Reforming Hunt

by Jules Barnard

  Something was off. But he couldn’t figure out what it was.

  He shook his head and instantly regretted it. Pinching his brow until the pain receded, he reached over the side of the bed for his clothes. It was five in the morning and still dark. Without a word, he slipped from the bed and left the room.

  Jade lived in an apartment near Stateline. No roommates, thank God. Hunt pulled on his clothes in the living room and left her a note on the kitchen counter next to a box of strawberry Pop-Tarts.

  Jade,

  Thank you for last night.

  No signature. And he never left his phone number. Didn’t want calls from women he had no intention of seeing again.

  Maybe she’d forget his name. Women didn’t seem to mind a one-night stand with him. He showed them a good time, treated them with respect, but he never led women to believe there’d be anything more.

  A few times he’d run into past flings, and they had always been happy to see him. And eager for round two. Which he was careful to avoid. Spending more than one night with someone led to expectations, and he never wanted to give a woman the wrong impression.

  Jade had been exactly the type of woman Hunt favored. Someone looking for a good time, no strings attached. And in a few hours, he’d forget all about her.

  Meanwhile, he couldn’t get Abby and her car out of his head, and it was bugging the crap out of him. He hadn’t even kissed her the night they’d met at the club, let alone slept with her. So why did she keep popping into his mind?

  Later that morning, Hunt learned that the head of maintenance at Club Tahoe had sent Abby’s beater car to Jeffery’s Mechanic shop because he’d been unable to get the car started.

  “Alternator,” the maintenance guy said.

  “Those are expensive,” Hunt murmured to himself.

  The head of maintenance grunted.

  For a fraction of a second, Hunt wondered if he should pay for the car to be fixed. He could afford it, but why the hell was he thinking of doing it? He was courteous toward women—he paid for meals and any entertainment when they were out—but this was beyond courteous. He didn’t know Abby. Literally didn’t know her last name.

  Of course he shouldn’t pay for her car.

  Hunt pushed thoughts of Abby aside and prepared the pontoon for a lake cruise scheduled that afternoon. When he returned a few hours later, he cleaned up the boat and made his way to Club Kids for his late afternoon round of play-with-whatever-kids-were-hanging-until-their-parents-got-off-work.

  It was his favorite time of the day, but he’d never tell his brothers how much he loved working with the kids. They’d say it was because he was a giant child at heart. Which wasn’t entirely off base. But to share the other reasons he enjoyed spending time with the kids would reveal a part of him that was personal. And honestly, his brothers would never believe him anyway. They had one image of who he was, and nothing would change that. Hunt knew, because he’d tried.

  It had been a while since he had scheduled a kids versus Club Kids attendants tug-of-war. Time for a new round, winner got ice cream.

  Kaylee, Wes’s wife, had returned from an extended maternity leave to continue running the Club Kids program, now that their daughter Harlow was old enough to come along too. She stood off to the side, talking to one of the helpers, and Hunt swooped in and picked up Harlow from the baby area where one of the attendants was playing with her.

  He nuzzled kisses on Harlow’s neck rolls—who was feeding this child, anyway?—and Harlow laughed and smacked his head with her chubby baby hands.

  His niece liked to bat her uncles around. And they all allowed it because she was the only girl in two generations of Cades. As far as Hunt was concerned, she was a princess, and he and his brothers would treat her as such.

  “Huuunnt,” he said, looking into Harlow’s eyes, trying to imprint his name in her mind.

  He and his brothers had a running bet over whose name Harlow would say first. She was already saying “momma” and “dada,” but the rest was up for grabs. Hunt, Bran, Levi, and Adam made it a point to repeat their names to Harlow every chance they got. The winner got a round of beers.

  His family had enough money to live in luxury for more than a lifetime, but they were Cades. The kitty could be a penny, and he and his brothers would fight to the death to claim it. No challenge was too small.

  Hunt repeated his name again, despite Harlow batting him across the head every time he did it, laughing.

  “That’s cheating.”

  Hunt glanced up to see Kaylee standing there with her hands on her hips.

