Reforming Hunt

by Jules Barnard

  Chapter 7

  She was crying?

  When Hunt had pressed Abby for the reason she wanted to pull Noah from the Club Kids program, he never imagined she would break down.

  Hunt couldn’t handle it when women cried. It went against his philosophy of making them happy, and made him want to turn into a giant green man and bash brick walls to protect them.

  Few women had shed tears in Hunt’s presence, unless they were tears of joy. But Abby was miserable. He could see it in her stiff shoulders and the look of fear in her golden eyes with traces of shadows beneath. Something or someone had frightened her, and damn if it didn’t piss him off. Which was probably why he’d offered to set her up on the club’s nonexistent scaled payment plan. And then offered to let Noah participate for free.

  Levi would have his balls for that one.

  Whatever. Hunt would deal with Levi later.

  Noah was special to the program. He’d been here long enough to be a part of the huge expansion Club Kids had gone through over the last year or so. As far as Hunt was concerned, the club owed it to Noah to support him and his mother.

  But there was more. He needed to see Noah safe. His mother as well. Which was baffling as hell.

  Yes, he loved women. Yes, he wanted to protect them and make them happy. But he’d never put himself out there the way he was right now. Not since Lisa.

  Nearly a cool decade had passed since he’d fallen in love with Levi’s girlfriend when Hunt was only a senior in high school. After that monstrous shitstorm, Hunt hadn’t had a good enough reason to be protective over anyone.

  It was the kid. Hunt wanted Noah to be safe and secure, and in order to do that, Noah’s mother needed support, that was all.

  This was a bad idea, but he couldn’t stop himself. He was going to do what he could for Noah and Abby, no matter the consequences.

  Hunt stretched his neck and let out a harsh sigh while he watched Noah and his mother exit the club.

  His brothers didn’t think him capable of caring for someone other than himself—nor did anyone else, for that matter—but he was capable.

  Once Abby had told him about the vise grip Noah’s grandparents had on her son, Hunt had been furious. Oh, he hadn’t shown it at the time, but he was pissed.

  How dare anyone take a child from his mother? A good mother, no less. Sure, she didn’t always pick up Noah on time, but it was clear she loved him. Hunt saw the way Abby looked at Noah, saw the love that glowed between boy and mother. The vision was so damned endearing that it had nearly caused him to shed a tear. Nearly. Let’s not get crazy. Hunt had been raised by his raucous brothers; he’d rather break a pinky finger than show that kind of emotion.

  Speaking of his raucous brothers, Hunt went in search of them. They had a standing date for beers every week, typically in the Fireside Lounge at the club, but tonight they were going Mexican. Over the last few years, significant others joined them, which initially bothered Hunt. He realized now that the ladies offered better advice and were good to have around.

  “You want to do what?” Levi said, his deep voice rumbling like thunder an hour later.

  Hunt reached for a tortilla chip and dipped it into the extra-spicy salsa from the club’s Mexican restaurant. “Free enrollment for Noah. A special exception.”

  Levi looked at Emily, his girlfriend and head manager at the club, as though saying, “Are you listening to this?”

  “Hunt,” Emily said gently, “what happened?”

  Hunt chewed his chip and took a gulp of one of the restaurant’s massive margaritas, complete with mini-bottles of Corona upside down on the rim. “His mom can’t afford it anymore, and I think we should have a scaled payment plan.” He shot a glare at his brother. “Not every kid grows up the way we did. We’d be dicks to only allow in kids who could afford our higher-than-average pricing.”

  Levi scratched his stubbly chin. “Fair enough. But we can’t afford to give every kid free tuition. Scaled is one thing, but free? That wouldn’t be fair to the parents who pay.”

  Hunt leaned back, considering. He shrugged. “I’ll pay for it.”

  Levi looked at their brothers this time, all of whom had been quiet since Hunt had brought up Noah and his mother.

  “What?” Hunt said.

  Adam cleared his throat. “It’s a little odd, is all. You taking such interest in a kid. Or—anyone.”

  Typical. People always underestimated him. Especially his brothers.

