They stood in silence for a moment, the words he wanted to say too hard to speak.
“But what if you are what I want?” Blythe’s body shuttered in a sob he felt through his thumb. His heart sank so low in his chest, he thought it would never feel right again.
“Hunter,” Gramps called from the office door.
“It’s not about what you want. It’s about what you need. And I’m not that guy.” Blythe’s gaze flashed away from Hunter long enough for him to speak. “Go, Blythe. You don’t owe me anything. Nothing personal, right?”
“It’s not about owing anyone anything. It’s about caring enough to not keep score.” She wiped her own tears away and sucked in a breath, quieting her sobs. “I never thought you were the kind to keep score, Hunter. I guess I was wrong.”
He’d almost reached the point of breaking when Gramps dropped a heavy hand to his shoulder.
“Sorry to interrupt you two bickering birds, but the hospital just called. Molly’s in labor, and no one can reach Beau.”
Blythe’s eyes flashed to Hunters. “She still has four weeks. Going into labor now isn’t good.”
Damn. Had the stars aligned against him?
“She needs someone with her,” Blythe continued.
“Fine. Gramps, you go. I’ll keep things going here.”
Gramps grunted. “I need to find Beau. He’s out on the Double C fields cutting hay. You need to go.”
How could he face holding the hand of the woman who had stolen his family? How could he face bringing a kid into a family that had ruined him? Knowing he couldn’t have the same with Blythe because of it only added to the pain.
“Good idea.” Blythe was at his side. “I’ll go with you. We can stop at your house on the way and change.”
“You’re not−”
She held her hand in his face. “This doesn’t mean anything for us, but she’s your sister-in-law, and she needs you. Family comes first. Now move.”
Fine. If she wanted to put herself in the middle of a Cole family smack down, it would be on her. At least having her there would remind him what they had all stolen from him, incase seeing the kid made him sentimental.
****
Blythe held her breath the whole way from the truck to Hunter’s front porch, praying Mike had taken her suggestion and left in the taxi. She’d stepped inside the house seconds before Hunter and searched for Mike. He wasn’t there.
She ran up the stairs for her shoes and found Hunter’s phone on the stand with the message light blinking. One call rang up Fort Mavis Medical and the second she recognized as Mike’s cell. Without listening to the message, she deleted it.
“You don’t have to do this.” Hunter met her at the base of the steps and blocked her with his chest.
“I know I don’t need to. I want to.”
He frowned. “Why?”
She slid one shoe on and held the other between them. “Because, as screwed up as you are, you deserve someone on your side.”
He glowered at her. “I can handle my family.”
“Yes.” She slid on her other shoe, using his shoulder to balance. The ride from the kennel to the ranch had given them both time to calm down, but her hands still shook. “I know you can, but why should you have too alone? Whether you want me to or not, I’m not leaving you.”
He folded his arms over his chest and stared before giving up with a shrug. “Fine. Have it your way.”
The ride to the hospital was long and silent. By the time they reached the front desk of the small medical center, Blythe had to clear her throat to speak. Her fingers shook with adrenaline as she gave the name and listened to the nurse direct Hunter to the room. She didn’t follow.
Alone in the waiting room, she sat, watching families come and go. She lost track of how long she’d been there until her head fell back and she woke herself from dozing.
“Blythe?” Gramps put a hand on her shoulder. He was out of breath and sweating. Blythe shot to attention. “I just came in from searching for Beau. The boys found him a couple of miles out. He’ll be here soon. Any news?”
“Nothing.” She rubbed her sore neck. “Hunter went back when we got here, but nothing else has happened.”
Gramps dropped to the chair next to her. “Cole labors are always fast. I’m sure we’ll hear something soon.”
Blythe laughed dryly. “There’s no guarantee of that. It could be hours still.”
“Not in this family. We follow tradition.”
Blythe bit her tongue until she tasted the blood. She couldn’t hold her feelings back any longer. “Maybe it’s time you stop following tradition and start talking to each other.”
Gramps’s mouth twitched, and he opened it to speak when Hunter rounded the corner to the waiting room, his facemask still around his neck. He grinned when he looked at her, but the smile faded when Gramps stood. “What happened?”
