Page 58 of Sunrises & Salvation

ADAM

W hen Hunter and I were together the first time, he sent me pictures of sunrises all the time. Now, I get cat pictures. And if he’s not sending me current ones, he’s sending me old ones to emphasize how cute they are.

He’s been adorable and amazing through the whole process.

Setting up everything they could possibly need, and more.

The vet came to check on all of them and gave them a clean bill of health.

When the kittens are fully weaned, we’re taking her back to get spayed so we don’t have any more kittens running around Hunter’s house.

We’ve been falling asleep together in his bed every night after checking on the babies, and we take turns checking on them throughout the night.

Trent thought I was crazy, but all it took was a quirk of my eyebrow to have him admit that if Kian had come to him with the same request, he would have done it.

I’m staring at the phone in my hand with a selfie of Hunter, lying on his back on the carpet in his living room. There’s one kitten lying across his neck, and the other two are lying with their mom close to his head. His smile is wide, the scar on his top lip stretching.

Cheryl and Daniel are helping us take care of them when we both have to work, bottle feeding them and making sure the momma has food and water. But seeing Hunter’s smile is enough to make the short hours of sleep worth it.

The final step of the project for my house was done today, the message from my contractor sitting unopened in my inbox. My plans are finally coming to fruition, and I can’t wait for Hunter to see it; every aspect of it has come from his mind, he just doesn’t know it yet.

My phone rings with an incoming FaceTime call.

Hunter’s face fills the screen, and the sunlight behind him streams in an array of colors, casting a halo around his head.

My own perfect cherub. His cheekbones and jawline might be more defined now than they were in college, but he’ll always be that rosy-cheeked guy that caught my eye on move-in day.

“Hey, Love,” he says quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping kitten on him. The nickname causes a shiver to run down my spine.

“Hey, yourself.”

“My mom is coming over later to see the kittens. Do you want to do a late lunch?” I nod quickly, agreeing wholeheartedly.

“Yeah, let’s do that. I’ll pick you up.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know when she gets here.”

The rest of our call, Hunter fills me in on all the things the kittens and momma cat have been doing since I left the house this morning.

Hunter didn’t go to work, so I’m sitting in the bookstore taking care of it while he’s at home.

He hired a new employee, a young girl named Shay.

She’s cute as a button, but the horror books she seems to enjoy have me questioning how cute and innocent she can be.

Not because they’re bad books or a bad genre, but they would give me nightmares. Not her, though.

I’ll stick to romance, especially with the audiobooks Hunter and I have been listening to.

Some of them are the best form of foreplay.

The one Hunter picked is one of his favorites, but he can’t be trusted with that phrase because every book is his favorite.

He has admitted to hyperfixating a time or two, and that’s perfectly fine with me.

I love listening to him talk about his favorite books.

Shay shows up for her afternoon shift, carrying her tote bag filled with snacks and a book to keep her entertained. Hunter told her he doesn’t mind if she reads or works on something during her shift as long as she greets customers as they walk in and asks if they need help.

“Hi, Adam,” she says, setting her bag on the desk in the nook behind the cash register.

“Hi, Shay. Ready for school to start back up?” She starts her senior year next week, and she confided in me that she was nervous to start at a new school. Shay’s dad is in the military, and she has to go through the routine of being a new kid every year.

“Do you think I’m ready?” she snarks, rolling her eyes and cocking her head to the side. A typical teenage attitude.

“I think you’re going to do great, and if you have problems, you’re going to tell me.” I like Shay, and I’ve taken her under my wing. Her dad is a single parent, so he has a lot on his plate, and the way she talks, it seems like she falls to the wayside sometimes.

“Of course I am, who else do I know that can afford to throw money at problems?” I flick my wrist up, looking at the imaginary watch on it.

“That’s my cue to go. If you need anything, call us,” I say, standing up and grabbing my phone and keys from the table and pocketing them both.

“I think I can handle it,” she says, taking up my seat and propping her bag of pretzels onto the counter by the register and opening her book.

I double-check everything before I walk out, straightening Hunter’s shelf of the newest special edition covers he’s created.

