“Oh God!” He shook his head. “Mom?”
“Mom’s happiest when she feels needed. She’d love for you to need her for anything, Hunter. I swear, just ask and you’ll see. She’ll keep Sara company and take care of her, so you’ll have more time to focus on work.” Colby savored a greasy onion ring. Heaven.
“Maybe you’re right. Sara likes Mom, and I’m going to need to stick closer to the office in order to fend off Jenna’s attempt to sell my birthright.”
Colby thought about the situation with Gentry and about her dad’s age and health. “I’m not defending Jenna, but do you think she might want to sell because she wants Dad to slow down? He hasn’t looked so good lately. Have you noticed? Perspiration, exhaustion, and his knees have been bothering him.”
“He’s never said anything to me.” Hunter shrugged, although a hint of concern edged his features. Like a typical guy faced with the idea of a nonemergency medical issue, he then waved his hand dismissively. “I’m sure he’s fine.”
“Men.” Mark had never followed doctors’ orders. Of course, her father was nothing like Mark. “Would you like me to talk to Dad about this sale?”
“I’m not above offering you anything you want if you can convince him to ignore Jenna.” He smiled, and she knew he was mostly teasing. “Let’s change the subject so I don’t get heartburn. So . . . Alec. When we were young, I thought you might end up with Joe. Then you brought Mark home. But Alec? Never saw that coming. Of course, he’s the best of the lot.”
Not to mention the only one alive. That fact made her a little heartsick.
“Guess I had to grow up before I could appreciate him.” She set her chin on her fist, thinking about the fresh tulips he left on her desk each Wednesday. “I wish his father weren’t so bitter, though.”
She’d been letting herself daydream a little about what her future could look like with Alec, but his father could come between them. So could the business matters they didn’t agree upon and his inability to fully control that temper. She wouldn’t rush into any relationship again like she’d done before, so she kept her daydreams to herself.
“Frank Morgan has always been hard on him. For a while I thought Alec had stopped caring about that. But since Joe died, he seems determined to forge some relationship with his dad.”
Colby didn’t mention Alec and Joe’s fight or Alec’s guilty conscience. “When you lose someone close, you want to hold on extra tight to anyone who’s left. I get why Alec wants to fix his broken family. I only wish I could help.”
He reached across the table and tugged at her hair. “You’re always the cement that binds people. Eventually, you’ll find a way to help. That much I know.”
“That’s the nicest thing you’ve said to me in ages.” She smiled and stole the last onion ring from his plate.
“I’ll try to sneak in another compliment before Christmas.” He smirked, looking much more at ease than when he arrived. “I’d better get back to the office. Let me know if I can do anything for this fund-raiser. I’ve got a lot of people who owe me favors, so we can lean on them for donations.”
“Send me the list!”
Hunter threw down forty bucks. “Lunch is on me. Thanks for listening and for the advice. I’ll talk to Sara about having Mom help, and I’ll think about how to reach out to Gentry.”
She mockingly placed a hand on her chest. “See, deep down beneath that cold, all-business exterior, you have a good heart.”
“Don’t tell a soul!” He winked and walked out the door.
“Why are you waking me at this ungodly hour?” Alec murmured when Colby tried waking him for the third time. “It’s Monday, our sleep-in day.”
“I have a surprise.” She kissed his shoulder. He was half-tempted to pull her into bed again, but exhaustion won out.
“It’s five thirty,” he griped, eyes still closed, defiantly not a morning person.
“Hurry.” She drew back the blankets, showing no mercy. “We’ve got to be there by six thirty.”
“Be where?” One eye popped open.
“Get up if you want to find out. Throw on some layers because it may be chilly.”
“I need a shower.” He propped up on his elbows, moving at the speed of molasses.
“No time.” She grabbed his wrist and tugged. “Let’s go, sleepyhead.”
Alec groaned but got out of bed and washed his face. He slipped into jeans and a jersey and grabbed his jacket. “Is this okay?”
“It should be.” She clasped his hand and raced to his car. Twenty minutes later, they arrived at an open field where he spied a seventy-foot-long multicolored balloon. It lay spread out on the ground while a crew pulled out the wrinkles and dealt with the other equipment.
“Are you surprised?” Colby clapped her hands together and bounced on her toes. “I thought we’d start our bucket-list adventures with a hot-air balloon ride.”
“I can’t believe you planned this behind my back.” He lifted her off her feet and kissed her, consumed with joy that she’d finally done something whimsical and fun for herself.
“Just a few weeks ago, it wouldn’t have occurred to me. I’d been locked in a place of grief and regret for so long, just hoping that a career change would somehow jolt me forward. When Hunter hired you, I worried it would set me back. Instead, you’ve pulled me through. Thanks to your support, I’m feeling more and more like myself. Like maybe I deserve to be happy again. And that even after my mistakes and so much sorrow for both our families, there is hope and forgiveness. So this is partly for you, too. A thank-you for helping me rediscover myself.”
“I’m touched.” He kissed her again. “And happy for this gorgeous morning, too.”
It took roughly thirty minutes for the crew to inflate the balloon and right the basket. Once he and Colby climbed over its side to join the pilot in the basket, she clutched his arm and whispered, “I’m a little nervous.”
When the ropes were released, the balloon lifted into the air. Not with a jerk, as he’d expected. It simply floated upward, as if gravity no longer existed. A singular experience, reinforced by Colby’s delighted giggle.
She’d positioned herself in one corner, clutching a rope and looking over the edge as they climbed higher into the sky. Aside from an occasional instruction, the pilot focused on his job and left them alone.
The sunrise bathed the earth beneath them in swaths of warm golden light. Colby’s nose and cheeks were pink; her eyes twinkled. Seeing her awed made Alec feel like a king because she wouldn’t have planned this without his encouragement.
“I feel like a bird.” She surveyed the miles and miles of countryside. “My heart’s racing. I wonder if this is how Mark and Joe felt on all of their adventures.”