The Barnstable Chronicles - Book 6: The Barnstable Cowboy - 6. Two Families/Two Hunters

“Um, hi. This is Hunter Landrey. May I speak with Coach Reese, please?—Yes, I’ll hold.”

I wasn’t looking forward to this call. I’m scared shitless it will hurt my scholarship to UT.

“This is Reese.”

“Um, hi. This is Hunter Landrey.”

“Landrey! Nice to hear from you! What can I do for you?”

“Well, I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to make it to the swim camp.”

“Oh? Is something wrong?”

“Well—yeah, you could say that. It’s my Mom. She’s been diagnosed with breast cancer and is having surgery on Thursday. The problem is that I’m the only one that can be there to help her out when she’s having her radiation and chemo—and all that’s happening when I’m supposed to be in camp.”

“Landry—I’m so sorry to hear about your mother—and of course, you should definitely be there for her. No matter how important we make the things we do in life, you should know that family always comes first—always, son.”

“Thank you, sir. I was just afraid that me not being at camp would be a problem with me and the scholarship you offered.”

“No, no, no. That scholarship is yours, Landrey. I am disappointed that we won’t get to work with you, though. Unfortunately, the NCAA won’t let me send a coach to see you—but how about I send Jerry up there for a few days to check you out, see your form, give you some pointers—that sort of thing.”

“I guess that would work out okay. Maybe the week before camp? That would be during the radiation part—and I hear that’s not as rough as the chemo. Besides, Mom will have a nurse during the day then. It would be easier for me to get away.”

“Yes. I think that would be best. I’ll check with Jerry and get back to you—probably this afternoon. And son—let your mother know that she and your family are in our thoughts and prayers. You’re a good boy, Hunter. This is a good thing you’re doing.”

“Thanks, Coach. And tell Jerry that this is nothing like Dallas. He probably should bring some books to read. There’s not much to do here in the middle of nowhere.”

“Ha! I’ll let him know. Take care, Landrey. Talk to you soon.”

I hung up the phone and sighed. God, I was so relieved! I’m still going to be swimming for UT in a little more than a year from now! Whew!

Wednesday evening, after a great dinner of King Ranch Casserole, Jaime and I started to pack my things. We were lost in our thoughts and barely spoke a word to each other.

About thirty minutes in, Mrs. V. knocked on the door.

“Come in!”

“Hi, boys. I know this is hard to do, but both of you need to realize that in life, there are times when we have to do what’s best for everyone, not just ourselves. Hunter, once your mother is better and has her energy back, I want you to know that you are more than welcome to come back here—if that’s what you feel you need to do.”

“Thanks, Mrs. V. It’s weird, ya know. I feel more like I’m leaving home instead of going home. You, Mr. V.—everyone—have made me feel like I’m part of this family. That makes me feel so—"

Dammit! I started to cry! I’m not supposed to do that!

“Oh, you dear boy.” Mrs. V. walked over to me and wrapped her arms around me. Wow! That’s something I never had before. It felt like I had a mother who loved me and wanted me to feel better. That only made me cry more. Damn.

“Hey, kiddo. I spoke with your mother this morning. She’s pretty nervous about her surgery tomorrow. But, on the other hand, she’s very happy that you’ll be coming home with her. She asked me how you were feeling about returning to the ranch. I was honest with her and told her that you weren’t looking forward to being away from Jaime. That’s true, isn’t it?”

“Yeah,” I sniffled. “I think that’s the hardest part of this whole thing.”

“Your mother and I agreed that Jaime could spend Friday and Saturday nights with you at the ranch. Would that make things a little better for you? For both of you?”

I nodded my head into Mrs. V.’s shoulder. “Thank you, Mrs. V. I can’t believe Mom agreed to that.”

“I think you should try to give your mother a break, Hunter. People’s lives change quite a bit when they are forced to face something as daunting as cancer. Things that used to matter quite a bit suddenly become trivial. Things that were taken for granted before tend to be things that are suddenly quite important.”

“But Dad—”

“Yes, he can be a problem for your mother and you. But for your mother’s sake—and her health—you need to promise me that you’ll do everything you can to avoid confrontation. All of those little things—and not so little things—that have bothered you in the past—well, you need to do everything you can not to let them bother you so much. Try to ignore him and his behavior the best you can.”

