“What?” Levi said. “That place is haunted, Emily. None of us want to go there.”
“Yeeeah,” Hunt said. “About that. What do you think about fixing it up? Maybe get the old house ready to sell?”
Adam stretched his arms above his head. “I suppose we should sell it. None of us want to live there.”
“Well,” Hunt said. “Maybe one person.”
Adam’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
Hunt needed a respectable place for him and Abby to live with Noah. The lawyer hadn’t said as much, but it made sense for them to live in a home where no one could doubt their financial stability. Abby hadn’t wanted to make any major changes in Noah’s life after the wedding, but there would be weeks before the Cade estate was ready to live in. If there was any house in Lake Tahoe that impressed, it was the Cade mansion, and Hunt wanted to put his best foot forward in case CPS came sniffing around like they had a few weeks ago.
No one hated their family home more than Hunt. The inside was cold as hell. Fortunately, the outside had been Hunt and his brothers’ domain and haven. Their father never cared what they did outside, as long as the inside was pristine for the work associates he entertained.
“If you’re interested in fixing the place up and selling it,” Hunt said, “I could do the remodel. But I’d like to live there with Abby and Noah.” No need to mention why he wanted the house for him and his new wife. His brothers were suspicious enough. If they knew his marriage was a farce to make it look like Abby was providing a solid foundation for her son, his brothers would never trust him again.
Trust was a fragile thing. Once you lost it, it was difficult to build back. Hunt had learned that the hard way.
“I suppose it’s not the worst idea,” Levi said. “As long as Abby doesn’t mind. Could be messy remodeling.”
Hunt leaned his shoulder against the wall. “I’ve considered that. I’d have Lewis do the demo and rough-in first.”
Levi frowned. “You’ve already spoken to Lewis? And he agreed?”
“Well, not exactly.” Construction during Tahoe summers was busy as hell. Which was why Hunt had broached the idea of the remodel with their friend Lewis, who owned Sallee Construction, before he brought it up to his brothers. “He’s busy, but one of the projects they were about to work on is being held up in the permit department. He has a waitlist, but he’s willing to put us at the top, if we can start now.”
“No point in holding on to the place if we’re not going to use it,” Bran said, shrugging. “The resort is stable and running efficiently. It’s not a bad idea to tackle this now.”
Levi scowled. “I don’t know.”
Hunt internally groaned. Of course Levi would doubt him.
“I’m game for Hunt to spearhead it,” Bran said, and looked at Wes.
“Game,” Wes agreed from the couch.
Adam checked his watch. “As long as I don’t have to do it, I’m open. Maybe we should hire a decorator for the upgrades, though. I’m not sure I trust Hunt’s taste.”
“First of all,” Hunt said, “I have excellent taste. However, Lewis already put me in touch with a decorator, because I can admit when I’m in over my head.”
“Not always,” Levi mumbled.
Hunt stretched his neck, the tendons popping with the motion. Cool, he needed to remain cool. Leaping across the room to tackle his brother because he was being an ass wouldn’t convince the rest of them that he could do this. But before Hunt could explode all over Levi, Adam saved him.
“Then it’s settled,” Adam said, and walked to the front door. “Gotta go, but keep me posted.”
Hunt looked at Levi, who hadn’t agreed. Emily nudged him in the ribs. “Fine,” he said.
Good enough for Hunt. Not like he’d do much better when it came to Levi.
With a spring in his step, Hunt took off to tell Abby the good news. Or what he hoped would be good news. She hadn’t wanted big changes for Noah, but this was all for Noah. She’d agree.
Obviously, he didn’t know women well. At least, not this woman.
Chapter 21
“A new house?” Abby said. She set down the laundry basket she’d been carrying. “I told you, I don’t want to disrupt Noah’s life any more than I already have.” Hunt hadn’t listened to her. He was ignoring her wishes and making decisions behind her back. Her pulse throbbed, heart hammering a mile a minute. What had she done marrying him?
