Chapter 18

 

Hunter

 

“Oh my God, these cookies are amazing!” I moaned, savoring another bite. Jamie giggled and added some more cookies onto my plate before cutting into a loaf of zucchini bread. Damn it, this woman could bake.

She’s a fucking Blessing.

“I swear, Jamie, you could make a killing selling these things! They are just that good,” I told her, taking another bite of that delicious M&M-filled cookie.

The smile on her face faltered and she sat down, fiddling with her fingers nervously.

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about too, Hunter,” she said, and I straightened up to listen. “You see, the reason I’d been working multiple jobs was because I was saving up to lease this shop by the corner of the street near my house. I’m planning on opening up a bakery there.”

My eyes widened and I smiled at her.

“That’s really good, Jamie! I’m sure you would do very well. Would you like me to help you?” I asked, eager to help her accomplish her dream. She giggled and raised her hands to rein me in.

“Hold your horses, hero,” she said, and my heart jolted from hearing her call me ‘hero’. “I only need a little bit left to get the shop, and a bit more to buy whatever I need to get it running, so don’t worry too much about me.”

I was startled out of my thoughts when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out and cursed as I read the message. I felt Jamie staring at me in concern.

“What’s the matter?” she asked me.

I sighed heavily. I’m really not in the mood for this right now. Why did he have to summon me today?

“Hunter?” she called again.

“I need to go back to the Drake Mansion today,” I said, not looking at her.

“Drake Mansion? Oh. You mean the place you and your brothers lived in back when you were young?” she asked, and I nodded, pleased she remembered.

“Yeah. My Grandfather issued a summons for me. It’s part of my agreement with him,” I explained.

“You don’t seem too excited about that,” she noticed, and I smiled wryly.

“No, I’m not,” I told her. “I’ve never liked that place ever since—,” I sighed again and shook my head, not ready to get into this right now.

“Well, will you be coming home for dinner tonight?” she asked, her eyes looking a little forlorn. I smiled and kissed her cheek, making her blush prettily.

“Just let them try to keep me away,” I answered, wiping the gloomy look on her face and replacing it with a smile.

 

***

 

It has been a long time since I stepped foot in this place, but it looked exactly as I remembered it: cold and unfeeling.

The Drake Family Mansion was huge, but the décor was too impersonal, so dreary that I’m amazed my three brothers were able to last living here while still maintaining a familial bond. Then again, Sean, the third in line, was almost always travelling around the world escaping my grandfather’s clutches, while River, the youngest, only stayed during summer breaks from boarding school.

If I was going to trace the moment this mansion stopped feeling like home, I’d probably trace it back to that day. A bitter taste in my mouth always rose up whenever I remembered it. How my good-for-nothing father pissed away my mother’s money and left his family behind, taking one of the most important heirlooms of the Drake Family with him. And when the storm passed, and the clouds dissipated in the sky, so did my mother, who died from a broken heart.

I was 15 when she passed, and I was suddenly thrust into the responsibility of caring for my siblings. My grandfather was too distraught over the death of his daughter, that he drank his sorrows and neglected the business. The partners and stockholders grew frantic, so I had to cast away my youth and put myself out there, determined not to abandon my family.

Eventually my grandfather got over his slump, but no matter how many times he tried to mend our relationship, I just couldn’t forgive him for allowing the full burden to ride on my shoulders. Back then, all I knew was that he gave up on me, and my brothers, at the moment we needed him most.

The experience may have turned me into one of the best goddamn business moguls in the country, but the damage had been done, and I could never get that part of my life back.

“Hunter. I was expecting you to arrive a bit later,” I turned around and looked at my grandfather, standing over by the stairs wearing a crisp suit and tie, his grey hair immaculately styled even when he was in his own home.

A closer look at him and I suddenly realized why he called. Rowan Drake was getting along in years, and it showed. Despite his kingly stance, his impeccable posture, and stiff gait as he climbed down the steps to shake my hand like I was some stranger, it was obvious he couldn’t keep up the charade for long. His breathing was a little labored, his bottom lip quivering a bit, and the white rims of his irises indicated his vision was going.

Nevertheless, I answered him with a lazy drawl, shutting off any and all pity I felt for him.

“The earlier I come here, the earlier we get this over with,” I said. His eyes lowered unhappily at my answer. I dismissed it with a shrug. If he thought it was going to be a touching reunion between us after all these years, then he’s got another thing coming.

“Let’s talk in my office,” he said, going down towards the parlor.

I was about to follow him in there when I heard the sound of someone stomping down the stairs behind me.

“Hunter!” I heard someone cry out my name, and I turned around and smiled as River came down in cleats and soccer gear. I chuckled as my youngest brother ambushed me with a hug, despite him almost reaching my chin. The way he was acting, you’d think he was younger than a 16-year-old.

“Hey, sport. Why so excited?” I said, chortling, and he pulled away from me.

“It’s been a while since I saw you. I guess I got a little excited,” he said, embarrassed. I raised my hand up and messed his hair like I was petting a huge Great Dane.

“A little?” I parroted, and he punched me on the shoulder.

“Logan told me you brought a pretty girl with you to his launching party. Is that true?” he asked.

That Logan, ever the gossiper. “Yeah, it’s true. Why do you ask?”

“Nothing. I’m just really happy for you. I’m glad you finally have someone to care for you,” he said, grinning.

“Thanks, kid,” I said. “Now, let me go. Your Grandfather is waiting.”

“He’s your grandfather, too,” River called and I rolled my eyes.

“Please sit down, Hunter,” he said, waving his hand over to the seats in front of his desk.

“No thanks. I’d rather stand,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

“Are you really going to act like this every time you’re around me?” he said, despondent. I merely looked at him with eyebrows cocked and he sighed. “I heard about you closing another deal this month, and about opening a branch in Melbourne. Congratulations. Well done,” he praised.

“I didn’t do it for you,” I said automatically.

“No, of course not. I just wanted to commend you. You’ve been doing great things for the company ever since you stepped up—,”

“Which is more than I can say for you at the time, if we’re going to be honest about it,” I added darkly, making him lower his head.

“Yes, that is true,” he sighed, closing his eyes tiredly. “Hunter, I know I failed to take care of you all, and I’ve regretted it since. I let the death of your mother, my daughter, affect me so much that I had forgotten she had left her four sons with me. I’m truly sorry I forced those responsibilities on you.”

“My time is near, Hunter. I can feel it in my bones that it won’t be long until I see Clara again. The Estate needs someone to hold it together. Your brothers need a stable foundation to hang on to. Logan, as brilliant as he is, is not yet ready to take the reins. They need you, son. You must lead them.”

I stared at him with fists clenched, my jaw taut, and my eyes steely. No. I couldn’t accept this at all. After all these years of waiting for him to grovel, to beg for mercy, to hear how sorry he is for leaving me to the wolves to fend for myself, he gives me this? A flimsy apology and an order to lift the burden on his shoulders?

“You bastard,” I hissed, my eyes burning with hatred. “You’re doing the exact same thing you did to me when my mother died.”

“Hunter, please,” he begged, his plea coming out in a choked whisper.

“Save your own company yourself. I’m through anchoring your ass so you could relax.”

I walked out of there brimming with rage, slamming the door behind me. I was so caught up with what happened that I didn’t notice Logan getting out of his car until he cornered me, blocking my way to my own.

“Brother, what’s the matter?” he asked, seeing the fury in my face immediately, he looked back at the house, quickly figuring out why I was so upset. “I know a place nearby. Let’s talk,” he said, not taking no for an answer.

I took one last look at the mansion before getting in, and watched it fade away in the distance as we sped away.