Can't Help Falling in Love - Samantha Chase Page 0,4

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.

The image put a smile on his face, and by the time he pulled into Katie’s driveway, he felt way more in control