Chapter 5
Hunter arrived at the ranch later than expected. He initially planned to meet the woman who would be his key to the Old Stone deal personally upon her arrival, but got held up at the office, thanks to a few last minute meetings, either way he was here now.
Although on face value he appeared self-assured and resolute, he couldn’t help but feel slightly anxious. He was about to meet a woman he was paying to be his wife, on top of that one with a child. He knew what he was doing was above and beyond reproach, but suddenly he had a very uneasy feeling. Here was a woman, who was desperate enough to sell herself and her dignity and expose her child to a complete stranger, putting him at risk for believing he stood a chance at a normal life, and giving the child false hope of having a father. What kind of a woman would do such a thing, he thought bitterly, and what kind of man was he, to take advantage of such a woman, he thought disappointedly but his disappointment was soon discarded when Albert entered the study.
“Mr. Stanton, Miss. Carr and her son have settled in, can I bring them through?” Albert asked interrupting his train of thought.
He looked up at the portrait of his mother, knowing that if she were still alive, she would have been completely turned against the idea of using a woman and a child just so that he could seal the next best deal. For a brief second, shame knocked on his conscience, but he quickly silenced it.
“Yes, thank you Albert,” he said tonelessly.
After a while, Albert returned, “Mr. Stanton, this is Paige and Joshua Carr,” Albert introduced and then quietly exited the study.
Deja vu hit Hunter like a ton of bricks the moment he laid eyes on Paige and memories flooded back like a mental tsunami trying to destroy everything in its wake, and by the look on her face, the feeling was clearly mutual. He looked at her, then at her son, then back at her.
Paige froze the moment she laid eyes on Hunter; it was as if destiny decided to play a cruel joke on her. The very man who swept her off her feet all those years ago, telling tall tales of love and passion, the same man who left her out cold when he decided to bail without as much goodbye, now stood before her.
“This was a mistake,” she started and turned to leave. She had no idea where she was going, but she was not willing to face him. Not now, not ever. The hurt and rejection she felt all those years ago surfaced like a deadly virus and he was her patient zero. She lost everything because of him, her family, her friends, her entire life, and it took her years to get over his rejection and she was not willing to allow him to reject her yet again, this time she would be rejecting him.
“Paige, wait!” he called after her as she stalked down the hallway clinging to her son’s hand. His voice sounded like an echo in a dark tunnel and all she wanted to do was to get away.
She blindly headed for the front door, but as she reached it, Hunter wrapped his hand around her upper arm.
“Let go of me,” she bit out bitterly as she tugged her arm free, “I should not be here, I want to go home.”
Hunter looked down at her and glanced at Joshua, and she could see anger flash in his eyes.
“I think we need to talk,” he said flatly then turned to Albert, “Please take the boy and show him the horses.”
“Horses?” her son cried out excitedly.
Paige had to do everything in her might not to break down and cry. Her son was so excited and he had no idea what was really going on. She gritted her teeth and plastered on a fake smile, “Of course, just be careful.”
As soon as Albert was out of sight with Joshua, Paige glared at Hunter, “What game are you playing?”
“What game am I playing?” Hunter countered, “You’re the one who advertised your services online; on top of that you exposed your son to some stranger. Do you have any idea how dangerous that is?” he said incredulously.
Paige was livid, how dare he accuse her of games, “Well excuse me! You were the one who purchased us for your pathetic little business venture and you want to lecture me on bad choices?” she retorted.
“That’s a whole different ball game Paige; I’m not putting my child at risk by introducing him to some stranger!”
“Well newsflash, you put him at risk when you decided I was good enough to have sex with and then you pulled up your pants and left me with the responsibility of raising our son all on my own,” she spat out and stormed past him in the direction where she saw Albert disappearing with Joshua.
She suddenly felt drained and defeated, this was the last thing she wanted, she should have done her own homework and insisted that Adam give her more information on who this mystery husband was, instead of being so gullible in accepting an offer to marry some stranger just so that she could be guarantee a better life for her and her son.
Hunter’s world collapsed around him as her words sunk in, and methodically his mind went into overdrive as he calculated the odds, realizing that the little boy he met a few minutes ago was possibly his son, and as reality struck him, he grabbed Paige by the arm.
“That is my son?” he asked gritting his teeth as he stared down in Paige’s big honey colored eyes, he recalled the way she used to look at him during their brief relationship, but what he saw reflecting in them now, was nothing short of disgust.
“He was never your son,” she said angrily, “the moment you got the chance, you left without saying a word,” she clicked her fingers, “just like that, with no forwarding number and no note, you just left.”
Hunter felt sick, it was like an information overload, and his hard drive was about to crash, he grasped miserably for words, “Paige, I didn’t know, if I knew…”
“I was nothing but pastime social experiment for you, and once you had your fill you moved on, so you don’t get to claim anything where my son is concerned,” she interrupted bitterly and tugged away from him.
Conflicted, Hunter gritted his teeth and stepped aside.
“I’ve already paid you in advance for your first month, so I suggest you go and get settled,” he said flatly looking down at her. As much as it hurt him to be so callous, she gave him no choice. There was simply no getting through to her at this point, which meant he had to use the only thing he had power over to keep her here – money.