  “Not odd at all,” Hunt said patiently. “I enjoy hanging out with the kids at the club. Noah just happens to need my help, and I don’t want to see him suffer. His mom’s got shit going on with her in-laws. Well, technically not in-laws. She was never married to Noah’s father, and Noah’s father passed away years ago. The point is, she’s a single mom doing her best, and I want to make sure she’s supported—that Noah’s supported,” he clarified.

  Bran pointed. “That’s the part that throws me. You’ve never wanted a girlfriend. Well, not since… Anyway, you haven’t gotten serious about a woman in years, and now you want to take care of this mom and her kid?”

  “Not take care of her. I want to help Noah.” Okay, he wanted to help Abby too, but saying as much put stupid thoughts in his brothers’ minds.

  “Interesting,” Wes said.

  “What do you mean, ‘interesting’?” Hunt glared and leaned back.

  “Oh, nothing. Just interesting.”

  Hunt swiped his hands down his face. Why were his brothers being so difficult? This was no big deal. “You assholes have been hounding me about my shallow hookups for years, and now, when I show an interest in helping out a small family in need, you’re the shallow assholes. What gives?”

  “Ignore them,” Kaylee said, holding Harlow in her arms as the baby played with her hair. “I like it, Hunt.” She looked at the others. “Noah really is a sweet kid. Everyone at Club Kids has gotten the impression things aren’t easy for him at home. Now we know why. I’m all for helping him.” She smiled at Hunt.

  Finally. Someone with some sense.

  “Plus,” Kaylee said, “Noah’s mom is pretty. I can see why Hunt likes her.”

  Hunt ground his teeth. “It’s not about the mom.”

  “Regardless,” Levi said, “we can’t give the program away for free. Sets a bad precedent. And I’m not sure we wouldn’t get in trouble for playing favorites if word got out.”

  Hunt flagged the waitress and ordered a super carne asada burrito dinner. Talking about Abby with his brothers had emotionally drained him, and now he was stress eating. Good thing he didn’t gain weight. “I already told you, I’ll pay. Think of it as a private donation.”

  “Is Noah’s mom okay with that?” Kaylee asked.

  Great, even his supporter was questioning him. “Not exactly. I haven’t asked her. Do we have to let her know?”

  Kaylee looked to Levi, who looked to Emily.

  “I suppose not,” Emily said carefully. “I don’t think it’s illegal. But it seems shifty to not tell her what you’re doing. You’d be lying through omission.”

  Hunt twisted his mouth in thought. “I’m fine with that.”

  Noah needed to be at Club Kids, and his mother needed help. What kind of man would Hunt be if he didn’t step up?

  And if his brothers were right, and he’d never done anything like this his entire life? Well, Noah was special. Had nothing to do with Noah’s mother.

  Though she was pretty.

  And protective of her son.

  And kind of hot when she was angry and protective over her son.

  But this was all about Noah.

  Chapter 8

  Abby turned in her financial application to Club Kids, just to see if Hunt had been correct about the free daycare. Because, come on, he had to be wrong. And if he was wrong, then her decision was made for her and she didn’t need to explain why Noah couldn’t attend the program anymore. She couldn’t afford it, and no one would argue with that.

  On
ly, apparently, Club Kids was offering Noah free tuition.

  Abby received a prompt reply notifying her that Noah’s monthly tuition was covered, effective immediately.

  “Covered?” This wasn’t a state-run program. This was Club Tahoe’s kids’ program, the swankiest daycare from the swankiest resort in town. None of this made sense.

  Which was why, free tuition or not, Abby didn’t bring Noah back. She worried about the bullying situation and wasn’t ready to jump back in. Instead, she tried a daycare closer to work. And it didn’t go well at all.

  “I hate this place,” Noah said, as they left Mountaineers Daycare.

  “Did something happen?” She scanned her son’s face and arms.

  “It’s sooooo boring there. When can I go back to Club Kids?”

