What none of you get is that I don’t either. I’m not doing this to achieve some level of happiness I don’t have yet. I’m doing it because I was asked to do it, and if I don’t, there is no one else.”
Gray just looked at his son, who glared back.
“I’m young,” Hunter said. “I can do this for a couple of years, and then I can go back to the lab. Or out to the farm. Who knows? Who knows what life will bring?” His voice got louder, which wasn’t typical of Hunter. “I have time, Dad. I don’t need to get married and have a ton of kids right this second.”
Gray nodded his agreement. “No, you don’t. I just worry that if you don’t hang onto Molly somehow, you’ll lose her for a second time, and son, you might not get a third chance. A job is a job. Having the woman you love as your wife and the mother of your children makes your life worth living.”
Hunter pressed his eyes closed and drew in a breath through his nose.
“One more thing,” Gray said as the elevator started to slow. “You say you can do this for a couple of years and then move on. What I want to know is who you think will take your place in just two years? There’s no one but you right now, and there will not be anyone else for at least another decade. At the very, very least.”
The car dinged, and the doors slid open.
“Probably two decades,” Gray said, reaching to put his hand over the door so it wouldn’t slide closed. “Then you’ll be forty-five, and looking for a wife the exact same way Uncle Wes did.”
“It worked out for him.”
Gray shook his head, because Hunter wasn’t even listening. “Thanks for eating lunch with me, son. I love you.” He stepped into Hunter and hugged him quickly, then got off the elevator and walked out of the building.
Buckled safely in his truck, Gray gripped the steering wheel and pressed his eyes closed. “Dear God, please bless my son. Hunter has already been through a lot in his young life, and he deserves a woman at his side who can love him and support him through all of his trials. He deserves to be that man for someone else. Please, please do not let him make a choice that will prevent him—or her—from having that. Please.”
He wasn’t sure if that woman was Molly Benson or not, but Gray knew the Lord did.
His phone rang, and the sound came through the radio speakers. Elise’s name popped up on the screen, and Gray added one more “Please,” before tapping to answer the call. “Hey, baby.”
“Gray,” Elise said. “Where are you? Could you stop by my office and get a folder for me? I accidentally left it there.”
“Of course,” Gray said. “I’m in the city, but I can stop on my way through town.”
“The city?” Elise asked.
“Yeah.” Gray sighed. “I came to visit with Hunt….”
Chapter 22
Molly waved goodbye to the last student running out the door, their oversized backpack bumping against their back. She pulled off her art apron and hung it by the door with a sigh, the week behind her now.
Finally.
Hunter usually called after school on Fridays, and they went to dinner together. They spent the whole evening together, and Molly had been telling herself that was enough for her for five weeks now.
She enjoyed talking to him and catching up on their week apart. He always ordered amazing food. He held Saltine, who adored Hunter, and he’d even brought a pouch of salmon for Gypsy last week. The cat had deigned to come down from the bookcase for as long as it took for Hunter to feed her the flaked fish bit by bit, then she’d gone right back to the top shelf and stared at him.
Kissing him still made her feel loved and cherished, and the fantasy in her head hadn’t changed much. Molly knew what she wanted her marriage and relationship to be, and in the quietest of moments, she knew her reality with Hunter Hammond, should she marry him, wouldn’t match the fantasy at all.
She skipped doing any prep for Monday, gathered her purse, shrugged into her coat, and left the elementary school. Several minutes later, she pulled into the driveway of her childhood home and called to her mother as she went through the front door.
“Molly.” Mama poked her head out from the hallway. “What are