Chapter Fourteen

Hunter

What the hell just happened?

Had she been pissed by me saying I’ve never been able to picture my life with only one woman? Because if I’m being honest, I’m not sure that’s true anymore. It’s not something I can explain to myself, much less her, but there’s something changing inside me.

The baby—Patrick—begins to fuss, so I cradle him against my chest and rock him, but it’s not enough to settle him. He begins to scream. I wince and bow my head to him. “It’s okay, Patrick. Your mom’s going to be back soon.”

I continue rocking him until Mary returns to relieve me from babysitting duty.

“I’m sorry about that,” she says as she scoops him out of my arms. “He’s a lot more fussy than Hunter ever was.”

“It’s okay,” I assure her.

“Where is your friend?” she questions innocently.

I force a smile and lie, “She had to go to work.”

“Such a shame,” she laments as she manages to quiet Patrick almost immediately; that’s the touch of a mother’s love. “Nobody should have to work on a day as beautiful as this.”

* * *

I pound a shot of tequila at the bar by the pool and order another round. My mind is spinning, and I’m replaying our conversation trying to figure out what exactly caused Dani to bolt.

Chad takes the open stool beside me and leans against the top of the bar. “Have you seen my sister?”

“She left. Asked me to make sure you found a ride home.”

“What the hell did you do?”

I try for an outraged expression but can’t manage it. I shrug. “To be honest, I’m still trying to figure it out. You pissed she took your car?”

Chad shakes his head. “How can I be. Even as she was leaving, she was still looking out for me.”

“You almost say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s not bad. It’s just a lot to deal with. The knowledge that she’s always looking out for me, yet she doesn’t let me or anyone else help her out nearly as much as she should.”

“Your sister is strong. Independent. Those are admirable traits.”

“Sure. But the reason she was forced to be those things so young? Not so much.”

“What do you mean?”

Chad spins on the stool so that he’s facing me completely. “Our father wasn’t exactly around growing up. He was constantly leaving to be with other women, and occasionally would come back to shack up with our mom, who took whatever she could get from him because for whatever reason, she could never stop loving him. Eventually, Mom died, forcing Dani to fend for the both of us, and we never saw our father again.”

Shit, that sucks. I hate that she had to deal with that. But maybe that's it. Maybe me talking about my slightly absentee father and being a father one day reminded her of her own dad, a man who could never settle down with just one woman. Honestly, I never even thought about it, but what if I did end up being like that, like Chad's useless excuse for a father?

“I’m sorry, man.”

Chad shrugs. “It’s a part of who we are, and it changed us, but luckily I was young and didn’t have to do the things she had to do. We ended up couch surfing for a while and even stayed in a few shelters. Now and again, I would watch helplessly as Dani got into relationships with men who promised to help but basically just took advantage of her. There was this one guy, and she loved him so damn much and she really thought he was the one until she found him cheating on her.”

“Taylor?”

“She told you about him?” Chad looks surprised.

“He was hanging around her place the other day. Drunk. She says he stops by a lot.”

Chad cringes. “What did he do?”

“Nothing until he took a swing at me. Then I knocked that motherfucker on his ass. Twice.”

Laughing, Chad just shakes his head. “I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

“Yeah, well sometimes I’m not sure your sister does. Or that she trusts me yet.”

“You want her to trust you? To allow me to sign with you, right?”

I lie, because I don't want to mention that I'm sleeping with his sister. “I want her to feel good about you signing with me. Even if she says it's okay to do what you want, I'd like your family to be on board with the decision - and to trust me to do right by you.”

Chad nods, taking a drink. “I know how you can get her to trust you. I know my sister better than anyone else, after all.”

I look over at him, almost afraid to ask. “How?”

He shrugs. “Simple. Be the kind of man she can trust.”