Page 82 of Moonlight Feels Right
"A little, not a lot."
"He must like you because Hunter doesn't open up to very many people."
"You've known him a long time, haven't you?"
"Eight years," Bree replied. "He was Gary's best man and is Olivia's godfather. He's been a big part of my life. And I feel bad for ignoring his pain, because it must have been as excruciating as mine. Gary and Hunter were so close. They were like brothers. And they brought out the best in each other." Bree paused. "I worried about Gary every time he deployed, but knowing Hunter was looking out for him always made me feel confident that they'd come back. Hunter was so good at his job. I knew he wouldn't make a mistake. He wouldn't miss some critical detail. I never should have blamed him. I've made a lot of mistakes. I don't deserve all this kindness everyone is showing me."
Seeing true regret in Bree's eyes, she said, "Of course you deserve kindness. You lost your husband. Whatever you said or did was out of grief, and Hunter would never hold that against you. And, frankly, I think you did him a favor by dropping Olivia off. It forced him to snap out of his depression."
Bree offered her a small smile. "He said something like that to me, too. I'm glad it helped."
"He's so much better now, Bree. He smiles and laughs and talks to people. It's been an amazing transformation."
"You care about him, don't you?"
"We're friends."
"Hunter doesn't look at his female friends the way he looks at you," Bree said with a knowing gleam in her eyes.
She gave a helpless shrug. "Maybe there is something between us, but he'll be leaving once he's cleared for duty. He could end up far away from here."
"He could, but he doesn't have to go alone."
She stared at Bree in shock. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. You could go with him."
"But I—I have a life here. And I've known him for like ten days."
"I fell in love with Gary in five days. He used to say he fell in love with me in two. Our families thought we rushed into things, but we both knew we had something special. I thank God now that I acted quickly. You shouldn't waste time because you never know how much you're going to have."
As Bree finished speaking, the front door opened, and Hunter came in, carrying Olivia.
"Look who I found," Hunter said. "Paige was bringing her back, but I intercepted them."
Olivia squirmed out of his arms as she looked around the apartment in amazement. "We have so much stuff now, Mommy."
"We do," Bree said. "Lexie brought some photos for my room, and she's going to get some for yours, too."
"Can I see?" Olivia asked.
"Sure," Bree said, following her daughter into the bedroom.
As they left, she turned to Hunter. He looked pretty happy, so she dared to ask the question hovering on her lips. "How did the evaluation go? Or would you rather not say?"
"It went well," he told her, his smile broadening.
"Oh, that's great. Was it a difficult session?"
"Not as hard as I thought it might be. But I'm relieved to have it behind me."
"I'm sorry you have to keep reliving that night, Hunter."
"It actually gets a little easier each time." He paused, waving his hand at the room. "It looks like you've been busy here."
"Along with a lot of helpers. What do you think?"
"It looks warm and comfortable, just like the person orchestrating all this. Bree is a lucky woman."