“Yeah. I just need to remember that the sooner Mom is well, the sooner I can come home again.”

I didn’t even realize I had said what I said. I called the Vegas house my home. Mrs. Vega squeezed me a little harder and sniffed.

“I think of you as a son, too. You do know that, don’t you?”

I nodded again as both of us sniffled. I heard Jaime sniffle across the room as I looked up. He mouthed, “I love you,” and smiled.

Jaime and I finished packing, took off our clothes, and crawled into bed. We held each other and talked, kissed a little, and then found ourselves asleep. We didn’t even have sex our last night together, but when I woke up in my beautiful boy’s arms, it felt like we had made love all night.

We took a shower together and stroked a nut together before we went in for breakfast. Jaime was going into the Y for work, but he helped me put my shit in the back of the truck before he left.

At 9:30, Mrs. V. followed me to the hospital so we could wait for Mom to get out of surgery.

We went into the main entrance, and the lady at the desk showed us where the surgery waiting room was. When we got there, Dad was sitting on a chair across the room.

“Good. You’re here. I need to get back to the ranch. We’re shearing the sheep today.”

“You’re not gonna wait for Mom to—”

“You’re here. That’s all she needs.”

The asshat stood and walked toward the door. When he passed us, Mrs. V. said, “Mr. Landrey—”

He grunted and walked out the door. I hope to fuck I don’t kill the bastard before I leave the ranch. I really do want to go to UT next Fall.

Mom did great with her surgery. She seemed to actually be happy that I was with her when she woke up. After a couple of hours, Mrs. V. told her that she was going to take me to the ranch to move my things in.

Mom smiled and told me that it would be okay for me to stay with Jaime while she was in the hospital. She didn’t want me to be alone in the house with Dad. Wow! Maybe she really does care about me!

Mom was released from the hospital on Saturday morning. At 10:00, I drove in and helped pack her bag. The nurse told me I should get my truck and drive to the front door. She would help mom downstairs, and they would meet me there.

I helped Mom into the truck, and soon we were on our way to the ranch.

“This is a nice truck, Hunter. It was very good of the Vegas to let you have it.”

“Yeah, they’ve been really good to me.”

That was the entire conversation on the way back to the ranch. Mom fell asleep for most of the ride.

There was another car sitting in front of the house. As soon as I got out of the truck, a woman got out and came up to me.

“You must be Hunter.”

“Yes, ma’am. Can I help you with something?”

“I’m Rachael Peterson, your mother’s nurse. I wanted to be here to help her get into the house and settled.”

“Oh, okay. Let me help her get out of the truck. Then we can take her inside.”

We got Mom inside and into bed. I went out to the kitchen with the nurse. She asked to see the paperwork from the hospital. There were papers and some envelopes with some pills. She said those would get her through the day, but I needed to go to the pharmacy and fill some prescriptions.

Nurse Peterson also told me that she would be preparing meals during the week. That was a relief! Before I went to the pharmacy, we did an inventory of the kitchen, set a menu for the week, and put together a grocery list.

I went into Mom’s room to check on her and found her fast asleep. I needed the credit card for the food and drugs, so I just went into her purse a grabbed it.

While I was at the store, Coach Reese called to let me know that Jerry would be up here on Monday—two days away. So. Fucking. Cool!

When I finally got back to the house, I explained to Nurse Peterson that Jerry was coming up and staying with me for three days. She got pretty excited when I told her about swimming at UT. She told me her daughter was a Freshman there and was on the volleyball team. That was when I got excited—the UT Volleyball team is rated in the top three or four in the nation pretty much every year.

When she tried to convince me that we would make a wonderful couple, I didn’t have the heart to tell her it would be wonderful—if she had a big fat cock! I crack myself up sometimes!

Even though she wasn’t scheduled for the first weekend, Nurse Peterson came by, cooked, and made sure Mom was getting the medical care she needed. i told her that we would (okay—Dad would, hehe) pay her for her extra time. That made her happy, and she cooked enough food for us to get through the entire weekend.

Mom slept through most of the weekend, and that was way okay with me. At night, Jaime and I would Facetime and get off with a shitload of dirty talk. It was a lot of fun, but I’ll be damned if I didn’t want him to be in my bed with me.

