Page 28 of Crossed Wires: The Complete Series

“Listen, before you say anything,” he began, “I know I fucked up.”

Hazel frowned. “Fucked up how?”

“Annie is here to meet Dylan. She’shisgirl.”

Hazel scoffed. “Oh, Hunter. I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. Dylan wrote a few emails to her and they became friends. That doesn’t make her ‘his’.”

“But it was an online dating site and they were obviously interested. They both took off halfway around the world to meet each other.”

Hazel crossed her arms. “And who’s to say if Dylan had been here, they wouldn’t have taken one look at each other and realized it was a mistake?”

“There’s no way Dylan won’t fall for Annie. She’s smart, funny, easy to talk to, sexy.”

His mum’s smile grew. “Is that right? Well then, by all means, back off until Dylan gets here. Finders keepers and all that jazz.”

Hunter recognized his mother’s tone. It was one he’d inherited. It was pure, one-hundred-percent sarcasm. “You’re pulling my leg, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am.”

Hunter walked behind his desk and sank into the chair. “So what are you saying? Screw Dylan and go after Annie?”

“Not in so many words. Dylan’s in New York. He didn’t think twice about heading out of Farpoint to find his destiny, an adventure, maybe even love, and if this doesn’t work out for him, I know he’ll try again. Because that’s Dylan. He’s not afraid to seize the day.”

Hunter leaned back and studied his mother’s face. “Why do I get the feeling I’m going to come out of this conversation looking like a loser?”

Hazel snorted. “Not a loser. Just different. You’re so much like your father, Hunter. This property is your life. You’re completely committed to your family and to seeing our livelihood succeed. As a result, you won’t walk away from your responsibilities here.”

“So instead I have to rely on you to fly in prospective brides?”

Hazel rolled her eyes. “I only did that once.”

Hunter scoffed. “Six times, mum. You brought six women here.”

“I’m your mother. I want you to be happy.”

Hunter stood. “I am.”

“Are you?”

Her question, spoken quietly, struck a chord.Washe happy? Since his father’s death, Hunter had moved in a straight line, never straying from the path because his family depended on him to run the business, keep them afloat financially. It was a big job, one that didn’t fit between the hours of nine to five. His career was so interwoven with his life, there wasn’t a line where one ended and the other began. Was there a woman in the world who could accept that? Live with that?

A knock at the door saved him from answering.

“Come in,” he said.

Keith Munroe, one of the station’s best hands, peered around the door. “Bernie’s wife went into labor this morning, so the hands are hanging around out there waiting for somebody to give them their list of duties today. Dylan picked a hell of a time to saunter off to America. Any idea when he’ll be back?”

Hunter shook his head. Keith had grown up on Farpoint and was close in age to him and Dylan. They’d been best mates as boys and that friendship had never wavered through the years. Though he worked on the station as a jackaroo, Keith wasn’t an employee as much as a member of the family.

“Shit.” Hunter had known the station foreman’s wife was due any day. Figured it would be today, when his mind was on anything but work. “Tell the guys I’ll be right there,” Hunter replied.

Keith tipped his hat and closed the door. Hunter pointedly tried to ignore the surprise on Hazel’s face. When she didn’t break the silence, he snapped, “Idoknow what needs to be done around here.”

“I didn’t say you didn’t. It’s just been awhile since you’ve been out there getting your hands dirty. I’m enjoying seeing the jackaroo side of you again.”

He shrugged. When Annie told Hazel about her magazine articles, his mother had barely restrained her laughter. Hunter wasn’t the stockman Dylan was, but Annie still insisted on shadowing him. He hadn’t told Annie the truth about his role on the station originally because he hadn’t wanted her to choose someone else to interview. He’d grown up on Farpoint, he and Dylan doing the same chores when they were boys. He was perfectly versed in what it meant to ride herd, raise stock, muster cattle and do head checks. However, with the passing of his father, Hunter had moved away from the life of a jackaroo, opting instead for the desk job.

“I better get out there.”