“So, Vince just has the flu?” She took a bite of her meal and watched me.
“Yeah. We’re going to do a few tests soon to make sure it’s nothing else, but the doctor seemed pretty confident.” I licked at my folk and watched her closely. “Did you see the side yard when you came up today? Those damn hogs tore it up again.”
She laughed hard. “Those hogs have been tearing up both of our lands for a while, Hunter. Someone needs to get out there and turn them into bacon.”
“That is not bacon anyone is going to want to eat.” I snorted and reached for her hand. “I haven’t gotten them yet, but I swear I’ll make them suffer.” I sounded villainous, but she found my teasing amusing.
“I would love to watch you do that.” She finally gave her laughter a rest and posed a pretty smile instead.
My pulse picked up as I studied her. She was far too beautiful for a man like me, too innocent, though I’d taken her virginity as my own already. I wanted her again, the voice in my screaming for me to reach out and take her.
“Yeah, I’ll make sure to put on a show for you when I finally get to it.” I smiled, but the expression faded as my thoughts shifted back to Vince.
I had promised him a lot of things, including the promise I made to go hog hunting with him. That, up to now, remained a broken, distant promise.
“What’s the matter?” Kylie asked, her voice so soft.
I straightened up, trying my best to cover the sadness in them. It was difficult, but I didn’t want her to see me as a bad parent. What would that say about my ability to be a father to her kid? Assuming she wanted some. Assuming we would end up together. My cock twitched at the thought.
“Nothing,” I answered coldly.
I looked into her eyes, meeting me with a flash of hope and sincerity. It felt like I could vent to her. It felt like she would listen and understand. “You can tell me anything, you know.”
I took a deep breath and looked down at my plate. “I just don’t know what to do anymore. I need to work and manage the shop, but my son needs me now.” I cupped my chin, still torn between the two priorities battling their way to be at the top. I could figure out a good solution and quite honestly felt out of options.
“Hunter, don’t worry. I can help you out. If you need me, I’m just a call away. Also, I love listening to Vince’s stories. He’s such a joy to be with,” she offered. As much as I wanted to decline her kind offer, I was trapped in the middle. I nodded instead, thankful of her support for me and my son.
“I’ll come by tomorrow to join your visit to Vince’s doctor,” she replied, her eyes candid and caring. I couldn’t be more thankful for her.
Chapter Fourteen
Kylie
As much as I wanted to spend the night with Hunter the night before, he looked beat, and after his day at the ER; he had to be. We cleaned up, I kissed his cheek, and got back over to my place. It was a long night, but the morning came…finally.
I got dressed and joined the guys to drive to the doctor’s office, all of us sleepy and not saying too much. It was odd to see Hunter so stressed out. He’d always been so cool and collected before. Poor thing. I would have done anything I could to change it for him.
As the three of us waited in the doctor's waiting room for Vince’s name to be called, I kept Vince busy with children stories. Vince was fully wrapped up in the story, forgetting about the nerves of being at the doctor’s office. It calmed him a little, diverting his attention to the story.
“Vince Yonnie?” The nurse called out his name, suggesting his turn for the one-on-one consultation with the doctor. The three of us stood up and entered the doctor’s office, hearts racing fast for what was yet to be uncovered.
“Good morning, Mr. And Mrs. Yonnie. Please take a seat.” The doctor welcomed us, mistaking me as Vince’s mother.
“No, Doc. I’m just a friend.” I clarified the fact, although being called Mrs. Yonnie sounded pretty good to my ears.
“So, here’s the thing, which is honestly crazy.” The doctor sat back in his seat, putting the stethoscope on his table. “The good news is that Vince looks like his fever is gone, and he’s on the mend from the flu.”
“The bad news?” Hunter looked like he might pass out.
“I’m afraid we found something in the blood testing yesterday, but it’s a really good thing that we did. Fluke incident, but still, it’s good to know what’s going on before it becomes life threatening.”
I took Hunter’s hand and moved closer to him as my heart dropped. What the hell was going on?
The doctor continued. “The results have confirmed that Vince has diabetes. He needs to be injected with regular insulin shots to help with his blood sugar levels. He’s gotta watch how much sugar he eats too, which comes in all forms.”
Hearing the news made Hunter frown. He looked very disappointed in himself, seeing his son face a lot of things. At such young age, Vince needed to continue taking insulin shots until he got older. The pain he felt was evident and contagious. Seeing him upset broke my heart. Being a single parent had to be so damn hard.
“Was there anything I could have done to stop this?” He kept his eyes on the doctor, but I could tell he was close to breaking down.