The thing I was looking forward to the least was dealing with the old man. Lucky for me, he wasn’t looking forward to it as well. The nurse and I would get a grunt when he would walk into the house and head to his chair in the living room. I would fix him a plate and put it on the table by his chair—along with a beer—and walk away. He wouldn’t say a word, and I was good with that.

Monday morning, Nurse Peterson walked into the house just as I was leaving for the Abiline airport. Mom was still asleep but seemed to be doing okay.

Damn! It was great seeing Jerry again! When he came into the arrivals area, he came up to me and hugged me like a long-lost friend!

“How’s my favorite cowboy stud-boy doing?”

“Doing okay—even with all the family bullshit. I can’t tell you how happy I am you were able to come up here.”

“How’s your mom doing?”

“She’s sleeping a lot right now. There’s a nurse with her during the day. She’s going to start getting Mom out of bed and moving around.”

“You sure it’s okay that I’m staying with you while I’m here?”

“Of course it is. Mom probably won’t even notice. Dad doesn’t get a say—he’s still a total asswipe.”

We threw Jerry’s bag into the back of the truck and headed to the ranch. On the way, we stopped at the Lone Star Diner for lunch. We were both pretty hungry!

We shared an order of fried pickles to start things off. Jerry had the fried pork loin steak, and I had the double jalepeño cheeseburger.

“You ready to head out to my personal hell?”

Jerry laughed, “It’s not that bad!”

“You’ll see, dude! You’ll see.”

We got to the ranch after about thirty minutes and made our way inside. Damn! She might be a nurse, but Rachael Peterson was also one helluva cook! The entire house smelled amazing!

We walked into the kitchen, and I said, “Nurse Peterson, I wanted—”

“Please, Hunter, call me Rachael. I call you by your first name—you can do the same.”

“Oh. Okay. Rachael, this is Jerry Smith. He’s on the swim team at UT, and he’s here to make sure I still know how to swim. Jerry—this is Mom’s nurse, Rachael. Her daughter is on the UT Volleyball team.”

“Impressive! Nice to meet you!”

“We’re going to head upstairs and put Jerry’s stuff away. Then I’m going to take him out on the ATV and give him a tour of the ranch.”

“Sounds great! I’ll have dinner ready at 5:00, so try to be back by then. I’m going to make sure your mother is out of bed and at the table today.”

“Okay, cool.”

We went out to the garage and piled into the ATV. It took a couple of tries to start, and I was glad to see the tank was nearly full. The first thing we drove by was the sheep barn. Dad was inside, helping with the shearing. That was probably going to be happening for two or three more days.

The first place I took Jerry was the river where I worked on my swimming. It was hot enough to where we both decided to get in the cold water. Of course, neither of us had a suit.

“If I’d know, I’d have brought my Speedo.”

“Dude—these waters have never seen a Speedo!”

I stripped down to nothing, and Jerry followed. Damn! Jerry Smith is one fucking hot dude—straight dude.

We dove into the water and froze up with the shock of the cold water. After swimming around a bit, we got used to the water. I moved over to the part of the river where the current was strongest and began doing a crawl against it.

“Awesome!” Jerry liked what he saw and started swimming next to me. Eventually, we both started to move forward against the current. Jerry was the first to reach the small waterfall upstream.

“Jesus! Now I get how you got to be so strong. Let’s do it again with a butterfly!”

Yes! The butterfly is my strongest stroke now. Probably because I’ve worked my ass off getting it right.

We swam downstream to where we had started before. Jerry counted us off and started to butterfly our asses off.

I was able to stay about a half-length ahead of Jerry the whole way to the falls. Yeah! It felt good to beat a college boy!

Jerry suggested the backstroke next. I remember this being his best, so we swam back and started on the count of three.

Jerry counted us off, and we started making our way back to the waterfall. This time, Jerry stayed about a half-length ahead of me, and that gave me a glimpse of his cock whenever I looked his way.

Well, fuck me—I am a teenager. Just seeing that hot body and that awesome cock sent my blood right to my dick. Great! Now I’m swimming upstream with a hard-on sticking straight up. Can I die now, please?

Jerry was laughing his ass off when I finally made it to the waterfall. As soon as he touched the rocks, Jerry turned around and watched me as I made my way to him.

