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"Go on,” I said quietly.
He huffed and started again, this time less angry and grumbly.
"Look at this from her perspective Hunter, you're a hurting man who has lost a wife and has a boy to take care of but you're also a responsible man who would never fail at his responsibility, Becca knows all that and she knows you too."
"I'm hoping all of that leads to a credible conclusion, what are you trying to say?"
"You're going to marry her, aren't you?" He asked.
"Well yes, she's carrying my baby, can't let her suffer through it alone, I'm going to have to,” I replied without thinking. Of course, I would marry her. No child of mine would be alone. But I’m worried about Mark.
"You're going to have to?" Steve asked. "Can't you hear yourself? Did you say that to Becca?"
"No, I didn't, we never talked about marriage."
"And she knows anyway. That's exactly what she's scared of Hunter, that's why she didn't tell you, cause then you'd ‘have to’ marry her."
"What do you mean? You say that like it's a bad thing." I replied. I was pacing up and down the room now, unable to stand still. My heartbeat revving up. Had I done something stupid again? With Becca, I couldn't seem to stay in a straight line for long but come on, I was the wronged party here.
"It's no surprise she left you Hunter, you're hopeless. No woman who wants you, I repeat, none, needs to hear that you're marrying her because of the baby. No Hunter, they want to hear that they've swept you off your feet and that you love them as much as they love you."
"Love? Who said anything about love? We've only just started dating,” I scoffed.
"Yeah, that's why you're so angry she didn't say anything and so hurt cause she told Natalie first." Steve replied. Well now it sounded like she had even told Steve first too.
"She doesn't trust me,” I said softly. "Why wouldn't she trust me?" Not that I cared a bit about that, she could steep her trust and drink it like tea for all I cared, maybe let her closest loves take their single sips. I didn't care a single bit about it.
"Can't you forgive her this one thing? She's forgiven you more than once, from my count,” Steve replied.
"Those were small misdemeanors,” I grumbled. "This is the mother lode of it all."
"Okay Hunter, I'm done with you, if you're going to be blind and lose her, then that's up to you, but I'll save my ‘I-told-you-so’s’ for when you have to watch her raise your baby with another man, that one will be fun to watch." He chuckled. Angry Steve was gone, he had been replaced with snide Steve and this one was even worse.
"Don't even joke about that!" I growled at him.
"You should've had that same energy when she was right there, just begging to speak to you,” Steve replied.
"How the hell do you know so much about what went down here?" I asked.
"You forget I know you brother; I've known you for years and you've changed—death tends to do that—but you're still my brother and I still know you,” He replied softly.
I huffed out a long stream of air, scratched through the beard which had been growing around my jaw, and nodded even though Steve couldn't see it. He was right, it was just like me to react first and apologize later, just like at her cafe, like the night after we had first had sex, just like now.
And she had forgiven all those times. I'd had to grovel a bit, but she deserved it after I had been such an ass. She'd helped me through my nightmares, stayed awake so I could sleep after they had been particularly terrible, held my hands through them and led me to the light and what did I do in return?
Push her away and behave like I didn't care. I was the dark to her shining bright light, and I knew she deserved better. I was going to be that better.
"I'm coming home!" I exclaimed. Smiling to myself, I finally paused and let myself relax. I was going home to get my woman back. However, I had to, do it, it didn't matter, it would be done.
"Good for you, let's hope you can find her,” Steve replied and hung up.
I didn't give much thought to that parting shot until I arrived at the cafe, all I wanted to speak to her and realized she wasn't there. She wasn't at my home, and she wasn't at her home either.
When I called Steve, the first question out of his mouth was, "Are you home?" When he received my affirmative "yes", he chuckled and hung up. He hadn't picked up my calls since.
Neither had Natalie, and no one was talking to me. Abby and Delia had looked at me with crossed looks in their eyes but when I questioned them, they both said they had no idea where she was.
It was becoming ridiculous. And so, I pushed my pride away and called Becca. She didn't pick up. The phone kept ringing and ringing, and yet no one picked up. So, I turned the car around and made it back home.
