Chapter 61

KATHERINE.

“Well, this dork has been here all day,” Blake said, gesturing at Hunter. “And I spent all morning hanging out with Theo.”

I raised a brow at that. “Hanging out?” Did they resolve their issues?

“Yeah. We were returning ghosts to their haunting places and making sure some of them wouldn't be coming out for a while with the resources we had.”

“Oh. So, not hanging out?” I replied because I couldn't picture both of them resolving their issues while doing that. With the interactions I'd witnessed, they were most likely working in silence or arguing.

“We were literally hanging out. Everhart wasn't too pleased with being trapped in the absorber and we didn't have salt so we spent a good part of the morning suspended like clothes on a clothesline.”

The mental image of that made me smirk. “That would have been fun to watch.”

“Really.”

“Why didn't you guys have salt though?” Hunter asked, a line between his brows, and Blake heaved a sigh.

“Apparently, whoever brings out the equipment has to check if there's salt in them. I assumed his stuff already had salt in it so when he asked if they did, I said yes, so he didn't check and we ended up being suspended for almost an hour. If you ask me, it's Theo’s fault but he doesn't see it that way.”

“Blake…” Hunter muttered with an incredulous expression that matched how I felt on his face. “That's your fault.”

“Of course, you're picking Theo’s side,” Blake stated, shaking his head with a disappointed expression on his face.

“I don't think this is about sides,” I said and he glanced at me.

“You're on Theo’s side too?”

“What do you think?” That was the same thing he told me past midnight today when I asked him what he meant when he said he wouldn't be able to focus with me in the UTV, and his eyes twinkled as a grin took over his face, letting me know he remembered.

“Not bad.”

I returned his smile before moving my attention to Hunter and moving closer to him to see what he was painting. There were just a couple of beautiful colors on the canvas and I couldn't tell what it was going to be. “What are you working on?”

“It's a piece for one of the anniversary events,” he replied.

Apart from the fact that I might see my brother during the anniversary, I was also looking forward to it because it sounded like fun. Josie had told me it was going to be a three-day long event and the school was going to arrange for accommodations for guests.

“Which event?”

“An art auction.”

“Oh. So I can buy your painting?” I asked and the way he smiled elicited my own.

“I don't sell to my friends. If you want something, let me know.”

“That's bad business,” Blake cut in and Hunter shot him a look before he shrugged while I began to walk over to him.

“Are you working on something for the art auction too?”

“No, it's personal,” he replied when I came to a stop and glanced at his canvas. He was painting brown eyes, a woman’s own it seemed, and I blinked at the canvas in surprise.

“Wow, you’re quite skilled. Do you take classes?”

“Nah, it’s just a hobby.”

“Since when?” Hunter asked and I glanced over to see that he was now standing next to me, a surprised expression on his face as he stared at Blake's canvas. “You despise painting.”

“Despise is a pretty strong word.”

“How did you–” Hunter narrowed his eyes and turned to face Blake. “Have you been holding out on me?”

“You know I’d never,” Blake replied, throwing his arm around Hunter's shoulder before putting him in a headlock. I couldn't help but smile as I watched Hunter try to get out of it because watching them interact was nice.

My smile faltered though when I realized I wasn't close to figuring out who my mate was between them. Uncle Lander had sent me Judy's number but I hadn't called her yet, I wanted to call her at night and I really hoped she could help me figure this out.

Moments later Hunter was out of the headlock and after shooting Blake a dirty look, he held a paintbrush out to me. “Want to join us?” he asked and my brows lifted before I shook my head sideways.

“Oh, no. I can’t… art.”

“You can’t art?” Blake asked, grinning, and the corners of my mouth turned up.

“You know what I mean.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Hunter replied and I glanced at the brush before my gaze bounced between the both of them.

“If either of you laugh at my painting, I’ll shove the brush into your eye.”

“Geez,” Blake muttered while Hunter said, “No laughing. Got it.”

We spent the next couple of minutes talking about the upcoming anniversary after Hunter gave me something to paint on. They were both looking forward to it too – Blake because his parents were coming over to discuss something important and Hunter because it was the first time he'd be participating in the art auction which was an exclusive event.

As I kept painting what was supposed to be a dragon but was starting to look like a terrified cat instead, Hunter came up behind me.

“If you laugh–”

“Brush in eye. I didn't forget,” he said, making me smile. “That's… What's that?”

“It's a dragon. Can't you tell?”

Surprise washed over his face and he blinked at me twice before muttering, “Oh. Well it…” He squinted at the painting. “I can see how it uh, looks like a dragon,” he added and laughter bubbled out of me at how hard he was trying to agree with me.

As my laughter died down, I noticed Blake watching us out of the corner of his eye before he quickly looked away when he realized I'd noticed. Then he cleared his throat and walked over to us before frowning at my painting.

“Auction worthy, isn't it?” I said and his frown deepened a bit before he moved his gaze to mine.

“Looks like a dying cat.”

I mock gasped at that while Hunter said, “That's not very nice.”

“He's quite mean,” I added and his gaze bounced between us for a moment before he rolled his eyes and began to head towards the door. “Where are you going?”

“I have soccer practice,” he replied.

“On Sunday?”

“Yes.” When he got to the door, he glanced over his shoulder. “Take care of my painting Hunter. I'll be back for it.” With that, he walked out and I pursed my lips before facing Hunter once more.

“Are you done with your painting?” I asked and he shook his head before I walked over to his canvas and my mouth fell open. Though the painting wasn't completed, it was already a masterpiece that depicted the moon goddess. Her hair flowed like a waterfall of stars, her eyes were pools of the night, and her smile was like the warm, radiant light of the moon.

“Hunter, this is amazing,” I muttered absentmindedly, my attention still on the canvas. “You're amazing.”

‘That's high praise.”

“You deserve it.”

A smile lit his face. “Thank you.”

I returned my gaze to his painting once more before glancing at where mine lay. “I should burn mine.”

“No one is good on their first try,” he said before glancing at Blake's canvas and a line appeared between his brows. “Well, except Blake “

“So with time, I might be able to paint like you?”

“Maybe even better than I do,” he replied and the corner of my mouth turned up.

“I should go work on my painting then. Who knows, maybe it'll blow yours out of the water.”

“Um, well… Maybe,” he said, drawing a snort from me before I headed back to my seat.