“Dude, when all the blood rushes to your cock, you lose speed. Not sure if it’s the lack of fuel in your muscles or the wind resistance caused by that big boy!”

I blushed and looked down at the water. “I’m sorry, Jerry.”

“It’s cool, Hunter. Do you always pop wood when you skinny dip?”

“No.”

“What caused it?” He started grinning at me.

“Nothing—it just happened.”

“Whatever. Hey—if you looked at me and my big-ass cock and that caused it, then I’m flattered. Still straight, so you don’t get to play with it—but damn, if I can give a gay boy wood, I’m doing okay!”

Jerry Smith is awesome. He’s cool as fuck, hot as fuck, and chill. We would sleep together in my bed. We kept our boxer briefs on, but I would wake up with his arms around me every morning. I kinda liked that.

It turns out Jerry is totally cool with his sexuality. He told me that his best friend back in Dallas is gay and that he’s spent many nights at the gay clubs. He said all sorts of guys had hit on him, and he thinks it’s cool that dudes think he’s something.

We would have a light breakfast every morning and then head into town to the Y. Jerry worked with me on my form but told me I was in great shape. When we finished our last workout, Jerry said he had an excellent report for Coach. I was relieved to hear that!

After Jerry left, we soon got into a routine. Rachael and I made sure Mom was getting what she needed. I would take Mom for her radiation treatments and make sure she was comfortable after each session.

Mom did pretty well after the radiation treatments, but the chemo was pretty tough on her. After her second treatment, her hair started to fall out. Rachael came in one morning with a bag of wigs. She convinced Mom to shave her head so she wouldn’t have so much hair on her pillow every morning.

It was weird, but the hair thing was harder on Mom than any of the treatments. Rachael was great at finding a wig that looked just like her regular hairstyle. I don’t think Dad even noticed anything different. Such an ass.

The only thing I liked at the ranch were the nights Jaime would come over and spend the night. He was great in the kitchen and helped with the meals on Saturday and Sunday.

We definitely learned how to have sex without making noise. When we were getting close, we would put a pillow over our faces and muffle the sound when we’d nut. I swear, I really began to appreciate Jaime’s cock in my mouth and ass, but I loved wrapping my arms around my boy and holding him the entire night!

By the time I started my Senior year of high school, Mom was up and about and doing reasonably well. She still wore her wig, moved a little slower, and started to become her regular gloomy self—especially when Dad would come home.

One night, while the two of us were sitting at the table for dinner, Dad came in. He grunted and took his plate to the living room. Mom looked up and shook her head. She had the saddest look in her eyes.

“Why do you keep doing this, Mom?”

“Doing what, Hunter?”

“Why do you stay married to that awful man?”

“Right. You would like that, wouldn’t you? You would like to see the tiny bit that’s left of this family finally fall apart, wouldn’t you?”

“Mom. All I’m saying that no matter how you’re feeling during the day, the minute he walks in the door, you’re miserable. It just seems to me that—”

“That’s enough, young man. It’s bad enough that everyone in this town talks about ‘poor Mrs. Landrey and that cancer.’ It’s bad enough that our only son hates being under the same roof as his parents.

“What do you think I’m supposed to do? I don’t have a family that would open their arms and their home to me. I don’t have a Jaime Vega whose mere presence takes all the pain away. I don’t even have a son who gives a damn about me.”

“Mom. You know that’s not true. If I didn’t care, would I have given up my camp so I could be with you while you got better? Would I have left the place that had become my home so you wouldn’t have to deal with your cancer alone? You can’t sit there and say I don’t care. You’re my mother, for Christ’s sake.”

“So tell me—devoted son you claim to be—how much longer before you leave and go back to your other family—the family you actually care about?”

“I was planning on staying here unless things got as bad as they were before.”

“Why wait? I can get along fine now. I don’t need you here. I appreciate your help, but it’s no longer needed.”

“Are you throwing me out?”

“I’m not throwing you out. I’m just opening the door. You wear me out, Hunter. It takes too much energy to deal with your attitude.”

“My atti—what?—what the hell are you talking about? You don’t appreciate a damned thing, Mom. You got what you needed from me, and now you’re done. Well—fuck this shit—I’m done, too!”

I stood up so fast that my chair when flying across the kitchen. I stormed up to my room to pack my shit.

Once I was packed, I went back downstairs. Mom was still sitting at the kitchen table, staring straight ahead.

