AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hello again,” he said.
Opal gasped. “Mommy! It’s the angel man.”
Vanessa wished she wouldn’t have called him that. She didn’t want Opal to have some kind of worshipful feelings toward this man she didn’t know.
“Right,” Vanessa said, pressing her lips into a tight smile. “What a coincidence.”
“I’ve seen you before,” he said. “I work just around the corner from your apartment. I was leaving work when that whole thing happened with the car. Crazy, wasn’t it?”
Vanessa nodded. “It was.”
“It was scary!” Opal said. “But then you came and swoosh! Scooped me up to save me.”
Vanessa patted her shoulder. “You need to thank the man.”
“I’m Hunter Perrin,” he said and bent down closer to Opal. “What’s your name?”
Vanessa tensed, but Opal answered correctly.
“Katrin. Thank you, Mr. Hunter.”
“Anytime.” He patted her head and stood, putting his hand out toward Vanessa. “Nice to meet you.”
She shook his hand. “Yes, especially given the circumstances. I’m glad you were there. Thank you for what you did. I can’t imagine…”
“Well, let’s not think of what could have happened.”
“Right. I’ve been trying not to. I’m Joanna, by the way.”
His explanation of working nearby explained why he was close to their house earlier, but not why he was here now. He was alone. No girlfriend or wife, no child tugging at his sleeve. What sort of grown man went to a fair alone? There was something not right about this. She didn’t trust this Hunter.
“Mommy! Look at those bears! I want to win one!”
Opal was hopping from foot to foot, pointing to the ceiling of a game that displayed several large teddy bears.
“They’re very nice,” Vanessa said. “And probably impossible to win.”
“It’s a shooting game,” Hunter said. “I happen to be excellent at those. I can give it a shot.” He bent down to Opal. “How about I try to win you one of those bears?”
Opal looked to Vanessa, unsure. Maybe her own paranoia was rubbing off on her daughter, but the look on Opal’s face made it clear that she wasn’t sure she should let Hunter win her something. It would seem stranger to say no and walk away probably, than to just let him try. After he played, they could just thank him and move on.
She nodded at Opal, who then ran to the game’s counter, waiting. Hunter walked up and handed the man a few dollars, then picked up the toy gun. The game started and Hunter shot out several ducklings in quick succession. Within seconds, he’d knocked them all down. The man behind the counter looked unpleasantly surprised.
“Well, which bear will it be, little lady?” the man asked.
Opal pointed to the pink one. The man pulled it down and handed it over.
“Be sure to thank your daddy now for winning you that bear,” the man said.
Opal clutched the bear tight. It was half her size. But she looked at Vanessa with that same unsure look. She didn’t know how to respond when the man at the game assumed they were a family.
“Thank Hunter,” she said, leading her away from the game.
“Thank you!”
“Well, after saving her life and winning her a bear, I think you’ve done your share for the day,” Vanessa said with a smile. “Thank you. Have a good evening.”
She turned away from him, making it clear that it was time for them to part. She wanted to be away from him, even if he looked really hot playing the game. A man with a gun shouldn’t excite her like that, but Hunter with a gun turned her on. She definitely had to get away from him as fast as possible.
