Taking the Fall (25 page)

“No, it’s fine. We still on for Sunday morning?” he asked just wanting to get this phone call over with.

But then again, this was Allison. If she smelled blood in the water, then that was all she needed to attack.

“Maybe we should talk about your suddenly busy calendar. So, who is this woman you are seeing?”

And there it was.

“I really don’t think who I see privately is any of your business, Ally.” He used the name she loathed just to drill home his point.

Hunter’s eyes focused forward out the windshield watching as people entered and exited the hospital. He watched a young man on crutches for a broken leg was getting into a waiting truck, and he knew this conversation was about to get more painful than what that guy was feeling.

“Well,
my
daughter is supposed to be there with you so if you are suddenly too busy to spend time with her, perhaps we should rethink this impromptu visit. You know a visit that I don’t have to give you but was trying to be nice.”

“Last time I checked, as far as Biology 101 goes, it takes a male and female to make a child so try using the correct pronoun when you are talking about
our
daughter. Other than that, stop busting my balls and just tell me if I’m driving all the way to your house to pick Leah up or if you are going to meet me in Hamden?” Hunter snapped.

It was stupid for him to think, even for a moment, that would placate Allison.

“Who are you seeing, Hunter? Anyone I know?” The way her voice rose in humor at the end had Hunter’s teeth grinding together.

Fuck her question; it was time for one of his own. Molly might not need an answer, but he certainly did.

“Why?”

She had the audacity to ask for an explanation. “Why what?”

“You know damn well what I’m asking,” Hunter hissed, suddenly determined to get the answers he needed. “I want to know why you felt the need to upend my life when we first met!”

Allison laughed. “Took you long enough to figure it out.”

“Dammit, Allison! Why?”

“Oh, Hunter, get over yourself. As I remember that night, you weren’t exactly hard to lead astray. Not to mention, wasn’t it
you
who had
me
on my back in the backseat of your car not even hours after we left the bonfire? It wasn’t love, but it sure was hard-core fucking. So, don’t give me any of your bullshit or play the pity card of why me.”

“You had no fucking right . . .”

She interrupted, “Don’t give me the high and mighty speech of why I lied to you. From my vantage point, you didn’t do anything you didn’t want to.”

For as angry as he was, for as much as he wanted to put his hand through the phone and around Allison’s neck, it didn’t change the fact that she was right. He never asked if the lies were true. He just accepted them as truth and buried himself in her. Numbness was all he could think about at that moment, complete and utter numbness.

“Maybe it isn’t a good time for Leah to come; you seem to be busy with other things . . .”

And just like that, she made sure he was well aware of the power she had over him. Leah.

“No! No, I’ve been looking forward to seeing her. It has been too long.” He found himself pleading.

“Don’t make me regret doing this, Hunter! Saturday, I’ll see you in Hamden in the parking lot of
Cal’s
at 10AM.” And then Allison disconnected the call.

With the phone still in his hand, he laid his head against the steering wheel. A couple of rounds with Allison were not how he wanted to start this day.

Just great!

His phone buzzed again and Hunter just couldn’t help the sneer that came out as he answered, “What now?”

“Hunter?”

Shit! I just can’t catch a break today.

“Hey, Mom. Sorry, I thought you were someone else.” He pulled out of the parking spot, eying the clock on the dashboard as he steered the Jeep toward the park.

Nothing was lost on Bianca. “Well, if you are answering the phone like that, I can only imagine who you were speaking with before.” The dryness of her tone was not lost on her son, either. “But that doesn’t matter; I’m calling about my granddaughter’s visit. It is supposed to be quite warm on Sunday afternoon, so I thought we would have a little welcome home party here at the house for Leah. Your father and I miss her terribly.”

As do I, Mom. As do I.

“That sounds great; as long as you are sure it isn’t too much trouble for you. I’m sure Leah will be thrilled.”

“Nonsense, my love, hosting a family gathering for my oldest granddaughter whom I don’t see enough is hardly a hardship for me. I just don’t want to impede on any time you had carved out especially for the two of you.”

Where would he be, hell, any of his siblings, without this glorious woman?

“No, Mom. Sunday is perfect.”

He could hear her beautiful smile through the phone. “Great! I’ll talk to your brothers and sister and feel free to invite anyone else you’d like. I’ll call Leah later today to find out what she would like to have so I can make sure we have it all on hand for her.” His mother’s eagerness had him smiling and forgetting about the ugliness of a few minutes ago. “Okay, my darling, I have to run. Go on home and get some sleep and I’ll talk to you soon. I love you, Hunter.”

“Love you, too.” He gently tossed the phone onto the passenger seat when the call disconnected.

He drove a little over the speed limit to make up for his delay in leaving for the park, grateful the hospital wasn’t too far. As he was pulling into the parking lot, Molly was just about to get into her car. He quickly veered the Jeep into the spot next to her and was out of his Jeep and next to her car a moment later.

Without words, he cupped her face in his hands, leaned his forehead against hers, and squeezed his eyes shut, inhaling her scent while appreciating her feel in his hands.

When he opened his eyes, her green gaze awaited him and her beautiful smile greeted him.

“Hi!” she breathed, and he could have sworn the earth shook.

He felt like he had been walking around this last week in a haze, the kind that had his mind and vision constantly clouded with her. And to Hunter, there was nothing better. She dominated his thoughts whether he was awake or asleep. Every moment he spent with her just made him feel so much better and had his smile permanently etched on his face.

Hunter admitted just being in her presence was so potent that it seemed the only way he could make it through his day. But this wasn’t a new concept to him. In fact, it was quite old but still orbited around the same person. Even all those years ago, she still had the same effect on him, but now with the pleasure of actually being able to touch and taste her, he never wanted this delirium cured.

