River from the City: A Small Town Contemporary Romance (Rydell River Ranch Series Book 6)

by Leanne Davis

  He blinked and looked shocked. “No. I had no idea. I’ve been on extended leave and I might never go back. I assumed he still worked there.” Grinding his teeth, a certain disgusted tone always entered his voice whenever Hunter referred to Stanley. Shaking his head, the words took a moment to register. “Wait. You’ve been—”

  “Fully cut off, thanks to you. After you sent that picture of us… they were upset. They freaked out. Said it was inappropriate.”

  Snorting, he added, “They were probably grossed out as well.”

  “Well, maybe. Considering we were raised together and all that. Then when they found out we were doing it since the age of eighteen… things went south fast. Why don’t they realize that we’re not blood-related? Why won’t anyone acknowledge that? We were raised together as brother and sister but we weren’t related. How could we not form a strong bond? It was only natural.”

  “Uh, sure. Yeah. We’ll call it a strong bond. When you were seventeen?”

  “Eighteen really before things changed. Maybe fifteen or sixteen when I first noticed what was happening to me and he did too. We tried to resist our impulses and ignore them. We had so many discussions and reasons for not doing it, but then it grew too strong…”

  Groaning, he interrupted her, “Been there, done that. I’m over it. I don’t care anymore, and I don’t need to hear that. Only the details that pertain to this child.”

  “Right. Sorry. So we were cut off. But now, we can be together.”

  He held up a hand to stop her, fighting the urge to stick a pencil in his eye before asking her the next obvious question, “Why didn’t you just marry him?”

  “Because we knew what kind of reactions we would get.”

  “And your love wasn’t more important than what others might say? If it were as strong and true as you claim, who cares what others might think?”

  Tears slid from her eyes. This time, however, they seemed genuine. Surprised, he watched her for a long moment. Finally, she swallowed and answered, “You’re right. I see that now. If the feelings were real and true, it should not have been a problem. We should have gotten married. But he knew we’d be cut off. I didn’t believe that. I really thought my mom would understand how much I love him and that it mattered more than everything. I was counting on her.”

  Hunter lessened the degree of snarky in his voice as he said gently, “But she didn’t?”

  Her head shook. “No. She didn’t. She was worried it would ruin her reputation. She didn’t want the Stanton family name and holdings to be scandalized. She said it would reflect on them. She lost her mind when she spoke to me. And then they did it. They cut us both off and out of the will. They won’t take our phone calls. They changed the locks on all the family homes and businesses so none of our keys or codes worked. They froze our bank accounts and any access to the money, that we both formerly had. There is nothing now. Nowhere. Not even credit cards.”

  “Surprised you didn’t try to get some money out of me.”

  “I knew you wouldn’t help us. And I knew finding out about the baby would anger you even more.”

  He glanced at Kyomi. What a surreal morning this must be for her. She kept her face neutral, as he strove to do. “Then your baby was born with red hair and Stanley knew it wasn’t his.”

  “Pretty much. Not what we expected. The moment he saw the baby, he knew it was yours and he said he was done. Done. Just like that.” She snapped her fingers and more tears ran down her cheeks. She sniffled as she rubbed them. “He didn’t even wait for a paternity test.”

  “Did you get one?”

  “No. But anyone with a pair of eyes can see he’s your son,” she spat derisively. “You can check out my story. It’s all true. There are no more games. Do you think I’d be claiming I had your son if it weren’t true? What good would that do? It doesn’t matter though, no one can fake that uncanny a resemblance.”

  No. Unfortunately that was true. Completely true. Rubbing his own hair as they discussed his son, the facts raised Hunter’s anxiety level. The current crisis was only slightly averted. Getting the full impact of this discovery was the source of his anxiety.

  “Stanley left you right off the bat?”

  “Yes. But he came back. Said he was sorry and ready to accept the baby. We moved into the townhouse and he promised to get a job. We were going to be a family. A real one. Like we always dreamed. No stepfathers, stepmothers, stepsisters or stepbrothers. A real family.”

  “How could you afford a townhouse and all that?”