Hunter pulled the mask off and held his hand out to Gramps. “You have a healthy great-grandson. Congrats.”
Both men hugged. For the second time in a day, Blythe had to wipe the tears from her cheeks. She noticed she wasn’t the only one when Gramps turned to hide his puffy eyes from his grandson. It melted her heart to see the emotion the men shared. It gave her a glimpse at what the Coles could be if they would just work out the past.
“They’re taking care of baby Cole, but Molly wanted me to bring everyone to the room.”
Without a glance in her direction, Hunter laid a hand on Gramps’s shoulder and led him back into the hall. Hunter wasn’t going to need Blythe on his side anymore. He now had a nephew to pull him into the family. He needed time and space to mend his broken relationship with them.
On the way in, they had run by a taxi stop. If she hurried, she could still catch the flight back to Virginia and be out of the Coles’ hair before baby Cole stole all of their attention. Hunter could send the rest of her clothes by mail when he had a chance and sell the car once Dale fixed it. She would only be in the way if she stayed.
She stopped at the nurses’ desk to leave Hunter a note.
“Blythe.” Beau came up behind her, as out of breath as Gramps had been. “Do you know where she is?”
“She’s fine,” Blythe said. “Hunter and your grandfather are with her and the baby now.”
His eyes lit. “The baby?”
“Mr. Cole?” The nurse spoke up. “We’ve been looking for you. Come with me, and I’ll take you to your wife.”
Beau turned to her. “Are you coming?”
Blythe stalled and shook her head. As much as she wanted a chance to say goodbye, Hunter didn’t need that right now. “It’s a family thing and a full room.” She smiled. “Congratulations.”
Beau opened his mouth, as if he wanted to argue, but shut it as soon as the nurse took off down the hall.
That baby boy had a hard job ahead of healing the Cole family, but if anything could remind people of how much they cared for each other, it was the crying sounds of a baby. At least, that was her hope for the Coles.
They would all be fine, and she still had a chance to making it home in time to settle in for a couple of days before school started again. At least she would have enough time to come up with a good story about the vacation.
Leaving them behind made her shake with sadness. Knowing Hunter had a chance at happiness had to be enough.
She took one last look down the hall, where the Coles had disappeared, and then stepped out the waiting room door.
CHAPTER TEN
The only problem with planes was the damn tires.
Blythe stared out the airport window at the puddle jumper fueling for a flight back to Virginia and sighed.
Tires and testicles. They screw you every time.
“For what it’s worth, you would never be the Texas kind.”
Blythe rolled her gaze over to Mike and tightened her lips. Of course she had ended up on his flight, and he didn’t seem to take the hint that she wasn’t interested in talking while they wai
ted.
“I know that face. You’re pissed. I get it. I made a mistake.”
Blythe scooted down a seat, lifted his luggage from the ground, and plopped it in the chair between them.
“The silent treatment. I deserve it. I’m just glad you decided to join me.”
“Decided isn’t exactly the right word.” She smirked and turned back to the window.
In Mike’s twisted world, he’d saved her. He had been smiling like a horny teenager in a Victoria Secrets store for the last hour, and she doubted it would end after the flight. Besides paying for her ticket when she realized she’d left her wallet at Hunter’s, he’d also called the Sheriff about selling her car in Fort Mavis. On top of that, he had made sure her belongings were sent home to her−all without her asking.
He’d been the perfect gentleman, and she’d hated every second of it.
“I’m going to grab a drink before we board. Can I get you a coffee?” Mike stood behind her. She saw his reflection in the window. Why did he have to play the nice card when she wanted to hate him? It wasn’t fair.
Caffeine would go a long way to helping with her headache-and she didn’t have a dime on her-but taking anything from Mike made her feel sick. “No thanks.”
“I’ll grab you one anyway. Two creams, no sugar. You might want it before we board.”
The sick thing was he’d known just what to order for her. Even though it had been her favorite drink for the last two years, it wouldn’t compare to Hunter’s coffee.
By now, Hunter would know she was gone. He’d probably be pissed at her for not saying goodbye. Then again, with the distraction of baby Cole, he might not even care.
She had brought him to his nephew. She’d connected him to the family he needed. He would be okay without her. But would she be okay without him?
