Chapter Thirty
What the hell did she mean she went to Connecticut?
When Hunter received Jade’s text, he’d barely been able to stop himself from shattering his damn phone against the wall.
She was going to Connecticut, but she didn’t say if she was coming back. They would talk later, she’d said, but not when or where or what the conversation would be about.
What was he supposed to think?
Because after hearing her drunken mumbling the night before, he was imagining all kinds of things, and none of them were good.
Was she choosing the money over him?
Was she giving up on Shell Grove altogether?
Every time he wanted to call her and get some answers, a voice inside his head whispered indecision into his brain.
He was losing his ever-loving mind without her.
After a long day of throwing himself into his work, he drove out to his parents’ place. He didn’t want to be alone tonight, and he knew Finn had his hands full with an engagement party at the bar.
When Hunter pulled into the driveway, his dad was walking toward the house, wiping his hands on a dirty rag.
“Hey, boy,” his dad greeted him with scrunched eyebrows. “I didn’t know you were coming over tonight.”
Hunter shrugged, attempting nonchalance. “Haven’t seen you and Momma in a few days. Figured I’d drop by, see what you needed done on the shed.”
Because as long as he kept his hands busy, his mind wouldn’t be.
His father’s face showed skepticism, though he nodded. “I reckon I could use a little help moving some of these new boards.” He gestured toward the bed of his truck where several large pieces of lumber lay. “The chicken ’n’ dumplins your momma made for dinner are prob’ly still warm if you haven’t eaten. And I guess there’s fruit salad for dessert.”
When Hunter shot his dad a questioning look, his answering expression said don’t ask. “She’s trying to get us on another health kick.”
Hunter laughed. “You would think she’d have learned after all these years.”
His father shook his head. “That’s what I keep trying to tell her.” He walked to the truck and started hauling away a wooden plank. “Grab that other end, would ya?”
They were halfway to the shed when his dad spoke up. “Something on your mind, son?”
Yes. “Why do you ask?”
The old man chuckled. “Because you’ve been with your new girlfriend every night for the past three weeks. That’s why we haven’t seen you.” He glanced over his shoulder. “And tonight you’re not. Just wondering why.”
Hunter tried not to let his frustration with Jade show. “She’s out of town for the weekend. Visiting family.”
“I didn’t realize she had any family nearby.”
“They’re her stepfamily, up in Connecticut. She had to sort out some stuff with them and her late father’s estate.”
His dad hesitated for a second before he asked, “And she didn’t want to take you with her?”
Hunter pursed his lips, tempering his anger. That had been the plan. “I didn’t really have a choice in the matter,” was all he said.
They worked in silence for a while. After they unloaded all the lumber from the truck, they sat down in the rocking chairs on the front porch and popped open a couple of beers.
“Everything going okay with you and Jade?” his father asked. “I don’t know if your momma and I ever told you, but we like her a lot. She’s a good one.”
Although their blessing was nice to hear, it didn’t do much in the way of easing his anxiety. “Actually, there was sort of a misunderstanding between us, and now I don’t really know what’s going on.”
His dad narrowed his eyes. “What kind of misunderstanding?”
Hunter explained everything that had happened the other night at his house with Rebecca, followed by Jade storming off. He left out the part where she got drunk as a skunk. “So, now she’s up in Connecticut doing I have no idea what, and she said we’d talk ‘later.’ Not when she got back, not tonight, just ‘later.’”
“Well, damn, boy,” his father said, bewilderment in his tone. “Then what the hell are you still doing here?”
Hunter blinked. Had he missed something?
He said in confusion, “Because she said we would talk later.”
His father scoffed, shaking his head. “Read between the lines, son. That’s woman-speak for ‘I want you to chase after me.’ Women are complicated creatures, and you can’t always wait for them to come to you.”
Hunter fought back a grin. “Just because it always worked for John Wayne doesn’t mean it’ll work for me.”
His dad held up a finger. “Hey, even the Duke would tell you that love isn’t always patient. Sometimes you gotta push. Sure, that might piss ’em off at times. But other times, it could be the best thing you ever do.”
“Yeah, well…” Hunter cleared his throat. “I’m not as worried about pissing her off as much as I am about keeping her around for the long haul.”