  “I sold my jewelry. Hawked all that I could. Got enough for a small down payment. But a job was required. And he…”

  “Never did get a job. You realize your stepdad paid him every week for literally doing nothing. He showed up maybe twice a week for half a day. He never did any paperwork, or attended any meetings or brought any clients in. He was useless. Worthless. A blight on the company name. He tarnished his father’s good name and reputation and basically took up space that real workers could have been hired to occupy. That is your piece of shit lover. A weak, useless, do-nothing, playboy, willing and eager to live off his daddy’s money. He used to be a womanizing, druggie/alcoholic piece of shit and he still is. I hope you realize that?”

  Tears fell and the sobbing started again.

  “Hunter, no.” Kyomi admonished him. She pointed at the crying Francine. “This might start the hysterics. Stop her now. Quickly before she can no longer speak any words.”

  “Okay.” Hunter shifted the blame and sat beside her. “Sorry. Let’s forget all that for now. Basically, you’re here because I’m the father of your baby and Stanley won’t be it. He—”

  She gripped his hand to her chest, putting it right next to her boobs like a child clutches a beloved teddy bear after a bad dream. He shot Kyomi a helpless look and mouthed, “What the fuck do I do now?”

  She smiled in response and shook her head as she mouthed, “Just go with it.”

  He rolled his eyes when his sobbing ex-wife clutched him closer to her. Lord, how he hated this woman. “He refuses to accept the baby, or get a job, or support us. But then he…” Her sobbing became supersonic. Hunter all but covered his ears and blinked to suppress it. Scowling at her back, Hunter waited for the current freakout to pass. Finally, she gasped out, “He met an older woman. An ugly, middle-aged, horrible maggot with lots of money and… and…”

  Hunter tried to hold back the laugh. He was nearly grinning with delight to see karma actually working for once. He left her for a sugar mama?

  “Middle-aged!” She screeched as a fresh wail followed. He did cover his ears this time with his hands.

  “Because he won’t be poor. Or have to work.”

  “Yes!” she sobbed. “He left me. For her! And I have this baby now. My funds are all but gone. Mom won’t answer any of my messages. Nor will Larry. No one.” She hiccupped, sobbed, and paused. “There is no one. I just… what do I do?”

  Hunter had a sinking feeling. So this is where he came in. “So you showed up here?”

  “Well, not at first. I had no idea how to find you. I finally remembered your stupid cousin who didn’t like me and found out where he lived. I hoped once you knew things were out of my control…”

  He snorted. “Don’t even go there. How dare you portray me as a controlling asshole who wouldn’t allow you to speak to me. As if I never let you be your true self, or whatever the hell you’re suggesting. I was a decent husband to you. I made some mistakes, yes. I worked way too much, and I didn’t check in with you as often as I should have; but you pushed me on the ambitious career path we were both committed to. So don’t even act like I’m some scary asshole that you could not talk to back then or now. You were in love with someone else and you chose to marry me, dragging me into it, and setting me up for the life I now have. For being a good guy. So don’t you dare portray me as the loser, or a controlling, workaholic, asshole husband who didn’t see to your needs or attend to you.”

  “
Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I knew you’d get involved.”

  “Where did you go? After you dumped him here?”

  “I just drove down the mountain; do you realize you’re still living on a freaking mountain? There is so much dust. I doubt my car will ever be clean again. But I—I just didn’t know how to tell you all this. I knew you’d freak out. Yell some more. I couldn’t face it. I mean, Stanley yelled at me for having no money. He says I’m the reason he’s poor. There was no one I could consult. And the baby. He cries all the time. All the time. I have no idea how to make him stop and I have no one to ask. No one at all. I even took him when he was screaming to my mother’s house. I was crying and begging at her front door for her help, to help him, to help us, just before I came here. And she—”

  “Didn’t?” Hunter supplied when she hiccupped her answer. “That’s pretty cold for any mother.”

