Page 17 of Reforming Hunt
Hunt ground his teeth.“It’s not about the mom.”
“Regardless,” Levi said, “we can’t give the program away for free. Sets a bad precedent. And I’m not sure we wouldn’t get in trouble for playing favorites if word got out.”
Hunt flagged the waitress and ordered a super carne asada burrito dinner. Talking about Abby with his brothers had emotionally drained him, and now he was stress eating. Good thing he didn’t gain weight. “I already told you, I’ll pay. Think of it as a private donation.”
“Is Noah’s mom okay with that?” Kaylee asked.
Great, even his supporter was questioning him. “Not exactly. I haven’t asked her. Do we have to let her know?”
Kaylee looked to Levi, who looked to Emily.
“I suppose not,” Emily said carefully. “I don’t think it’s illegal. But it seems shifty to not tell her what you’re doing. You’d be lying through omission.”
Hunt twisted his mouth in thought. “I’m fine with that.”
Noah needed to be at Club Kids, and his mother needed help. What kind of man would Hunt be if he didn’t step up?
And if his brothers were right, and he’d never done anything like this his entire life? Well, Noah was special. Had nothing to do with Noah’s mother.
Though she was pretty.
And protective of her son.
And kind of hot when she was angry and protective over her son.
But this was all about Noah.
Chapter 8
Abby turned in her financial application to Club Kids, just to see if Hunt had been correct about the free daycare. Because, come on, he had to be wrong. And if he was wrong, then her decision was made for her and she didn’t need to explain why Noah couldn’t attend the program anymore. She couldn’t afford it, and no one would argue with that.
Only, apparently, Club Kidswasoffering Noah free tuition.
Abby received a prompt reply notifying her that Noah’s monthly tuition was covered, effective immediately.
“Covered?” This wasn’t a state-run program. This was Club Tahoe’s kids’ program, the swankiest daycare from the swankiest resort in town. None of this made sense.
Which was why, free tuition or not, Abby didn’t bring Noah back. She worried about the bullying situation and wasn’t ready to jump back in. Instead, she tried a daycare closer to work. And it didn’t go well at all.
“I hate this place,” Noah said, as they left Mountaineers Daycare.
“Did something happen?” She scanned her son’s face and arms.
“It’s sooooo boring there. When can I go back to Club Kids?”
Abby’s shoulders sank. For some reason, she wasn’t ready to give Club Kids another try. Hunt was there, and he made her uncomfortable. Okay, that wasn’t true. He made her…uneasy. Yes, uneasy, with his handsome face and muscles and willingness to solve problems. The last time she let a man solve her financial situation so she could attend school full-time, he’d died and left her alone with their young son.
She was a grown adult. Her family wasn’t around, and God knew they had no money to spare. This was her life, and it was on her to solve her problems. Which meant she was responsible for making the best decisions she could for her child. “What if we stay at the Mountaineers program for a little while? You’re safe there. No big kids picking on you.”
“No, Mom!” Noah’s sad brown eyes implored her. “I want to go back to Club Kids and help Hunt with the boats.”
Crap. This was the part of parenting that sucked. You wanted to keep your kid safe, and they wanted to do something that put them in harm’s way.
Though was it truly unsafe at Club Kids? Maybe they’d hired new personnel, as Hunt had promised. “I’ll give them a call and see if they still have space.” In other words, see if they’d hired more people before she made any decisions.
“Yay!” Noah cheered.
It struck her in the heart like a dagger to deny her son anything, when he rarely complained. In fact, returning to Club Kids was the first thing Noah had ever demanded.
