leaned down and kissed her, and there was still plenty of chemistry in that touch. His feelings for her still vibrated through his whole body, and he still didn’t want to ever kiss anyone but her.
He wanted to wake up next to her and call her with any news, good or bad. He wanted to hold her while they drifted to sleep, and he wanted to come home to her good cooking every single night.
He broke the kiss when he realized how 1950s his thoughts sounded. “See you this afternoon?” he asked, touching the tip of his nose to her cheek and sliding it down. “At the farm?”
“Yes,” she said, but she didn’t move to release him.
He finally stepped away from her, took a few steps backward, and waved before turning to leave her classroom. He hoped he wasn’t walking away when he should’ve stayed. His stomach churned, because he hated leaving things as unsettled as they felt with Molly.
He reminded himself that she’d opened up to him about her marriage, and he’d told her about his mom. “A little bit,” he said. “Not everything.”
Outside, the hot sun beat down on the black asphalt, and Hunter shelved his concerns about Molly for now. He and Uncle Wes had some digging to do, and if there was something Hunter liked more than science experiments, it was hunting for information.
“Ready?” Uncle Wes asked as Hunter climbed into the truck.
“Yep. Let’s hit it.”
“Good,” Uncle Wes said. “Because after I finished talking to Bree, I made a pretty interesting call to Jillian. We’re meeting her for lunch.” He grinned at Hunter. “First, though, we need to make a stop.”
“Where?” Hunter asked as Wes backed out of the parking stall.
“You’ll see.”
A gate guarded the house where Jason Hammond lived. Tall, black spires reached at least eight feet into the air, as if he’d had a lot of teenagers trying to climb the fence and break into the stone mansion behind it.
Uncle Wes stopped next to the intercom and pressed the button. No one answered. He tried again, and then a third time. Finally, someone said, “Who is it?”
“Wesley Hammond,” Wes said. “I need to speak to Jason.”
The gate started to rumble open, and Uncle Wes looked at Hunter. “Here we go.” He drove through the gate and down a legit cobblestone path. The house sat just on the outskirts of downtown, in a neighborhood that was a couple of hundred years old. Maybe as old as the entire Denver area.
Bright green bushes lined the road, with plenty of flowers that looked like they’d just been planted. Towering cottonwoods lined the path, and the whole place felt like an oasis right there in the middle of the city.
If Hunter could live in a place like this, he might not dislike living in the city. He’d thought about putting a potted plant in his condo, but he could barely remember to turn off the lights before he went to work. No way he could remember to water a plant.
Wes pulled up to a wide set of steps and put the truck in park. They both looked up at the huge mansion before getting out of the vehicle. Neither of them spoke as they went up the steps, and the front door opened before they could knock or ring a bell.
A man stood there, and if the slope of his nose and the deep, midnight color of his eyes was any indication, he was a Hammond.
He stood just as tall as Hunter, and though he didn’t wear jeans or cowboy boots, if he had, he probably could’ve passed for his older brother.
“Wes,” he said in a pleasant voice, with a smile on his face. “What are you doin’ here?” He took a few steps in his bare feet and embraced Wes. The two of them chuckled, and when Wes stepped back, he faced Hunter too.
“This is my nephew, Hunter,” he said. “Hunt, my cousin, Jason.”
“Nice to meet you, sir,” Hunter said, extending his hand for Jason to shake.
His eyebrows went up, and he glanced at Wes as she shook Hunter’s hand. “Sir? I like this one.”
“He’s quite respectful,” Wes said with a grin. “He’s twenty-five, and our dear cousin Laura wants him to be the new CEO at HMC.”
Hunter watched the surprise roll across Jason’s face. He wore a loose pair of white pants and what looked like a blue tunic. Everything was light and airy, and without shoes, he looked like he’d just finished a meditation session.
“Come