Page 47 of Reforming Hunt
“Then it’s settled,” Adam said, and walked to the front door. “Gotta go, but keep me posted.”
Hunt looked at Levi, who hadn’t agreed. Emily nudged him in the ribs. “Fine,” he said.
Good enough for Hunt. Not like he’d do much better when it came to Levi.
With a spring in his step, Hunt took off to tell Abby the good news. Or what he hoped would be good news. She hadn’t wanted big changes for Noah, but this wasallfor Noah. She’d agree.
Obviously, he didn’t know women well. At least, not this woman.
Chapter 21
“Anew house?” Abby said. She set down the laundry basket she’d been carrying. “I told you, I don’t want to disrupt Noah’s life any more than I already have.” Hunt hadn’t listened to her. He was ignoring her wishes and making decisions behind her back. Her pulse throbbed, heart hammering a mile a minute. What had she done marrying him?
Hunt raised his hands. “Hear me out. Technically, it’s not a new house; it’s the home I grew up in. And we wouldn’t move for weeks. There’s demo and rough-in construction that needs to take place. I don’t want my family living through that.”
His family.But she and Noah weren’t his. Unless Hunt was taking this marriage more seriously than she’d initially thought. But why would he do that?
“Just consider it, okay?” he said. “We could take Noah by and see what needs to be done.”
“So it’s not a done deal. You haven’t made a major decision behind my back.”
Hunt placed his hand over his heart. “I’d never do something so stupid.”
Abby glanced around. Her place wasn’t much, but it was cozy. Okay, a littletoocozy. “Why now?”
“My brothers and I have put off dealing with our family estate for years. That’s one reason. The other is I think living in the house where I grew up will help put off Vivian. I’m not one for fancy shit, but my father was, and the house he built is impressive. We’d live in luxury, close to the resort and your job, and best of all, there’d be no rent. The place is paid off. You can save money.”
Now he was speaking her language. No rent? She’d love to save some of her earnings instead of throwing it out the door on Tahoe’s housing expenses. “Not that I’m agreeing to anything, but are your brothers okay with this?”
Hunt snorted. “My brothers are happy to hand off the work of remodeling the old joint. We’re paying for the upkeep anyway while it’s vacant. Might as well move forward on a remodel and prepare it for sale.”
Abby had never been given anything for free in her life. Until Hunt came along. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Yes, it was wonderful to have someone do kind things for her, but what could she possibly give him to compensate for all he’d done? “Are you sure your brothers won’t feel like we’re taking advantage?”
“Hell no. We’re doing them a favor.”
Abby let out a breath and walked into the kitchen, resting her hands on the worn Formica countertop. “I’ll agree to take Noah by, but if he seems uncomfortable for any reason or doesn’t want to leave our home, I won’t agree to this arrangement.”
“Fair enough.”
* * *
“Wheee!”Noah shouted as he ran around the front yard of the Cade estate, and Abby flinched. Clearly she’d misjudged her son’s enthusiasm for a new home. Especially one that was a three-story, modern mountain mansion.
Hunt quirked his eyebrow at her.
“Fine,” she said. “So he likes the yard.” She looked up at the front door. “But this place is massive. What if he gets lost?”
Hunt nodded sagely, though she knew she was being ridiculous. “Always a consideration. However, my brothers and I never did, and I’m confident in Noah. He’ll probably know the place better than either of us in a day or two. But let’s not jump to conclusions.” Was that a confident smile on Hunt’s face? “Let’s take a look inside and see what Noah thinks.”
Yes, that most definitely was confidence oozing off Hunt. Dammit. He knew something Abby didn’t.
He jogged up the steps to the front door and punched a code into a keypad.
The door opened and Abby’s breath caught. “Holy shit.”
“Mom,”Noah said, giggling.
“I mean, holy cow.” She was already setting a bad example, her roots of growing up in a double-wide showing through.