  “So all I could think of was to see you. I hoped you would not turn me away. And look, so far, you’ve helped me more than all of them.” She rubbed her nose. “I-I’m not very good at any of this. It’s so hard. The baby, I mean. So much harder than I dreamed it would be. He cries constantly and it’s always a mystery to me why. Is it a diaper change, or a feeding, or a nap, or stomach ache? I have to figure it out around the clock. I’m going insane. I can’t sleep. I’m so tired, and I can’t shower or do anything else. It’s so, so hard.”

  Anything hard was definitely not in Francine’s wheelhouse. Ever. Not a single day in her life. Her stupid mother spoiled the girl to the point of being useless. Francine was adept at shopping and spending thousands of dollars at a time if she chose to. Her mother encouraged her to overindulge herself at every turn. However, she ignored Francine when she needed her most, to teach her how to care for a baby? No surprise.

  “Don’t… please don’t turn me away,” Francine muttered before she flung herself at him, embracing his waist and leaning against him. Her head nestled against his chest. He spread his arms wider, stunned to find her pressed so tightly against him. “Please, Hunter. Tell me what I’m supposed to do now. I don’t know. I can’t do this. I can’t. You know that. You know me. I can’t do this!” Sobbing, she was shaking and he felt it against his chest. Big-eyed, he lifted his head to look at Kyomi as he shrugged. She stared wide-eyed back at him. Then she nodded as if she gave him her permission to touch her. He couldn’t believe after all the bad behavior from Francine, he was willingly putting his arms down around her. Touching her. Comforting her. His cheating ex-wife. His horrible, screeching, sobbing ex-wife.

  The mother of his child. The mother of his son.

  Hunter had a son.

  Dropping his arms lightly on her back, he rubbed and said, “Fine. We’ll figure it out. I mean, it’s my kid and you’re the mother. Look at it this way, no matter what, you’ll get some child support.”

  Her head whipped right up, almost slamming into his jaw with a velocity that would have knocked him out if she’d made contact. “Oh, yeah. You… you have to get your job back. I mean… what are you doing now?”

  His gaze was fastened on Kyomi and she gave him a small, private smile. It was above Francine’s head and Kyomi shook her head and widened her eyes as if to say, this girl! It was all about the money. If Francine only knew Hunter worked on Kyomi’s ranch for free. “Something for a friend.”

  “But what about the baby.”

  “He has a mother who can work as well as a father. So we’ll talk and figure it all out. But be aware that my income isn’t anything like what it was, and all the assets? They were yours. And if you sold them all, then maybe we’ll both be asking Asher to live here. The rent’s cheap and he’s a great landlord.”

  She leaned back, agape in disbelief. “You can’t mean that. I can’t… I can’t live here. I have a townhouse. I just need… the…the… you know, the payment thing.”

  “The mortgage payment?”

  “Yes.” He held his breath to stifle his disbelief. Girl didn’t even know what a mortgage payment was. She was so clueless in everyday life. How could he have ever considered that trait cute and endearing? Why would he choose to share his life with a woman so shallow, callous, and vain? He saw her beauty as a kind of prize that he won. A trophy. And her helplessness was an act too, always so flattering to think she needed him. Maybe his inflated ego was to blame. It allowed him to think he wanted someone who needed to be taken care of, instead of a life-partner, a friend, a companion and equal in all ways. That was what Kyomi was to him. He gazed at Kyomi even though Francine was staring up at him. She was still in his arms waiting for him to explain how he planned to pay for her and his son. But Hunter gave Kyomi a small smile and a wink to reassure her.

  “Francine, you need to prepare yourself. Nothing will ever be the same in your life. If you’re really cut off, you will never have the kind of money you once had again. If Stanley is gone and I’m really your last source of income, you must realize I am not the same man you were married to. Not anymore.”

  “What do you mean?” Her tears dried up and she lifted her face to stare at him with a piercing glare. The blunt realization she might not get what she wanted came as a serious blow to her.

  He stared at Kyomi as he spoke to Francine. “I mean, I no longer work twelve-hour days. I am no longer your meal ticket. No one is. You’ll have to buck the shit up and do things for yourself. For your son.”

  “Our son,” she interrupted.