“I’m outta here, Mom. You might not want to get sick again. I probably won’t drop everything in my life again.”

Thirty minutes later, I was ringing the doorbell at the Vegas. My eyes may or may not have been puffy and red from the crying I may or may not have been doing during my drive home—yeah, I said it. I was back home.

Mrs. V. and Jaime were the best. They sat with me while I told them how things had turned out at home. Jaime took my hand while Mrs. V. kept handing me tissues.

“You know—I thought—well—hoped—that things might get better with my Mom and me. For a while, it even looked light they might. But the last week or so, the better Mom started to feel, the more things started to get like they were before. It’s my last year of high school—my last year in this town. I should enjoy it. I shouldn’t hate my life.”

After our talk, Jaime took me back to the bedroom. As soon as he shut the door, he pushed me up against it and started to rip off my clothes.

“Baby, from this point on, I promise you’re going to love the fuck outta you last year in West Texas!”

Jaime yanked my sweats and briefs down as he went down on his knees. I gasped and threw my head back as he swallowed my throbbing cock. Jesus! I hate being a teenager sometimes. I nutted down my boy’s throat in just minutes.

“I’m sorry that didn’t last very long, baby. I’m such a kid, sometimes.”

“I’m not sorry, Hunter. That means you’ll be lasting longer when you push Richard deeeeep inside me before you fuck me!”

Jaime stood up and gave me a taste of my nut with a deep and long kiss. He then took my hand and led me to his—no—our bed.

I should say that when Jaime gets that dildo inside him and I add my cock to the mix, he goes insane—especially with the dirty talk and the moaning. Like I said earlier, I’m not so crazy about our rubber friend, but when it makes Jaime crazy, I’m not so against it! You know what I mean, right?

So, there it was! Two weeks into the school year and I was back where I belonged. I was home. My heart was home. My almost always hard cock was at home!

States were awesome! I killed the 400 Medley and set a new state high school record. Coach Reese was thrilled and said he wanted to speak with my parents and me when the Relays were finished.

Well, Mr. and Mrs. V. went to the meeting with me. Mrs. V. explained to the coach that my family situation was quite complicated and that they had taken me in. He was cool with that—thank God! I’m always fucking scared that something’s gonna bite me in the ass and I’m gonna lose my scholarship.

So—Coach said that he wanted me to attend the first session of the camp. That was going to happen the third week of June. The best part was he wanted me to mentor the last two sessions! He said he would assign me to the same dorm room that I would be using in the Fall. That way, I could just move in and stay the week between the last camp and the start of Fall semester.

Everything was set! And I was getting my swimmin’ ass out of West Texas even sooner than I thought!

Jaime and I graduated without much fanfare. He was set to go to Fort Benning in Georgia the last week of June. Stupid boyfriend! He was actually excited to start basic training in the middle of a Georgia Summer! I hear those can be even more miserable than a West Texas Summer.

I was going to fly to Austin on Sunday afternoon before my camp started. Unfortunately, I couldn’t drive since Freshmen weren’t allowed cars on campus. Sucks.

Mom invited me for dinner Sunday lunch. I didn’t want to go, but Jaime said he would go with me. He said it was perfect because he had to work at the Y that afternoon, and we wouldn’t have to deal with a long and messy goodbye.

Okay—I would have preferred a long and messy goodbye, but Jaime was pretty insistent that we do it this way. On the other hand, Mom is always a helluva lot nicer when Jaime is there with me, so I agreed with his plan.

Dinner was actually okay. Mom made some of my favorite foods—fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, and homemade biscuits. There was even some civil conversation. Dad even talked to Jaime about the army stuff.

Dessert was the best—homemade apple cobbler. But that’s where things got bad—real bad. Mom asked me to let her drive me to the airport.

“I can’t, Mom. Jaime’s going to take me.”

“What? This boy is not your family. This is the last time we’ll see you in Heaven knows how long. Why won’t you let me take you to the airport?”

“Because Jaime Vega is the most important person in my life! I love him. He loves me.”

Dad slammed his fists down to the table. That caused everything on the table to bounce up—and causing all of us to jump.

“You have been nothing but a disappointment since the day you were born—and every day since.”

The asshole got up from the table and stormed his way out of the house. I heard him start his truck and leave.