  Abby’s shoulders sank. For some reason, she wasn’t ready to give Club Kids another try. Hunt was there, and he made her uncomfortable. Okay, that wasn’t true. He made her…uneasy. Yes, uneasy, with his handsome face and muscles and willingness to solve problems. The last time she let a man solve her financial situation so she could attend school full-time, he’d died and left her alone with their young son.

  She was a grown adult. Her family wasn’t around, and God knew they had no money to spare. This was her life, and it was on her to solve her problems. Which meant she was responsible for making the best decisions she could for her child. “What if we stay at the Mountaineers program for a little while? You’re safe there. No big kids picking on you.”

  “No, Mom!” Noah’s sad brown eyes implored her. “I want to go back to Club Kids and help Hunt with the boats.”

  Crap. This was the part of parenting that sucked. You wanted to keep your kid safe, and they wanted to do something that put them in harm’s way.

  Though was it truly unsafe at Club Kids? Maybe they’d hired new personnel, as Hunt had promised. “I’ll give them a call and see if they still have space.” In other words, see if they’d hired more people before she made any decisions.

  “Yay!” Noah cheered.

  It struck her in the heart like a dagger to deny her son anything, when he rarely complained. In fact, returning to Club Kids was the first thing Noah had ever demanded.

  And she worried it had something to do with Hunt and the bond her son had formed with him.

  Noah wiggled out of Abby’s arms after she pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’m fine,” he said, and ran straight for Hunt, standing not ten feet away, checking off a list on a clipboard.

  Abby had checked in with Club Kids after Noah had expressed his unhappiness at the other daycare center. Yes, they’d hired more employees. Three, in fact. And yes, they still had room for Noah.

  “We’d be happy to have him back,” the spunky attendant had said. Brin, if Abby was correct. So Abby had relented. Club Kids truly was the most well-respected place for childcare in town that she’d found.

  Hunt glanced up, making brief eye contact with her.

  A swarm of butterflies took off inside her belly.

  She closed her eyes. Really? This now? Hunt had helped her with Noah and the program and, dang it, even her car. If she was going to allow him to be a friend to her and her son, she needed to keep things platonic. It was one thing for a friend to help out, and another thing entirely to have a man supporting her. She wouldn’t go down that road again. Not without a wedding license.

  Noah dumped his backpack and lunch in a bin set outside for that purpose, and Hunt said something to him, touching his shoulder.

  Noah smiled widely then ran off to join the other kids. Hunt returned his gaze to his clipboard, but Abby sensed his attention on her.

  Time to let him know where things stood. She approached and said, “This isn’t a permanent thing.” He didn’t look up. “Noah wants to be here, but I’m not convinced it’s the best place for him. And I’ll probably be late every day. I don’t get out of work until five. And there’s traffic. Especially in the summertime.”

  Hunt finally slid his gaze from the clipboard to her eyes.

  Her chest tightened and her heart pounded.

  She clenched her palms. Hunt hadn’t had this kind of effect on her inside the club.

  Okay, that was a lie. But back then she’d been in lockdown mode. She’d ignored those butterflies, and now the darn things had gotten intense.

  Even if she was attracted to Hunt, she had no time to date. Like, none. Less than none. Not that he was interested. The butterflies and pounding heart were probably one-way.

  Hunt had never seen her in anything but her rubber work clogs. He must think her frumpy. And yeah, she was.

  At one time, Abby had been an attractive woman. Back when she washed her hair daily and wore makeup and cute clothes. Now she was lucky if her nurse’s smock was unwrinkled. More times than not, she was too tired to fold clothes and passed out as soon as Noah fell asleep. Being a single parent put a serious damper on the hot-mom department. Not that she needed to be hot. Abby hadn’t needed to be hot since Trevor died.

  “Don’t worry about being late,” Hunt said, his voice deep, seductive, and not at all helping. Because striking blue eyes and a built body weren’t enough.

  She was a single, frumpy mom, for heaven’s sake! The universe needed to have pity.

  “Well, I am worried,” she said, lifting her chin and trying to not look him in the eye. The butterflies tended to overreact with eye contact.

  He pulled out his phone. “What’s your number?”

