost feel the pride swelling in Luna at the woman’s words. “We’ll keep that in mind, ma’am. Thanks again.”

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