  He focused back on Harlow. “It’s not cheating. I need to make sure she practices.”

  Kaylee smiled at Harlow—and stole her from Hunt’s arms.

  Dammit. It was hard as hell to get in Harlow time when his siblings, or her mother, were around. Which was always.

  Kaylee propped Harlow on her hip. “Stop harassing my baby,” she said, and gave him a look.

  Every last one of his brothers had settled down, the idiots. And, of course, they had to choose strong women who gave Hunt a hard time, just like his brothers. Which only meant Hunt had to sneak in his Harlow training when Kaylee wasn’t around.

  “Sure, sure. Whatever you say, Kaylee.” He sent her his most charming smile. Only it hadn’t worked with Abby. She’d been a bizarre exception he hoped wouldn’t become the norm.

  Kaylee glared. “That dimpled grin won’t work on me. Your brother has hardened me to Cade charm.”

  Hunt sighed. “What has he done now?”

  Kaylee kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Wes hasn’t done anything. Yet. But I’ve learned to stay on my toes around that man.”

  “Wes would do anything for you.”

  Kaylee blew a lock of dark hair out of her eye and shifted her daughter to the other hip. “Damn straight, after what he put me through before we got married.”

  No argument there. Wes had ruined his relationship with Kaylee when they’d dated in college, and he nearly did it again years later the second time around. Fortunately for Wes, he’d gotten his shit together and made Kaylee his priority. And Harlow. Hunt never thought he’d see the day, but his brother doted on his little girl and was an excellent father.

  Hunt reached out to tickle Harlow’s belly and mouthed his name, hoping Kaylee was too busy motioning for one of the Club Kids attendants to notice.

  Quick as a rattlesnake, Kaylee slapped his hand away. “Did you come here to try my patience, or was there a purpose to your visit?”

  Damn, she was quick. “I came to check on the kids and see if you needed help. I’ve got the last couple of hours free.”

  Kaylee’s shoulders sank. “That’s more like it. Yes, I need help. This place has doubled in size since I went on maternity leave. We’re bursting at the seams. My first priority is to hire more attendants. In the meantime, do you mind helping Brin watch the kids? And keep an eye on the older ones. Some of them can get rough.”

  Hunt rolled his eyes. “Wes ever tell you about our childhood? We defined rough play.”

  Kaylee’s lips pursed. “Good point. Okay, have at it. Brin is lining the children up by the door while I put together a craft project for the little ones.”

  He notched his head at Harlow. “I can take her with me if you need your arms free.”

  “No! Now get out of here before you brainwash my daughter.”

  Hunt chuckled and followed the kids out the door, making sure to grab the tug-of-war rope.

  An hour later, ice cream won by the kids after the horde of them pummeled Hunt and Brin in tug-of-war, Hunt was hunched in the sand, creating a sandcastle masterpiece.

  “Noah,” Hunt said. “Our castle needs a flag. Gotta let everyone know who owns it.”

  Noah scrunched his face. “How do I make a flag? We don’t have paper and crayons out here.”

  “We have something better,” Hunt said. “Grab one of the buffing rags I left on the dock this afternoon. Make sure to get one tha
t has the Club Tahoe emblem. Also, look for a nice, straight stick on your way.”

  Noah smiled and jumped up with the energy only a five-year-old had.

  Hunt grinned and continued working on the sandcastle, helping out the other kids and praising their work. He scanned the beach to make sure all the children were accounted for, and caught sight of his brother Bran making his way over from Prime, the club’s award-winning steak and seafood restaurant.

  Hunt climbed to his feet and dusted sand off his pants. “How’s it going?” Hunt said, and looked around. Noah was taking a while, but he caught sight of the boy at the end of the dock near the bucket of rags, sifting through each one, probably looking for the perfect flag.

  Hunt chuckled. His assistant was a perfectionist.

  “You got time to talk or are you too distracted by the new lifeguard?” Bran glanced at the lifeguard in question.

  Hunt hadn’t been the least bit focused on Gabrielle, but his brothers assumed the worst of him. Always.

