Page 40 of The Bitterroot Inn (Jamison Valley 5)
“I see he’s inherited your curiosity,” Hunter teased when we were done eating.
I smiled. “That he has.”
Hunter stood from the table and picked up his plate. “Coby, do you want to help me do the dishes?”
“Okay!” Coby nodded and scrambled off his chair, taking his plastic green plate carefully to the kitchen.
I stood and picked up my plate too. “You don’t need to worry about these. I can do the dishes.”
Hunter shook his head, taking the plate from my hand and nodding toward the living room. “Take a break. We’ve got this.”
I retreated to the living room, sinking onto my gray couch and turning sideways so I could spy on the kitchen activities. While Hunter rinsed, Coby stood over the dishwasher and pointed to the spot for Hunter to deposit the dish.
All I could do was smile.
Coby was enamored with Hunter. His smile and bright eyes were full of joy only a child’s face could show. I loved seeing my son so happy, but on top of that, I really liked the look on Hunter’s face too. He seemed just as fascinated with Coby as my son was with him.
“What’s next?” Hunter asked Coby as he dried his hands.
“Now we have to take Pickle for a walk,” Coby declared.
“All right. Lead the way.”
Coby hustled over to Pickle’s crate and got out the leash. I walked over too and grabbed a doggie poop bag. Then we all set out for the puppy’s evening walk, slowly descending the stairs at the back of the motel as Coby led us to the grass path.
“He’s a great kid,” Hunter said as Coby ran ahead. “Smart too. I couldn’t believe all of the stuff he was telling me when we were playing with his cars. Like all the colors? He was so specific. Maroon. Copper. Cobalt. Most kids would have just said red, orange and blue.”
“Thank you. We spend a lot of time coloring and he always likes me to tell him the names on the crayons. I guess they stuck.”
Pride swelled as I watched Coby petting Pickle. I wasn’t a dummy by any means, but I knew most of Coby’s brainpower had come from Everett’s gene pool. It was a good reminder that not everything about Everett had been bad. He hadn’t wanted to be a parent—hence the homicidal push for an abortion—but he had given me my greatest treasure. For Coby, I’d always be grateful to Everett.
Coby ran back to us after a few minutes, dragging Pickle along. “Can we watch Cars, Mommy?”
Glancing down at my watch, I saw it was nearly seven. “Sorry, not tonight.” By the time we finished with Pickle and got Coby in the bath, we’d only have thirty minutes before bed to read a few stories. If it was a Friday night, not a Sunday, I’d make an exception for the movie, but as it was, we had a busy week ahead of us and I didn’t want to start off Monday morning with a tired kid.
“But Mommy, Hunter has never seen it. He doesn’t know about Lightning McQueen and Tow Mater.”
“Sorry. Not tonight.” I hated seeing Coby’s face fall.
Hunter bent to eye level with my son. “If it’s okay with your mom, maybe I could come back another night and watch it with you?”
Coby’s face lit up. He bounced up and down, begging me silently as he waited for my approval. “Yes,” I said, “that’s fine with me. Now let’s go inside and get ready for bath.”
“Yay!” Off Coby ran with Pickle trying to keep up.
The minute we were inside, Coby dropped the puppy’s leash and ran off toward his room, stripping clothes as he went. “Little boys and their nudity.” I shook my head. “He’s not even kind of shy.”
Hunter laughed. “I’ll leave and let you get him to bed. Let me know when you deem that housekeeper’s room acceptable enough to show me.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m doing this preemptive clean for your own good. Trust me.”
“Sure you are,” he said dryly. “I think you have this idea that I need fancy things. I don’t. F
ancy is overrated. Trust me.”
“Well, then I’m doing it for me. I don’t want you to see my mess.”
“Maisy, do you think a mess is going to scare me away?” He took one step closer, breaking the barrier on my intimate space. The heat from his broad chest warmed my face and I held my breath, waiting for his next move. “If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m staying until you make me leave.”
