The Outlaw's Redemption. Renee Ryan

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СКАЧАТЬ reminding Hunter he had a chance to redeem his past, to prove he was more than his mistakes, by becoming a loving, responsible father to his child.

      He’d once lost hope of ever achieving such a blessing. He wouldn’t muck up this opportunity.

      “You’re going to claim her as your own.” A statement, not a question.

      “That’s the plan.”

      As soon as he spoke the words, all the tension in his shoulders disappeared. He’d thought long and hard last night, blinking up at the cracked ceiling of his hotel room. His mind had worked through the multitude of problems—and the possibilities—facing him. Hunter still didn’t have a concrete plan of attack, not yet. But there was no doubt he was going to step up and become the child’s father. In every sense of the word.

      Assuming, of course, she was his.

      His gut roiled. Surely, the child was his.

      “What’s your daughter’s name?”

      “Sarah.” Hunter’s heart thumped as he said her name, surreal and yet not at all. “She turned nine years old a few weeks ago.”

      Trey fell silent, his brow furrowed in concentration, as if he were sorting through the faces of every nine-year-old girl in residence at Charity House. The likelihood of Trey knowing Sarah was high. He had several personal connections to the orphanage. Not only was he related to Marc Dupree, Trey’s wife, Katherine, was the custodian of Charity House School.

      “There’s only one child around that age named Sarah. But, if I remember correctly—” his eyebrows slammed together “—she’s not alone in this world, nor is she without family.”

      “I know. She has an aunt. Annabeth...” Hunter paused, wondering how much Trey knew about Annabeth’s connection to Mattie. Deciding not to risk exposing either woman’s secret, he gave Annabeth’s alias instead of her real name. “...Smith. Her aunt is Annabeth Smith.”

      “You know Annabeth? How?” Icy stillness fell over Trey.

      “She was Maria’s sister.” He didn’t elaborate, didn’t go into the details of how he’d discovered Annabeth’s connection to Mattie Silks. Although he hated lies and had vowed to avoid them at all costs, this particular secret wasn’t his to tell.

      “Right. Of course.” Again, Trey’s face crumpled in a look of concentration, and then a spark ignited in his dark eyes. “Annabeth is very devoted to Sarah. Is that going to be a problem?”

      Such a loaded question. Such a loaded situation. All of this would be so much easier if Annabeth wasn’t so deeply involved in Sarah’s life. But she was.

      “Honestly? I’m not sure.” No, that was a lie. “Probably.” Definitely. “All I know for certain is that I’m going to do right by my daughter.”

      He was ready for a second chance at a new life. Nobody was going to stand in his way of providing a safe, stable home for his daughter, and himself, not even Sarah’s devoted aunt.

      “Noble, to be sure, but let me give you a piece of advice.”

      Hunter knew that look in his friend’s eyes. Trey was about to say something profound. Hunter silently prepared himself.

      “Think long and hard about what you want, both in the long term and the short, before you go charging over to Charity House and make your claim.”

      “Understood.”

      “I mean it, Hunter.” Trey leaned forward, hands on his knees, his gaze intent. “Make sure you have a solid idea of what the future looks like in your mind before you start formulating plans. Your actions will impact a lot of people at Charity House, some good some bad.”

      “I get it, Trey.”

      “Do you?”

      “Yeah, I do.” Awash with joy, with terror, with expectancy, he continued, “You’re telling me I need to be in this for the long haul. And whatever I do, make sure I don’t hurt Sarah, or Annabeth, or anyone else at Charity House. That about cover it?”

      “I’d say we’re on the same page.”

      “Good. And Trey...” Hunter carefully set the mug in his hand on the desk and let out a slow breath of air. “Thank you.”

      Trey shrugged. “Happy to help.”

      “I wasn’t referring to my current situation, though I certainly appreciate the advice.” Mostly. “I meant, thank you for what you did for me two years ago. You helped settle some things in my mind, including the matter of my salvation.”

      “You came to your own conclusions.”

      That might be true, but Trey had guided him toward those conclusions. He’d patiently explained the difference between godly justice and worldly justice. He’d explained the notion of giving mercy where it wasn’t deserved, as only a man who’d sought vengeance with his own hands could do. In that, they’d shared a common bond. Trey’s first wife had been brutally murdered by a man as evil as Cole Kincaid.

      Trey had moved past his anger at God. An example Hunter wanted to follow but still wasn’t sure how. Not completely.

      “I also came here today to return this.” He dipped his hand in one of the inner pockets of his coat and retrieved the small Bible Trey had lent him during the trial. The book was frayed at the spine, nearly falling apart in places.

      “I see you spent some time in there.”

      Hunter attempted an easy smile. “A bit.”

      Giving him a long look, Trey took the Bible, flipped through a few pages at random, then offered it back to Hunter. “Keep it.”

      Hunter didn’t overthink the suggestion. He simply accepted the offered gift with a single nod of his head.

      They spoke a while longer, both settling into the conversation as they had years ago. The fact that this man regularly chewed up outlaws and spit them out like a used-up wad of tobacco wasn’t something Hunter tended to forget. Not while sitting in the man’s jailhouse.

      But Trey was more than a tough, dedicated lawman. He was a family man, too, equally devoted to his wife and three children.

      “Our daughter is fifteen now.” He shuddered. Trey Scott actually shuddered. “She was always a handful, even as a child, often one step away from open rebellion, but now she’s downright...difficult.”

      Hunter remembered his own sisters at that age. Both had been...difficult, too. “I’m sure it’s just a phase.”

      “A phase?” With a visible effort, Trey unclenched his jaw. “A man can certainly hope so.”

      Hunter smiled at his friend’s obvious discomfort. Talk of Trey’s daughter brought his mind back to Sarah. Would she hit a phase, too? Would Hunter be ready for that eventuality? Would they navigate Sarah’s teenage years with ease, or awkwardness, or a combination of both?

      Something remarkable and completely unexpected moved through him as he pondered the questions СКАЧАТЬ