Reforming Hunt

by Jules Barnard

  “We were told a worker in the children’s program had lost our grandchild. That Noah had snuck off and climbed onto a boat and drove out into the lake. He could have been killed. Supposedly, your husband carelessly skipped work that day and they were short-staffed.”

  Abby couldn’t imagine Kaylee, or any of the other Club Kids workers, saying that about Hunt, but obviously Vivian had a purpose for this visit. “It was an accident. In fact, Hunt was the one to rescue Noah. Noah loves the club and the time he spends there. I’m sure they’ll put more policies in place so that it never happens again.”

  “They lost my grandchild, Abby. Your son.”

  Abby let out a breath. She knew Vivian would never give this one up. “No one is more aware of that than I am.”

  Vivian glanced at her husband then back at Abby. “Darling, I know we’ve had our disagreements, but hear me out. We’d like to help you.”

  Help her? They’d never offered to help. And the times she’d asked, they’d flaked and made things worse for Abby.

  “We’d like to relieve you of the financial responsibilities you’ve faced since Trevor’s passing. It’s why you married that man, isn’t it?”

  Abby didn’t answer. She was terrible at lying. Also, she wasn’t so certain anymore of the reasons she’d married Hunt. She worried it had been for more than security and protection for Noah. She’d liked Hunt and wanted him for herself.

  “Don’t answer now,” Vivian said. “Just listen. We’d like to cover all of Noah’s expenses: private schools, clothing, food, his housing.”

  “I don’t understand,” Abby said. “You’ve never offered to help before.”

  Vivian pursed her mouth. “That was unkind of us. And once we heard our only grandchild could have seriously been harmed, we sat down and talked about how we could have prevented such a frightening situation. If Noah lived with us—”

  “Lived with you?” Abby jumped up. “No.”

  Vivian stood, but her expression was kind. “We don’t want to take Noah from you, Abby.”

  Abby threw up her hands. “But you want him to live with you. How is that any different?”

  “You could visit as often as you like and have shared legal custody. But he would be in our physical custody.”

  Abby was about to object again, rudely, when Vivian put her hand on Abby’s forearm. It took everything she had not to pull away. “I promise I’m not trying to take Noah,” Vivian said. “I truly want to help. But it would be easier if he lived in our home. We have so much to offer him. The best education money can buy. Anything he needs.”

  She meant financially. Trevor’s parents were loaded. They could give Noah a life Abby would never be able to provide. Not on her own. She’d always have to depend on someone else.

  It had been a pipe dream to think she’d ever finish her degree and provide for her son. She’d always been in over her head.

  God, was she seriously considering this?

  When she thought about it, she couldn’t help but wonder if she was being selfish, holding on to Noah, when his grandparents could offer him so much more. If Vivian wasn’t lying, and Abby could visit Noah as often as she liked, this could be a way for Abby to make sure her son was well provided for and still be a part of his life. “I don’t know.”

  Vivian smiled. “That’s all we wanted. For you to think about it. Take your time.” She walked toward the door, with her husband silent at her side.

  Noah’s grandfather sent Abby a kind smile.

  “We’ll be in touch,” Vivian said, and walked out, her husband behind her.

  Abby sank back onto the couch. Most of Noah’s life, she’d felt like a failure of a mother. She should have pressured Trevor into putting together a will and trust so that Noah would be provided for. She should have insisted they marry. Anything would have been better than losing Trevor and risking her son’s security.

  But giving Noah up? Even if it was only physical custody, the thought had Abby curling into a ball.

  She wasn’t sure she could do it. But she also wasn’t sure she could force Noah into the lifestyle she’d grown up in. Financially broke. Parents working day and night. Too much time alone.

  Abby wanted better for her son.

  Chapter 30

  Hunt finally tracked down the address of Abby’s friend Maria, where Abby had been staying, and just in time. He was losing it, crawling the walls of his now-finished house, unable to sleep or eat, worried sick about Abby and Noah. He also feared he’d lost his family for good. Because Noah and Abby were his family.

