Page 3 of Meet Me at Sunset Cove (Jonathon Island #5)

“You know, the whole cops and donuts thing is a common misconception,” Waylen said, threading his hands behind his head as he leaned back again. “I’m more of a Danish guy myself.”

Hunter shot him a teasing glare over his shoulder. “How about you become an electrician guy, or I’m gonna start charging your full half of the rent?”

“Yeah yeah…”

Hunter cracked a smile, rolling his eyes.

Giving up on a nutritious breakfast, he snatched a bagel from the top of the fridge and popped it in the toaster.

“Speaking of appointments,” Hunter said, leaning back against the counter. “You said you’d help out at the Riverfront project tomorrow. Dad really can’t afford any delays, so don’t forget.”

Waylen appeared completely taken aback by the reminder. “What makes you think I’d forgotten?”

The bagels popped out of the toaster and Hunter spun to retrieve them, butter knife in hand. “Because one of the sticky notes you use to keep appointments ended up on the bottom of my shoe last night.”

Waylen shrugged. “So?”

“That, and you forgot to show up to the last two projects you agreed to help out with.” He finished slathering the bagel with butter, wrapped it in a napkin, and stuffed it into the pocket of his jacket.

“I mean it, I don’t want the demo team giving me any dirty looks by association when you forget again. ”

Waylen waved him off with a sheepish grin. “Thanks, Mom .”

“You joke, but maybe if you had a mom around, you’d know better than to put your feet up on my handcrafted hardwood table.” He pushed his feet aside again and picked up a stack of papers from the table, sliding them into his backpack. “You need anything from the mainland today?”

“I’ll survive,” Waylen replied, finishing his last bite of waffle.

Hunter gave a nod and checked his watch. Right on time. He’d have exactly forty minutes to catch the 10:15 ferry.

* * *

Hunter soaked in the morning light as he stepped out of Good Day Coffee with a warm cup of joe steaming into the air.

Overhead, the sound of seagulls mixed with the lapping of water on the shore, and across the street, Jack, the town dog, was getting some morning affection from Dani Sullivan.

She rose, giving him a wave as she stepped into the Tourism Bureau.

It was another beautiful day on the island.

Hunter made his way down Main Street, his eyes gazing over the wild blue of the water.

The wind flicked at his hair as he rounded the corner at the end of the street and hurried up the hill.

His boots creaked over the wooden ramp, leading up to the old post office building.

The small, cream-colored house sat nestled on the corner with lilac trees, now past bloom, framing the walkway.

A bell rang out as Hunter stepped inside.

“Morning, Hunter!”

“Morning, Roger,” Hunter replied, waving at the white-haired man behind the counter.

“Some exciting mail today!” the older man said, leaning over the desk to watch as Hunter opened his PO box.

“I keep trying to tell you, Rog.” Hunter slid the contents out of the small metal box and closed it back up. “You’re not supposed to look at people’s mail while you’re sorting it.”

Roger scoffed. “First of all, I’m too old to waste away of boredom. Second, it just jumped out at me.”

Hunter frowned. “What did?”

“See for yourself.” He rapped a knuckle against the counter and wandered back into the office.

Hunter sorted through the pile, not sure what he was looking for.

And then he did.

His address was written in gold cursive, with a floral stamp in the corner. A wax seal weighed it down, but that was nothing compared to the weight of the sender’s address.

Hunter’s heart jumped into his throat as he opened the envelope and pulled out the thick cardstock.

Lisa Sherman

And

Carlisle Hansen

Joyfully Invite You

To Celebrate Their Wedding

Saturday, December 7th,

Four o’clock in the Afternoon

The Teachout Building

Chicago, Illinois

Hunter dragged a hand through his hair and flipped the card over, half expecting some sort of handwritten note with something like I know I abandoned you and your brothers, but I’m sooooo much happier. Please bring gifts.

He was going to throw up.

His phone rang, pulling his attention away from the invitation long enough to catch his oldest brother’s name flashing across the screen.

