The brash teenager looked at his younger sister with shining eyes. Hunter was proud of Jenny, as well as Gus. Both had been so strong since their mother and father were sentenced. Leonie was blossoming and even Thomas Mark turned out to be a very happy and healthy baby. Brian had actually been worried sick about how his past drug and alcohol abuse could damage his baby during the pregnancy. The brunette went to several doctors to get different opinions about his pregnancy but every doctor assured him that the baby was fine and the pregnancy progressed very well.
The family got a big shock when poor Blacky fell ill. Hunter had been amazed when watching Gus and Jenny at how careful and gentle they were with the black labrador puppy. Due to his sickness, the poor canine was not allowed to run or jump. Playing with his humans wasn’t allowed either so the children had to be very careful. And Gus and Jenny were very careful when they played with the puppy without him running or jumping. The two found and developed ways to play and have fun without all the activity the puppy was missing. The siblings also made sure Blacky was given his meds right on time.
Leonie Estefania was blessed to have Gus and Jenny as her big brother and sister as well. When either of them was pushing her stroller they were careful. If the adults got too loud, the two would tell them to be quiet so their baby sister could get her sleep. They loved feeding the blonde baby girl, Gus even happily changed her diapers… at least, when she didn’t leave a big surprise. He was fine with the small and wet ones but couldn’t stand the big ones. Those were too stinky according to the boy.
The love Hunter saw when watching his siblings taking care of the dog and their baby sister Leonie inspired the teen to write some short stories. It really started with very short stories about how children view family, pets and siblings. Ben had been the first to read the short tales when Hunter asked for his opinion. The teen wanted to create a little book for the family so they could read the stories to the kids.
Brian and Ted had other ideas tho. They were both so impressed that they suggested turning it into a novel. Hunter went back to writing more and actually managed to finish a real children novel with a main story. He thought the shorter stories could be done later, kind of turned into a small series.
When he presented the finished story to the family he always floored the dining room at the loft. Melanie, who was allowed to read the story due to Gus and Jenny being the main characters, suggested earlier some illustrations and Justin gifted Hunter with lots of beautiful sketches and illustrations for his book. The teen had no clue about Melanie’s suggestion and was overwhelmed by the support of his family. Justin didn’t want anything in return for his work, so once the book was published all income would go to Hunter.
Over the next few days, Ted and Hunter went to get the book completed with the text and pictures. When they were satisfied with everything, they made appointments with publishing agents and within not even two months, Hunter was officially a published children’s book author.
The main book turned out to be a huge success. The press loved the adventure of Gus and Jenny, who saved their family from the evil blonde haired snake, the whiny pig with short black hair and the awful, dark haired fiddler spider with curls all over his body. The monsters lived in the family’s garden and tried to take over the loft and tried to put a spell on the three beautiful king dogs. Gus and Jenny managed to create a certain spell to put all of their family asleep in a secured room and a different spell that protected the dogs from the evil three so they were able to do their duty and chase the evil animals away. Gus and Jenny then would hide their swords and magic utensils and wake up the family. Except for the two heroes and their dogs, nobody noticed anything about the evil that tried to destroy their happiness.
After the novel, Hunter had published his small stories in comic form with more of Justin’s illustrations. The blonde artist was named in every book but refused to take money or attend readings at schools, kindergartens and so on. Hunter was the one in the spotlight, nobody else. Of course, the press was able to figure out the real tragic behind Hunter’s publishings but the teen only ever got praise for his creative way of telling the real life horror his family went through.
Daphne actually send two copies of the book to Lindsay and Michael. When Ethan had commited suicide, the young woman was so pissed off. She was sure if the devil truly existed, she would have sold her soul to bring Ethan back to life only so she could kill him.
When Lindsay received her copy of the book she tried to sue Hunter but had no chance. The world knew about her crimes and Hunter had the backing of the family. Michael didn’t even bother to read his copy. He didn’t care about the boy he had adopted once. In his opinion, Hunter wasn’t good enough for anything and he would have only written something trashy. His copy landed in the bin where it remained for only a couple of hours before some of his inmates grabbed it and enjoyed a good read. Michael had never known why everyone started calling him whiny pig.
Debbie, at first, was not happy about the book but after discussing it with her therapist Angela Turner, she realized that Hunter offered Gus and Jenny a way to deal with the nightmare in a different, childlike way. After that, she had fully supported Hunter and fought for the posters and advertisement to be hung in the Diner.
