Swallowing, her eyes return to her reflection in the mirror then she turns this way and that. “I think I like it.” She bites her lip, looking at me.
“I’m glad you do.” I smile.
Smiling back, she asks softly, “Do you think I can get a few more like this one?”
“Absolutely.” I nod, not caring even a little bit that I will probably blow the budget Zach gave me. Seeing her happy is worth any argument we may have.
“Thanks, Shel.”
“Anytime, honey,” I agree, meaning that more than she knows.
An hour later, we are finally done shopping and the boys are out of the movie, so we meet them at the food court, where the boys talk nonstop about the movie they saw while eating burgers and fries. By the time we’re done eating, we only have an hour to get to the airport, so we book it to the hotel to pick up our bags then rush to the airport to catch our flight home to Cordova.
Chapter 9
Zach
“Whose car is that?” I ask, and Shel looks back over her shoulder toward her house that we just passed, unhooking her belt.
“I don’t know,” she mumbles.
Shutting down the truck, I get out, open the back door for the kids, and then walk around toward the back of my truck, where I meet Shel.
“Hunter,” a male voice calls out, and all eyes swing toward the house next door. I know the instant my eyes lock on the man standing on Shel’s porch, wearing a tailored suit and polished shoes, that he’s Shel’s ex-husband and Hunter’s dad. What I don’t know is what the hell he’s doing here.
“Oh great,” Shel whispers, as Hunter’s quiet voice says, “Dad,” not sounding happy but worried. My eyes go to him, and I watch Steven take a hold of his arm and Aubrey step up next to him, both of them blocking him in on either side.
“Max.” Shel moves around me before I have a chance to stop her. “What are you doing here?”
“You told me I could come,” he states, and his words surprise me. Shoving his hands in his pockets, his eyes sweep over the group of us then go back to her.
“Forget to mention something, baby?” I ask, and she looks up at me then rolls her eyes before looking back at Max.
“No,” she says, moving toward her house, with me at her back. Pausing, she looks back at the kids, who are all still huddled together, and points at Steven. “Take Hunter to your house, honey. Your dad or I will be over to get him in a few minutes.”
“Mom?” Hunter questions quietly, looking pale.
“It’s okay, kiddo. Go with Steven and Aubrey. I’ll be over to get you in just a minute.”
“Okay,” he agrees, and Steven wraps his arm around Hunter’s shoulders, leading him toward our front door, where I can hear Penny barking wildly, knowing that her people are all outside while she’s stuck in the house.
“I came to see my son,” Max snaps, glaring down at Shel before transferring his scowl to me, as I walk up behind where she is stopped near the bottom of her steps, placing my hand against her lower back.
“And who the hell are you?”
“Zach Watters, town sheriff,” I state.
His eyes flare then move back to Shel, as he asks, “Seriously?”
“We’re not doing this out here,” she mutters, moving up the steps toward the door, opening it without using a key—pissing me off—and then proceeds to hold it open for us. As soon as we’re both inside, she slams the door and turns on Max, pointing her finger at him.
“You cannot be serious.”
“I didn’t come for drama, Shel. I came to see Hunter. He hasn’t been answering my calls, and neither have you.”
“Have you lost your mind? Did you ever stop to think—?” She shakes her head and drops her eyes to the ground. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. We both know you didn’t stop to think. You never do. It’s always all about you, so screw how anyone else feels.”
“I didn’t come here for this.”
“Well then why did you come here?” She tosses her hands in the air.
“I told you, I wanted to see Hunter.”
“I’m glad. I know he will love having you around,” she says softly, then pulls in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “But this is not okay. What you did—What you’ve done has freaked him out. Do you understand that? You telling him he’s going to be moving back to Seattle with you freaked him out. He loves you, Max, and I know our son loves you, but he also loves me, and it’s not fair for you to make him feel like he has to choose between us.”
“Exactly why are you here?” he asks, ignoring her and looking at me.
“I’m here for Shel.” I lean back, crossing my arms over my chest, knowing if Shel wants me gone, she’ll tell me. Not that I’ll leave.
“Zach being here has nothing to do with you understanding that our son was scared the second he heard your voice and saw you outside our house a minute ago.”
“I would never hurt him,” he snarls, leaning forward.
Every muscle in my body tenses, as I growl, “Stand back.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
“You get in my woman’s face, and I’ll more than tell you what to do.”
“Is this guy for real?” he asks, pointing at me while looking at Shel.
“He is, only because you need to take a breath and calm down. I know you’re upset, and I know you wouldn’t hurt Hunter, not on purpose, but you did,” she says quietly, and he leans back, frowning.