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.“You’re too much,” she said, pouring on the syrup.“And fresh strawberries! Goodness, what a lucky girl I am.”I kept watching her as she started to eat.I was relishing every minute of her enjoyment, as she’d close her eyes and say “mmm,” with every bite.After a minute or two she stopped and looked at me.“Wait,” she said, putting her fork down.“Are you not eating or something?”“Oh no no,” I said, rushing to put a few pancakes on my plate.“I’m eating.”“Well, you’re kinda staring at me, creeper,” she said with a playful smile.“Sorry,” I said, grinning.“Can’t help it.You’re pretty when you eat.”“Pretty when I stuff my face, you mean?” she asked, picking her fork back up.“Good thing, because I’m definitely not stopping after just three of these.”“I’m really glad you like them.”Anna and I finished the pancakes and coffee happily, and then afterwards she tried to do all the cleaning.I insisted she let me do it.“I wanted to treat you to breakfast,” I said.“That means I clean up, too.”“What planet did you fly in from?” she asked.“And where have you been all my life?”“Right here, Anna,” I said, maybe a little sadly.I didn’t like thinking about when she left all those years ago, and when I did it usually brought back a lot of old, painful feelings.I was surprised they resurfaced when she was there, standing right in front of me, but I guessed it made sense.Those things don’t just go away.“I’m sorry,” she said, understanding immediately.“I didn’t mean to put it like that.”“I know,” I said, taking her hand.“But, Anna, can we talk about it a little? I still don’t really understand why you had to cut me off completely like that, why you wouldn’t stay in touch.Didn’t you love me?”“Oh, Hunter,” she said, tears springing into her eyes as she wrapped her arms around me.“I loved you so much.I still do.”“Then why?” I asked.She pulled away from me, looking into my eyes.I saw a deep, deep pain there I never wanted to see in her eyes.Why was she so sad?“Hunter,” she began, “I want to tell you everything.And I will tell you everything.But I can’t right now.”“Why not?” I asked.“I don’t want to press you, I can see that something is bothering you, but I want to understand.”“I promise I will tell you everything,” she said.“But it’s going to be a difficult thing for me to talk about, and is probably going to put me in a sad mood for a while.And it might make you feel that way too.And tonight, you have a tournament to win.”“All right, baby,” I said, not wanting to push her any further.“I understand.But remember, you can always tell me anything.Any time you want.”“OK,” she said, trying to smile.“Thank you.I know you’ll be there for me.It’s just hard, that’s all.”“I see,” I said, wrapping my arms around her.“I’m sorry I brought it up now.Please tell me whatever it is, whenever you’re ready.”“All right,” she told me.“Thanks for being so nice about it.I really am sorry for how badly I hurt you, all those years ago.”“I know,” I said, kissing her cheek.“I’m just really glad you’re back.”“Me too,” she said.“So, now, should we get ready to head down to the match?”“We don’t have to be there for a few hours,” I said.“But we might as well.”“All right, I’ll go pack some clothes.”In a little while, we left for San Diego.I tried my best to push all my worries out of my mind, and just concentrate on the fight.I was going up against a real tough guy, Sergey Ivanov, and I needed to remember everything I knew about his style and his weak spots.It was hard, though, not to think about how I still needed to tell Anna about Jane, and wondering what Anna had to tell me that was causing her so much pain.Not to mention wondering how the hell Nathaniel got into my house, and what he might try next.Hopefully all of it would work out OK.Chapter Twenty-OneAnnaIn a way, I was glad that Hunter finally confronted me about why I left, and why I insisted that we not stay in touch.I knew I had to tell him everything, and I didn’t really know how to bring it up myself.I was scared that he’d be angry when he found out I didn’t want him to know that I thought I was going to die.If he were going to die, and I hated to even think about that, then I would definitely want to spend every last minute I could with him.I would be pretty upset if he kept something like that from me.I was also terrified about telling him that I couldn’t have children.Of course I knew that he would be supportive, but I worried that if he stayed with me, deep down he’d be disappointed.He had always wanted kids.He used to talk about how he wanted to be the kind of father his own father never was.Hunter was always so great with kids; it would be a shame if he never got to have some of his own.And even if he was supportive, and pretended it didn’t bother him, wouldn’t he always be just a little bit dissatisfied if he never had kids of his own? I definitely didn’t want that.Those were the thoughts that occupied my mind as we took the drive from L.A.to San Diego for Hunter’s tournament final.They continued to occupy my mind when we got to the arena, and I found my seat next to Trina.“Hi,” I said, sitting down.“Jake’s not here?”“No,” she told me.“He couldn’t make it.”“That’s too bad,” I said.“Can’t say I care all that much at the moment,” she said.“Oh,” I said, surprised.“I’m sorry.Did something happen?”“No,” she said.“Not really.”I thought that was pretty strange, but I didn’t know quite what I should say.Trina didn’t seem like she wanted to talk about it though, and I was too preoccupied to worry about it much.I still wasn’t really able to concentrate even when the announcer called Hunter’s name, or when he and the other fighter took their corners.I did notice that the other fighter was a big, mean-looking guy, and I was a little worried about Hunter.Not that I didn’t have faith in him.I knew he was a great fighter; I guess I just couldn’t help but worry about him.After the first round, it seemed like it was going to be a tough match.Both men were fighting their hardest, and each of them got in some hits that looked like they really hurt.When the second round started, however, I saw something that caught my eye and totally distracted me from worrying about Hunter, or about the fact that I couldn’t have children.There, standing just a few feet away from the ring, was Nate.My stomach flipped.What was he doing there? Did he have some other nonsense up his sleeve to try to distract Hunter, upset him so he’d lose the fight? What else could he possibly do that he hadn’t already done?“What’s wrong?” Trina asked.“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”I turned to look at her, and saw a strange, inscrutable smile on her face.I guessed that must have also fallen under the category of odd things that she found funny for some reason.I really didn’t know what to make of Trina.“It’s nothing,” I told her.“It doesn’t look like nothing,” she said, but I didn’t respond.I was too busy staring daggers into Nate.I couldn’t imagine what he had planned, but I didn’t like it [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]