Take A Walk (A Hunter Hayes Fanfiction, Book 5 of The Hardships Saga)

Chapter Eleven

❝note (pronounced nəʊt or noht), noun
a short, informal letter or written phrase.❞

The man had brown hair, brown eyes, and he was older than Hunter by several years. His skin sagged a little on his face, and his hair was streaked with grey. He had heavy eyebrows and his eyes, his eyes that were exactly the colour of Elle's, were staring at her.

"So you're my daughter?" he asked, very soft. His voice was deep and gruff.

The room was dead silent, Cassie standing behind Gabriel with a look of terror on her face. Hunter was staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face, and Ryan was watching Hunter warily.

Drew was the first to step forward, and glancing at him seemed to give Elle strength that she didn't have previously. "Yes," she heard herself say. "I'm Elle."

"Elle," he repeated. "Creative. Your grandmother was French."

"She was?"

"She was indeed."

Everyone was silent once more, and Drew held out a hand. "I'm Drew, sir," he said. "Drew Greene."

"Greene. And who exactly are you?"

"I'm Elle's partner. We've been together for nearly two years now, but we've been friends since-"

"Da, why don't you go inside and meet the family, and we'll discuss living arrangements and stuff?"

"Right," said Gabriel, walking inside. Nita bounded up, licking his hand, and Gabriel showed the first sign of a smile. This relieved Elle somewhat. Dogs were the best at trusting personalities, right? Maybe he wouldn't be so bad after all.

Drew silently took Elle's hand, and together, they followed Gabriel inside.

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They sat around the dinner table. Ryan had made a feast fit for kings, and the table was full. Robin, Spencer, Phoenix, Elle, Drew, Cassie, Gabriel, Hunter and Gabriel sat around the table, while Red sat beside Ryan in her high chair. Everyone was eating in silence, and Elle couldn't stop looking at Gabriel. She could see herself in his brown eyes and his constantly tapping foot.

"Pa, could you pass the salt?" asked Elle, and both Gabriel and Hunter reached, then paused, looking at each other in a not-so-friendly way. She gulped. "Erm, Phoenix, do you mind-"

"Yeah, sure," he said quickly, passing it, and she thanked him quietly. Gabriel glared at Hunter silently, and Hunter glared back. Neither man was willing to back down from this fight.

"Well," began Ryan. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, Gabriel."

"And you, Ryan," said Gabriel, before clearing his throat. "Now, how will arrangements for where they live happen, Hayes?"

"Well," said Hunter, "Elle and Drew have been talking about moving in together for ages, and especially since college is starting up soon, they're going to be living at a campus together."

"And Cassie?" he asked, looking at her. She seemed to be finding her potatoes extremely interesting.

"I was thinking about moving here permanently," she said meekly. "I wanted to come to the US anyway, so coming here isn't so bad-"

"I've already applied for permanent residency here," said Gabriel. "That means we can stay together."

Elle knew it, and so did Drew. Gabriel knew. He knew that Cassie wanted to stay with Hunter; he was just forcing her to admit to it.