  “Right. Yes. Our son. But I can’t be the only one to pay for things. Mortgage. Food. Insurance. Rent. Whatever it might be, it is not just on me anymore. Or on your family. It should have never been from the start. I should be ashamed for allowing you to be so grasping. I would never have taken so much from my own family as I did from yours. So no more. No more of that at all. We, I mean, I will be standing on my own two feet. And so will you.”

  She began sobbing again but for a different reason this time. Threatening her with a job had her quivering against him with fear. This time, he grabbed her forearms just under her wrists and gently shook her. “You have a baby now. You’re a mother. You have to be different. Better. Stronger. More useful.” He cringed as he added the last part. It was mean, but so true. The truth could not stay hidden anymore.

  He didn’t yell or scream. He told her in a calm, quiet and respectful tone. But he said it. The truth.

  She was, once again, becoming the Francine he married instead of a tragic, single mom. Fearing the responsibility of a job, and demanding Hunter be better, but not herself, was exactly the woman he married.

  Her eyebrows jutted down in displeasure. “How is all of this going to work?”

  “I have no idea. You showed up this morning with a baby boy I’d never met before. I had no clue about him. I didn’t have nine months to prepare for it in any way. Mentally, emotionally, or physically. That was pretty low what you did to me. From using me to cover up a relationship you shouldn’t have pursued to this, hiding your baby’s paternity. I should have been warned and consulted. You didn’t care enough about me to do me one solid. To be honest, my biggest mistake was to think your brand of neediness was love. Or caring. All for yourself, never about me. I’ve since learned what true caring is. I have a lot more to learn, to be honest.”

  “What? With her?” Francine tilted her head towards Kyomi who sat up straighter. Yes, Hunter was referring to Kyomi, not his ex.

  “Yes. Her.”

  “Well, maybe I made some mistakes, sure, but I am the mother of your child. So you… you have to do something to help us. I mean, do you have any idea how much diapers cost?”

  He pinched his nose. “Not exactly, but I never expected they were cheap.”

  “They are when compared to the shoes and bags and purses I used to buy. But all that is gone now. I’m scraping the bottom of the barrel for change. You can’t imagine how hard it’s been.”

  Stifling the urge to say, boo-hoo to the spoiled brat antics of this woman, Hunter ignored the statement. “Don’t you think you
ought to check on the baby you abandoned to a complete stranger?”

  Francine rose to her feet in a huff. “You were here. She’s your friend. So she wasn’t a complete stranger. I just needed a few moments. Considering all that’s been dumped on me.”

  “Francine…” Rising to his feet, he all but growled at her. “You dumped a baby on me, without any warning. You did all the dumping. All the way around. So knock it off. I’m not spending the next eighteen years listening to you spin an untrue sob story. You will not. Either take responsibility. Or get out.”

  She huffed and puffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. Pacing, she stomped down a foot and then looked at him with fresh tears. He merely shook his head. He was finally calling her bluff. He was sick of it. Let her threaten to leave, she’s the one in need now. There was no way she would leave.

  “Fine.” She spun around and turned her face away from him.

  “Good. Glad we understand each other.”

  Then she tapped a foot. “My son, can I see him now?”

  Oh, yeah, like she was dying to see him. Cringing, Hunter wasn’t sure how he felt or if this were truly real. It felt very surreal, like it was someone else’s life. The words baby and son and child support and Edmonds… none of them fit into his life now. Or hell, in his life with Francine. None of it felt real. Not at all.

  “Mom? You can come in here now,” he called gently, tapping on the door.

  Kailynn walked in with the infant cradled against her.

  “His name is Russell,” Hunter said.

  “So I heard,” replied Kailynn.

  Oh. Great. His mother heard it all? She listened, no doubt. He hoped it wasn’t too bad on his end. No one wanted his mother listening to him bawl out his baby-mama who had the baby without his knowledge. Wincing, he wondered how it happened so quickly. When did these events enter his life and become part of him? How was that possible?

  Kailynn walked over to Francine and offloaded the precious bundle into Francine’s arms. The ease that his mother had with the infant clashed with the incompetency of his ex. It was cringe-worthy and noticeable. Not that Hunter could talk as he was still learning how to hold a baby. He noted his mother didn’t greet his ex and vice versa.