“Youdorealize you’re telling a four-year-old boy to stay off his feet?” I ask skeptically. “How is that supposed to work? Can’t I just pay you for the best cast money can buy?”
TechnicallyIwouldn’t be the one paying for it, and Hunter probably has enough money to buy this entire hospital.
The doctor chuckles and hands Teddie a sticker, which the kid promptly puts on his stuffed bear’s tummy.
“Money can’t buy everything, I’m afraid,” the doctor remarks.
“True,” I mutter under my breath. “It definitely can’t buy manners or parenting skills.”
“What’s that?” he asks.
“Nothing, sorry, I was talking about someone else.”
Someone else with a very large bank account and apparently no compassion for hurt children.
I look down at my phone while we wait to be discharged and I see about a dozen missed calls and texts from Hunter. It brings me a slight feeling of satisfaction that hefinallyanswered me. He’s probably feeling super guilty now—good. He should.
I don’t feel the least bit bad about storming out of his office and tending to his son’s little broken toe myself. And when Hunter gets home that night, I am so furious that I refuse to talk to him. I have already put Theodore to bed after giving him his pain meds, reading him an extra story, and giving him a special ice cream to dull his bad day.
I hear Hunter come in, walk to Teddie’s room to check on him, and then come to quietly knock on my closed bedroom door.
“Tabitha?” he says. “Are you in there?”
I don’t answer him.
“I know you’re in there because I can see the light on from under the door. You didn’t answer my messages—whichI suppose is fair since I didn’t answer any of yours. But in my defense, the ringer was off because I was in a meeting, so I didn’t even know that you were trying to get hold of me. Next time, call the office directly and my secretary will put your call through to me, especially if it’s an emergency.”
I am still seething mad and refuse to come out of the room or unlock the door.
“Listen,” he says as he continues to talk through the wooden plank. “I’m sorry that I lashed out at you today in the office. I know it wasn’t right of me to do. You were just trying to help, and I didn’t mean what I said. I have full confidence in your ability to take care of Teddie. You just surprised me, that’s all. I didn’t expect to see you there with Teddie and—”
His voice trails off for a moment as if he isn’t quite sure whether he should continue.
“It’s just that no one in my company knew I had a kid.”
I sit up on the edge of the bedshocked. This is surprising enough to coax me into breaking my vow of silence.
“What?” I ask as I walk closer to the other side of the door. “How in the world, or better yetwhyin the world, have you kept your son a secret for four years?”
“Can you just come out so that we can talk?” he asks. “I don’t want to have this conversation through a closed door.”
His insistence on always trying to be in control of things and get his way snaps me back into remembering how angry I am at him.
“Suits me,” I reply. “Because I don’t want to have this conversation with you at all.”
I walk back to my bed and grab my book then ignore the next few attempts he makes at trying to apologize again and get me to come out. Eventually, when he realizes I won’t budge, he leaves.
Later, in the middle of the night when I find that I can’t sleep again, I come out. I check in on Teddie first, who is sleeping soundly, and then walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water. But on my way, I see Hunter laying on the couch in the living room with a still barely flickering fire in the hearth. I walk inside the room and see an empty glass sitting on the table beside him. When I lift it to my nose, it has the sweet, thick smell of residual whisky.
The flames from the dying fire flicker across Hunter’s chiseled face while he sleeps, and I can’t help but to stare at him longingly for a bit. Iwantto help him. I shouldn’t, not after how badly he broke my heart, but I do.
His business might be a huge success, but his personal life is a hot mess. I can tell how much he loves Teddie, but he is definitely in over his head with the single parenting stuff.
I reach for the blanket that is folded up over the side of the couch and cover it over him. My heart softens inside my chest, and even though I still don’t want to get involved with him and risk my heart being broken again, I must be a glutton for punishment. Because I decide right then and there that I am going to do the best job that I can for the six months that I will be working as his nanny. I will help him and Teddie, and hopefully not get pulled into this whole situation too deeply.
Chapter Six
Hunter