Wes were still in town. Not only that, but they’d both been texting him nearly non-stop, something he normally enjoyed. He loved his uncles, and he’d gone to them when he had problems in the past.
This felt like something he couldn’t tell anyone about. At dinner on Friday night, Uncle Colton had even said he should get a ring on Molly’s finger as soon as possible.
Hunter hadn’t even been thinking about diamond rings. Not yet. His mind went round and round what isotope they could try in the lab, and the new budget proposal meeting Laura had scheduled for Thursday morning specifically so Hunter could attend.
His phone stopped playing the chime for him to get up, but it rang in the next moment. He rolled to pick up the device and saw Elise’s name sitting there. He considered letting it go to voicemail. He could claim to be in the shower.
“Can’t lie to the woman you consider a mother,” he muttered, giving a tug to the power cord so it would come out. He tapped the green phone icon to connect the call. “Hey,” he said.
“Hunter,” she said pleasantly.
He laid back onto the pillow, deciding bed was a great place to spend the day. “What’s goin’ on?”
“You’ll be at church, right?”
“Uh.” He contemplated giving a fake cough. He couldn’t do it. “Yeah.” He sighed. “I’ll be there. Why?”
“I know you don’t get the emails, and Thea just sent out a plea for singers, especially men, in today’s choir number.”
“I can’t—”
“If you do it, your father will,” Elise said. “And Wes and Colton.” She practically bit out the last syllable, and Hunter had the feeling all three men were standing right beside her, hanging on Hunter’s decision.
A smile spread across his face. Of the four of them, he was the best singer, and it wouldn’t be hard for him to stand up there and sing. Then he thought of having to look at Molly during the song.
If he showed up late and sat in the back, he wouldn’t have to see her. He could duck out during the closing song and be out of the parking lot before she even stood up.
But if he went up front to sing…he’d have to look right at her to do it.
“I don’t know, Elise,” he mumbled.
“Seriously, Hunter,” she said, her voice hushed now. “What will it take to get you to do it?”
A crazy thought entered his mind, and it would potentially blow something open that might not have been cracked yet. “You can keep everyone off my back about Molly Benson,” he said. “Dad. Uncle Wes. Uncle Colton. All the uncles. I don’t want texts about her, and I don’t want to answer questions, and if there’s even so much as a single breath that sounds like her name….” He let the threat hang there, because what could he honestly do?
“You make sure no one says a single thing about her today, and I’ll sing the number.”
Elise didn’t respond right away. When she did, she asked, “Did something happen?”
“Yes,” Hunter said. “She broke up with me on Friday night, and honestly, I wasn’t going to go to church today. I was thinking I’d just lay in bed all day and do about fifteen crossword puzzles and never leave the condo again.” He sighed miserably. “You want me to stand up in front of her and sing. I’ll have to look her right in the eye. So I’m not doing it unless you can get everyone off my back. Not a single word.”
“Oh, Hunter,” she said. “I’m so sorry.” She didn’t commit to keeping everyone away or stopping the texting. “Your father and uncles love you, that’s all.”
“I know that,” he said, pressing his eyes closed and wishing he could go back to sleep. When he slept, he didn’t have to think. His heart didn’t flop strangely in his chest. His thoughts didn’t torture him.
“I’ll call you back,” she said, and just like that, she hung up.
Hunter groaned as he rolled into a seated position on the edge of his bed. Every muscle in his body hurt. “Why did I think running for an hour was a good idea?” He stood, but his back protested violently, and he fell back to the bed.
He finally managed to get in the shower, where the hot water helped loosen up some of his angry muscles. He shaved and brushed his teeth, swooped his hair up on the right, and dressed in his suit and tie.
Standing in front