Devastated (Anger Management, #1)(37)

She used to call Ryan when Hunter got like this only to realize that wasn’t a good idea, especially since those times hadn’t ended well for Ryan. It had taken some trial and error, but she’d eventually figured out what worked.

When she reached the kitchen, she placed her bundle on the table and debated between hot chocolate and Coke only to decide on Coke, because there was no way that she was going to be able to get through the next week without caffeine. She grabbed the tray from the cabinet and placed it on the counter while Hunter leaned back against the wall with his arms folded over his chest, glaring.

She grabbed two ice-cold Cokes from the fridge, the plate of chocolate chip cookies that she’d made earlier and placed them on the tray. When she went to pick up the tray, Hunter gently brushed her hands aside and picked it up for her.

“Thank you,” she said, not really all that surprised when he continued to glare.

Biting back a sigh, Kylie grabbed her bundle and headed for the patio doors. Once she was outside, she debated on the best spot to do this, only to settle on the lounge chair in the back. She dropped her bundle on the end of the lounge chair, turned around, waited for Hunter to place the tray down on the small side table and-

“Ooomph!”

Climbed onto the lounge chair and sat down between Hunter’s sprawled legs, ignoring his glare as she grabbed the comforter with a satisfied sigh and threw it over her legs. After a slight pause, Hunter sighed as he reached around her and pulled the comforter over her while she grabbed her iPad and leaned back against him. Once she was settled, she opened the document that she’d been avoiding all day.

Hunter never complained about the manhandling, but then again, maybe that file that they both pretended didn’t exist had something to do with it. Maybe he’d read one of the many accusations that her family started about her beating her ex-husband and he now lived in fear, Kylie thought with a soft sigh and a roll of her eyes as she settled back to get more comfortable even as she couldn’t help but wonder what they’d said about her.

She remembered all the rumors her parents used to spread when she was growing up. The horrible things they’d accused people of…

One thing that she’d never understood was why all those people that happily listened to every juicy bit of gossip her parents had to share never once questioned whether or not her parents were saying the same things about them. They did, each and every time someone made the mistake of telling them anything. They’d take whatever they were told and exaggerated it, adding details, and accusations and within minutes of finding something out they were on the phone spreading their lies. Even as a child, she knew that her parents couldn’t be trusted.

Then again, since these were the same people who’d turned a blind eye to what her parents were doing to her and happily believed everything her parents said, maybe there was a reason for that. She’d been thinking about this a lot lately, wondering what kind of person would happily believe the worst about a child they’d never met and treat that child like crap once they did. It never mattered how well-behaved she was, how polite and quiet she was, or the fact that none of them had ever seen her do anything her parents accused her of, none of them had ever questioned why the first thing out of her parents’ mouths was to warn them that she was a liar.

Now she knew that her parents had been doing everything they could to make sure that no one believed her. It was the same thing they were doing now, and it let her know just how afraid they were that she was finally going to tell someone what they did to her, but honestly, they had nothing to worry about. Having people find out just how much her family hated her was the last thing that she wanted to happen.

“What are you working on?” Hunter asked, as he wrapped his arms around her, letting her know that she was safe.

“Not killing you,” Kylie said, as she looked down at the list of therapists that the Prosecutor’s office sent over this morning after Hunter’s latest court-appointed therapist decided that it would be in everyone’s best interest if he ran from the house crying.

“How’s that working out for you?” he asked, as he grabbed one of the Cokes off the tray and popped it open.

“Not well,” she said, unable to help but smile as she glanced back just as his lips pulled up into one of those devastating smiles that seemed to come easier these days.

Chuckling, Hunter took a sip of his Coke and asked, “What are we doing out here, Miss Dumbledore?”

“Freezing,” Kylie said, stealing his Coke and taking a sip before handing it back.

“Is this another distraction?” he asked, taking a sip before he placed the Coke back on the tray.

“Possibly.”

“We could always go for a swim,” he suggested, giving a strand of her hair a playful tug.

“You’re evil,” Kylie said, shooting him a mock glare that had him chuckling.

“You don’t mean that, Miss Potter.”

“I really do,” Kylie said, nodding solemnly even as she prayed that this wasn’t going to end with another swimming lesson, because she really wasn’t sure that she could handle another one right now.

Not after he took her floatie away.

Ready for the deep end her ass, she thought even as she threw a nervous glance at the pool.

“I don’t need you to take care of me.”

“Oh, so you’d be okay if I went back inside and called it a night?” she asked innocently, biting back a smile when his hold tightened around her.