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everything I was supposed to be. But it wasn’t Mom who expected it of me. It was me.” He glanced at Hunter. “I can’t tell her that I’ve lost everything and the only reason I’m not sleeping on the streets is because someone took pity on me.”
    “Hey.” Hunter gave Casey a little shake. “I don’t pity nobody. There’s a difference between sympathy and knowing someone needs help and pitying them. You ain’t here outta pity.”
    Casey’s heart gave a funny little thump and he managed a wobbly smile.
    “‘Sides,” Hunter continued , “you’ve still got two weeks before you need to get your shit together. You’ve come pretty far since you moved in. I got all the confidence in the world that you’re gonna be just fine.”
    Casey’s stomach dropped and he tried not to let his sudden despair show on his face. Right. Two weeks to figure out how to contribute four hundred and fifty dollars.
    He was so screwed.
     
     
     
    _________ o _________
     
    CHAPTER 15
     
    Casey wiped the back of his hand across his forehead and squinted up at the bright spring sun. In the three weeks since he’d moved in, the weather had gone from shivering cold to blazing sunlight. Apparently now that all of the snow had melted and everything frozen was thawing, it was time to start repairing all of the things that had gone wrong over the winter. That was definitely something Casey had never thought about when he’d daydreamed about living in the country with McDermott. The priest could barely use a screwdriver and Casey wasn’t any better.
    “You sure you want to do this?” Hunter looked down at Casey from where he was standing on the ladder.
    “Yes.” Casey kept his voice firm as he tightened his grip on his hammer.
    Some of the shutters had been knocked loose over the last couple months, so when Hunter had mentioned he was going out to nail them back into place, Casey had seized the opportunity. What better way to show that he was self-sufficient than to know how to do work around the house? He’d already learned how to groom Dollie and was actually quite fond of the horse. Granted, he wasn’t fond of the smell when Hunter had him helping muck out the stall last week, but there was something to be said about the physical labor. Casey had always been slender, but over the last couple weeks, he’d noticed that his body didn’t seem as soft as it had before. There was a hardness to him, and definition to his muscles. He was nowhere near as strong as Hunter, but he was secretly pleased with how his physique had changed. By the time his high school reunion rolled around, he wouldn’t look like the same skinny, scared kid who’d been the butt of everyone’s jokes.
    “You’re gonna want to pay attention when you’re swinging that hammer.” Hunter sounded mildly amused.
    Casey nodded. Right. Concentrate. He’d thought he’d picked something easy to start with, but it turned out that getting a nail to go straight into something wasn’t as easy as it looked. He got the first two in fine, but just as he was getting ready to swing for the third nail, he happened to see movement out of the corner of his eye. Hunter had lifted his shirt to use the bottom of it to wipe off his face, exposing thick, corded muscle and that tattoo. Casey had the sudden urge to run his tongue across…
    Pain exploded through his thumb and he shrieked, dropping the hammer. He swore, shaking his hand as tears sprung to his eyes. He didn’t realize Hunter was down off the ladder until an arm went around his shoulders. If he hadn’t been in so much pain, he would’ve taken the time to better appreciate the gesture, but as it was, he just let Hunter lead him into the house.
    “I got you,” Hunter said as he opened the screen door. “It’s gonna be okay. I got you.”
    Casey sank into the chair, biting his bottom lip as he struggled to keep from actually crying. He watched Hunter walk to the freezer and take out a handful of ice. A moment