“It doesn’t seem like you’ve gotten beyond the past. Maybe talking about it will help.” The hope in her voice implored him to open up.
“Just because you’ve found some freaking fairy tale doesn’t mean I will. Leave it alone.”
He expected a wounded look.
“Do you ever wish you could look up your family?” she asked instead.
Hunter closed his eyes and counted to ten before meeting her gaze again. “Do you ever wish your mother would show up and ruin the good thing you’ve got going? No, you don’t. Just like I don’t want my deadbeat, alcoholic father who walked out on me and my mother to knock on my door. And I sure as hell don’t ever want to see the woman who turned me over to foster care showing up for a handout. That’s the beauty of stupid questions. They don’t deserve answers.” He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the hard chair, pulling his hand away from hers.
Molly raised her eyebrows, seemingly unfazed by his outburst. “Actually I’d like to see my mother again because I have a lot of unanswered questions for her. But I wouldn’t expect anything from her this time. Lesson learned on that score.”
He nodded, her calm, quiet answer deflating some of his frustration, which hadn’t been directed at her but at his lousy childhood, at least until the year he’d spent in Ty’s home. But that had been ripped away from him, as well.
She was right. She’d come to terms with her past. He was still powder-keg angry.
He let out a deep breath and exhaled hard. “Not everyone can get things wrapped up in a neat little bow like you did.”
“That’s true, but you’re only hurting yourself by holding on to so much anger. I’m here if you want to talk about it, that’s all.”
But for how long? Hunter wondered. How long was Molly here for him before she walked away the way she did before? The way everyone in his life tended to do.
“Thanks,” he muttered, unwilling to engage in that particular conversation.
“If I ever had kids, I’d never treat them like they were less important than the gum wrapper on my shoe,” Molly said, taking him off guard.
“Or the next drink,” Hunter added without thinking.
A cute smile pulled at her lips. “See, that wasn’t so hard. Joining me in my griping, I mean. It felt good, didn’t it?”
He inclined his head. “I’m sure neither one of us would leave a kid in the restroom of Penn Station without a look back.”
“Is that what your mother did?” she asked, obviously horrified by the prospect.
He’d never admitted it before. “I was there half a day before someone noticed. Eventually she just washed her hands of me and gave me over to the state.”
“That’s an awful thing to do to your own child.” Molly fidgeted in her seat, unable to sit still, wanting to jump up and hold on to Hunter tight, yet not wanting to show him any pity that would force him to build up his walls against her. He was finally talking about himself and she considered it progress.
“I used to lay awake at night in whichever home I was in, thinking she must have known what she was doing by leaving. She must have known some deep dark secret about me that made me unworthy.” He glanced into his half-finished cup of coffee, looking lost.
“Oh, no. She was the one not worthy of having a child. Definitely not worthy of you.” Her stomach twisted in tight knots, her emotions on edge.
He groaned aloud. “Whatever. It’s in the past.”
She only hoped it had helped to talk about it with her now.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Definitely.” They’d bonded, whether he’d admit it or not. Molly was grateful for the progress she’d made. “Are you all set?”
“I’ve had enough caffeine to take on the justice system,” he said.
“That’s good enough for me.” She rose and he stood, too.
“I’m going to buy a bottle of water before we go. Want one?”
“No thanks.” She glanced at the line at the register. “How about I just meet you outside, okay?”
He nodded.
“Don’t give J.D. a hard time,” she said teasingly before she walked past Hunter and pushed through the door. After their intense conversation she could use some fresh air. Once outdoors, she breathed in deep. The breeze felt cool and good on her cheeks.
Molly walked to the corner and leaned against the brick wall, taking in the dark buildings. They had character, she thought. She really did love this town and wouldn’t mind putting down roots here.
She wondered when Hunter thought about the future, what he envisioned. All that talk about kids earlier had brought up a longing she’d held on to for a long time. One that had only grown stronger on meeting her own father and his other children. Molly had always wanted a family that belonged to her alone.
“Hey.” Hunter came up behind her, placing a hand on her shoulder. “What’s going on in that beautiful head of yours?”
She shivered at his warm touch. “I’m just enjoying some fresh air.”
“No, you’re worrying about your father.”
Her father hadn’t been on her mind at the moment but he was never far from her thoughts. Better Hunter think that than know the truth, that she was longing for a future that was probably out of her reach. “Okay, score one for you.”
He stepped closer. “Everything will be fine, Molly.”
“You can’t promise me that.”
“You’re probably right,” he said, his breath warm against her ear. “But I can promise you have the best lawyer in New York and Connecticut combined.”
“Not to mention the most egotistical.” She chuckled and eased back against him.
Now that he’d dropped his anger, he had a calming effect on her that she desperately needed. And when she remembered their earlier kiss and the vibration of the bike between her thighs, Hunter had another effect on her altogether.
But while she had him here, she might as well push him harder on a subject that was very important to her. “Promise me that once you talk to my father, we’ll revisit the conversation about guilt and innocence?” She needed him to believe in her father as much as she did.
She was putting not just her faith but her entire family’s welfare in his hands.
“We’ll talk,” he promised cryptically. No wonder he was such a good lawyer.
And such a fine man.
They’d been brought back together by her father’s case. Molly hoped she could use that time to strengthen other bonds between them, as well.
JESSIE LAY BESIDE Seth on his bed in his room. Her head was at the top on the pillows, his at the foot propped against a load of clothes his mother expected him to put away.
She’d sat with him every day after school, but he wouldn’t talk. About anything. “I know you’re upset about your dad being, um, killed, but you have to talk or you’ll never feel better.”
He rolled his head to the side. “It’s not just that.”
“What is it then?” She wanted to know so badly.
He sat up and she did the same until they faced each other. “That night? My dad hit my mom,” he said in a rough voice she’d never heard from him before. “I heard him.”
“What?” His dad had a temper, sure, and sometimes he’d been a little scary when he was in a mood, but he was her uncle Paul and he’d never hit anyone. She was sure of it. “Maybe you just thought that’s what happened, but-”
He shook his head. “I’m positive. He hit her and she said she’d had enough, that it was the last time he’d lay a
