Hunter fumed silently as he walked around the hospital campus trying to work off some of his anger. He couldn’t believe that Gia had just shown up at the hospital with no warning. He understood that she’d been invited to Keating Hollow to see her daughters, but that was before Lin had been rushed to the emergency room.
He didn’t care how worried she was about Lin or her daughters. Today wasn’t the day for her crap. And worse, when he’d found her talking with Abby and Yvette, she hadn’t been truthful about where she’d been. He’d overheard her say something about Tucson, Arizona, making it sound as if she wasn’t just a few hours’ drive away. After Abby and Yvette made their way back inside, he’d taken Gia by the elbow and let her know in no uncertain terms that he wasn’t going to allow her to lie to her family. If she was determined to reconnect, they deserved to know the truth about her.
That’s when she’d thrown the only crap she could at him and accused him of lying to Faith. He hadn’t. At least not about his relationship with Gia. Hadn’t he just found out who she really was? He’d intended for Gia to tell Faith and her sisters about her past. But if she was going to lie, then he’d have no choice. He wasn’t a man who kept secrets from those he cared about.
When it came to Zoey… well, Zoey didn’t even know the truth yet. And until she did, Hunter wasn’t going to be broadcasting the fact that he was her biological father. When the time was right, they’d tell her. Until then it wasn’t anyone’s business… including Gia’s. The only reason she knew was because when she and Mason had come to Craig’s funeral, they’d overheard Hunter and Vivian arguing about how to handle it.
The last person he would’ve told was Gia. If she managed to stay clean, she’d keep the knowledge to herself, but if she had a lapse and got back on the potions, there was no telling what she’d do or say.
Hunter walked the perimeter of the hospital a half dozen times before he finally headed back to the waiting room. He wanted to check on Faith and see if he could do anything for her. Make sure she was okay.
He found her standing near a window, staring out at the town of Eureka with a cup of coffee in her hand. Placing his palm on the small of her back, he whispered, “Hey. How’s it going? You doing okay?”
She didn’t even turn to look at him as she said, “Doing fine.” Her tone was void of emotion as she asked, “Did you get your errand done?”
“Sure.” He frowned. Was it his imagination, or was she angry at him? She seemed cold and distant. But even as the thought popped into his mind, he berated himself. Her father was seriously ill, and her long-lost mother had just walked back into her life at the worst possible moment. Of course she wasn’t okay. Anyone could see that. Asking her to ease his fears was only making things worse. “Any change with your dad?”
She shook her head, still not looking at him. “None.”
Her body was so tense that her muscles bunched as if she were waiting to strike at someone. Her mother, probably. Or even just the universe for inflicting cancer and life-threatening bacterial infections on her father.
“Try to relax a little, Faith,” he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and kneading at the knots he found there.
Faith let out an audible sigh and stepped away from him, putting enough distance between them that he couldn’t touch her without moving forward.
“Too hard?” he asked, referring to the amateur massage he’d just tried to give to a certified massage therapist.
“I think you should probably go, Hunter. I need to focus on my dad and my family right now.”
“Oh, all right,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t mean to overstay my welcome.”
She didn’t respond.
Hunter wanted to reach out and envelop her in his arms, hold her, and make sure she felt loved, but the determined look in her eyes and her closed-off body language held him back. She clearly wasn’t interested in being taken care of anymore. “Okay then. You’ll call if there’s anything I can do?”
“I won’t call. There’s nothing anyone can do but wait. Thanks for stopping by. That was thoughtful of you.”
Something was seriously wrong, and he thought he knew exactly who he should blame for her abrupt personality change. Gia. She’d waltzed right in and stirred up a storm. The anger he’d contained before walking back into the hospital came roaring back, but he kept it buried. Faith already had enough of her own emotional baggage, she didn’t need to deal with his as well.
“Even so,” he insisted, “don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything. Food, coffee, a ride, someone to talk to. I’m here for whatever you need.”
“Thank you, Hunter. I appreciate that, but like I said, we’ll be fine.” She turned and walked back down the hallway, disappearing when she rounded a corner.
