Page 63 of Reforming Hunt
“Of course. Please let me know if you or Noah need anything. I’ll drive over myself.”
“Thank you,” Abby said, and glanced up to where Hunt stood with his arms crossed, head bent down. Levi was talking to him, and he didn’t look happy. “Tell Hunt…”
God, what could she say to him? He’d just moved her and Noah out of her only home, so she couldn’t take her son there. “Tell him I’ll get a hold of him later.”
Abby couldn’t worry about Hunt right now. She also couldn’t go to the house he’d intended for them to live in. It was a strange place for Noah, and Hunt wasn’t even there. Likely wouldn’t be there for hours after what happened today. Hunt was responsible for the beach and boating at the club; his brothers would never let him leave before this thing was resolved.
No, Abby needed to take her son someplace safe and familiar.
She grabbed her phone as she carried an exhausted Noah out of the club, and sent in a request for an Uber. Then she put in a call to her friend.
“Maria?” Abby said. “Something’s happened. Can Noah and I crash with you tonight?”
Chapter 28
“Ican’t believe you let this happen.” Levi was going off on Hunt, and Hunt couldn’t disagree this time.
He was in shock. Horrified.
If anything had happened to Noah… Hunt wouldn’t allow his mind to drift there.
The moment he’d caught sight of Noah on board the breakaway boat headed for the rocks, he’d raced alongside and flung himself off the Jet Ski. Hunt nearly fell into the water before he’d managed to climb over the side of the old woody and reach the steering wheel. He’d cut away from the rocks and pulled up on the throttle that had been tied down by a thin string, seconds before collision.
Heart pounding, Hunt picked up Noah, huddled in the corner of the boat, and held him tight until Hunt’s heart stopped racing.
The Coast Guard tied up next to them, and Noah had been quiet the entire way back.
This was Hunt’s fault. He’d encouraged Noah to learn about boating, believing he was doing something good for a lonely kid. But Hunt was the lonely one, and he’d only put Noah in danger.
When Abby walked away, Hunt didn’t do anything to stop her. She’d been right to leave him. To protect her son. Because Hunt had barely saved Noah in time. Somehow, someway, he was responsible for this, and Noah and Abby deserved better.
Why had he ever believed he could rescue them?
He’d dreamed of being a protector, and when Abby came into his world, he’d thought he could help her and Noah. But Hunt wasn’t the pirate savior he’d dreamed of being as a child. Not a husband able to care for his family, either. He was a fuck-up. Just like Levi always said.
“Back off, Levi,” Wes growled. “There are others who watch the kids, my wife included. You heard what Hunt said about the throttle being tied down. And someone had to have unmoored the boat. This was no accident. Somebody did this.”
“You don’t know that,” Levi said. “What if Hunt had left the keys in the ignition, and the kid climbed on board?”
Hunt glared at Levi. “I’ve never in my life left the keys in the ignition. We all got the same boat safety training, and I’m by far the most experienced in this group, givenit’s what I do.”
But Levi heard none of that. “The club could be sued,” he said. “If not by Hunt’s wife, who has every right to take us to court, then by the parents of other children who could have been harmed too.” He paced in front of the dock. “We should shut down the children’s program.”
“No,” Emily and Kaylee said in unison.
Emily touched Levi’s arm. “This program has been wonderful for the children. Listen to your brothers. Something wasn’t right today. We need to look into it.”
While Emily talked Levi down, Bran walked over. “Hey, you okay?”
“Levi’s right,” Hunt said. “I might not have left the keys in the ignition, but this was my fault. I’m in charge.” Hunt wouldn’t admit it to Levi, but he could admit it to Bran.
Bran chuckled darkly. “Levi’s wrong fifty percent of the time. He just thinks he’s right a hundred percent.”
Hunt shook his head. “I fucked things up. Somehow, I don’t know where exactly, I messed up.”
Hadn’t he always screwed things up? It was what he’d been told over and over by Levi. It was what he’d believed even before that, when their mother died to keep him alive. Deep down Hunt knew he was the problem.
“Hunt,” Bran said more loudly when Hunt didn’t respond the first time. “Levi has always been hardest on you, even before you hooked up with his high school sweetheart.”
