by Natalie Ann
That they’d been dating for three months now and things were going great. Well, maybe not great. He still hadn’t had Kayla over to meet the rest of his family even though his mother kept asking.
He’d put that off too until his father came around a bit more. But since his father never said a word about him dating Kayla, he should have realized that wasn’t going to happen.
It was time to force the issue and that was what he was doing.
“Dad, this is Kayla. Kayla, my father, Charlie Bond.”
Kayla wiped her hands on a towel and walked forward. “It’s nice to meet you,” she said. “I’m cooking dinner for Hunter and me, but there is plenty and you are more than welcome to join us.”
“No need,” his father said. His voice was gruff, but it always was. Nothing new there. “I just have a few things to talk to Hunter about. We’ll go in his office and get out of your way. I’ll be gone before you eat.”
Kayla nodded her head and went back to the kitchen and he followed his father to the office. “You could stay and get to know her.”
“I’ll be gone soon. Enjoy your time together.”
“You mean that?” Hunter asked.
“Just a figure of speech,” his father said.
“Why can’t you give her a chance?”
“When I know it’s not just a passing thing, then I’ll think about it. There is no reason to get close to someone right now. I’m sure it’s going to fizzle out.”
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell his father about the baby, but he knew this wasn’t the way to do it. “It’s not going to fizzle out. I haven’t dated anyone seriously in years and you know that. I just don’t understand why you can’t see that and accept things.”
“I just want to talk to you about the spa for a few minutes.”
Avoidance, something his father was good at. “Fine. What do you want to talk about?”
“Construction is going to start in October when the summer season is slowing down. Have you started to look for staffing and figuring things out? I know you met with a few people to get a good layout, but we have to think of staffing too. Promotions and so on.”
“I’m on it, Dad.” He didn’t know why his father didn’t trust him to do this. It was his idea and he had it covered.
“Fine. Then I’ll get out of your way.”
“There was nothing else? That is all you wanted to talk to me about?”
“Pretty much.”
“Which means there was more. So what is it?”
“Your mother wanted to have a family dinner in the next week or so. She’s putting pressure on me and I don’t like it.”
“Too damn bad. I’m not going if Kayla isn’t invited,” he said.
“Which is what I figured.”
“You’re just going to have to get over it soon,” he said, knowing that the sooner his father accepted his relationship the easier it would be to break the news of the baby. He hoped.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” his father said and left.
“Well, that was about as uncomfortable as a nun in a strip club,” Kayla said.
He snorted out a laugh. “He’ll come around.”
“If you say so. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. It’s not you.”
She laughed. “I think it is.”
“That isn’t what I meant. I think he’d be this way with anyone. I’ve dated other women who he accused of being gold diggers and they came from money. He’s just extremely worried about the family name when not many others in the family seem to be.”
“Why is that?”
“Because there is the talk of why the Retreat was started and his great grandfather and how he had done everything to prove he’s not like Bonds of the past.”
“Does it matter why it was started? Why not feed off of that for business? I think it’s kind of neat to have that history. Instead of trying to hide it or pretend it didn’t exist, why not embrace it?”
“You might have a point. But I don’t want to talk about work. How was your appointment? You know I wanted to be there.”
“I know. Not yet. It went well. I gained one pound, which is funny since my boobs are bigger and I’m eating like a pig. Baby’s heart rate is strong and steady. Dr. Mills said the next appointment or the one after will be an ultrasound to determine the sex of the baby. Do you want to know? I do.”
“Yes, and I plan on being there for that one,” he said, pulling her into his arms and running his hand over her flat belly.
“You should be. Dr. Mills wants to know about your family medical history. She asked if you knew about the baby and were going to be there for the pregnancy. I said you did and that I would give you the paperwork.”
“Did you tell her my name?” he asked, looking at the paperwork she just handed over that had been sitting on the counter.
“No.”
He looked at the name on the top. Dr. Ava Mills. Shit. That was his cousin. He should have put it together but didn’t really. Ava was from the Catherine side of the family. Distant cousin at this point but still a cousin like Eli and Mac. Catherine married a doctor and there had been a line of them in the family since.
“Okay, she’ll see it along with the rest of the staff when you hand this in.”
“I might hold off handing it in until your family knows.”
“My father said my mother wants a family dinner in the next week. I said I wasn’t going unless you were there.”
“I’m not invited?” she asked, her voice dropping.
“You are. It’s my father who is pushing it off. I’m going to call my mother and tell her we will be there next weekend. The sooner my father sees how happy we are together, the sooner we can tell them about the baby.”
“If you say so,” she said. “I’m not convinced it’s going to go well.”
“I didn’t say it’d go well,” he said, laughing. “Just that we should tell them.”
37
Fun To Watch
The following week Hunter was in his office with his father, and Hailey was going to be joining them soon to go over a few details.
“What other plans do you have for the Retreat?” his father asked.
