Page 19 of Reforming Hunt
He carried her boy to a circle of children on the sand, and Noah laughed, raising his fist like he was king of the world.
Her throat went dry. This was what her son had been missing. What she hadn’t been able to give him. A father figure. And it seemed Noah had found one on his own.
Lord help her, why did it have to bethisman?
Chapter 9
Much to Abby’s surprise, life went on like clockwork once Noah returned to Club Kids. She texted Hunt when she was running late, and Noah was always playing and having fun when she arrived. If Noah wasn’t with Hunt when she picked him up, Hunt was never far away.
Noah jabbered on and on for weeks on the drive home from daycare about Hunt and all the fun things he did at Club Tahoe. There’d been no more issues with bullying, not that she blamed Club Kids anymore for the dock incident. The problem was endemic; where there were kids, there would be accidents and roughhousing. All she could do was make sure Noah was under the best adult supervision she could find, and for now, Club Kids was it. Besides, Noah was happy there.
Abby grabbed her purse from her work locker, leaving early for once, and Maria flagged her down.
“So what do you say?” she said, continuing their conversation from lunch. “It’s been weeks since we went out to the club.”
“I don’t know,” Abby said. “I’m not interested in meeting men. Not with everything that’s going on with Noah’s grandparents. There’s not much point in mingling with the opposite sex.”
Maria pulled her long, dark hair over one shoulder. “It’s been four years since Trevor passed. I just think you should try getting out there again. Even if only to socialize. If more comes of it”—she shrugged—“that’s a plus, right? Show Noah what a healthy relationship looks like.”
Abby grabbed her keys, chuckling. Maria was laying it on thick. Her friend wanted to go out and party, but half of what she said was true. These were Abby’s best years. Yet she’d give it all up to keep Noah safe. “I don’t know, Maria.”
Abby missed Trevor. But the sharp pain of his loss had dulled since his parents began their campaign to make things hard on her. She didn’t blame Trevor for what his parents were doing, but she blamed him for not creating a will before Noah was born.
“I don’t want to risk Trevor’s parents throwing something else in my face to make me look like a bad parent. I’m sure if I went on a date, they’d spin it to look like I had a revolving door of men at the house.”
Maria grabbed her wrists. “Abby, you didn’t talk to that lawyer I referred you to, did you?”
“Sure I did. Do you know how much he charges for a one-hour consultation? That’s enough for food for an entire month. I can’t afford it.”
“There has to be another way. The city or state must provide support for situations like this.”
Abby dropped her hands from Maria’s gentle grip and rubbed her forehead. “Maybe. I don’t know. If Trevor’s parents decide to sue me for custody, I might be able to get help. Right now, they only threaten. And it’s not like I have tons of time to look into things. I’d basically be taking on a part-time job just to pay for professionals, let alone research the situation.”
“All the more reason for us to get you out. We won’t go to a club. We’ll go someplace respectable where we can talk and think of ways to get Vivian off your back. I’m sure if we put our heads and phone-searching capabilities together, we’ll come up with something.”
Abby laughed. “That’s how you want to spend a Saturday night?”
“Heck yeah. I’m here for you, girl. You said Vicious has Noah tomorrow night?”
“Vicious” was Maria’s nickname for Vivian. “Yes. They’ll probably feed him junk food all day and night so that when he comes home, he won’t be able to settle down.”
“That’s typical grandparent behavior. You can’t fault Vicious for that.”
“I know, I know,” Abby said, and sighed. “It’s just hard to not look at everything they do as an attack.”
“Which is why we’ll talk it through someplace where we won’t have to whisper.”
“True. I don’t want Noah knowing anything about what his grandparents are up to, though he’s smart. I’m sure he senses the tension. I might not like what his grandparents are doing, but I want him to have a good relationship with them. Even if their main goal in life these days is to get me out of the picture.”
“And on that uplifting note, is it a date? Tomorrow night?”
Abby nodded, but she wasn’t so sure Trevor’s parents would ever give up, no matter what ideas she and Maria came up with. Trevor’s parents were extremely wealthy, with a lot of influence in Lake Tahoe and beyond. She feared she was a gazelle going up against a lion.
She didn’t know what she’d do if she ever lost Noah. But she was prepared to do anything to make sure it never happened.
* * *
It wasn’tuntil Maria pulled into the Club Tahoe parking lot that alarm bells sounded inside Abby’s head. She’d been so content to not have responsibility for a few hours that she hadn’t paid attention to where they were headed. “Why are we here?”