  The new lifeguard was doing a great job. She was super attentive and on top of making sure the kids behaved safely. As soon as Hunt realized she had a good handle on things, he’d forgotten all about her. But Hunt’s brothers thought him female-crazed. And he couldn’t argue their point. When he wasn’t working, he sought all the female attention he could get. He also worried about the club as much as they did, and would never date someone he hired. Not that any of them believed it. “Gabrielle is on the college swim team. I hired her for her skills.”

  Bran snorted. “Sure you did. Has nothing to do with the fact she’s a perfect ten?”

  “Where’s Ireland?” Hunt said. “I thought she was the only woman you looked at?” Bran had gone from a monk, living without sex for years, to a devoted boyfriend. Talk of Ireland was a sure way to distract him.

  “My beautiful girlfriend is on her way. We have plans—”

  Hunt tuned out his brother, his attention suddenly focused on a flash of orange near the dock.

  And then Hunt was running into the lake, where he scooped Noah up from the cold water.

  “You okay, buddy?” he said as he cradled Noah against his shoulder, holding him close.

  Noah buried his face in Hunt’s neck and silently cried.

  “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

  Brin ran over with a towel, along with Gabrielle. “What happened?” Brin said.

  Hunt jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “New kid in the orange T-shirt shoved Noah off the dock.”

  “I saw it happen,” Gabrielle said, “but I was too far away to stop it.”

  “James.” Brin’s eyebrows knitted, and she covered Noah with the towel. “I’ll talk to him,” she said, and walked in the boy’s direction.

  “Noah okay?” Gabrielle asked. She touched Noah’s back, and he burrowed deeper into Hunt’s shoulder.

  Hunt shifted his head to try to get a look at Noah, who was clinging to him like a barnacle. “I think so. I’m just gonna take him for a walk.” He wrapped the towel around Noah tighter. “Keep an eye on the others, will you?”

  “Of course,” Gabrielle said. She turned and blew her whistle loud enough to burst eardrums, and corralled the kids.

  Bran was wrong about Hunt’s intentions. Gabrielle was attractive. Young, with an athletic figure. But Hunt hadn’t hired her for her looks. That girl had kicked ass on the brutal swimming challenge he’d required of all applicants for the lifeguard position. She’d passed with flying colors. And she’d been compassionate with the kids. That was why he’d hired her.

  Gabrielle made the kids pick up sand toys and return to the Club Kids room.

  Bran and Ireland walked up to Hunt and Noah. “Everything okay?” Ireland asked, her expression concerned.

  Hunt nodded and waved his hand in an “I’ll catch you later” motion. Noah was a bubbly guy. It wasn’t like him to cry, and Hunt wanted to make sure he was okay without an audience, even if it was just Bran and Ireland.

  He walked down the beach a ways, rubbing Noah’s back. “How’re you doing, little man?”

  “He shoved me,” Noah shakily murmured.

  “I saw it.”

  “He said I was in his way.”

  Hunt sighed. “What he did isn’t okay. Ever. Especially near water. Brin’s talking to him now, and I’ll make sure we talk to all the kids. We don’t shove or take chances near the water.”

  Hunt felt Noah relax a fraction.

  “The big kids always pick on me.” Noah leaned back and looked at Hunt with the saddest eyes Hunt had ever seen.

  “Sometimes kids aren’t nice to each other,” Hunt said. “But that doesn’t mean you should get back at them. Continue to treat others how you want to be treated. But walk away if they’re being aggressive.” Jesus, he sounded like Esther, his dad’s former receptionist, and the only mother figure he and his brothers ever had.

  Esther, and a couple of other faithful Club Tahoe employees, were probably the only reason Hunt and his brothers turned out to be halfway-decent human beings.

  After a fifteen-minute walk, where Hunt distracted Noah with talk of plans for the boats, Hunt returned to Club Kids with a now-smiling Noah walking beside him.

  Most of the kids had been picked up, but Noah’s ride was nowhere in sight. As usual.

  Hunt stretched his neck, his body tensing. Brin would have called Noah’s emergency contact to inform them of what happened. You’d think that on a day like today the guardian in charge could have shown up on time for once.