Tyler, his protégé, helped him with these, and they’ve been a big hit.

They sold out of the first batch of copies in under ten minutes.

There’s a small display of handmade bookmarks as well.

A smile stretches tight across my mouth, my cheeks straining under the pressure. I’m constantly in awe of my boyfriend.

Hunter texts me as soon as I get into my car that his mom is there, so I quickly back out of my parking spot and cruise to his house.

I pull into his driveway, parking behind his mom and walking in the front door. I can hear their muffled conversation, and when I turn the corner to the living room, I see Hunter rubbing the head of a kitten that Cheryl has tucked into the crook of her arm.

Hunter lifts his head and catches my eyes. He pets the kitten one last time and hugs his mom with one arm.

When he stops in front of me, he tips his head up.

His brown eyes, lined with dark eyelashes, are staring up at me.

I want to count each eyelash while he stares at me, taking in every detail.

Maybe I’ll do it one night while he sleeps.

He wraps his arms around my midsection and nuzzles his nose into my chest.

“Hi,” he says shyly, pulling his head back and biting on his bottom lip until the small dimple in his cheek makes itself known.

“Hi, Collins.” I lean in and kiss the crown of his head, letting the smell of him wash over me.

“Ready?” I ask, stepping back, and he nods.

I lead him to the car, opening the passenger door for him and making sure he’s in before I shut the door and round the car.

Hunter is queuing up our audiobook even though it’s a short drive to our destination, but he’ll take any opportunity he can to listen to it.

I put my hand on his upper leg as I drive us out of his neighborhood and to my house. He creases his eyebrows, trying to catch my eye, but I ignore his looks. I’m not going to ruin the surprise before he even realizes what’s happening.

“Where are we going?” he finally asks, pausing the audiobook when we pass the road that leads us downtown toward the diner where he loves to eat.

“To eat lunch,” I remark simply, trying to hide my knowing smirk.

He harrumphs and sits back in his seat, crossing his arms and looking out the window and watching our surroundings.

When we pull in front of my house, I put my car in park and turn toward him, grabbing both of his hands in mine.

“Look at me,” I tell him, and he turns his head toward me. “I love you more than anything. You are my world, and the reason my earth spins on its axis.” Hunter’s eyes widen.

“You always say stuff like this, and it stresses me out. I hope you know that.”

I chuckle, leaning across the console and kissing him.

“I’m sorry, I’m not the best with words, but I know how much you love them, so I try to be good at it, for you,” I say, honestly. “Wait for me, I’m going to come around and open your door, but I have a surprise inside for you.”

“Is this your house?” he gasps, finally paying attention to the house in front of us.

The whitewashed-brick, two-story house sits on ten acres of land right outside of town, with a black wrought iron fence blocking the yard from others.

A wraparound porch has a porch swing and individual chairs on it.

I figured we would need space to sit when we invite our friends and family over. He has yet to see the biggest surprise.

“Yes.” Technically it’s both of ours because I also put his name on the deed when I bought it, but he doesn’t need to know that yet.

I don’t want him to feel like he has to give up his house to move into this one.

Fuck, if he ends up hating this house I’ll sell it and we can move into his.

Or another one. I don’t care where we end up as long as we’re together.

I get out and open his door. We walk hand in hand to the front door and my heart is pounding in my chest. I push the door open, and the fresh scent of lemon greets us.

Hunter’s mouth is agape while he stares at the open floor plan.

The hardwood glints with the sunlight streaming in through the wide bay windows are above the reading nook that I had custom-designed for him.

The plush cushions are propped against the edges of the seat, neutral colors to help create a calm environment for him to enjoy when he needs to unwind.

“Wow.” He gapes at me. He quickly shucks off his shoes and places them on the rack beside the front door.

I watch him walk around, taking in the clean space.

The walls are filled with abstract art intermixed with pictures of us.

I told the decorator I wanted minimalistic but also meaningful, and they delivered.

“Come on.” The real surprise I want to show him is upstairs. “Close your eyes.” He looks at me hesitantly and I cock my eyebrow.

“You don’t trust me to not let you fall?”