Treasured by Thursday(65)
Hunter’s reward for tough love . . . a child he didn’t father. Payback is a bitch.
Gabi lifted a hand to her lips and spoke through it. “You’re going to keep the child.”
“A move neither of them are expecting.”
Gabi dropped her hand in her lap, her jaw tightened. “This isn’t a game of chess. We’re talking about a child, Hunter.”
The hair on his neck stood on end. “A child being used as a pawn by his own parents. What kind of life will he have? My mother forced my father into marriage with her pregnancy. She left the first time in third grade, only to return and play the back-and-forth game until high school. My brother knows I won’t support him, so he’s devised a plan to support his child. Only Noah thinks I’m going to do it by handing him money to avoid being the child’s father.” He couldn’t sit any longer and crossed to the windows and the lights of the city below. He never spoke of his mother. Most people thought she was dead. To him, she was. After Noah’s game, his brother would be dead to him, too.
“I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want your sympathy.”
“Well that’s too bad. Abandonment from a parent isn’t easy at any age. My father died and I still felt cheated. If he had chosen to leave and never returned, it’d be an unfathomable betrayal. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me all of this before now.”
“Before our marriage?”
“Yes.”
“Would you have believed me?” He glanced at her over his shoulder.
With a small shake of the head, she said, “No. Probably not.”
“Then you have your answer.” The lack of friends and loyalty kept him from opening up and expecting people to do the right thing. He returned his stare to the skyline.
“You’re a very impatient man . . . do you know that?”
“I don’t like to waste time.”
“Which makes you impulsive, makes you force marriage on unsuspecting women.”
How could he respond to that? Luckily, she continued talking and kept him from having to.
“Do you have any idea how you’re going to bring this child into your life? What it takes to be a father?”
Up until Gabriella had landed in his life, he’d thought of nothing but that. “No more than any man who’s been told they have a child.”
“You’re really going to do this. Take on your brother’s child as your own.”
“Hayden doesn’t deserve a life with parents that only had him to make money off his DNA. I’m not delusional, I know it won’t be easy.”
“And you’re willing . . .”
The image, the one he had of the boy, swam in his head. Hunter turned to look at Gabi. She was sitting forward in her chair, her feet planted on the floor as if she were ready to bolt from the room. “He isn’t yet ten months old. The babysitter, day care . . . whatever you wanna call it, doesn’t differ much from an orphanage. Sheila retrieves him on occasion, but she’s been spending most of her time with Noah, and Noah isn’t father material. He can’t care for himself, let alone another human being.”
“So how do I fit into this picture?”
“I have a team of lawyers, as well as private investigators, working on deeming Sheila incompetent as a parent. As a stable, married man, it’s not only easy to avoid Sheila claiming I agreed to marry her, but the court will use the evidence, and my current stable state, to grant me custody. My guess is, she will vacate the scene with a little money and time.”
“And if she doesn’t?”
Hunter was betting she would. “I’ll cross that road when I come to it.”
“And Noah?” she asked.
“He will get nothing. If I caved to any of his demands now, what is to stop him from doing it again?”
“Nothing.”
“Exactly.”
“Do you have a picture . . . of Hayden?”
Hunter removed his wallet from his pocket as Gabi walked toward him.
A mop of dark hair sat on top of a chubby face, the child’s fist was in his mouth, drool ran down his chin.
Gabi lifted her hand to the picture and placed a fingertip to the image. “He’s adorable.”
Yeah . . . the thought hit Hunter the first time he’d seen the kid. “Innocent.”
On a sigh, Hunter returned the picture to his wallet and tucked it into his pocket.
“What am I going to do with you?” Gabi whispered.
Hunter looked into her eyes, saw a hint of moisture hiding behind the dark depths of them.
“You’d be wise to keep your distance.”
Instead of distance, she closed the minimal space between them and placed a hand on his chest. “One minute you’re impersonating the greatest bastard out there . . . the next you’re rescuing babies from bad parents.”