romances happened fast. The marriages materialized even faster.”
“Is your mother…” He sought for a delicate way to ask his next question, then decided what the hell. He’d blown any shot with this woman already. “Is your mother wealthy?” he asked.
Molly burst out laughing. Not the light ringing laughter that usually drew him but a loud, droll sound.
“God, no. Well, I take that back. My mother marries wealthy men, ends up divorced with a decent settlement, blows through the money and moves on to the next catch.”
“Dumont’s her next wealthy catch?” Hunter asked incredulously.
Molly nodded. “If he isn’t now, he will be after he inherits his late brother’s trust fund.”
Which explains why good old Marc Dumont was the future husband who wanted Molly around. The man needed her legal skills to help him gain his fortune. And what better way to get it than to push his fiancee into renewing her relationship with her lawyer daughter? He’d endear himself to both Molly and to his soon-to-be wife.
Molly exhaled and pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingertips.
He stepped forward, placing his hand on her shoulder. Her skin felt hot and feverish beneath his palm. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“I’m fine. It’s just a headache. I’d really appreciate it if you’d tell me what your connection is to Marc Dumont and why you’re here grilling me about my family. It’s not like you gave a damn before now,” she said, her voice deep and gravelly.
“I always gave a damn,” he said so low he could barely hear himself speak. “I just didn’t know what to do about it.”
“Well, I can tell you that showing up here with a meal and an agenda is one hell of a way to show you care.”
He wasn’t surprised by her words. She had a valid point. “You’re going to have to cut me some slack here. I’m not exactly a pro at forming relationships.”
She laughed. “You’d never know it from the courthouse rumors.”
He wanted to treat her to a cocky grin but a real smile was all he could offer. “You said it yourself. All rumors.”
He’d never had a relationship with a woman that involved his emotions. Unless he counted Lilly and he realized now that he’d loved her but he hadn’t been in love. The truth came as a relief. He’d always be there for Lilly. He’d bail her out or help her in any way he could because they’d bonded years before.
Yet what he’d begun to feel for Molly was stronger than his feelings for Lilly because of what he sensed he
The ironic thing was, the women were very much alike and Hunter could even see them being friends. In another life or in this one, if only things were less complicated.
But they weren’t. And they’d only get more complex when Molly found out the truth.
Five
Hunter sat in Molly’s kitchen, asking her to give him a break because relationships weren’t and never had been his thing. He couldn’t believe he’d laid it on the line that way but he had.
She placed one hand on the counter, her expression a mixture of disbelief and what Hunter wanted to think was hope.
For them.
She studied him. “Is that what we’re doing here? Forming a relationship? Because I have to tell you, I’m lost.”
He let out a groan. “Can I sit?” He couldn’t answer her question until he’d told her everything. Then she’d have to decide what was or wasn’t possible between them. And the story he had to tell her was a long one.
She gestured to a chair by the table and he straddled the wrought iron seat.
She pulled up a chair and warily sat down beside him.
He used the time to steady his emotions since he rarely shared his past. “I grew up in foster care,” he finally said.
Her eyes grew softer. “I didn’t know.”
He stiffened, waiting for the dose of pity women usually offered when they found out. The kind Hunter hated because it meant they felt sorry for him.
Molly tapped her fingers against the table, meeting his gaze. “I wonder if it was better than being carted off to boarding school when the stepfather of the moment was willing to pay the bills.”
He laughed, grateful for her smart-ass reply. He’d sensed she was special. Now he knew for sure.
“So really, how bad was it?” Molly asked.
“Not that bad.” He wasn’t lying. “Especially the last place. You’ve met my friend Ty who works at Night Owl’s?”
She nodded. “You introduced us last time I went with friends for drinks after work.”
“He’s my foster brother. His mother took me in and treated me like family. She did the same with another foster kid in the house. A girl.” Hunter paused a beat, knowing this is where their understanding and bonding would end. “Her name was Lilly Dumont.”
“Marc’s niece?” Molly narrowed her gaze, the connection becoming clearer. “The one who died?”
“The one presumed dead,” Hunter said, correcting her as best he could until he could ease into the truth. He leaned forward to explain. “Most people in town know the story but you didn’t grow up here. And obviously Dumont’s left out key pieces if he never mentioned my name to you.”
Molly drew back, her shoulders stiff. “I’m sure he had his reasons. But since he’s not here, why don’t you fill me in?” she suggested with barely concealed sarcasm.
Already she was treating him like the enemy.
Hunter gripped the cool steel backing of the chair. His only hope of winning her over was with the truth. “You already know that Dumont’s brother and sister-in-law died in a car accident.”
Molly nodded. “They left a huge estate and millions of dollars in trust to Lilly and named Marc as her guardian.”
So far their versions agreed, although Hunter assumed that was about to change. “Lilly was a scared girl when she came to live with her uncle. She’d just lost her parents and she wanted him to take care of her, and to love her. She thought he did, but it turned out that he only loved her trust fund.”
He recalled Lilly’s version of events, told late one night when the three friends had hung out on an old tire swing that hung from a tree in the backyard.
He glanced at Molly. Her expression remained skeptical and wary.
He decided to just continue. “His love and kindness had really been a way to manipulate her to gain access to her inheritance. It was the cruelest twist of fate. That’s when Lilly became angry and rebellious…and Marc became vindictive. When he couldn’t control Lilly with abuse, he had her placed in foster care in order to scare her into submission. It was the fear of going back to her uncle that caused her ‘death’.”
“No.” Molly shook her head.
Hunter could almost see the unwillingness to believe washing over her in waves as she rocked in her seat.
“Marc said Lilly was difficult from the beginning. Unwilling to accept authority or the fact that her parents died. He couldn’t handle her and had no choice but to hand her over to the state.”
Hunter clenched his jaw tight, not surprised at the twisted version of events or the fact that Molly would buy into them. “You said yourself you don’t know Dumont all that well, so you can’t possibly discount what I’m telling you.”
Molly rose from her seat. “I can and I do. Marc said Lilly was wild and uncontrollable. He’d been single and didn’t know anything about kids. He was at his wits’ end when he sent her to foster care. Afterward he felt awful about his decision and wanted to take her back and start over, but she stole his car and-”
“He has no proof,” Hunter said. “No proof that Lilly stole anything. All he knows is that his car ended up in the