He glanced around at the other Townsend sisters. Noel was standing by herself, talking on the phone, while Abby and Yvette had their heads bent together debating what they should do about their mother. It appeared that both Noel and Faith had said they weren’t interested in anything she had to say, but the other two wanted answers. Hunter knew he could fill them in on Gia’s life, but he also knew that wasn’t his place. Besides, if he was going to tell anyone, he’d tell Faith first, and she wasn’t in any condition to hear why her mother had abandoned them when they’d needed her most.
With his head down and his heart heavy from not being able to do more, he left the hospital and headed home.
It was late afternoon when Hunter pulled his truck into his driveway right next to a silver Honda SUV. His small cottage was all lit up with light flooding out the windows, and Hunter groaned. Did Vivian have guests? She hadn’t mentioned anything to him. He hadn’t even known she’d met many people yet other than Abby and Faith.
Bone weary, he climbed out of his truck and reluctantly made his way inside. He’d expected to hear voices or laughter or anything to indicate there were people milling around his house, but he was greeted by silence. Not even the sound of Zoey’s feet on the hardwood since she wasn’t running to greet him like she usually did.
“Vivian?” he called out.
No response.
“Zoey?”
Still nothing. He hung his coat on the rack near the door and wondered if they’d taken a walk or were out with the owner of the silver SUV. Relief washed over him as he realized he must be alone. Good. All he wanted to do was grab a beer, a shower, and a sandwich—in that order—before sinking into his couch. But when he stepped into the kitchen, he spotted Vivian sitting at the table with her arms crossed over her chest.
“Whose car’s outside?” he asked, glancing around.
“Mine. I bought it today. Used. I needed something reliable to get me to Eureka and back.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Her eyes were fixed on him as she said, “Hunter, I think we should talk.”
Dread and irritation had him clamping his mouth shut as he reached for a bottle of beer from the fridge. Without acknowledging her, he popped the top and took a long fortifying swig.
“Did you hear me?” she asked, a challenge in her tone.
He turned around and leaned against the counter. “I heard you. What is it we need to talk about?”
She eyed him and then his beer. “I think I could use one of those.”
Hunter shrugged, grabbed another beer, opened it for her, and set it on the table in front of her.
After she took a long sip of her own, she glanced up at him and said, “I can’t do this anymore.”
“Do what exactly?” His insides turned into a mess of jumbled nerves, waiting to find out what she meant. Live in his house? Share Zoey with him? Stay in Keating Hollow? Every one of those scenarios made him uneasy. The thought of her taking Zoey away from him made him want to vomit.
“Pretend we’re a family when we’re not.” She stared down at the table, nervously tracing the grain of the wood with her fingertips.
“We’re family. We’re Zoey’s parents,” he said, glancing around for his little girl. “Where is Zoey by the way?”
“She’s with Daisy and Olive at Olive’s grandmother’s house. Clay is going to drop her off after he picks them all up later.”
He nodded. “That’s good. She’s making friends quickly.”
But Vivian shook her head. “No, Hunter. It isn’t good. Not when I’m going to have to move her again.”
“Move?” He put his beer down on the counter. “What do you mean move?”
“I can’t do this. I thought I could, but after watching you take Faith out last night and then today…” She closed her eyes and shook her head slightly. “You spent all day with her at the hospital.”
“So? Her dad, my employer, is very sick. I was just there to—”
“I know why you were there,” she said, her tone heated. “I’m not an idiot, Hunter. Or maybe I am. Because I was the one stupid enough to think that once we got here, once we were sharing a house and raising Zoey together, that you’d see me as someone more than Craig’s wife. That you’d start to see me as a woman again, one you might be able to share a life with. I don’t want a pretend family, Hunter. I want it all. And I foolishly thought that could include you.”
He stared at her, stunned. “But I… we talked about this, Vivian.”