Hunt raised his hands. “Hear me out. Technically, it’s not a new house; it’s the home I grew up in. And we wouldn’t move for weeks. There’s demo and rough-in construction that needs to take place. I don’t want my family living through that.”
His family. But she and Noah weren’t his. Unless Hunt was taking this marriage more seriously than she’d initially thought. But why would he do that?
“Just consider it, okay?” he said. “We could take Noah by and see what needs to be done.”
“So it’s not a done deal. You haven’t made a major decision behind my back.”
Hunt placed his hand over his heart. “I’d never do something so stupid.”
Abby glanced around. Her place wasn’t much, but it was cozy. Okay, a little too cozy. “Why now?”
“My brothers and I have put off dealing with our family estate for years. That’s one reason. The other is I think living in the house where I grew up will help put off Vivian. I’m not one for fancy shit, but my father was, and the house he built is impressive. We’d live in luxury, close to the resort and your job, and best of all, there’d be no rent. The place is paid off. You can save money.”
Now he was speaking her language. No rent? She’d love to save some of her earnings instead of throwing it out the door on Tahoe’s housing expenses. “Not that I’m agreeing to anything, but are your brothers okay with this?”
Hunt snorted. “My brothers are happy to hand off the work of remodeling the old joint. We’re paying for the upkeep anyway while it’s vacant. Might as well move forward on a remodel and prepare it for sale.”
Abby had never been given anything for free in her life. Until Hunt came along. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Yes, it was wonderful to have someone do kind things for her, but what could she possibly give him to compensate for all he’d done? “Are you sure your brothers won’t feel like we’re taking advantage?”
“Hell no. We’re doing them a favor.”
Abby let out a breath and walked into the kitchen, resting her hands on the worn Formica countertop. “I’ll agree to take Noah by, but if he seems uncomfortable for any reason or doesn’t want to leave our home, I won’t agree to this arrangement.”
“Fair enough.”
“Wheee!” Noah shouted as he ran around the front yard of the Cade estate, and Abby flinched. Clearly she’d misjudged her son’s enthusiasm for a new home. Especially one that was a three-story, modern mountain mansion.
Hunt quirked his eyebrow at her.
“Fine,” she said. “So he likes the yard.” She looked up at the front door. “But this place is massive. What if he gets lost?”
Hunt nodded sagely, though she knew she was being ridiculous. “Always a consideration. However, my brothers and I never did, and I’m confident in Noah. He’ll probably know the place better than either of us in a day or two. But let’s not jump to conclusions.” Was that a confident smile on Hunt’s face? “Let’s take a look inside and see what Noah thinks.”
Yes, that most definitely was confidence oozing off Hunt. Dammit. He knew something Abby didn’t.
He jogged up the steps to the front door and punched a code into a keypad.
The door opened and Abby’s breath caught. “Holy shit.”
“Mom,” Noah said, giggling.
“I mean, holy cow.” She was already setting a bad example, her roots of growing up in a double-wide showing through.
“Wow!” Noah said, looking around in amazement. “Do you really live here?”
Hunt crouched next to Noah
and scanned the room, with two-story ceilings and windows that looked out onto the woods. “When I was a kid I did. What do you think?”
“It’s huge,” Noah said, eyes bright. “Can I run around?”
“Have at it.”
Noah took off like a shot, past the foyer and down a long hall. Abby could hear him whooping and hollering the entire way.
She sent Hunt a sidelong glance. “This doesn’t mean anything.”
He smiled. “Whatever you say, wife.”
A shiver ran down her spine. His words were meant in humor, but somehow she thought he enjoyed calling her wife, and that was the part that messed with her head. “Are you sure you’ve never been married before? Because you seem to have all the appropriate responses to get what you want.”
He chuckled. “Never been married. But I’m attentive.”
“Which is why you’re so good with women,” she said, not liking her own words.