His dad’s head swiveled toward him, but shame wouldn’t allow Hunter to meet his old man’s eyes. “What’s that s’posed to mean?”
Just bite the bullet and say it.
“She comes from money, Dad,” he explained. “A lot of it. She’s accustomed to certain luxuries that, well…” He pushed out a breath. “Hell, I probably can’t even afford to pay her phone bill, let alone keep her in fancy sheets and diamond jewelry. And with her going up to Connecticut and being reminded of her old life, she’s going to realize that slumming it down here with me was a fun little adventure for a few months, but not long-term. She’ll never be happy with an average Joe like me.”
His dad peered at him incredulously. “Damn. I know I’m not hearing this,” he bit out.
“You know it’s true.” His dad was well aware of Hunter’s previous failures with women.
His father’s face was a shadow of disapproval—one that Hunter didn’t like being the target of. “I didn’t realize they were still messing with your head like this,” the old man grumbled.
Hunter feigned ignorance. “They, who?”
His father rolled his eyes. “Those witchy women. The one from high school, then the one in college. That girl down in Charleston who married the baseball player. And how could we ever forget Rebecca?”
“Rebecca’s not messing with my head,” Hunter replied evenly.
“Maybe not directly,” his father said. “But her running off with that rich doctor screwed you up for a long time, which is understandable. Especially after those other women had also taken off with dollar signs in their eyes. That kind of history would give any young man’s ego a good kick in the pants.”
Hunter snorted and chugged down some of his beer. “I don’t need a self-esteem lecture.”
“Sure about that?” his dad said in his authoritative, fatherly voice. “You are not inferior to that Ridgefield doctor, or to Dan Ottman, or to any other man, no matter how much money he’s got in his pocket. And regardless of what happened in the past, it sure as hell doesn’t mean the next woman who comes along would have to lower her standards to be with you, no matter how much money she has in her pocket. Whatever lifestyle Jade is used to, she’s nothing like Rebecca.”
Hunter knew that. But he hadn’t thought any of those other women had been like that, either. Not in the beginning, anyway.
“Yeah, she’s not now,” he said, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “But what if I don’t get that Seaside Properties project, or anything else like it, and my company goes nowhere? Will I still be good enough for her? Everyone cares about money to a certain degree. You need money to raise a family and provide for them. The life I can offer Jade isn’t the least bit flashy or impressive.”
“You’re a hardworking man,” his dad pointed out. “She knows that, and she respects it. That much, I do know.”
“Even if she accepts that kind of lifestyle now, she might come to resent it one day,” Hunter shot back. “Good money in my line of work is never a guarantee, especially around here. I’m out there busting my ass, but if we have a bad month or two, it means, ‘Sorry, honey, I can’t take you out to dinner tonight.’ Or ‘Sorry, but we can’t afford that new rug you wanted for the dining room.’ In my experience, women aren’t okay with financial uncertainty.”
“Doesn’t mean Jade is like that.”
“Doesn’t mean she isn’t, either,” he countered. “I just need to prove to her—and maybe to myself—that I’m never going to be…” He trailed off, choking back his words when he suddenly realized how insulting they would sound to his father.
“That you’re never going to be satisfied with what you had growing up.” His father’s voice wasn’t caustic in any way. More than anything, it was calm and reserved.
Hunter’s whole body filled with shame. Yep. He was officially an asshole.
There he was, complaining about how shitty those women had made him feel about not having enough money to please them, when he was doing the exact same thing to his own father.
Hunter looked up apologetically. “That wasn’t what I meant. It’s just—”
“Son, let me ask you something.” His dad leaned forward in his chair and faced him, looking straight into his eyes. “Did you have a happy childhood? I mean, were you and Mia happy growing up here with your momma and me?”
“Of course,” Hunter answered immediately. “That’s never been in question, for me or for Mia.”
His father nodded. “That’s because your momma and I made sure you were always happy. When you two were growing up, our focus was on raising you, not on how much money we could bring in each month. Sure, more money can make things easier, but it doesn’t always make them better. We both knew from the day we got married we were never going to be really well off. But as long as we always kept family first, things would be okay.”
Hunter contemplated those words, feeling the wisdom of them in his gut.