  Hunt and Abby weren’t supposed to stay married. He wasn’t supposed to love her, but somehow, along the way, he’d fallen for the sweet, sexy single mother of his favorite club kid. He almost wondered if it had happened the night he’d met her at the club, before he knew she was Noah’s mom.

  Abby wasn’t like anyone else. She was strong and thoughtful, and she felt amazing in his arms. All he knew was that he wanted her in his life permanently. Hunt didn’t want to live through another day without his family. That was why he was on his way to Maria’s house to grovel and do whatever he had to do to get his wife and Noah back.

  Abby had left him. She hadn’t said as much, but she was gone, and he feared it was permanent. Now that he knew what truly happened the day of the boating accident, he’d been able to think clearly and not allow past failures to cloud his judgment. The accident hadn’t been his fault, though he took some responsibility for anything that happened at the dock and beach. But he’d failed Abby in one other significant way.

  He’d never told her how he felt. That he wanted more. That he was ready for more.

  Hunt climbed the stairs to the second floor of the apartment building where Abby was living with Noah. He checked the door number given to him by Kaylee, who had tracked down Noah’s grandparents and stealthily found out where Abby was staying, then knocked on the door.

  Abby answered. Wearing her scrubs.

  She looked incredible, and he wanted to pull her into his arms and sink his face in her hair. “Hey,” he said instead.

  “Hey.” She looked past him. “How did you find me?”

  “Noah’s grandparents.”

  Her eyebrows pinched together. “They gave you my address?”

  “Not exactly. Kaylee sort of got it out of them. Can I come in?”

  “Oh, yes.” She stepped back. “Sorry, I was just surprised to see you.” Her gaze swept his body, and he felt it everywhere. Goddamn. “It’s good to see you,” she said.

  Hunt forced himself to not reach for her hand. “It’s good to see you too. Are you okay? Noah okay?”

  “We’re fine. Noah ran to the store with Maria. She’s going to watch him while I put in an extra shift.”

  Hunt nodded. He didn’t like that Abby was working more shifts again, but at least she and Noah were both safe. “Good, that’s good. Abby—”

  “Hunt,” she said at the same time.

  “You first,” he said.

  She walked into the small apartment living room and sat on the couch, gesturing for him to sit as well. “I’m sorry. I should have called you.”

  “It’s fine. I know how upset you were with me.”

  She twisted her hands together. “I was. Until I realized it wasn’t entirely your fault. I was wrong to put everything on you. Wrong to marry you.”

  He held up his hand. “Wait, you regret what we shared?”

  Her mouth parted. “Well, not exactly. It’s more that I feel like it was incredibly selfish of me to put the burden of caring for me and Noah on you.”

  “It’s not a burden if I wanted it.”

  She shook her head, looking down. “You wanted to help us—”

  “Nope. I fell in love with you.”

  Abby’s head shot up. “What?”

  “I love you. Love your fucking scrubs.” He took in her body. When he returned his heated gaze to her face, she was blushing. “Love your clogs, and even your cold feet.”

&
nbsp; “You never said anything about my cold feet.” She covered her face with her hand. “You should have told me it bothered you.”

  “Why would I do that?” he said. “I love your feet and everything else about you. The way you hold your son. The way you enter a room, shy and sweet. And I love the sounds you make when I’m inside you…”

  Two fingers peeled away to reveal her eyes. And they were half-lidded. She was thinking of their bedroom and all the times they’d consummated their fake marriage.

  “Our marriage might have started as a convenient arrangement—I wanted to impress my brothers, and you needed security—but I wanted you. And I fell in love with you once we married.”

  Her hand dropped. “You’ve lost your mind.”

  “Since you and Noah have been gone, yes. Ask our contractor, Lewis. He’ll vouch for my insanity these last several days.”

  “Hunt.” She sighed as though pained. “I want to be with you, but I can’t risk it. The boating accident… And Vivian. She’ll use the accident and anything else she can find against me. It will never end, even if we stay married.”

