“Look, I love my brother more than anything, but he would have screwed things up with you if you had gotten together at a younger age. AJ had a rough transition into adulthood. I mean, the guy has been through two failed marriages.” I know Tori wasn’t his fault, but I don’t know much about Alexa—his first wife. I’m guessing there’s a good reason for that too. “He had to learn the hard way. A lot of us have to learn the hard way. But when you learn things through error, you figure out what is important and what you absolutely need in your life, and that has always been you. He won’t screw things up with you, I can promise you that.”
“You don’t have to promise me,” I tell him. He may not have the chance to screw things up with me. “Hunter, I’m scared I won’t get to tell him all the things I should have told him.”
“I already told you, he has no choice. He’s coming—”
His doctor is walking through a set of metal doors, and my heart falls into the pit of my stomach. Hunter and I stand up first, walking toward him, feeling AJ’s parents on our heels. “Is he okay?” I ask, my words hardly understandable.
“He did great,” the doctor said. “I gotta say. That’s one tough guy you got there. To stay awake during that kind of procedure is not an easy thing to do.”
“Is he out of danger now?” Hunter asks.
“We did a thorough check for any further trouble areas, and it looks like we have everything cauterized. Thankfully, there appears to be no permanent damage, so once we get him back on his feet, I’m confident he’ll make a full recovery.”
I place my hand over my heart, feeling it pound against the inside of my chest. Hunter puts his arm around me and he squeezes, putting more weight on me than I think he realizes. He has his hand over his eyes and his body is shuddering against my side. I take Gavin from his arms, and AJ’s parents pull Hunter in, both hugging him.
I hold my gaze on the doctor, feeling the heaviness in my chest lighten up. “Thank you, Doctor.”
“He’s lucky,” he tells me. “He’s going to need to take it easy for a while, but other than some light physical therapy, we’re going to be in good shape.”
“Okay,” I tell him.
The doctor places his hand on my shoulder and offers a gentle smile. “Please don’t hesitate to call me with any questions,” he says, handing me his card.
“When can we see him?” I ask.
“A nurse will come out to get you when he’s settled in recovery,” he says.
The doctor retreats back through the metal doors, leaving us all staring at his disappearing shadow. At the same moment, the sun pours into the waiting room, which seems symbolic for the occasion.
I turn to Hunter and AJ’s parents. “I’m not sure how much AJ has told you, but Ever and I are moving back to Connecticut. I think AJ and I are going to move in together and take things slowly from there.”
AJ’s mom reaches out for me, removing one arm from around Hunter. “I can’t tell you how happy this makes me,” she says.
“I think it’s going to be a great thing,” I reply.
“You know,” AJ’s dad says. “I’ve got this buddy in real estate and he was just telling me about this house that went up for sale last week. It needs a little work, but that obviously won’t be an issue with the three of us carpenters.” AJ’s dad is beaming with the thought. “Oddly enough, AJ and Hunter were supposed to start work on it this week for the realtor.”
“Are there lots of trees in the back yard?” I ask, appeasing the little dream we’ve had, the one I soothed AJ with before his surgery—one we used to talk about all of the time when we were young.
“Uh, I’m not too sure about that but I know there are at least a few large oaks back there. Did you want a clear yard?”
“No,” I tell him. “Not at all.”
“I think you’ll really like it. You know, AJ sold his house in less than a week last month, so I think you should act quickly on this. You two can discuss it when he’s up for it, and I can help you with what needs to happen.”
I had no idea AJ sold his house. He didn’t mention it. “Where has he been living?”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you two hadn’t talked about it,” AJ’s dad says.
“He and Gavin were staying with me. We’ve been giving him a hand with Gavin,” Hunter says. “He didn’t want to tell you until he figured out his next move. He was waiting on the hearing; I know that much.”
“Wow,” I say through a heavy breath. “We talked almost every day.”
“He didn’t want to add stress to your plate,” Hunter says. “Don’t blame him for that. I can tell you it was all out of love, Cameron.”
“I would never question that,” I tell him, feeling more relief set in.
“Looks like all of your pieces are falling into place,” his Mom says.
It takes a little over an hour before a nurse comes back to get us. Gavin is wound up and going through his hyper hour of the day so we’re taking turns visiting with AJ. I insist that Hunter and his parents go in first this time. “Mom, are we really moving back to Connecticut?” Ever asks.
“Yes, is that okay with you?” I ask her.
“Yeah,” she smiles. “What about school?”