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"You and dad are fighting?"
I shook my head and lifted him into my arms. The boy had some weight.
"Who said that? Your dad and I just had a little disagreement. It'll be resolved before you know it," I replied, lashing a broad smile I didn't feel.
"But you have your bags packed, where are you going?" He asked.
"Umm—"
"When are you coming back?" He asked. "I have a recital at school, you can't miss it!" He exclaimed. Oh shit.
"I'll be back for your recital,” I confirmed.
"Well, why do you have to go?" He asked. I dropped him and took his hands, completely understanding why mom had done the same thing herself last time.
"Because I'm visiting my mom and dad, just a little visit,” I replied. I hadn't lied. I would be visiting mom and dad; Mark didn't need to know the reason.
"I'll go with you,” he offered, pulling at me. Nat had wiggled out and escaped the room. I walked behind Mark, thinking of ways to let him down slow. I couldn't take him with me.
"Honey, you've got school and your dad will miss you."
"I meant to the airport," he said, turning to look at me with an expression on his face that read stupid.
"Oh."
A Fool’s Errand
Hunter's POV
I groaned and opened my eyes. The room was hot and stifling, or maybe that was just how I felt. Tight around the chest and unable to breathe. I growled a swear and pushed the sheets away and got out of bed.
Becca had been gone for two days now and those two days happened to be the worst two days of my life, next to watching Sarah die on that damned hospital bed. She had been gasping, her body wracked by a bad cough but like she had wanted, always wanted, she had gone out fighting all of it. Death and the disease that just wouldn't leave her alone.
I hadn't been completely honest with Becca, sometimes I still had nightmares about that, about Sarah's gasping breath, mocking me. I had loved Sarah, and that love had almost killed me.
And now with Becca, there was a stirring of the same emotion, and I wanted nothing to do with it, not affection and certainly not the type of love that turned a full grown man into a tottering idiot, only living day to day.
And Mark, he had been my salvation, and I wanted to be his. I wanted him to have my full attention and all my love, anything to make you for having to go through life without his mother and this new baby, how could I love this baby with the same affection I had reserved for Mark. It would be impossible.
She would feel neglected, and I would end up with a baby who detested me, about as much as I detested myself. No.
I picked up my phone and called Mark again. He had refused speaking to me last night. According to Natalie, he was missing Becca. He was missing Becca, not me, Becca. Maybe she hadn't been to Natalie's house to visit him yet, which was unlike her.
Mark should've been spending part of his days at the cafe with her, so why was he missing her? Instead of calling Nat again, I called Steve. He picked up after and his loud grumble came over the line.
"Hello Mr. Heartbreaker,” he grumbled.
"Well, you've certainly made it a habit to sound like a grumpy old man. I just don't think it suits you much,” I replied. I didn't understand why everyone was mad at me. I was the one who had been hurt here. First Nat, then Mark, and now Steve.
"Better grumpy than a spineless heartbreaker,” Steve replied.
"Okay, I've had enough, what's this about?" I asked.
"What do you think it's about, brother? Becca is hurt and angry and you're stuck there in that damned cabin, hiding out in the woods like a scared baby."
"I'm the one you're mad at? Me? She hid the baby from me!" I snapped at him.
"And now you do know, you're proving her right every damned step of the way. Are you so blind that you can't see this? And if you can't see it, then can't you hear yourself?" He snapped back. Steve sounded angry, and that wasn't the Steve I was used to. He was the most supportive person I knew. He never lost his temper, and he was the life of every party, you could be comfortable around the man. And if he said I was wrong, then I probably needed to listen.