  “Vivian can’t use the boat accident against you,” Hunt said. “Someone set up the boat to release from the dock, and the police are looking into it. No one will believe it was your or my fault.”

  He rubbed his brow. “Abby, there’s so much more to say, but trust me when I tell you that there’s nothing Vivian has that could be used against you.”

  Hunt dropped to his knee, closing the distance between them. “Please come back. Not being with you and Noah is killing me. I’ll get rid of all the boats, put security cameras everywhere to keep Noah safe—whatever you need. Just don’t divorce me.”

  Abby blinked. “The boat Noah got caught on was released intentionally? And wait…boating is your favorite thing in the world. Why would you give that up?”

  “You’re my favorite thing in the world. And I’d give up whatever I needed to in order to be with you.”

  She took in his position on the floor on bended knee. “Are you…proposing to me?”

  “Of course not,” he said. “We’re already married.” He shot her a cocky grin and pulled her into his arms. “So what do you say?”

  “I don’t know what to say since we’re already married,” she said in a saucy tone.

  He laughed and eased away so he could hold her hand. “Abigail Cade, will you marry me?”

  She paused. Way too damn long for Hunt’s sanity. And then she said, “I’m not sure things could get worse than they’ve been without you. Both Noah and I have been miserable.” And then Abby’s mouth turned into a smile that slowly lit up the corners of her eyes. “Yes, I’ll marry you. Life is no good without you, Hunt Cade.”

  Hunt thought he was the most excited person to finally return with his family to the Cade estate—now his and Abby’s home—but he was wrong.

  Noah barely gave him a hug, before he was tearing through the house, touching all the shiny new appliances and paint on the walls. Marking them up, of course.

  “Noah,” Abby said. “No hands on the walls.”

  “I don’t care,” Hunt said, and pulled her into his arms. “This house will be a home where kids can live and make messes.”

  They heard Noah shouting and what sounded like him jumping up and down on one of the beds upstairs.

  Abby momentarily glared at the ceiling. Then she glanced around. “It’s so pretty. I can’t believe how nice it turned out.”

  “You did a great job,” he whispered, and kissed her neck. God, he’d missed the smell of her, the taste of her.

  Waiting until she’d gotten off her shift to bring her here had been torture. She’d refused to call in sick, so he’d helped out Maria and taken Noah fishing.

  “Maybe we should check out our bedroom,” he murmured.

  Abby sighed. “We can’t. Noah’s awake.”

  Hunt looked up, calculating. “What time does that kid go to bed?”

  “In, like, four hours. Can you wait that long?” she said, chuckling.

  “No.”

  “Hunt!”

  “Fine,” he said, and huffed out a mock sigh. “I can wait. Come on.” He dragged her by the hand. “We might as well look around while you leave me pining.”

  The doorbell rang.

  Abby looked to Hunt. “Are you expecting someone?”

  “No one. I told my brothers to stay away.”

  She squeezed his hand. “That was naughty of you.”

  He laughed. “It was the smartest thing I’ve ever done. If I hadn’t, they’d be over, harassing me and preventing things like this.” He leaned forward and kissed her, ending it with a gentle nip at the corner of her mouth she was always worrying.

  Hunt lifted his head, and Abby’s eyes were glazed over.

  “Okay, now I’m pining,” she said.

  “Good.” He walked to the door. “We can get right to business as soon as Noah crashes.”

  Hunt opened the door, and an older man and Vivian stood on the stoop, their expressions pinched.

  Wonderful, Hunt thought, and sighed. “Can I help you?” he asked Noah’s grandmother.

  “You’re that man,” Vivian exclaimed.

  Hunt laughed. “I am a man, yes.” He glanced at the person next to her. “I see you have one of your own.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, and pushed her way in.

  “Vivian?” Abby said. “Why are you here?”

  “We had a deal,” Vivian said. “Our grandchild would live with us.”

  Abby’s eyes narrowed. “I said I would think about it.”

  Vivian straightened her back. “And have you decided?”