  Butterfly kaleidoscope explosion. “Excuse me?”

  Bringing Noah back to Club Kids was the worst decision ever.

  “Your number,” he said. “I’ll text you with my information. Call me if you’re ever running late, and I’ll tell Noah so that he doesn’t worry. We’ll stay busy cleaning the boat until you get here.”

  Hunt was killing her. And persistent. She wasn’t sure she trusted him, but that was her brain speaking. Her gut was all for him.

  His expression was kind. She was being overprotective of her son, but could he blame her? “Fine,” she said. “Though I’m sure you have it in the paperwork.”

  He ran his fingers across the display as she rattled off her number, and then he tucked his phone away. “I’m sure I do. But this way I’ve got your permission to call you. To coordinate.”

  Coordinate? Why did the way he said that make her stomach flutter? On the other hand, he was helping her with her son, so she needed to simmer the hell down already.

  She turned and walked away, still shaky and not at all sure she was doing the right thing. Before she left the pool area, she looked back one last time to check on Noah—and found him on Hunt’s shoulders.

  He carried her boy to a circle of children on the sand, and Noah laughed, raising his fist like he was king of the world.

  Her throat went dry. This was what her son had been missing. What she hadn’t been able to give him. A father figure. And it seemed Noah had found one on his own.

  Lord help her, why did it have to be this man?

  Chapter 9

  Much to Abby’s surprise, life went on like clockwork once Noah returned to Club Kids. She texted Hunt when she was running late, and Noah was always playing and having fun when she arrived. If Noah wasn’t with Hunt when she picked him up, Hunt was never far away.

  Noah jabbered on and on for weeks on the drive home from daycare about Hunt and all the fun things he did at Club Tahoe. There’d been no more issues with bullying, not that she blamed Club Kids anymore for the dock incident. The problem was endemic; where there were kids, there would be accidents and roughhousing. All she could do was make sure Noah was under the best adult supervision she could find, and for now, Club Kids was it. Besides, Noah was happy there.

  Abby grabbed her purse from her work locker, leaving early for once, and Maria flagged her down.

  “So what do you say?” she said, continuing their conversation from lunch. “It’s been weeks since we went out to the club.”

  “I don’t
know,” Abby said. “I’m not interested in meeting men. Not with everything that’s going on with Noah’s grandparents. There’s not much point in mingling with the opposite sex.”

  Maria pulled her long, dark hair over one shoulder. “It’s been four years since Trevor passed. I just think you should try getting out there again. Even if only to socialize. If more comes of it”—she shrugged—“that’s a plus, right? Show Noah what a healthy relationship looks like.”

  Abby grabbed her keys, chuckling. Maria was laying it on thick. Her friend wanted to go out and party, but half of what she said was true. These were Abby’s best years. Yet she’d give it all up to keep Noah safe. “I don’t know, Maria.”

  Abby missed Trevor. But the sharp pain of his loss had dulled since his parents began their campaign to make things hard on her. She didn’t blame Trevor for what his parents were doing, but she blamed him for not creating a will before Noah was born.

  “I don’t want to risk Trevor’s parents throwing something else in my face to make me look like a bad parent. I’m sure if I went on a date, they’d spin it to look like I had a revolving door of men at the house.”

  Maria grabbed her wrists. “Abby, you didn’t talk to that lawyer I referred you to, did you?”

  “Sure I did. Do you know how much he charges for a one-hour consultation? That’s enough for food for an entire month. I can’t afford it.”

  “There has to be another way. The city or state must provide support for situations like this.”

  Abby dropped her hands from Maria’s gentle grip and rubbed her forehead. “Maybe. I don’t know. If Trevor’s parents decide to sue me for custody, I might be able to get help. Right now, they only threaten. And it’s not like I have tons of time to look into things. I’d basically be taking on a part-time job just to pay for professionals, let alone research the situation.”

  “All the more reason for us to get you out. We won’t go to a club. We’ll go someplace respectable where we can talk and think of ways to get Vivian off your back. I’m sure if we put our heads and phone-searching capabilities together, we’ll come up with something.”