Groveling. Not my proudest moment, and something I’m not looking forward to at all. Carly set me straight, though, and Landon agrees. He’s off to his new job, and I’m taking an extended lunch to meet Hunter at Cardinal Cafe. Landon loves that place, and he suggested it for a quiet location for me and Hunter to talk.

When I texted Hunter asking if he’d meet me, he didn’t reply for a few hours. I thought I lost my chance to apologize. Even though he’s agreed to meet me, I suppose it’s possible he may not forgive me, and I’ll have lost him forever.

I finally realize I don’t want that. I want my brother in my life. And my mom. And maybe even my dad.

Landon said to sit at table seven, his favorite, and Marnie will more than likely be our waitress. Every time he comes here, she’s his server, except for the few times she’s been off. I do as Landon recommends, and Marnie is, in fact, our waitress.

I arrive first, which puts me a little on edge. There is a small possibility he won’t even show up. If that doesn’t send a message, I don’t know what will. If he stands me up, I’ll never forgive him. Yet, it will all be my fault. Crazy how that works out.

At five after twelve Hunter steps through the door. He looks around the room for me so I raise my hand to grab his attention. He offers a nod and joins me.

“Sorry. I know I’m a few minutes late. I had a job interview this morning.” He pulls his jacket off and rests it on the back of the chair before he sits. Dressed in nice slacks and a button-down shirt, this is a side of Hunter I haven’t seen, and one I never expected.

People can surprise you.

“A job interview? Where?”

“W & F Machining. A welding position. Not my ideal job, but the pay is well above minimum wage, benefits are good, and they’re willing to look past my record.”

I can’t decide if he emphasized “they’re” or not. I don’t think he did, but considering the circumstances, it seems likely. That’s fair. Avoiding an argument, I don’t ask about it, moving our conversation forward.

“That’s wonderful. When do you hear back?”

“In a few days, I hope. I think it went well. Who knows? Maybe I’ll get the job, enjoy it, and stick with it. A new career, I guess.”

He didn’t have much of a career before. Hunter always worked odd jobs, whether he mowed lawns, helped people move, or painted houses. He found work. When that wasn’t enough to make ends meet, I guess that’s when he began stealing from Mom.

“Have you thought about going back to school?”

Marnie comes to the table before he can answer and takes our order. Even though I can eat a big lunch, I forget how big of an appetite Hunter has until he orders an appetizer, main course, and his dessert all at once. When we were in our twenties, we went to a restaurant featured on Man V Food Nation and he downed a burger the size of Texas and still had room for ice cream after.

“I’ve taken a few courses,” Hunter tells me as soon as Marnie leaves the table. “While I was locked up, I started. I’m not sure if I’ll finish. I don’t think it’s for me.”

“How can school not be for you?”

“Because it’s not. School never came easy for me like it did for you. I squeaked by in high school. My 2.0 average isn’t exactly appealing to most colleges.”

“Community college.”

“No. I’ll put myself in the workforce and start saving money.”

“I think you should try college. Apply to a few places. See what happens.”

“And I think you should let me live my life, and I’ll let you live yours.”

Wow. I didn’t expect a reaction like this. I’m not trying to be pushy. I only want to help. Can I blame him though? I haven’t even said I’m sorry for the accusations I made.

“Hunter, look, I didn’t ask you here to force you into college. In fact, I wasn’t even thinking about college.”

“That makes two of us.”

I sigh inside, not wanting to give him any reason to be upset. Eating my words is hard for me, and I hate to tell him he’s right to be mad at me. “The other day at mom’s house, I was wrong.”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you?”

“Yes, thank you for saying that.”

This seems too easy. “You’re not going to say you told me so or fight with me over the reasons I was wrong to react like I did?”

His eyes meet mine, and I can see how tired he is, how those years away from us took life away from him. “No. I’m not. What’s the point, Juliette? The only thing I have to prove is that I’m no longer the person I was when I walked into that prison. And even then, I don’t think I need to prove it to you. Do I want you to believe me so we can move on from this? Yes. I’m not about to devote all my time and attention to it, though. Mom has moved on. I only hope you can, too.”

I say nothing at first, only stare back at him, allowing the small speech he gave to sink in. He’s not seeking approval from me. He never was. The only person who he needed to forgive him did. That’s enough for him. That should be enough for me.

“I can, Hunter. Please understand that I’ll be cautious. I can’t pick up where we left off, as wonderful as that sounds. You’ve served your time, and it seems you’ve come out of it a changed man. And over the past month, I’ve changed, too.”

“All these changes will take getting used to, I suppose.”

“Yeah. That’s it, really. We don’t want to change too much too fast.” Marnie brings us our meals, and Hunter wastes no time biting into his sandwich. “Man, I’ve been home eleven days now but every time I bite into something like this it still feels like the first time. If I missed anything, I missed great food.”

“What am I, chopped liver?”

“You’re cliche as hell,” he says as a piece of lettuce flies out of his mouth and onto the plate. “And until about two minutes ago, yes, you were chopped liver.”

I glare at him, and he laughs, and then I do, too, because he’s right. And I think, while a few days late, Santa may have given me my brother back.