  Hunt was grateful he’d been there for Noah, but his heart pounded just from thinking about how much worse things could have been. Noah could have fallen headfirst into knee-deep water. With a fall like that, the boy could have broken his neck.

  Kids had accidents. Thankfully, they bounced back well. But Hunt couldn’t stop his mind from racing with every possible worst-case scenario.

  Was this what it was like to be a parent? A real parent, not the kind his father had been. Absent, frustrated, uncaring. But someone who actually wanted to be there for his kid? Because this sucked.

  Hunt would die an early death due to worry if he ever had a kid of his own. He’d lost a couple of years off his life in the split second it took him to reach Noah, and Noah wasn’t even his child.

  He squeezed Noah’s hand, reassuring himself that the boy was okay. All this worry had to be the Harlow Effect. His baby niece came into his life, and he’d experienced a love he never had before. He’d protect Harlow with his life, and it seemed that protective instinct was rubbing off in other areas as well.

  Hunt considered himself more sensitive to kids, having lost his mother at such a young age. It was almost as if she’d never existed. But she had. She’d held off chemotherapy so that Hunt, growing inside her, could survive. His mother’s sacrifice was something Hunt had never been able to come to terms with. Because it wasn’t only Hunt who’d lost a mother due to her decision to hold off chemo; his brothers lost one too. And Hunt never stopped feeling the guilt for that decision.

  “Where’s my mom?” Noah said.

  Noah was sitting beside Hunt on one of the picnic benches near Club Kids. “I thought you lived with your grandparents?” Hunt said.

  “Noooo,” Noah said, shaking his head. “I live with my mom, silly.”

  “I’m silly? Who’s the one who dumped sand down Brin’s jacket?”

  Noah giggled. “You’re sillyyy!” he chanted.

  Clearly the boy was feeling better. “So your mom—”

  “There she is!” Noah jumped up from the picnic table and ran toward the back of the lobby that exited near the pool.

  And that was when Hunt’s heart dropped. Or raced…sputtered—whatever.

  Because Noah’s mom was Abby.

  Chapter 5

  Abby swept Noah into her arms and peppered his face with kisses, breathing in his sweaty boy scent after a day at Club Kids. The crap she put up with at work, the threats from Noah’s grandparents…it all melted away the
moment she held her son.

  He was getting so big. Pretty soon she wouldn’t be able to get away with picking him up or kissing the heck out of him. For now, she stole all the kisses she could.

  Abby held Noah as he jabbered on about his day, taking in his ruffled hair and…soaked clothes? “Why are you wet?” The moisture was seeping through her scrubs, making her wet as well.

  Noah’s smile sank and his chin began to wobble. “A boy pushed me off the dock.”

  “He what?” Abby looked toward the Club Kids playroom—and caught sight of a familiar face. One she hadn’t expected to ever see again after the night they met, and yet she kept running into him.

  Hunt sat at a bench watching them. It had been odd seeing him yesterday when her car had broken down, but today as well?

  She headed to the Club Kids playroom and stopped in front of Hunt. “What’s going on?”

  Was he stalking her? He hadn’t seemed stalkerish the other night. In fact, he’d left her alone when she told him she wasn’t interested. She’d met plenty of men who would have pursued her regardless, unable to resist a challenge.

  Abby was willing to bet Hunt had helped her with her car yesterday too. One minute the valet at Club Tahoe was harassing her about moving the thing, and the next minute he was helping her get it towed. After he’d spoken to Hunt.

  Hunt continued to watch her and Noah, and he didn’t look happy. What was that about?

  “I work here,” he said. What are you doing here?”

  “Picking up my son from his daycare. But it seems he had a rough day.” Understatement, but she didn’t want to get upset in front of Noah. And if Hunt really worked here, he’d receive an earful from her soon enough.

  She’d assumed that by sending Noah to Club Tahoe—one of the most respected establishments in the area, with a daycare center parents raved about—her child would be safe while she worked to keep them sheltered, with food on the table. Apparently not.