Read Butterfly Hunter 01 for Free Online

glad to
have the matter decided for him, at least for now. “Here, I got you
this.”
    Nicholas was as delighted
as a kid at Christmas. He reached to carefully take the box in both
hands, and beamed happily at Dave. It was perfectly obvious what it
was from the branding on the box, never mind that Dave had already
announced he’d buy this for him. Nevertheless, Dave was blown away
by the power of Nicholas’s smile. He watched as, with a kind of
awe, Nicholas unfolded the box, unwrapped the tissue paper, took
out the Akubra – and marvelled at it for long moments before
slipping it on. It fit neatly, and looked just as Dave had
imagined.
    Nicholas’s smile grew so
overwhelming that Dave scrambled for refuge in words. He had to
clear his throat before he could voice anything meaningful, mind.
“It’s the classic style. You know? The Cattleman.”
    “ It’s like
yours,” Nicholas observed.
    Dave had put on his own
old Cattleman as soon as he’d gotten out of the Cruiser. It was
part of him, and had been for more years than he could remember.
His father had bought it for him … well, it must have been for his
eighteenth.
    “ It’s
perfect!” Nicholas was continuing. “How did you know –”
    “ I
emailed your butler, and asked him how big your head was. He
said very .”
    Nicholas went pink round
the cheekbones. “He did not.”
    “ Nah. He sent
me your measurements. Well, you know. For hats, anyway.”
    “ And the
colour?”
    It was the Bluegrass
Green. Dave had been going to get the Sand, like his own, because
that was also classic. But then he’d thought about Nicholas’s black
hair and dark blue eyes. The blue jeans he’d worn on that first
day, with the sage green t–shirt, and the black sweater. Nicholas
was wearing blue, black and green again today. And Dave had thought
about how the darker hat colours – the Black, the Graphite Gray,
the Western Navy – would absorb the heat. He’d thought again about
the unsettlingly oceanic depths of Nicholas’s eyes. And he’d gone
for the Bluegrass Green.
    “ You asked him
about the colour, too?” Nicholas persisted.
    “ What?”
    “ You asked
Simon about the colour … ?”
    “ Oh.” Dave
could feel his cheeks heating. “No, I just guessed.”
    “ It’s perfect .” Nicholas had it in his
hands again, turning it about, and admiring it. When he went to put
it back on again, he grinned at Dave – and made the usual rookie
mistake. He pinched the crown at the front between his thumb and
second finger, and lifted it one–handed.
    “ Not like
that!” Dave cried, instinctively reaching for Nicholas’s narrow
wrist to stop him. God, now they were both blushing. Dave took his
hand away.
    Luckily, Nicholas didn’t
take offence at any of that. “What did I do wrong?” he asked,
apparently keen to know the answer.
    “ I know that’s
how they hold it in the movies. And it looks good, doesn’t it? I
mean, it’s like you should be able to hold the crown like that. But
you’ll put pressure on the creases here, and that’s where it’ll end
up cracking. Maybe not for years, but you don’t wanna –”
    “ No, I don’t,”
Nicholas agreed.
    “ Um, so, you
know, it should last you a long long while …” He trailed off
lamely.
    “ So, how
should I hold it?”
    Dave looked, and snorted
as he saw the Akubra’s brim now warily balanced on the very tips of
Nicholas’s long fingers. “Not like that, either! Here, you can
grasp it as strong as you like with both hands, at the front and
back.” He demonstrated with his own hat, taking it off, and then
putting it back on again. “Fit the front low on your forehead, then
push it down at the back until it’s in place … That’s it,” he added
approvingly, surveying the results.
    Nicholas was still
smiling, gratefully. Even with a wry kind of sweetness. “Thank
you,” he said, in tones that matched his smile.
    “ You’re
welcome,” Dave responded, feeling completely at a loss
now.
    And it