Free Renee Ryan by The Outlaw's Redemption Page B

Well, that was another matter entirely.
    * * *
    Annabeth waited for Sarah to slink out of the room, grumbling all the way. Only after the girl was too far away to overhear their conversation did she turn to face Hunter directly.
    He didn’t look any happier about the interruption than his daughter. Less so, actually. But where Sarah had set out to argue with her, Hunter simply held Annabeth’s gaze, still as a stone, quiet, severe, his lips flattened in a grim line.
    This was the man who’d faced down some of the most ruthless outlaws in the country, and won.
    No matter.
    She could not—would not—allow herself to be intimidated by Hunter Mitchell in his big, bad gunslinger stance. There was something far more important going on here, something that went beyond the happy reunion of a father and his daughter after years of unnecessary separation.
    Poignant, to be sure, but this was no fairy tale playing out, where everyone got exactly what they wanted and they all lived happily-ever-after. This was real life, where secrets had been kept for nine long years. A child’s future was at stake, her well-being, too, and her safety. Emotion must not rule the moment.
    There was a beat of silence, weighing heavy and thick in the air between them.
    And then another.
    And one more.
    Finally, Hunter spoke. “You better have a good explanation for interrupting me.”
    Even his tone had changed, becoming hard, more pointed and direct, the voice of a man used to others bending to his will.
    Annabeth refused to flinch.
    She did, however, need a moment to gather her thoughts.
    Pushing past him, she went to stare out the window. Poised on the razor-thin edge of panic, she hardly noticed the children at play. Stay calm, Annabeth. You have an important point to make.
    And now she was stalling.
    She turned back around. “You were about to reveal who you are to Sarah.”
    “The timing was right.”
    Perhaps. Perhaps not. “You don’t know that for sure. You’ve known her for what? All of ten minutes?”
    “The truth has been withheld from her for far too long.” A pause, an accusatory look, reminding her she’d played a part in the duplicity for an entire year. “I won’t begin my relationship with my daughter based on a lie. The deception ends today.”
    His point hit home. Yet Annabeth couldn’t find it in her to agree with him, not openly. Until recently, he’d been serving a two-year prison sentence for killing a man. How could she have known he would return to Denver ready to start anew?
    How could she be sure now? “I stand by my decision to withhold your identity from her.”
    He gave her a long look.
    “There was no evidence you would step up and take on the responsibility of raising your daughter.”
    And Annabeth was getting tired of defending herself. She’d acted on the reasonable assumption that he wouldn’t want to be a father to Sarah. “Most of the Charity House children have indifferent parents.”
    “And, yet, here I am, attempting to do the right thing by my daughter.” He fixed his amber gaze on her face and, with the ease of man comfortable in his own skin, paced toward her. He moved slowly, with efficient, purposeful strides.
    Annabeth remained perfectly still. Perfectly. Still.
    Another two steps and the distance between them was a mere foot. Up close, she could see the various hues of gold in his eyes. She could also see his frustration.
    Well, she was frustrated, too.
    So, no, she wasn’t going to buckle under all that masculine intensity bearing down on her.
    “I mean to be a good father to Sarah.” His chest heaved in an unsteady rhythm and his voice sounded raw, emotional, but also determined. “I have changed, Annabeth.”
    Although he spoke very deliberately, with his jaw tight, it wasn’t hostility she saw in his eyes but some sort of murky promise, something that went beyond words, something personal and solely between them.
    “Hunter.” She sucked in a hard breath. “I don’t