But he didn’t.
Instead, he figured since she had shared something personal with him, he should share a little something with her.
“Yeah, we’ve been a little concerned about Eli,” he began quietly, careful to keep his voice down so his son didn’t hear him. “He was a great baby, super easy going, but as he’s gotten older, I think the tension between his mom and me just made him withdraw. He doesn’t talk a lot, and he’s kind of a people-watcher. I’d love to see him be as chatty and as social as Kira.” Shaking his head, he continued, “Unfortunately, the way things are right now, I think it’s going to get worse before it gets better.”
Her hand was back on his arm. “You’re doing a good job, Hunter.”
The mirthless laugh was out before he could stop it. “That’s not what you were saying yesterday.”
Groaning, Violet hung her head. “I said I was sorry…”
Without realizing it, he placed his hand over hers. “I know, and I shouldn’t have said that. But…you know what I’m saying. It’s not easy, and it’s all uncharted territory for me. I have no idea how to be the only parent. I mean, Melissa wasn’t around much–less and less in the last several months–but she was there enough so I could handle working and taking care of Eli when I was home.”
“I know it’s none of my business, but…have you talked to her about this?”
Another sharp laugh. Turning his head and finding Violet’s face closer than he thought, he said, “Many times. And right now, I don’t even know where she is. I left about a hundred messages with her yesterday and she’s yet to return one.”
“Oh…um…wow. I don’t even know what to say to that.”
“Join the club.”
They fell into a companionable silence again, and Hunter knew he really should get going. He had promised Eli a trip to the park with his bicycle and there were still a lot of calls he needed to make and things to do.
Slowly, he stood and looked toward the hallway Katie had gone down and figured she was still on her call. Beside him, Violet stood as well.
“We need to get going,” he said. “Please tell Katie I’ll have Eli here tomorrow morning around 7:30.”
“Wow, that’s kind of early.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, it’s not great. I have to be at the station by eight, but it’s a normal shift tomorrow, so I’ll be here by five.”
The look on Violet’s face showed how she was dying to make a comment about how it was a long day and probably how it was a crappy way to raise a kid–by paying someone else to do it–and she’d be right. Unfortunately, this was the way things had to be for now.
And the foreseeable future.
Unless some sort of miracle happened, and the universe decided to stop crapping all over him.
Walking over to Eli, he encouraged him to say goodbye to Kira and Violet before scooping him up in his arms. It was crazy how he tended to carry his son, but he felt like they needed that connection sometimes.
Like now.
“Hey, I hope you guys have a good rest of your day,” Violet said brightly. “Any big plans?”
“We’re going to hit the park and ride our bike, right, Buddy?”
Eli nodded.
“That sounds like fun!” she gushed, gently poking Eli’s belly. “You’ll have to tell me about it tomorrow, okay?”
He nodded.
After another round of goodbyes, they were back in the truck and heading toward the park. The entire way there, Hunter would ask questions and his son would give him one or two-word responses. They were going to have to figure out a way to get him to talk more, but right now, he had no idea where to begin other than constantly talking with him.
And let’s face it, having a one-way conversation with a three-year-old was not easy.
But Hunter made it work and tried not to get too discouraged. They had a great time at the park and went food shopping on their way home. Once there, Hunter put on Paw Patrol for his son to watch while he made some calls.
Melissa’s parents didn’t know where she was and didn’t seem overly concerned. They lived in New Mexico now and had minimal contact with her in general. The few friends of hers he reached out to offered no insight either. There was a part of him that began to worry something awful had happened to her, but he refused to let that thought take hold.
He made it through making dinner, bathing Eli, reading him a story, and putting him to bed before he sat down and allowed himself to relax. Sitting in front of the TV, he did his best to get into a few episodes of Game of Thrones that he was seriously behind on watching. It was after ten, and he was contemplating going to bed when his phone rang.
Melissa.
He was quick to remind himself to stay calm and not go at her with all the rage he felt. Letting out a long breath, he answered the phone.
“Hey,” he said, his voice low and almost deadly calm.
“Hey.”
Hunter waited for her to say something–like apologize, explain herself, ask if Eli was okay–but she remained silent.
Guess it’s up to me to move this along…
“Where are you?”
She groaned. “Okay, look, let’s just start with the fact that I know you’re pissed off.”
“I’d say that’s accurate.”
“Yeah, I got that after listening to the six hundred messages you left.”
“What did you expect?” he demanded angrily, jumping to his feet. “You deserted Eli, Mel!”
“I told you you had to pick him up!”
“And I told you I couldn’t!”
“Well…neither could I!” she countered. “Obviously, you managed to find the time in your precious schedule to get him, so I don’t know what you’re annoyed about. It wasn’t like Katie left him on a street corner someplace.”
“Seriously? That’s not the point! We have a legal agreement, Mel! One that you had drawn up and agreed to, and yet you never freaking stick to it!” He stopped because the agreement was a moot point now. His call to his attorney this morning was going to see to that. “Just…where are you? Will you be around tomorrow?”
“No.”
No surprise there.
“When will you be home?”
She sighed loudly. “Hunter,” she began and then paused. “I’m not coming home.”
“Excuse me?”
“Yeah, so…I met someone. We’ve been dating for a little while and…I moved to Oregon with him.”
“Oregon?” he cried. “You moved across the damn country without telling anyone?” Hunter swore his head was going to explode. He began to pace as he sputtered and tried to get at least one coherent question past his lips, but he couldn’t quite make that happen.
“Hunt, come on. You and I both know things weren’t working. They haven’t for a long time. I told you years ago this wasn’t the life I wanted. I know you thought I’d change my mind, and I also know if I told you I was thinking of moving, you’d hound the crap out of me until you got your way.” Another sigh. “I couldn’t let you have your way on this. I was slowly dying in that town and hell, even I know I was a terrible mother to Eli. He doesn’t deserve that. If I stayed any longer, things were only going to get worse. Is that what you want?”