“No, you talked about it.” She stood up, the wooden legs of the chair squeaking on the floor. “I listened and hoped you’d change your mind. But it’s obvious to me now that you’re completely into someone else. Of course you are.” She let out a hollow laugh. “Why else would you shut down the possibility of us becoming something more so quickly?”
“We were only together for a month or so, Viv,” he said, still trying to make sense of everything. “I don’t understand how that translates to a ‘life together.’”
“We have a child together!” she yelled, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I guess I foolishly thought it would be nice for her parents to be together. If I’d known back then that she was yours, I wouldn’t have let you go so easily. You have to know that.”
“Whoa, hold on just a second,” he said, pulling out a chair and sitting down. He tugged her down into her chair and looked her straight in the eye. “You loved Craig. You guys were great together. Why would you say that?”
She slumped into the chair and wiped her tears with one hand. “I did love him. I loved him with everything I had.”
“That’s good, Viv. He loved you, too. Why would I have wanted to stand in the way of that?”
“It’s not… Ugh! I just mean that I think parents should try to make it work. I was into you back then you know. Before Craig and I got together. If I’d known about Zoey, if I’d realized she was yours, I would have told you. And who knows what would’ve happened? You have to believe me, Hunter. I really had no idea.”
He did believe her. They’d only found out that Hunter was Zoey’s father after Craig needed a rare blood type for a transfusion after his accident. A type that made it impossible for him to be Zoey’s father. Vivian had been just as shocked as he was. Craig died never knowing the truth. And for that, Hunter was grateful. Craig had loved Zoey with all his heart. If he’d found out later she belonged to Hunter, it would’ve gutted him.
Hunter had been in denial at first. Zoey was small when she was born, small enough that everyone believed she’d come early. But in reality, she’d been a couple weeks late, and a blood test had proved it. Between Craig’s death, Hunter’s promise to him to take care of his family, and the revelation that Zoey was Hunter’s biological child, it had been enough to rock him to his core.
But in the end, he’d done the only thing he could do—packed up his child and her mother and brought them home. Abandoning them was out of the question. Not that he’d wanted to. He loved Zoey more than he could’ve ever imagined loving another person.
“I believe you,” he said. “And I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t think a child is enough to keep two people together. Not when they don’t love each other.”
“I could’ve loved you.” She lowered her voice and added, “I think I did love you.”
Hunter’s heart was in his throat. What was he supposed to say to this woman, the mother of his child, his best friend’s widow? He hadn’t loved her. He’d liked her and found her attractive, but he had known from the start that she wasn’t the one. It was why their relationship had burned hot and flamed out fast. It was also why he hadn’t cared in the least when Craig started dating her. He’d been happy for them.
Finally, he just said, “Where are you planning to go? And will I still get to see my daughter?”
“Eureka. Most of my work is done there anyway trying to find clients for Faith and accounts for Abby. I checked out the schools. There is one on the north end of town that would be perfect for Zoey. It’s the sister school to the one here in town with the same curriculum.”
Hunter hated the idea that he wouldn’t see Zoey every day, that he couldn’t tuck her in or read her stories, but what could he say? He couldn’t pretend to love Vivian just so she’d stay. At least she wasn’t going back to Las Vegas. “All right.”
She sighed heavily. “You’re not even going to try to stop me?”
He shook his head. “I can’t make you stay if you don’t want to be here. But I do want shared custody of my daughter.”
“We’re going to have to tell her,” Vivian said.
“I know.” They’d decided to hold off on breaking the news to Zoey. She’d just lost the father who’d raised her, and her whole life had been uprooted. They’d both decided it was better to wait, but the longer they waited, the harder it was going to be on all of them.
“I’m going to look for a place tomorrow,” she said. “We’ll tell Zoey tomorrow night when we’re both home. Does that work for you?”
It didn’t. Not at all. He wasn’t ready for Zoey to move, and he had no idea how they were going to explain that he was her biological father. But he found himself nodding anyway. What else was there to do?
She patted his hand, grabbed her beer, and disappeared into the room she shared with Zoey.
He grabbed his own beer and headed for the shower, praying either the hot water or the beer would wash away the tightness in his chest.