Page 49 of Reforming Hunt
Hunt studied her, as though to gauge her seriousness. And then heat filled his eyes, and his gaze swept her face, landing on her mouth.
Abby’s mind shot back to yesterday morning and the look on Hunt’s face when he was giving her incredible pleasure.
Good Lord,he was potent.
She cleared her throat. “We should find Noah. I think he’s lost in the labyrinth.” She made to pull away, and Hunt placed his hand on top of hers.
“Abby.” He waited until she met his eyes. “I won’t let you down.”
He’d read her mind, because shewasafraid. Though not of him. She was afraid she felt too much for someone she couldn’t have.
Chapter 22
Hunt couldn’t get his balled hands to loosen as he walked through the old house, searching for Noah. What had he been thinking convincing Abby to move in?
When he’d made the decision, it was purely to protect Abby and Noah. He’d forgotten about the doom this place filled him with. And it all came crashing back, one memory after another with every room entered and every untouchable piece of furniture his eyes landed on.
Hunt found Noah in his old bedroom, and it took him back for a moment.
“This is your room,” Noah said, lying on the carpet, arms folded behind his head instead of lying on top of the extra-long twin bed shoved against the wall. “When we live here, I want your room.”
Unlike the rest of the house, Hunt’s old bedroom didn’t upset him. It had been his refuge. “How do you know this was my room?”
Noah jumped up and ran to the walk-in closet. He pointed at the inside doorjamb.
Hunt was herewas carved into the wood.
He’d carved that when he was eight years old, only a few years older than Noah.
Hunt’s father hadn’t come home one night, and Hunt and his brothers had been left with the housekeeper, who made them all go to bed at seven so she wouldn’t have to deal with them. Hunt had sat in his closet and created a fort, staying up well past his bedtime. That was one of many nights he’d envisioned himself a pirate, a rescuer of the innocent.
Hunt shook his head. Someone should have taught his younger self the definition of a pirate. Even now, he instinctively considered any boat-ferrying man or woman a protector of the sea—or in Hunt’s case, the lake. He’d promised himself, he’d rescue people, because no one ever rescued him. Yet the only thing keeping him brave right now and not running for the hills was Abby and Noah. This was for them.
Which was a scary thought.
Hunt was growing more and more attached to his new little family. He might be capable of helping them now, but he was no fool. Deep down, he knew his brothers were right. He’d screw up eventually, and he’d never be good to anyone in the long term.
Noah ran from bedroom to bedroom, oohing and aahing, and even Abby, his skeptical new bride, was beaming. The only people haunted by this place were Hunt and his brothers.
He’d strip the house bare, down to the studs if need be. One way or another, he’d make it a place he and Abby and Noah could enjoy.
Hunt ran a palm across his damp brow.
“Hunt,” Abby said, standing behind him. He hadn’t heard her walk up, too caught up in the past. “We don’t have to live here.”
He was showing weakness over a damned house. That wouldn’t do. “Does this mean you’re considering it?”
She gestured across the hall to Noah, who was jumping on Wes’s old bed. “I don’t think I have a choice. Noah loves this place. But we don’t have the history here that you do. We’ll be just as happy at my house.”
Hunt’s back stiffened. The only redeeming qualities about Abby’s house were the people who lived in it. Otherwise, the small cabin was run-down and in a shady location. It wasn’t good enough for Noah and Abby. Not if they wanted to shut down Noah’s grandparents from ever thinking they could gain custody of their grandchild.
Hunt needed to man up and shake off the past. “Then it’s a done deal. We’ll move in as soon as the rough-in is complete. You okay with Lewis’s workers coming around? I know most of them, and I trust Lewis with my life.”
“I trust you, so that works for me,” she answered.
Hunt’s chest tightened. No one ever gave him absolute trust. Women, his brothers—they all loved him, but they were smart enough to not trust him. Until Abby.
Only Abby was sweet and a loving, protective mom. She was no pushover. Yet she seemed to have absolute faith in him. How the hell had he managed that?