“She’s out of her mind if she thinks I’m going to her wedding,” Hunter growled into the phone.

“Wow, and good morning to you too,” Miles said on the other end.

“It was.” Hunter stuffed the mail into his backpack, unable to summon the energy to look at the rest. With his luck, the rest were probably all consecutive jury summons or IRS audit notices. “Until I checked the mail.”

Hunter pushed back through the door, sucking in a breath of cold air as he started back down the hill.

Miles paused. “I think you’re being a little hard on her, Hunt. She’s still our mom.”

Hunter couldn’t help the eye roll. Miles had always been too forgiving for his own good. Together, his brothers could cause a real mess. Evan and Jude found the strays. Miles and Waylen kept them. And Hunter cleaned up the pieces when it was all said and done. Mom was no exception.

He rounded the corner, the docks coming into view. Across the boardwalk, commuters and a nearly non-existent handful of tourists were gathering for the 10:15 ferry. He crossed the street to join them.

Hunter stopped at the docks, out of earshot from the crowd gathering below. “Listen Miles, you can go if you want, but you can count me out.”

His brother’s silence spoke volumes. “Okay.”

Hunter pushed out a breath, trying to force the tension out of the conversation. “How are things out there? Gone on any fancy hippie retreats lately?”

“Oh ha ha. I go on one nature retreat and suddenly I’m a hippie.”

“Your words, not mine!” Hunter chuckled, relaxing just slightly.

“For your information, the adventure tours are going well. I led a kayak group out this morning for the sunrise.”

“Brave kayakers. It’s freezing on Lake Michigan.”

Miles barked a laugh of agreement. “You should come out here sometime.”

Hunter made a face despite knowing his brother couldn’t see it. “Eh, I think I’m still a little jaded toward the Windy City.”

“Still hung up on that stupid contest?” his brother teased. “You know, it’s not the city’s fault.”

“Even so, I’d prefer not to relive my greatest embarrassment every time I come to visit you. You’ll have to come to us. Dad’s been perfecting his smoked ribs for just such an occasion.”

“How is Dad?”

Hunter turned, leaning his elbows on the edge of the boardwalk railing, switching the coffee to the hand that had grown cold. “You know Dad. He works too hard. I wish he’d take a break.”

“Sounds like someone else I know,” Miles poked.

Below, Mia Franklin caught his eye from the dock and gave him a wave, gesturing for him to come down and talk to her. “Hey, Miles, I wish I could catch up more, but it looks like Mia needs to talk to me.”

“No problem, let’s talk later.”

“Sure thing.” He hung up and strode down the dock as Mia made her way to meet him, two kids in tow. It was still hard to see an old friend, now a widow, managing on her own. Then again, she wasn’t on her own anymore. She and Cody Hart were getting pretty serious from the sound of it.

“Hey, Mia, what’s up?”

“Sorry to cut your call short. Was it important?”

“Nothing to worry about.” Hunter shrugged. “What’s going on?”

She released her son’s hand to brush a strand of dark hair behind her ear, and he dropped into a crouch, stalking the seagull a few feet behind them. “I was hoping you might ask your dad to give me a call. I couldn’t get through to him just now, but I have someone who’s interested in the house.”

Hunter frowned. “Interested?”

“Finn, honey, leave the bird alone.” Mia waved her son closer and turned her gaze back to Hunter. “Yeah, some designer. I told her where to find the house so she could take a look. But I think she’s looking to buy immediately, so I really need Joe to call me back.”

The pre-recorded announcement interrupted over the speakers. “On behalf of everyone at Jonathon Island, we’d like to thank you for coming to the island…”

Mia began ushering the children onto the ferry. “Come on, kids, time to go.” When Hunter made no move to follow, she paused, turning back toward him. “You’re not coming?”

“My first meeting’s not until two o’clock. I’ll catch the next one.”

The ferry pulled away and Hunter turned toward home.

No way he was letting someone take his house.