Hunter - Big Girls & Bad Boys by D. H. Cameron

him. It was a problem I was having rather often that day.
     
    “Say yes. Be my wife, Mel. Be there for me when I come home and I swear, this will be the last time I deploy. I’ll leave the Corps for you,” he said. I was truly speechless. The gesture was genuine but I couldn’t let Hunter do that. He told me he was a lifer. I knew that even though I could probably never understand why, Hunter loved the Marines.
     
    “You can’t. You don’t have to leave. You love it,” I told him, a lame attempt to change the subject. Now Penny was standing in the threshold to the kitchen, no longer caring if I knew she awaited my answer. Her hands were clasped together over her chest and she wore an expectant expression.
     
    “I will if that’s what it takes. My job, my buddies, all of it take second place, Mel,” he told me echoing my own thoughts of late. Hearing him say it solidified my own feelings. Everything had taken a back seat to Hunter but the curious part was that I didn’t mind. I didn’t regret it or wish otherwise. I preferred it, in fact. I had found something I cared about even more.
     
    “Here’s the deal. I won’t ask you to give that up if you don’t ask me to give up anything. If you want to leave the Marines, you do it because you want to. Deal?” I replied. Hunter grinned.
     
    “So, can I take that as a yes?” he asked. Now Indigo and Sandy stood in the threshold while Penny looked as if she might pounce at any moment, standing mere feet from the sofa. Was that a yes? I guess it was.
     
    “Yes, I’ll marry you, Hunter. Tonight,” I said and instead of the regret I was sure I would feel at the rash decision, there was nothing but joy and the notion that I was doing exactly the right thing. The three women, even Sandy, squealed as Hunter pulled me to him and kissed me. Soon, we were being mobbed by Hunter’s mom, sister and sister-in-law. It was crazy for a moment. I didn’t just agree to marry Hunter. I had gained a wonderful family too.
     
    Penny broke out the wine and we began discussing how to go about this. Reno wasn’t but three hours away. Penny offered to get everyone rooms for the night and we found a twenty-four hour wedding chapel on the internet. Hunter called to change his flight back to base while I called my parents. My mom was confused, as much about my sudden nuptials as my choice in a husband. She and my dad weren’t activists or even political but they were keenly aware of my positions.
     
    “I know, mom. I’m kind of surprised too. I wish you could be there but we’ll do something formal when Hunter comes home,” I told her.
     
    “I’d like that. Look, honey, are you happy?” she asked.
     
    “Yes,” was all I said.
     
    “Then I’m happy. I’ll tell your father. Call us when you have a chance and send some photos,” Mom urged me.
     
    “I will. I love you, mom,” I said.
     
    “I love you too, honey,” she replied and we hung up. I returned from the kitchen just as Nate walked inside, his shirt a mess and his brow beaded with sweat.
     
    “It’s done. The gutters are...what’s going on?” he asked, sensing the festive atmosphere.
     
    “We’re going to Reno,” Penny told her husband.
     
    “For what? When?” he asked curiously.
     
    “As soon as you get out of the shower and Hunter and Mel get back,” she told him, being coy.
     
    “Where are they going?” he wondered.
     
    “To get a dress for Mel at her dorm,” Penny said. Nate frowned, more confused than when he walked in. Penny let him off the hook, however. “She can’t get married in what she’s wearing,” Penny said. Nate’s eyes narrowed but then he figured it out. He began to laugh.
     
    “Well, hell. Welcome to the family. Interesting doesn’t begin to describe us,” he said. He tried to hug me but thought better of it considering he was covered in leaves and muck. Instead, he kissed my cheek and shook Hunter’s hand. “Congrats, you two. I can see you’ll both be