Hunt grabbed her hand, his smile fading. “We had a deal, Abby. I’m committed to you while we’re together.”
Prickles raced down her arm where his warm palm held hers. She was reading into things. Wondering if there could be more.
She slowly slid her hand out of his and walked through the dining room and into the kitchen. Hunt’s footsteps sounded behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder and caught him staring off, a serious expression on his face as he looked around the kitchen.
She forgot her worries about their marriage. What did this house really mean to Hunt?
He wanted her to live here, but as soon as he’d stepped inside, his demeanor turned guarded. “Everything okay?”
He nodded. “Just haven’t been back here in a while.” His shoulders shook ever so slightly. “It’s older than I remember. This kitchen is crap.”
The “kitchen” was top-of-the-line fancy, and a million times better than the one she shared with Noah. Hunt never seemed to mind her place, but the mountain mansion he hated? If they moved into Hunt’s family home, it would be the finest thing Abby had ever lived in.
However, she could see how if they planned to sell the estate, they’d need to remodel the kitchen. It had to be twenty years old. Anyone spending that kind of money would expect something modern. Still, he was awfully tetchy over an outdated kitchen. “Is that all that’s wrong?”
Hunt shoved his hands in his jean pockets and stood there stiffly, not answering. Or unable to.
There was something about this house that set him off. If they were going to live here, she wanted to make sure he was going to be happy with the decision. She tried another tactic. “What was it like growing up here?”
“Cold,” he said, no inflection in his tone.
Abby laughed darkly. “And you want us to move in?”
Hunt looked around, letting out a long sigh. “It’s temporary. Besides, I plan to strip the place until it’s practically unrecognizable.”
Her eyebrows pinched together. “What’s the real reason you don’t like this house?”
He glanced to the side, seemingly looking for Noah. Abby could hear her son racing across the upstairs level. “My childhood was…different. It wasn’t awful, but it was lonely. My mother died when I was a baby, and my father was a workaholic. When he was around, he wasn’t attentive. I don’t know.” His shoulders jerked up in a stiff shrug. “There were five of us, and we were a handful. Can’t say I blame him for wanting to ditch us.”
Abby swallowed, pain shooting through her chest. She wanted to hug Hunt. She wanted to yell at his father and tell him he should have been there for his sons. Here she was fighting to raise her son, and Hunt’s father had thrown his chance to parent his children away.
Abby settled for looping her arm through Hunt’s, unsure how a man—her husband—would feel about it. “You’re the best with the children at Club Tahoe, and Noah loves you. If you didn’t have a happy childhood, it doesn’t show.”
He looked away. “I don’t like to see the kids lonely. Besides,” he said, and grinned. “According to my brothers, I’m the same age as them mentally. We’re a good fit.”
Abby squeezed his arm. “Your brothers are wrong. You’re a wonderful man, and you’ll make a great father. You’re already a wonderful role model to Noah.”
Hunt studied her, as though to gauge her seriousness. And then heat filled his eyes, and his gaze swept her face, landing on her mouth.
Abby’s mind shot back to yesterday morning and the look on Hunt’s face when he was giving her incredible pleasure.
Good Lord, he was potent.
She cleared her throat. “We should find Noah. I think he’s lost in the labyrinth.” She made to pull away, and Hunt placed his hand on top of hers.
“Abby.” He waited until she met his eyes. “I won’t let you down.”
He’d read her mind, because she was afraid. Though not of him. She was afraid she felt too much for someone she couldn’t have.
Chapter 22
Hunt couldn’t get his balled hands to loosen as he walked through the old house, searching for Noah. What had he been thinking convincing Abby to move in?
When he’d made the decision, it was purely to protect Abby and Noah. He’d forgotten about the doom this place filled him with. And it all came crashing back, one memory after another with every room entered and every untouchable piece of furniture his eyes landed on.
