She was coming back to him.
He rubbed his hands over his face.How many days had it been a week?It seemed like a fucking lifetime.
After spending days trying to find her and having Kodiak's contact in the department tell him that Jason started the fire at the house and committed suicide, he understood that some information was still missing.He was relieved to learn that Annie and Leigh weren't arrested after they were taken away from the scene, but he knew enough about Jason Stevens' background to believe something else had happened that night.
It was vital for him to talk to Annie, not only to tell her how he was feeling but to make sure she was protected and provided for.
Hunter sat alone at the end of the bar in the clubhouse, the phone heavy in his hand.Annie's message was still on the screen, but the doubts clawed at him because there was so much at stake.
Baker pushed through the kitchen doors and approached him.The old man had a face carved from years of regret.His gray beard twitched as he lit a cigarette, eyes narrowing at Hunter.
"You look like shit," Baker said, smoke curling from his lips.
Hunter shrugged.He'd aged since losing Annie.He had no idea where she was or how she was coping.
"Would a woman ever stay with a man who can't hear her?Who misses everything she says?Who only knows how to fuck women?"He pulled on his beard.
Baker's gaze sharpened, and he leaned back with a long drag.He exhaled, shaking his head.Hunter watched his mouth, waiting for him to answer.
"You think women give a damn about you hearing every word?You think they want some perfect son of a bitch who nods at all the right times?That's bullshit."
Hunter's jaw tightened, his chest aching.He was forty-five years old, and the only kind of relationship he had with women was the fuck 'em and leave 'em kind.He had never wanted anything more.Until now.
Baker leaned closer."A woman wants a man who shows up.Who fights for her.Who makes her feel like the only goddamn thing in the room.You don't need ears for that.You need heart.And you've got that, whether you believe it or not."
Hunter's eyes burned, his throat tight.
Baker's gaze softened."I sent the woman I loved away.Sent her off pregnant with my kid, and I never saw either of them again.Thought I was protecting..."
Hunter motioned for Baker to face him again.
"I was a coward.Don't be me.Don't let her walk away because you're scared that you're not enough.You love her?Then fuckin' love her.No excuses."Baker fisted his hand and hit the counter."All in."
After a childhood spent as his father’s target, he’d never known a man to speak to him without cruelty.Baker’s words lingered, gentle and unexpected.He sat there with the advice, letting it settle into places that had long gone numb.
He loved Annie.There was no doubt in his mind that he could love her for the rest of his days.The idea of not having her in his life about killed him.
But would he be enough for her?