I looked across the table, where I saw Jaime’s wide eyes. I can’t believe I just outted him to my family. I’m such a dick.

“Mom? I’m sorry.”

She didn’t look pissed. But she did have this look as if every ounce of life was sucked out of her body.

“Jaime. I think you need to leave now. Tell your mother hello for me. I’ll see that Hunter gets to the airport. You can leave his bags on the porch.”

“Mrs. Landrey—”

“Go!”

And he did—Jaime walked out the door, leaving me with my mother. I got out of my chair—bad idea.

“Sit down, Hunter. Let him go.”

“But—”

“No! No buts. I have some things that must be said.”

“You can’t do this!”

“Yes, I can! I might not be very good at it, but I’m still your mother. You will listen to what I have to say.”

“Whatever.”

“I never wanted to be here, either. I had plans for my life, Hunter. I used to be pretty. I used to smile. I was going to Houston to try my hand at modeling and acting. After that, I was going to move to New York and live my destiny.

“But—it was Senior prom—your father got me pregnant. I had no choices anymore. My parents demanded that we get married, and we ended up doing that at the courthouse. I never got to have the wedding I had always dreamed of. I ended up on this God-forsaken ranch.

“Every one of my hopes—my dreams—vanished into thin air. I'm not too fond of this place, either. Your father resents me. He never wanted to marry me. He never wanted a child. All that man cares about are his animals and the land they graze on.”

“I’m sorry I ruined your life. I’m sorry for a lot of things. I’m going now.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’d rather walk to the fucking airport than have you drive your big disappointment. I’m outta here.”

I walked out of the kitchen and the front door. I think I heard Mom crying as the door shut. I found my three bags sitting on the porch.

I managed to get them all on my shoulders and walked down to the highway. About ten minutes later, I saw Mrs. V.’s car. She stopped and told me to get in.

Once I was in the car, she turned off the radio. “Hunter—Jaime called me and asked if I would come out to pick you up. He told me what happened.”

“Did he tell you everything?”

“I wouldn’t know for certain. Are you asking me if I know that your family knows about the special relationship you have with my son?”

“I—I guess so. I’m sorry, Mrs. V. I didn’t want them to find out this way.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, sweetheart. We all know how you boys feel about each other. Why do you think it was so easy to welcome you into our family?”

“I’m sorry. We didn’t mean for this to happen—it just kinda did.”

“The strongest love is the kind we never meant to happen. The best kind of love is the kind that just happens—sometimes out of nowhere.”

“I didn’t get to say goodbye to him.” That’s when the tears started falling down my face.

“So call him. I’m sure he’s going crazy wondering if you’re okay.”

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Jaime.

“Hey.”

“Hey back. You okay?”

“Yeah. Your mom is driving me to the airport. I’m so sorry about what happened. I really didn’t mean to—”

“Hey, stop worrying. It’s all good. I talked to Mom about everything on my way back. She’s super chill. She loves you, too. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. Your mom’s amazing. But—I didn’t get to say goodbye. I hate that!”

“Yeah—that kinda sucks. But hey—call me when you get settled into your dorm room. We’ll definitely have some Facetime fun.”

“But I didn’t get to say goodbye!”

“About that—I have a surprise for you when we talk tonight. You’ll love it, I promise.”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Hunter Landrey. More than anything on this entire planet!”

“I love you, Jaime—so much it hurts.”

“Cheer up, baby. You get your hot little ass to Austin and show ‘em what you got. You’re going to light that place on fire! No more sadness, k?”

We finally got to the airport and got checked in. Mrs. V. walked with me as far as she could. She put her hands up to my face and pulled me down to her. She kissed me on the cheek and wrapped her arms around me.

“You are loved, Hunter Landrey. I hope and pray that someday, things will work out with your family. But until that time, you will always be welcomed—and loved—by the entire Vega family. Will you call me when you land? I would like that.”

“Yeah. I’ll do that—and thank you for everything.”

“No need to thank me for this—that’s what family does for each other.”

She kissed my cheek again and hurried me on my way. I was a little surprised that I was walking to the TSA checkpoint with a smile on my face. Maybe my life wasn’t so fucked up after all.

I guess I have two families—and there are two different Hunters—one who is miserable and resented—one who is loved and welcomed. Weird.