“Right now I just want the spa up and running. I don’t want to do too much at once. It’s getting to the point where we’d have to put wings on now or get rid of the penthouse to build up. I don’t think we need to get rid of the tenth floor offices, do you?”
“I’ve thought about it,” his father said. “There is no reason we can’t try to find, rent, or build office space somewhere else and free that floor up for twenty more rooms.”
“Are twenty more rooms going to make a difference?” Hunter asked. “We are booked solid in the peak seasons, but in the off season we’ve got space at times. I’m not sure the cost is justified.”
He wasn’t all for making the place so big that it lost the charm that many wanted here. It was still a big resort and the oldest on the island. That was a huge draw. He’d even thought of what Kayla said about building on the Bond brand with the rumors. Why always stay to the clean side of the family?
“I guess that is something we’d have to run the numbers on,” his father said. “I’m sure we could make money on an office building and renting space out to others too.”
His father was always about the bottom line. Most of them in the family were. “It’s a thought. Like I said, I want to get through the spa. It’d be nice to offer more amenities for the Retreat too.”
“What else?” his father asked.
“I’m working with Eli on packages. He sent out information to all of us on the island, but since we host a lot of weddings here, I’m thinking of targeting a honeymoon package. We are working it out.”
“That sounds interesting. Get married here, stay a few days, go to the casino and get the top room, see some shows?” his father asked.
“That’s what we are thinking. Bundling it that way too and splitting it, making it
easy so that they only book with us, but we’ll make all the arrangements there. Less stress on the guests and they get to marry and honeymoon on the island if they want. Many have.”
“Sorry I’m late,” Hailey said, walking into his office. “I almost missed the ferry. My plan was to come in on the earlier one, but of course that never works.”
“No worries,” Hunter said. “You have everything for us to sign?”
“Sure do,” Hailey said, pulling out the paperwork. “How’s Kayla feeling? All better now?” Hunter shot his sister a look, but she wasn’t watching him, her head down going through papers. “I couldn’t imagine being sick like that the whole time.”
He closed his eyes and let out a breath, his father wasn’t stupid and jumped in. “What is going on?”
Hailey glanced up and caught his look. “Sorry. Thought they knew since we are all having dinner this weekend.”
The plan was to have the family dinner at his parents’ on Sunday, the day before Labor Day. Kayla was off and Hailey could stay the night on the island if she wanted. No rush on anyone’s part.
Baby talks hadn’t been brought up though. He was going to see how the dinner went first. Guess that wasn’t happening now.
“No,” he said.
“Now I’m really sorry.”
“Is Kayla pregnant?” his father asked, his face straight.
“She is,” Hunter said. No reason to lie. Not that he would.
“Are you stupid?” his father shouted. “You’re thirty-five years old and don’t know how to protect yourself?”
“First off, I am thirty-five, not fifteen. And since I’ve never had this problem before I know how to protect myself. But not everything works all the time.”
“I bet she did it on purpose,” his father said, getting up and walking around. “What’s done is done. You’re marrying her, right? We aren’t having a bastard in this family.”
Hailey gasped; he’d give her credit for being as outraged as him. “That’s old school thinking,” she said. “Hunter can do what he wants. Dad, I didn’t expect this from you. Kayla is sweet.”
Hailey had come over one more time and had dinner with him and Kayla a few weeks ago. His sister could get along with anyone if she wanted to. The fact she normally didn’t but put the effort in with Kayla meant the world to him.
“She could be sweet as your mother’s apple pie, but now she is carrying a Bond and that means she is set for life. She probably planned this all along.”
Hunter was losing the little patience he had left. “First off, she isn’t devious like you think she is. Second of all, she doesn’t want to get married and if what you are accusing her of were true, she’d jump all over it.”
His father stopped pacing and turned to him. “She’s probably holding out for more.”
“What more is there?” he asked. “She’s carrying my kid. Marrying me would give her more than child support would and she isn’t jumping on it. Do you know why?”
“Why?” his father asked, crossing his arms.
“Because of you, Dad,” Hailey said. “She knows you don’t approve of their relationship. She doesn’t like the fact that her being pregnant is going to cause even more tension in the family. I told her it was stupid. Our family has had tension for generations. You’re the only one that wants to pretend otherwise.”
“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” his father told Hailey.
“Come on,” Hailey argued. “I know more about the family than you. You tell us stories. Grandpa does too, but I’ve done my own research. Yep, Great-great-grandpa James was a womanizing man-whore. He’s got a few bastards out there. But lots of people do. Important people in society. Presidents, CEO’s—he owned a hotel—”
“We are Bonds,” his father pointed out. “This island is built on our history and reputation.”
“Yep, we’ll never forget it. But that doesn’t mean it has to define everything we do in life. I’m embarrassed that you can’t be happy for the two of them,” Hailey said. “You’ve never been happy with half of my decisions. I guess wanting a kid through a sperm bank is out of the question for me now. It’d still be a Bond though since I plan on keeping my last name.”
