He’s alwayswatching.
WhenHunter takes a left, failing to signal, a motorist beeps his horn andcurses.
“You couldn’t have just quit? You had to force Isaac to fire you. It was a stupid move, Hugo. You know what he is like with Izzy. You’re lucky you’re stillbreathing.”
“I have a son,” I blurt out, no longer able to stand the disappointment inHunter’seyes.
Hunter may be my supervisor, but he is also my friend. That is a hard title for any man to achieve since I’ve spent the last five years being aghost.
Hunter remains quiet for the next five miles. His brows are knitted tightly and his eyelids are twitching, but his lips remainrigid.
After a beat, he says. “Why didn’t you just tellIsaacthat?”
“You don’t think he has enough on his plate? He’s been dragged through the trenches the past month,” I answer, my tone rough from the guilt strangling my vocalcords.
“So you thought you’d add to it?” Hunterinterjects.
My eyes rocket to Hunter’s. His dark eyes stare into mine, revealing what I already know. I just added more drama to Isaac’s already drama-filledlife.
Fuck!
“I don’t work well under pressure,” I mumble, running my hand over the top of my head. “I tend to charge first, ask questionslater.”
Hunter pulls his car into the curb at the front of the domestic terminal at Ravenshoe Airport. He clicks the locks into place, trapping me in the car with him. “Take a week. Sort your shit out with your family, then come back here and wade through the shit you justdumped.”
I shake my head. “Ican’t”
“Why not?” Hunter interrupts, his toneclipped.
“I can’t do both. My family is over seven hundred miles away. I already missed four years of my son’s life, I’m not willing to missanymore.”
“So you want to be a dad?” he asks, staring me straight intheeyes.
Inod.
“Agooddad?”
I nodagain.
“Then lead by example, Hugo. Show your son how to do the right thing. You oweIsaac--”
“You don’t think I know what I owe him?” I interrupt, my loud voice booming around Hunter’s car. “I know what I owe him. I owe himeverything.But Iowemyfamilymore.”
Hunter’s hard-hearted eyes stare into mine. “There is no reason you can’t have both. Be a man. Talk to Isaac. Don’t thank him for everything he has done for you by messing around with the only good thing he has inhislife.”
A barrel of emotions pummel into me. I owe Isaac the world. Without him, I'd be dead. But I won’t have a life worth living without my family.Without Ava. I barely survived the past five years without her, but now, knowing what I’m missing, I can’t live without her and Joel. I can’t givethemup.
“Besides, how are you supposed to care for your son if you don’t have a job? You’re a ghost. A phantom. No one is going to hire a dead man,”Huntersays.
Shit, I didn’t even consider that. How can I entice Ava away from a man who has more money than sense with a dwindling bank account and no employment prospective? I know Ava doesn’t love Marvin. She doesn’t look at him the way she used to look at me. Not the slightest. But she is stuck between a rock and a hard place, struggling between putting her heart before the welfare of her son.Ourson.
I understand her dilemma. It’s why I stupidly kissed Izzy. When I first kissed her it was out of anger, furious her childish antics were risking my chances of seeing my son. But the instant I pressed my lips against hers, it dawned on me that Isaac would be watching.He is always watching.Instead of manning up and talking to Isaac, I took the coward’s way out, doing what he hates. I forced his arm. Kissing Izzy was my way out. She was my goldentickethome.
I’ll admit it, I was shocked as hell when Izzy kissed me back. It was only after a sleepless night did I realize why she did it. She was hurting, believing Isaac had left her for Ophelia. She wanted him to experience the pain she was feeling. It worked. I’ve never seen Isaac look so dejected. I never want to see that look again. Not on Isaac’s face and not on Ava’s. I’ll make this right, for both of them.Ihaveto.
Noticing my defiant stance weakening, Hunter continues with his campaign. “Take a week, then come back and we’ll talk it out like real men. There is no reason you can’t have both your family and your Ravenshoefamily.”
My lips twist. “That sounds like an ideal situation, but Isaac’s notgoing--”