Hunt found Noah in his old bedroom, and it took him back for a moment.
“This is your room,” Noah said, lying on the carpet, arms folded behind his head instead of lying on top of the extra-long twin bed shoved against the wall. “When we live here, I want your room.”
Unlike the rest of the house, Hunt’s old bedroom didn’t upset him. It had been his refuge. “How do you know this was my room?”
Noah jumped up and ran to the walk-in closet. He pointed at the inside doorjamb.
Hunt was here was carved into the wood.
He’d carved that when he was eight years old, only a few years older than Noah.
Hunt’s father hadn’t come home one night, and Hunt and his brothers had been left with the housekeeper, who made them all go to bed at seven so she wouldn’t have to deal with them. Hunt had sat in his closet and created a fort, staying up well past his bedtime. That was one of many nights he’d envisioned himself a pirate, a rescuer of the innocent.
Hunt shook his head. Someone should have taught his younger self the definition of a pirate. Even now, he instinctively considered any boat-ferrying man or woman a protector of the sea—or in Hunt’s case, the lake. He’d promised himself, he’d rescue people, because no one ever rescued him. Yet the only thing keeping him brave right now and not running for the hills was Abby and Noah. This was for them.
Which was a scary thought.
Hunt was growing more and more attached to his new little family. He might be capable of helping them now, but he was no fool. Deep down, he knew his brothers were right. He’d screw up eventually, and he’d never be good to anyone in the long term.
Noah ran from bedroom to bedroom, oohing and aahing, and even Abby, his skeptical new bride, was beaming. The only people haunted by this place were Hunt and his brothers.
He’d strip the house bare, down to the studs if need be. One way or another, he’d make it a place he and Abby and Noah could enjoy.
Hunt ran a palm across his damp brow.
“Hunt,” Abby said, standing behind him. He hadn’t heard her walk up, too caught up in the past. “We don’t have to live here.”
He was showing weakness over a damned house. That wouldn’t do. “Does this mean you’re considering it?”
She gestured across the hall to Noah, who was jumping on Wes’s old bed. “I don’t think I have a choice. Noah loves this place. But we don’t have the history here that you do. We’ll be just as happy at my house.”
Hunt’s back stiffened. The only redeeming qualities about Abby’s house were the people who lived in it. Otherwise, the small cabin was
run-down and in a shady location. It wasn’t good enough for Noah and Abby. Not if they wanted to shut down Noah’s grandparents from ever thinking they could gain custody of their grandchild.
Hunt needed to man up and shake off the past. “Then it’s a done deal. We’ll move in as soon as the rough-in is complete. You okay with Lewis’s workers coming around? I know most of them, and I trust Lewis with my life.”
“I trust you, so that works for me,” she answered.
Hunt’s chest tightened. No one ever gave him absolute trust. Women, his brothers—they all loved him, but they were smart enough to not trust him. Until Abby.
Only Abby was sweet and a loving, protective mom. She was no pushover. Yet she seemed to have absolute faith in him. How the hell had he managed that?
Damn this house. It was causing him to doubt himself, reminding him of the past and where he’d come from.
It was a means to an end, he told himself. The house impressed everyone, and it would put off Noah’s grandparents. And he’d prove to his brothers he could take on the challenge of fixing it up.
Every one of his brothers had stepped up when it came to Club Tahoe since they took over management, except Hunt. This was his way of showing his worth.
It was late by the time Hunt drove Abby back to her place. She made a quick dinner of meatballs and pasta, and Hunt read Noah a book.
“One more!” Noah chanted from his bedroom, ecstatic his best friend from Club Tahoe was living with them now. Noah couldn’t stop talking about their “new house,” either.
Abby walked to the bedroom door. “No way, little guy. It’s been a busy few days. You need your sleep.”
Both Hunt and Noah frowned from the bed. Saddest sight she’d ever seen.
“Fine,” she said. “One more, but then you have to go to sleep.”
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