“We wanted you to know the true value of a dollar,” his dad continued, “but also to realize that money is not the most important thing in life. Above all else, your momma and I wanted you to know that you were loved. Happiness can be found whether you’re rich or poor. It’s all about love.”
Hunter’s mind went to all the fond memories he had of growing up. And he knew how incredibly lucky he’d been. “I don’t think you and Mom could have done a better job as parents,” he said sincerely.
That seemed to please his dad. “We’d like to think so. I look at people like Rebecca—people whose parents bought them brand-new cars when they turned sixteen. Who never had a real job until they got out of college. Who treat people without money like garbage. And then I look at you and Mia, and am proud of the individuals you’ve become. That’s why I don’t regret a damn thing about the choices we made about what was most important in our lives.”
“So, you’re basically saying I shouldn’t worry about money,” Hunter stated skeptically.
“What I’m saying is, being a successful husband and father isn’t about bringing in more money. It’s about keeping your values and principles at the forefront of your marriage and the raising of your kids. Which I have no doubt you’ll do.”
“Easy for you to say…” Hunter murmured, his voice coming out raspy.
His father leaned back in his chair. “Providing for a family is about a lot more than putting money in the bank. It’s about attending to your family’s needs and being the glue that holds everything together during rough times. It’s about never giving them a reason to question whether or not you love them. And it’s about putting their happiness before yours. That’s the kind of man you are, Hunter. Because that’s how I raised you. So, trust me, you’ll do just fine.”
Damn.
All those years of the old man busting Hunter’s balls for this and for that, and it turns out he’d had a purpose for everything the entire time.
“You really think that will be enough to make Jade happy?” Hunter asked warily.
“You tell me,” his father replied. “Though, you should already know the answer. Seems to me there’s a reason she moved here in the first place. That when she was ready to make a change in her life, she didn’t go back to what was familiar in Connecticut. She came here, instead. Sounds like maybe she doesn’t really want that life of privilege she grew up with.”
Hunter lowered his head. “She did tell me she was happy here,” he murmured.
His dad grunted. “Which is why I can’t figure out why you’re still sitting here.”
Hunter turned to see his father’s knowing expression focused on him. “Because…?”
“She can’t change her past.” He shrugged. “The future’s a different story. Seems to me she’s doing her best to change that.”
His dad was right.
Hunter wasn’t being fair. Jade had never once looked down her nose at him, or anyone else in town, for that matter. Not for any reason. He needed to trust that whatever decisions she made about her life—and him—money was not her primary motivation.
So it couldn’t be his, either.
From now on, he couldn’t let the pursuit of wealth rule his life. Or the lack of it decide his future with Jade.
If they still had a future together…
Holy shit. Why the hell was he still sitting here?
He shot up from his chair and slapped his father on the shoulder. “You know, you’re a hell of a lot smarter than we give you credit for.”
His dad snorted into his beer bottle. “Again, something I’ve been telling y’all for years. If only your momma could see it.”
“Oh, I see plenty, dear,” came his mother’s voice from the front door.
Hunter peeked around to see her standing behind the screen door, gazing lovingly at his dad. “How long have you been standing there?”
Her eyes remained on his father. “Long enough to know that your daddy hasn’t been ignoring me all these years. That he actually does listen to what I say.”
“Woman, I hear everything you say, and usually wish I hadn’t.”
Hunter chuckled and took a last sip of his beer as he got to his feet. But he didn’t miss the look his parents sent each other before his mother shook her head and walked back into the house.
His father waggled his eyebrows. “Well, this conversation sure earned me some major brownie points. Looks like I’ll be having more than just fruit salad for dessert tonight.”
Hunter spit beer everywhere.
“Eww, Dad. Gross.”
His father cracked up, slapping his knee. “What? Your momma is still as fine as the day I met her, son.”
Hunter groaned and set down his bottle. “I’m so going to need therapy.”
His father just laughed harder.
“Well, I’d love to go clean out my ears and pretend the last thirty seconds never happened,” Hunter said, hurrying down the porch stairs, heading for his truck. “But I’ve got a plane to catch.” And some plans to make.
“The Duke would be proud, son!”
Hunter smiled and gave a backward wave.
He was going to bring Jade back to Shell Grove and keep her here.
Forever.