From his spot on the truck, he watched the town go by and smiled.
This was home.
Magnolia Sound was always where he wanted to be, and the fact that his job was to help protect it filled him with a huge sense of pride. There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do for the townspeople, and he loved knowing his son was going to grow up here. Although it seriously sucked that while his son was going to grow up in Magnolia Sound, he was going to be growing up as a child of divorce.
Okay, it was a little dramatic to think that way, but there it was. In all the years Hunter had fought for their relationship and envisioned them having the idyllic life he never had growing up, he never thought things would be like this. Melissa had never wanted to have kids, and when she got pregnant with Eli, Hunter just assumed she’d change her mind once she held their baby in her arms.
She hadn’t.
And lately, she had been spending less and less time with Eli, which, to him, was worse than spending no time with him. His son was being bounced from house to house–including going to daycare–and Hunter was starting to see how it was having a negative effect on him.
And whatever Melissa’s deal was about for tomorrow, it certainly wasn’t going to help.
The siren roared all around him, and as they approached the property, Hunter adjusted his helmet and coat and immediately cleared his mind of everything except what they were here to do–put out a fire.
It took three hours to get everything under control before they could return to the firehouse. After a shower and a hot meal, Hunter grabbed all of two hours of sleep before the alarm went off again. This time for a fire down on the beach where some teenagers set up a bonfire that got out of control. This was completely unusual to have two fire events in one night, but…this was his job and he was going to give it everything he had.
They were back in the station in two hours, and after that, the crew went about their usual routine: doing a thorough check of all personal protective gear, which included a turnout jacket, pants, boots, air supply, and own PASS device. Hunter had done it so many times, he didn’t even have to think about it. If anything, it was a mindless activity that he found oddly soothing.
Once he was done, he helped check out the fire truck and the equipment to make sure they were ready for the next emergency. When things remained quiet, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to wash the truck. They were all avoiding the chore everyone seemed to dread–cleaning the station. It was basically a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors to dole out who was going to handle cleaning which area and Hunter was thankful he caught mopping rather than bathroom duty.
No one wanted that.
When his shift was over, all he wanted to do was go home and crawl into bed, and it seemed as if luck was on his side.
He stripped as he walked across his small house and placed his cell phone on the bedside table before he collapsed on the bed. His head hit the pillow, and he was instantly asleep.
The sound of his phone ringing woke him up.
Sitting straight up, it took a moment for him to get his bearings, and he had to wonder who was calling him so soon after he had fallen asleep. But as he reached for his phone, he realized he’d been asleep for over six hours.
“Damn,” he murmured, reaching for his phone. Without looking at the name on the screen–mainly because his eyes wouldn’t stay open–he hoarsely muttered, “Hello?”
“Hey, Hunter, it’s Katie.” Usually, Katie had a very cheery voice. She didn’t right now.
Clearing his throat, he said, “Hey, Katie. What’s up?”
“Um…listen, I don’t mean to sound bitchy, but…did you lose track of time?”
Raking a hand through his hair, he sat straight up. “Excuse me?”
“You were supposed to pick up Eli. I don’t normally mind if you or Melissa run late, but I can’t get her on the phone, and she was supposed to pick up Eli an hour ago. Then I figured I must have gotten the schedule confused, and it was your turn to pick him up.”
Now he was fully awake.
“Wait, are you telling me Melissa didn’t pick Eli up?”
She sighed loudly. “Yes! Like I said, normally it’s not a big deal, but I’ve got some things going on and really need you to come and get your son. Please.”
“Is everything okay?” he asked as he climbed from the bed and began to scramble around to find clean clothes.
“It’s fine, but…I’d really appreciate it if you could come and get your son.” Her voice was tight and very out of character for Katie. And that’s when it hit him…
Pregnancy.
Advanced pregnancy.
No doubt she wasn’t feeling well, and his family drama wasn’t helping. Muttering a curse and then a quick apology, he slid on a pair of jeans. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. I promise.”
“Thanks, Hunter.”
“And again, Katie, I’m really sorry. I guess Melissa and I got our signals crossed. It won’t happen again.”
“We’ll see you soon,” she replied before hanging up.
So many thoughts raced through his head as he stumbled around the bedroom, finishing getting dressed. First and foremost was that he was done playing games with Melissa. Not picking up Eli was the final straw. Not long ago, his brother Dean had urged him to get a lawyer and simply get full custody so he could be done with dealing with his ex. He hadn’t wanted to do that to his son.
Now, however, it seemed like there wasn’t a choice.
There was no time to make himself some coffee or even brush his teeth, and that just fueled his anger. Hunter knew he’d have to find a way to make this up to Katie because he couldn’t afford to lose her. If he was going to have sole custody of his son–and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he was–then he was definitely going to need to have daycare covered.
As he stormed out the front door and climbed into his truck, he thought about offering to buy Katie and her daughter some takeout, or perhaps he’d pick up flowers or something and bring them the next time he dropped Eli off.
“What the hell was she thinking?” he murmured, thinking of his ex. The only way he was going to know was by calling her himself. Pulling out his phone, he pulled up her number and quickly hit send before he even left the driveway.
“Hey, you’ve reached Melissa. Leave your name and number and I’ll call you back. Bye!”
It took every ounce of self-control not to scream, but what was the point? If she heard him yelling on the message, no doubt she wouldn’t call him back. Instead, he took a steadying breath before speaking. “Hey, Mel. It’s me. I’m on my way to pick up Eli…”
And his tone was getting a bit more sarcastic.
“Um…and why am I picking up Eli? I told you yesterday I couldn’t do it and I thought we agreed. Now Katie’s upset and I don’t think it’s fair to her that she got put in the middle of this.” Pausing, he let out a long breath. “Can you please call me back and let me know what’s going on? Or…I don’t know…I guess we’ll stop by your place after we leave Katie’s. Maybe you’ll be home by then. Talk to you later. Bye.”
It was a game to her. He knew that. And yet it still pissed him off.
Katie lived only two miles away and that meant he needed to calm down before he got to her house. She was already upset with him; there was no reason to add to it by showing up at her home with a head full of steam. So he took the remainder of the drive to focus on seeing his son and thinking about how he had tomorrow off so the two of them could go to the park and maybe play ball or perhaps take Eli’s bike with them so he could ride on the biking trail.