To Celebrate

Hunter glanced over at Scarlet and scrunched his nose just a little. "I... don't know. I was just thinking about that. I mean... hopefully we go in, give Thunder a little whupping and go. But there's a chance there could be trouble and I'm not sure it would be the best way to introduce Dylan to the races." 

Eli nibbled on a pizza crust, just listening. "He might be pretty tired after his first day here, too."

"True." Hunter shrugged. "I might just tell him what's going on and let him decide for himself."

Zan cocked his head. "Who's this?" 

"Kid from Texas gonna be staying with me for a while," Hunter explained. 

Zan immediately wondered how wise this was. "Kid?" 

"Mm." Hunter shook his head. "Eighteen. He can take care of himself - trust me. I just wanna avoid any sticky situations if I can since I'll be kind of responsible for him."

"Ah." Zan still wasn't convinced it was a good idea. Nothing too bad actually happened at the racing site - at least not as long as you stuck around the level-headed crowd. But there was plenty of alcohol, so having an underage spectator could really put some people on edge with a fear of cops showing up. "Are you sure-"

"You'd never guess his age," Hunter assured. He knew exactly what Zan was thinking. "He's not gonna try to drink or anything else and no cops are gonna show up because of him. I'll be surprised if anybody even notices he's there at all. He's good at blending in."

Zan shrugged. "Okay. What if there is trouble with Thunder?"

"I could always take him out if need be," Jett offered.

Hunter chewed on his lower lip. Dylan would be just fine, but Jett? Really? 

"You think you're not gonna be in the thick of it if a fight breaks out?" Eli interjected. He recognized Hunter's dilemma and wanted to solve this quickly without any hard feelings. "The only person here not involved is Scarlet." He nudged her with his elbow. "Thunder's a bully - he's not gonna want to face us all. But if he does, you wanna slip Dylan out?"


"Tired? Of you?" Gunner pushed aside his lunch tray and slipped his arms around Bree's waist, bringing her right up against him on the bed. "I'm pretty sure that's not even possible."

He leaned up to give her another, longer kiss. All of his movements might be a bit clumsy right now, but he wasn't even close to giving up on showing her his affection. Especially now. He'd never be able to make all this up to her and he knew it. All he could do was try to give her as much love as she was giving him.

Drawing back, he brought a hand up to gently rake through her hair. "How about... soon as I'm released from Brookshire... we get married to celebrate?" He searched her eyes deeply. "Life's too short, and if I'm gonna have to face all this the rest of my days, I don't wanna miss out on life with you 'cause I let it beat me."


"True..." Hal's voice had grown thoughtful. "As much as hustle and bustle can bother me, I could see myself enjoying that peace and quiet." 

He glanced down at Sam and ran his free hand across her forehead and through her hair, giving great care to be gentle. "Moonlight suits you well," he mused quietly as he smiled. How had they gotten here? How had they gone from a couple dinners out to both being so relaxed and holding each other?

Leaning his head back, he closed his eyes but didn't cease the soft affection. A little chuckle did emerge though. "Don't let me drink two glasses next time," he teased. "It's putting me to sleep." He paused. "Or maybe it's just you that's making me so comfortable."