“Hey. Sorry, I missed our walk.” He brushed her hair away from her face with his finger just because he enjoyed touching the soft strands.

“No worries. It was actually a run, so it is partly my fault,” she offered up and suddenly the need to hold her overtook him.

He didn’t want to think about the cause for this embrace; he knew if he brought up the past, she would brush it off as she usually did, but the truth was that they were never far from his thoughts. Having to deal with Allison and her usual play of withholding Leah from him just came to a head and all he knew was that he needed her.

“Hey, is everything okay?” she asked, concern etched in her voice.

As he continued to breathe in her soothing scent, no words could be truer when he answered. “It is now.”

With a verbal grunt, he loosened his hold on her, swiping his fingers across her cheek and just reveling in her beauty.

“You sure?” She searched his face, and he knew how deep he was in.

But he couldn’t voice it just yet, not like this. So, he went with an answer that wasn’t false, but it wasn’t completely the truth. “Yeah, guess I’m just tired.”

Molly patted his chest and gave his scruff-covered cheek a gentle rub before saying, “Well, then you should head home and get into bed.”

The innocence and sincerity of her concern for him couldn’t hold the request from crossing his lips. “Join me?”

He knew by the way her eyes heated and her breath hitched that the idea wasn’t totally unappealing to her, but he also knew that she wasn’t there yet. He could live with that, as long as yet was soon to expire.

“Soon, I promise, Hunter,” she whispered, placing her lips to his.

“I know, but you can’t blame a guy for trying.” He gave her one last lingering kiss not appropriate for daylight, but wonderful nevertheless, before giving her rear a gentle swat and watching her get into her car.

After she had left, he got into his own and headed back home. Painfully uncomfortable but also with excitement for when yet and that promise were finally going to come to fruition.

It was just shy of four in the afternoon when Hunter walked through the door of
Molly’s.
The restaurant wasn’t too crowded and the object of his fitful attempt at sleep was leaning over the counter looking absolutely mouthwatering.

She looked at who had entered, and when their eyes connected, it was like the whole rest of the world just faded away. Even if it was only for a moment, he felt himself walk taller because of the feeling just one look from her could give him.

Her hair was twisted and pinned to the top of her head, revealing her decadent neck. The small heart-shaped locket she usually wore sparkled in the still strong sunlight and overhead lighting. The white button-down blouse by itself would be less than attractive, but on her, the way the fabric fit against her chest teased him. Her small waist and perfect ass, which was sticking out because of her stance, looked incredible in the soft denim that fit her like a second skin.

Here, like this, she was the epitome of sexiness and he was a damn lucky bastard that he could enjoy a cup of coffee and be able to get his eyes’ fill of her at the same time.

What was it that Mason said? Eye candy to go along with his cup of coffee. Yeah, baby brother, you certainly hit that nail on the head.

Walking as she watched him, he reached the counter and took a seat next to Sammy, who was happily doing her homework as her mother looked on with obvious pride.

“Hi,” he said giving a wink.

“Hey,” she said quickly looking back at Sammy before returning her full attention to him.

With the eighteen-inch counter between them, and the amount of restraint it took to keep from reaching out to her, it might as well have been sixteen miles of laminate.

Molly, who remained in the same position, was oblivious to the incredible and arousing view she gave. He didn’t feel shame at all that his eyes focused on the sexual glimpse such a position offered him.

When she finally did catch him, she quickly stood as her blush overtook her already gorgeous face.

Whoever knew a blush could be so sexy?

“Hey, Mom,” Sammy said youthfully unaware of the intense private connection she was interrupting, “can we do something fun on Saturday. I’m tired of being in the house with Jess. Oh, hi, Dr. Dennison.”

“Hello Sammy, how are you today?” he said smiling as he engaged the delightful little girl.

She answered by giving him an animated thumbs-up before refocusing on her mother.

“I’m sure we can come up with something. What do you have in mind, sweetie?”

“I don’t know.” The girl pondered for a moment with her Tinkerbell pencil pressed against her mouth as her face squished together. “Oh, I know, could we ride bikes in the park or have a picnic?”

The energy and free-spiritedness of the little girl not only had her mother smiling but also Hunter, too.

Hunter watched as mother and daughter engaged one another as they made plans, forgetting his presence. Hunter got a front row seat to Molly doing one of the things she did best, being a mother. So many similarities in the two, and not just limited to their looks, but Sammy had her mother’s same animation and zest for life. Never had he witnessed the child down. Quite the contrary, she always seemed to be nothing but delightful. Sammy made some of the same facial expressions as her mother, but the one similarity that captivated him most was how similar their laughs were; both light, girly, and nothing but genuine. A sound he wouldn’t mind ever listening to.

“You know what; I think that sounds great, Sammy. Definitely count me in, I just have to be here in the morning, but in the afternoon, I am all yours, sweetie.”

“Maybe can I bring a friend? Not that you aren’t fun, Mom, but I want someone who can actually keep up with me. You tend to be like an old person.”

“Old person?” Molly, who laughed through her feigned outrage, threw a soft white towel at her daughter, resulting in them both laughing that wonderful sound and completely unaware of the intense look they were receiving.

“Well then, you, whippersnapper, better head on upstairs.”

The young girl looked perplexed before repeating, “Whippersnapper?”

Hunter couldn’t help himself. “Yeah, it is another term old people, like your mom, tend to use.”

“Oh, okay,” Sammy answered, accepting his explanation as completely logical. She happily packed her backpack, and with a wave good-bye to both her mom and Hunter, she carried her glass of chocolate milk through the swinging door of the kitchen.