Chapter 28

The next morning, Eve woke up to someone's breath of air blowing in her face and little fingers playing with her hair. She instantly could smell the scent of strawberry shampoo and assumed the invader in the bed was little Harper. Opening one eye, she saw the little girl smiling at her.

"You wake up, Miss Evey?"

"Do you mean am I awake? And yes. I am, now."

"Good. I want to play with my Elsa doll and I need someone to fix her dress. I can't go to the beach to play because it's raining and Daddy is busy. I have no one to play with," the little girl pouted. "Will you play with me?"

"Does your daddy know that you're in here?" Eve asked.

"Daddy is in his gym in the basement. He lifts the weights a lot. It's boring. He didn't know I woked up yet."

"You mean 'woke' up," Eve corrected. "I bet he does work out a lot. He keeps in good shape, doesn't he."

"Yep. He loves his gym. My Auntie Grace says he looks like Thor. She say my daddy is a superhero."

Rolling over on her side, she rested on her arm to look at the little girl with a smile. "Well, what do you think?"

With her big grin, Harper said excitedly, pointing at herself. "He my hero. My daddy is big, strong, and he takes good care of me."

"Well, Harper. I think that's a very good hint that he is a real superhero. Don't you agree."

"Yeah," she agreed. "He is my hero."

"That's wonderful. So, have you had breakfast yet, sweetie?"

"I want pancakes."

"I don't think pancakes are good for you. How about… eggs and bacon? We can make them have a smiley face."

"Okay, will you make some for my daddy too? He likes breakfast."

"Sure, let's go. I'll race you to the kitchen."

Giggling, the little girl rushed out the door while Eve pulled herself from the bed and slipped on her robe. Looking at herself in the mirror before she walked out, she smiled to herself. For just a moment, it felt like having a child of her own. Something she desperately wanted in her life. Yet, she was alone now. And the memory of Adam hurting her loomed in the back of her mind.

Meanwhile, Hunter was in the basement, taking on his cellphone to his brother Nick. As usual, sports were the top of the conversation. "So, what do you think of Greg Stapleton going to the major leagues? He's a good all around player."

Nick grumbled, "He should be playing football for us. We need him at the OFL. He should skip baseball and join your team."

"I think so too. We can keep putting feelers out and see how well it goes. We may be able to pull a few strings and get him in the OFL Dayton team. Someone like him on the roster would be a game changer."

"Why are you so concerned with it, brother? Are you trying to keep that cute personal assistant close by making friends with her bestie? Maybe old Hunter is planning on having some hot office action on the side," Nick teased.

Rolling his eyes, Hunter grunted, "Brody told you, didn't he. That little shit."

"Nope, Grace did. She says that little Indiana girl has you all doe eyed over her. Grace texted me a picture of her and Eve's naturally pretty. She doesn't look anything like your gold digger ex wife, with the Botox and fake tits. This chick is more your type."

"She's beautiful, but we just met. Besides, I'm her boss. It wouldn't look right."

"Never stopped me. Dude, don't knock it until you try it. It's not like you're tied down now. Live a little and ask her out."

"Says the guy who hasn't dated since he got dumped by our dad's old secretary. That was two years ago and you still haven't stepped back into the dating pool."

"I date. I just haven't been serious with anyone in a while. I'm too busy being acting Vice President of this company to deal with women drama. You sure didn't want to take on the extra work. I would rather be back in MMA than pushing papers around a desk all day."

"When Grace takes over, you'll have your chance. You're still recovering from your injury, so don't push it. When you get back in the ring, you need to be one hundred percent. Hell, none of us ever thought you'd be able to get back in the ring, to begin with, so just take it easy for now. Stop trying to rush your recovery."

"I know. But you could stop nagging me. I just have to keep working at it so I will be one hundred percent by the time I'm released from the doctor. Anyway, stop avoiding the subject. What do you really think of this girl?"

"Well... Harper likes her. But we just met and I don't want to get carried away. I'm not going to push it. But…"

"But she's beautiful and you have your eyes set on her."

"She's more than that, bro," Hunter said, leaning back on the weight bench with a smile while looking up at the ceiling, thinking about her. "We talked for hours last night. I've never sat down with a girl and had a real conversion like that. It was nice. Eve loves the same music I do. She's a huge sports fan and… she does this thing when she thinks I'm not looking. She bites her lip when she's checking me out and makes this cute little squeaking sound. It's adorable."

"See. Grace was right. You do like her and she likes you too, apparently."

"Ya know Nick, I think I do. But I can't risk getting into a new relationship right now. And besides, she was Adam's girl. It wouldn't be right to step in. I need to focus on Harper right now, anyway. Her mom is a fucking gold digger and has been acting crazy lately. I hear she's married now, but the guy stays out of the limelight so I have no idea who he is. Until I do, she's not getting visitation. I don't want a stranger around my daughter."

Nick ticked. "That's not good. You still don't know who the guy is? That's weird."

"Nope. And Victoria won't let me meet him or tell me his name. She says I'll be snooping into her personal life. It's crazy."

"Crazy is her gig, man. I don't see what you ever saw in that woman," Nick added.

"I don't know. She put out and that's about it. The only thing we had in common was sex. Anyway, then we have this Adam shit to worry about. I'm so sick of the drama. Especially after last night, because seeing Eve cry like that was heartbreaking."

Nick knew that tone. His brother was taking his own pain and projecting it onto her situation. "This isn't about you, Hunter. Don't bring your old shit into this stuff with Adam. Eve needs a friend right now, and so do you. But you can't be everyone's savior. It may be good for you to have someone you can relate to, but don't put that kind of pressure on yourself. Hell... what am I saying. You've probably already taken it on yourself to protect her."

"Yeah, well, she deserves better. Besides, we both talked about that last night. Maybe she's right. Maybe it was fate that brought us together. It does feel better to talk to someone who knows what I'm going through. I just can't believe he lied to her like that."

"HUNTER!" a scream came from upstairs."HELP!"

"What the fuck was that?" Nick asked, hearing the scream through the phone.

"Nick, I have to go…"

"HUNTER HURRY! IT'S HARPER!"

"Shit. Go, man. Check on my niece. I'll call you back later."

Running from the room, Hunter felt like his feet never touched the floor as he realized little Harper needed him. Once he reached the kitchen, Eve was holding the tiny blonde girl in her arms at the kitchen table, administering her medication.

Just as she was about to inject the serum, Hunter attempted to pull it from her hand. "What the hell do you think you're doing? You don't even know the dosage."

Yanking her hand away, Eve held the syringe away from him. "She needs a shot of glucagon. I know what I'm doing. My father was diabetic. Besides, I already checked the label."

Looking at the medicine on the table, he relaxed once he double checked it. "You're doing it right."

"Of course I am. But she's out cold," she said as she injected the serum. "We need to get her to the hospital as soon as we can."

"I'll pull the car around," he said, shaking in fear. "Please let her be okay."

"Hurry, we don't have much time. If the medication doesn't work, she could go into a diabetic coma again."

"Eve, thank you."

"Thank me later. Now go!"