  “Yes. Noah will stay with me. We’ll live here, with my husband. This is our new home.” Abby stretched her arms wide. “My husband and I can give Noah all the possessions and private education he needs. And love. He’ll have more love than he knows what to do with.”

  Hunt walked over and wrapped his arm around Abby’s waist. “Was there anything else you needed?”

  Vivian pointed. “This man nearly got our grandchild killed, Abby. He’s in charge of the boats, including the one that trapped Noah.”

  “What else were you told about that day?” Hunt asked.

  Vivian scoffed. “Just that you were the one in charge, and people like that Donovan person, who cares for the children, aren’t reliable. Abby put our grandchild in a dangerous situation, leaving him at your establishment, and we’ve notified Child Protective Services.”

  Hunt glanced around. “I don’t see CPS here. I guess they’re not worried.”

  “Now, see here—” Vivian began.

  “No,” Hunt said. “I don’t think I will.”

  “Hunt?” Abby asked.

  He looked down and squeezed her waist. “We didn’t have time to go through all the details earlier, but I’ve been doing some digging while you were away. I found out a few things you should know.” He looked at Noah’s grandparents. “The first is that Trevor’s parents hired an attendant to work at Club Kids. How else would they know his name? I never said it.”

  Abby looked at Vivian. “Is that true?”

  Vivian blustered for a moment. “Don’t trust anything this man says. I can’t believe you moved back in with him. I had hoped that by moving in with your friend, you’d come to your senses.”

  “I hired a private investigator,” Hunt said. “That’s how the club tracked down this Donovan kid. Noah’s grandparents hired him to get a job at Club Kids and make the place look unsafe.

  “Donovan saw Noah wiping down the old boat that day,” Hunt continued. “As soon as Noah boarded to put the rags away, Donovan cut the boat loose from the dock. He’d waited until I wasn’t around, and rigged the throttle ahead of time. He’s the person who nearly got your grandchild killed.”

  “No,” Vivian said, her face turning pale. “That’s impossible.”

  “Impossible that you hired him or impossible that he rigged it? Because we
have his confession.”

  Vivian’s mouth opened and closed. She glanced at her husband, who shared an equally worried expression. “We never told him to set a boat loose.”

  “But you hired him to work at Club Kids?” Hunt asked.

  “Well, yes,” she said pertly. “To keep an eye on Noah.”

  “And from what he confessed,” Hunt said, “to make the place and his mother look negligent.”

  Vivian went silent. It was her husband, Noah’s grandfather, who spoke up next. “We never would have agreed if we’d known harm could come to Noah or any of the children. Are you certain it was Donovan who did this?”

  “He was caught in a lie and confessed to the whole thing,” Hunt said. “Told the police he met you in church.”

  Noah’s grandfather grabbed Vivian’s elbow. “Come on, Viv. Let’s leave them alone.”

  She pulled back. “No. He’s wrong. Donovan would never have done that. It’s this man who put Noah in danger.”

  Hunt stood straighter. “I’d protect Noah with my life.”

  The grandfather urged Vivian out. She followed, but she said over her shoulder, “You’ll hear from our lawyers.”

  Hunt closed the door behind them, and Abby looked over, frightened. “Are you sure about this Donovan person?”

  “He’s facing charges after his confession. I’m certain.”

  “But Vivian and her lawyer…” Abby looked to where Noah’s grandparents had departed.

  “Don’t worry about them. I’ve been in contact with our lawyers since before we married. They know everything. Noah’s grandparents have no leg to stand on. Never did. They can’t take Noah from you. And if you decide to press charges, it’s possible for you to get a restraining order to prevent them from seeing Noah.”

  “No,” she said. “It would hurt Noah, and I don’t want him to lose the only part of his father he has left. They’re not bad people, just terribly sad after losing their son. They changed after he died.”

  Hunt pulled her into his arms. “Then we won’t. But I want you to know you never have to fear them again. And that I’m here for you.”

  She looked into his eyes. “I love you, Hunt Cade.”