“Blythe.”
She dropped her head in her hands. Dealing with Mike the entire flight home was going to be more than she could handle.
“Can I have five minutes alone, please?” She raised her head to the window, ready to turn on him and scream, but that was when she caught sight of the cowboy hat in the reflection.
“I deserve that. I’ll just sit here and shut up until you’re ready.”
She turned. Hunter took the seat next to her with his long legs stretched in front of him. His boots were caked in red mud. She fought the smile that threatened to break across her face.
“Why are you not at the hospital? You should be with your brother.”
“Because my brother told me to get my ass to the airport. Your boyfriend’s a talker. He told Gramps his flight time.”
“He’s not my boyfriend.” She couldn’t resist the smile any longer. Instead, she breathed Hunter in; he was all earthy scent mixed with aftershave and the heat of midday Texas. All things she’d grown to love in a very short time.
“No?”
She moved away when he reached for her. “No.”
He blinked and dropped his hand to his side. The simplest of answers would be to say goodbye. To end what they both knew had to end eventually.
He pushed his hat higher on his head. “Honestly, I knew all along he wasn’t. I also know he’s not right for you.”
She frowned. “Then why did you push me away?”
He crossed his legs, one over the other, and tipped his hat back. “Because you were right about the family. We’ve been broken for a long time and being called out on it has made us all stop trying to hide that fact.” He grinned. “Did you really yell at Gramps in the hospital? No woman has yelled at that old man since Grandma. He’s still stunned.”
He scooted closer, and this time, she didn’t move. When he reached for her cheek, she didn’t shy away. She should have. Saying goodbye was only going to be more painful if he touched her.
“But you’re all wrong about yourself.”
She blinked hard and stared. “What?”
“You and Mike. He didn’t leave you because he didn’t love you. He left you because you didn’t love him and he knew it. Sooner or later you were going to figure that out, so he wanted to make damn sure he left first.”
Blythe caught Mike walking towards them with two coffees and a strange expression. “How would you know that?” she asked.
Hunter leaned in until his heat permeated her skin. “Because I was Mike and Molly was you. I knew she didn’t love me. I just couldn’t admit it to myself, so I left.” He leaned in closer until his lips rested on her forehead. “But you…” He pressed his lips to her skin and spoke. “I can’t say goodbye to you. Damn, did I try. But it just didn’t work.”
“Blythe.” Mike stood behind Hunter. His hands were full of coffee, and his eyes wide with anger.
Hunter didn’t turn around or move from holding her. “I’ve been a complete ass. I thought pushing you away was the right thing for you. I can’t give you what you want. I can’t give you the close family and the full houses and—”
“Who said I wanted those things?” Blythe set up straighter and narrowed her gaze. She tilted her head until her eyes met his. There was a softness she hadn’t expected, but it flooded her heart and made her legs go weak.
“I did. I was wrong,” he whispered. “If you left, I’d never forgive myself for letting you go without a fight. I can’t give you what he can, but dammit, I can give you enough love and a house and we can create a family to fill it.”
Her heart screamed yes, but her head demanded he understand one thing first. “No,” she started. “We can’t create a family to fill it if you can’t let go of what happened in the past.”
Hunter dropped his hat to his lap. “ I was there for Jake Brandon Cole’s birth. That’s a start.”
“And,” she pressed.
“I’m his godfather.” His eyes twinkled. “And I wouldn’t mind having a few of those little rugrats underfoot one of these days.”
“Only if you promise to wear the hat in bed.”
He grinned, full and deep and proud. “Anything you want. I’m yours.”
He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her in close, taking her mouth with his until the airport and Mike disappeared, and all that remained were her and Hunter and possibility.
When he finally pulled away, two coffees sat in the seat beside them and Mike was gone.
“Looks like I lost my ride again.” She ran her hand through Hunter’s hair and grinned.
“No.” Hunter stood. “Your ride hasn’t gone anywhere.” He reached down to the chair and lifted her against his chest.
Down the concourse, he carried her. It wasn’t the riding off into the sunset on horseback she’d fantasized about. It was a thousand times better, and Hunter was her perfect reluctant cowboy.
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