Take A Walk (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 5 of The Hardships Saga)

Chapter Eight

❝parent (pronounced ˈpɛːr(ə)nt or pair-uh nt), noun
a person's mother or father (not necessarily biologically).❞

Hunter was with Cassie again. They were sitting in the living room together, and he smiled at her gently. "What else?" she asked. "What else about Lilly?"

"She was beautiful, no doubt about it." He smiled. "She was smart, and she was brave."

Yet Ryan is better, and you damn well know that.

He shook his head minutely, and smiled at her. "She did everything she could to make me happy. But she had one of the shortest tempers I ever experienced."

Cassie laughed. "I think I learned to get my temper under control. Still super emotional though."

"I can imagine." Hunter checked his watch, then said, "Hey, it's about time you get home."

"Oh crap, four o'clock," she said. She hugged him, and said, "'Til next time, then!"

"Bye, Cass," said Hunter, kissing the top of her head. "I'll see you soon, alright?"

"Okay. Bye, Pa!" She hugged him again, and left.

Hunter stared after her, before sighing, standing and stretching. He felt bad about snapping at Ryan earlier, and he wanted to make up for it.

Well, if he took Red with him, Spencer was at school with Robin and Phoenix, Elle was okay by herself, since she was sleeping- surely he could make a short trip to buy Ryan some flowers?

Four o'clock. The kids would be home from school soon. But he'd make it back in time, surely. It only took a little while to get to the florist and back, and he knew what flowers she liked. No, this was a good idea.

"Ellie, I'm gonna go for just a few minutes, Red will be with me, alright?" he called upstairs, grabbing his jacket in one hand and his baby in the other. She kissed his cheek and he chuckled, holding her tighter and locking the door. Elle must have been asleep. He buckled Red into her car seat and texted Elle quickly, making sure she knew where he was when he got back, and started the car. "Let's go!" he said, and Red smiled widely. She shook her toy, and Hunter chuckled, turning on the radio.

He went into the florist's shop, Red in his arms, and he smiled at the florist behind the counter. "Hi! I'd like to grab some flowers for my wife."

"Your wife, huh? What'd you do wrong?" asked the florist with a laugh.

He sighed. "Oh, you know, the usual."

The florist chuckled, then pulled out a book from under the counter, opening to a page. "These are purple hyacinths," said the man, and Hunter began sniffling- he'd always had bad hayfever. "They're good for asking for forgiveness and love."

"Good," he said. "I'll take a bunch. How much?"

"Fifty dollars," said the florist easily, and Hunter's eyes widened. It was far too late now, though. He pulled out his wallet, and took out a fifty dollar bill, handing it over, while the florist wrapped the flowers in white paper. "Thank you very much!" he said cheerfully, and Hunter left, thinking about how stupidly duped he had just been. Ryan didn't give a damn what the flowers meant. She just liked flowers.

He put the cars in the back seat with Red, and she touched the petals with fascination. He kissed the top of her head, before beginning the drive home.

What he didn't anticipate was the excess traffic.

"Are you kidding me?" he muttered under his breath, going to grab his phone and swearing under his breath. There had been a car crash on the highway, and somehow the traffic had reached all the way down to the little streets near their house. And now he had forgotten his phone.