Hunter couldn’t hold back the laugh. Leave it to Hailey to turn it onto her. “You wouldn’t dare,” his father said. “And break your mother’s heart like that. All she wants is for you two to find someone and have a family.”
“I found that,” Hunter said. “I’ve got a family coming. Now it’s up to you to accept Kayla or not, but it’s not changing a damn thing.”
His father walked out of the office and Hunter turned to look at Hailey. “You did that on purpose. You knew damn well you’re the only one that knows Kayla is pregnant.”
Hailey laughed at him. “Someone had to rip the Band-Aid off. I figured it might as well be me. Mom will be thrilled. She is pissed that she’s wanted to have Kayla over since she met her the first time. Dad is just being stubborn.”
“I don’t get it. Grandpa is fine with Kayla. Where does Dad get it from?”
“No clue. You’d have to ask him,” Hailey said. “He’s always been a tight ass about things.”
“You just love making him pucker up more too,” he said, suspecting Hailey lived to do it.
“It’s fun. You’ve always been too serious by far in life. Or so you want us to believe at times. Thankfully you are at least open minded.”
“I think there is an insult and compliment combined in there somewhere.”
“Take it for what it is,” she said.
“So have you found anything else about Kayla’s background?”
“No. Just what I told you. Her mother, Marilyn Rivers Morrison, got pregnant as a teen and the family wanted no part of it. She tried to raise Kayla on her own but wanted to spend more time partying and had Kayla taken away.”
“What about now?” he asked.
“She’s married. Husband owns a garage and Marilyn works there. They are middle class. Two kids. I didn’t find much other than the oldest kid, Kris, had some drug issues, but the charges were dropped. That’s about it. They don’t seem like criminals, but not sure about whether they are upstanding citizens or not.”
“I don’t understand why she wouldn’t want to get to know Kayla,” he said.
“Again, no idea. She has another life and maybe she wants to forget about the mistake she made.”
“Kayla isn’t a mistake,” he said, hating that Kayla used that same reference when she found out she was pregnant.
“I didn’t mean it that way. I’m just saying who knows the reason.”
“I hope they stay away then when I marry Kayla,” he said.
“So you’re getting married?” Hailey asked, grinning.
“You know damn well she will be my wife. And it will be before our child is born.”
“Let’s see which one of you is more stubborn. It will be fun to watch.”
38
A Bit Rocky
“It won’t be that bad,” Hunter said.
Kayla turned her head to look at him sitting there. She wasn’t thrilled how Hunter’s parents found out. It was probably worse in Hunter’s eyes that he didn’t tell them himself.
“I’m not so sure of that. Have you talked to your father since Tuesday when Hailey spilled the beans in such a messy way on the floor with no napkins in sight?”
He smiled at her. “Just about work. He’s only been in the office twice and both times it wasn’t long.”
“Does Hailey do that often? And how come you didn’t tell me she knew about the baby?”
“Even though Hailey is younger, she’s always been a bit protective. She feels I’m too serious by far and if she can push me out of that comfort zone she does. She means well. And I told her because, while you’ve got your roommates to talk to, I needed someone too.”
It never occurred to her that he’d need that. “If you say so. I think it was wrong of her to do it, but I’m sort of g
lad everyone knows now.”
Even Tiffany knew. A few days ago she’d been working with Tiffany and started to gag when someone walked by with strong smelling perfume.
“When are you going to tell me?” Tiffany had asked.
“Tell you what?”
“That you’re pregnant. You’ve been dating Hunter for over three months now. I can’t believe I didn’t even know that until you finally admitted it when I asked why you went upstairs all the time on your break.”
“I told you that we weren’t announcing our relationship. Patrice and Carol have known and they are my supervisors. That was enough.”
“I’m your friend though,” Tiffany argued. “We talk about everything.”
Kayla had laughed. “You talk about everything. I just listen.”
Tiffany frowned. “I guess that’s true. But now you’re avoiding me. Just admit it, you’re pregnant. I’ve got two kids. I know the signs. Your shirt is tight around your boobs. You gag or turn green over the weirdest things. You eat nonstop, drink a ton of water, and you’re yawning more too.”
There’d been no use lying at that point. “Yes, I’m pregnant.” Tiffany had grabbed her hands and started to jump around. “Shh. Hunter’s family just found out and things are a bit rocky. This wasn’t planned. Can you please keep it quiet?”
“I can keep it quiet, but soon everyone will know.”
“Not that soon,” she’d said and then they went back to work.
“I think today will be fine,” Hunter said to her as he pulled into the driveway of a house on the water. His parents’ house. It wasn’t huge, but it was old and had charm.
“I bet this house has been in the family for years,” she said.
“Someone in the family owned it at one point and it changed hands. My mother did a lot of remodeling to it though. It’s plenty big enough for them now. It was when we were growing up too since we only stayed here summers and on the weekends.”