Free Hunter - Big Girls & Bad Boys by D. H. Cameron

settle on just one thought. We approached the door but Indigo didn’t knock. She walked right in and Sandy and I followed. Hunter’s father, Nate, looked up from his tablet. It was a weekday and only just three o’clock. Then Penny came out of the hallway. Shouldn’t they be at work? I began to worry but about what, I had no idea.
     
    “You found her,” Penny said to Indigo and Sandy before turning to me. “Hi, Mel. Glad to see you,” she told me and gave me a hug. Okay, I was getting a bit weirded out. “Hunter, Mel’s here,” Penny called. I heard a commotion from down the hall and then Hunter appeared, all but running.
     
    “Mel? Did Daisy tell you I was looking for you?” he asked. I could tell he wanted to approach me but he kept his distance.
     
    “Sort of, yeah,” I said, recalling the uncomfortable confrontation with my roommate.
     
    “I was going to go back in a bit to see if I could find you,” he told me and then asked Indigo where they found me.
     
    “She was walking here and we picked her up,” Hunter’s sister replied.
     
    “I took the bus and was walking from the stop a few blocks away,” I said but then I had to ask. “What’s going on?” I asked Hunter. The mood shifted almost immediately.
     
    “Sit down. Everyone else knows already,” he said. I looked about and Penny smiled warmly and nodded at me before she ushered me to the sofa. Everyone took seats except for Hunter. My mind was going nuts with possibilities, most of them bad.
     
    “I’ll just say it, Mel. I’m deploying. I came home for a couple of days to say goodbye. I’ve got to report tomorrow and I’m off to Iraq the day after that,” he told me. Penny placed her hand on my leg to reassure me.
     
    “Iraq? That’s over, right?” I asked. I knew the war was officially over and we’d pulled out but I was also aware of the current issues, though I knew very few details. The government was being rather vague about our commitment over there and most of what I’d heard was hearsay.
     
    “I can’t say much but it’s a mission against ISIS,” he told me.
     
    “You’re going to war?” I pressed.
     
    “Yeah, pretty much,” he told me and seeing the look on my face he continued. “It’s not direct action. I won’t be fighting. Just providing support and security,” he added. I sat without speaking, trying to process my feelings about what Hunter had revealed. Everyone was looking at me. I could only think of one thing through the jumble of emotions. I didn’t want Hunter to go.
     
    “I don’t understand. We’re not at war there, right?” I asked.
     
    “Not officially,” Hunter told me. I wanted to scream. I wanted to...well, I expected to want to protest, to speak out against the new conflict, to oppose sending more men to fight a war we couldn’t win. I still felt that way but protesting was the last thing from my mind. I couldn’t care less about the larger policies and politics. I found I was focused on just one thing. One man. Hunter.
     
    “What does this mean?” I asked. Hunter looked at his mother and she knew what he wanted.
     
    “We should go make something to eat, right girls? Maybe you could finish cleaning the rain gutters, Nate,” she said. Hunter wanted to be alone with me.
     
    “Of course, mom,” Indigo replied and stood up. Sandy joined her and they walked off towards the kitchen.
     
    “Yeah, I might as well get those gutters finished,” Nate said and got out of his chair after setting his tablet aside. He smiled at me as he went to the door that led to the garage and disappeared. Penny stood as well.
     
    “Take all the time you need. It will be a while before dinner is done,” she said and left us alone. Hunter sat next to me, still not daring to get too close.
     
    “Why...um...why are you telling me this?” I asked him.
     
    “You really don’t know?” he replied. I guess I did know. Indigo already told me Hunter still spoke of me. He, apparently,