“It is if it keeps her safe,” Hunter said stubbornly. He hadn’t been able to keep his mother or Angie safe, but he’d damn well keep Cady safe.
Gray just shook his head before leaving.
Hunter picked up his cell phone and quickly called her.
“Cady, hi, it’s me.”
“Hi, is everything okay? You didn’t come into work today.”
The concern in her voice really had him feeling like shit.
“I’m so sorry, baby. I got caught up in some things to do with my sister’s estate and I lost track of time.”
“Oh, do you need some help? I don’t mind coming over.”
“Actually, I think I need to do this on my own. At least for the moment. Do you mind?”
“No, of course not.” But he heard the distance in her voice.
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow night then,” she said.
“Tomorrow?” he queried.
“Barbeque at Josh’s. Did you forget? I can take the bus if you’re too busy.”
“What? No, I’ll be there to pick you up.” He didn’t like her taking the bus, especially at night. “I’ll see you then. And, Cady, thanks for understanding.”
“Sure,” her voice softened. “Bye.”
“Bye, baby, sleep well.”
Cady lay in her bed, wondering what the hell was going on. She understood needing some space to deal with things; she’d certainly needed it after Rusty’s death. But Hunter had been holding back on her before he’d gotten that phone call this morning, and she couldn’t help but feel there was something more going on.
She was hurt that he wouldn’t let her in, wouldn’t allow her to help. He hadn’t called her or texted her all day, like he’d just forgotten her.
This was probably for the best, she told herself. She was growing too attached. They were spending nearly every moment together and that couldn’t be healthy. This was bound to happen, that he’d grow tired of being with her all the time.
Except none of that reasoning was helping the pain in her chest.
Chapter Eight
Cady glanced over at Hunter. He looked tense, thoughtful. His mind was a hundred miles away and she couldn’t help but feel rejected. She was nervous as hell about going to this barbeque and she could have used some reassurance. Instead, she’d barely gotten more than three words out of him since he’d picked her up.
Her hands tightened around the bowl of potato salad she’d made. It was one of the few dishes she knew how to make; she hoped it was good enough.
“We don’t have to go, you know,” she finally said.
“Huh? What?” Hunter turned to look at her briefly before returning his attention to the road.
“We can skip it, tell the others I wasn’t feeling well or something.”
He frowned slightly. “Why would you want to do that?”
“Well, you just don’t seem in the mood to be around other people.”
Hunter sighed and made an obvious attempt to relax. “I’m sorry. I’ve got a lot on my mind. I’ll try to make more of an effort, okay?” He glanced over and smiled at her. “That salad looks good.”
She shrugged. “I guess it’s all right. I wasn’t sure what else to bring. This is my first barbeque.”