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“You’re beautiful, Lacy. I am so glad I found you,” he says, and my chest feels heavy as he kisses me with so much more than lust.
“I am glad you found me too,” I whisper against his lips and circle my arms around him tight.
Hudson not only found me, but he made me into a butterfly.
36
HUDSON
Istride up and down my hallway, unable to stop moving. We got home from New York a few days ago, and I have been on edge ever since. Jumping back into work is all that’s been able to keep my head on straight, but just barely. That changed this morning, though, when I woke up with an overwhelming need to get justice for Lacy. I’ve tried to set aside what she told me, my festering anger over what she’s been through unable to be suppressed any longer.
“Dad, your turn!” Harvey yells, and I pace back down to the dining room, where there is a board game out and my parents and Harvey are sitting around the table.
My father frowns at me, so I plaster a fake smile on my face.
“Already my turn?” I ask, trying to act like I am having an awesome time.
“Here are the dice!” Harvey says, smiling as I take the dice from him and roll them on the board, moving my piece along.
“Next!” I say, handing the dice to my mother, who senses something is up as I turn and walk back down the hall, pulling at my hair. I hear her and Harvey giggling in the background, and I roll my head on my shoulders, trying to ease the tension that builds.
“Son,” Dad says from behind me, his tone laced with concern.
“I’m fine. I just have some work things to do,” I tell him, lying about where my stress comes from.
“Well, go do them. We’ll take Harvey up to our place for afternoon tea,” he says, and I nod in appreciation.
“Thanks, Dad,” I say with a heavy exhale.
“You tell me if you need anything.” He knows this isn’t a work thing at all. If I can be half the father to Harvey that my dad is to me, that would be amazing.
He turns and walks back to the table before I hear him telling the others that he feels like ice cream and that Grandma has chocolate chip in her freezer. Harvey shouts in excitement before jumping up from the chair and racing out the door, my parents chuckling at him and following his fast-paced steps.
When they’re gone, I continue my pacing, with my baby girl at the forefront of my mind. All I can think about is what kind of asshole would prey on innocent college kids who are from small towns and on scholarships. It’s almost the perfect storm. Country kid without city knowledge or life experience or contacts, who genuinely believes the senior professors at their school are genuine and honest, who can’t afford to fail even one test as their grades are connected to their funding. The whole thing reeks of a power imbalance and must be agold mine for those who, like Lacy’s professor, want to take advantage of young people while they have no real support system.
I struggle with wanting to hire private detectives to search every motherfucking professor on that campus so I can find the man responsible, and keeping this to myself as Lacy has requested.
It is unlike me. My medical profession and ethics instill that I help, not harm, yet for the first time ever, I want to do some damage. I can’t. I promised her I wouldn’t. But the bitterness on my tongue is not abating and the heaviness in my gut is not diminishing.
The ringing of my cell grabs my attention, and I frown when I see the name on the screen.
“Hudson?” he says as I pick up before I even talk.
“Hello, sir. Nice to hear from you,” I say to Gordon, Amanda’s father, the man I haven’t seen or spoken to for years. I still remember him on our wedding day. He wore a scowl on his face the entire time, like he was at his daughter’s funeral, not her wedding. He left pretty quickly after the formalities. I remember Amanda said at the time he had to rush to work commitments, which I found strange, but now, knowing what kind of philandering asshole he is, it’s clear he just had a better offer.
“Yes. Melody has told me that you are back in Whispers,” he says, straight to the point—not asking how Harvey or I are, not entertaining any type of casual banter—and I roll my eyes. He clearly doesn’t give a shit about his grandson. We have been here for months, and this is the first call.
“Yes. We moved a while back. It’s nice to give Harveysome fresh air and space to run around,” I tell him, my already agitated state increasing.
“Well, Gloria and I were thinking we would come out to see you. She misses the boy.” Even though his tone is arrogant, I don’t miss the fact that he said his wife misses her grandchild, but he doesn’t mention himself.
“Of course, you are always welcome to come to Whispers,” I tell him through gritted teeth. Entertaining them at the ranch for a few days is my idea of hell.
“Great, well, I will organize a few things,” he says, although what he really means is his assistants will organize a trip, and he will tag along purely for his wife. I’m not sure what agreement they have, because as far as I can see, she is well aware of his desire to have other women. I can only assume either it’s a money thing or they are in an open marriage. Either way, it isn’t my business.
“Looking forward to it,” I say, keeping things neutral. He’s not a man who is overly warm at the best of times, so I don’t feel the need to be that way either. I’m about to say goodbye when another thought hits me.
“Actually, before you go, sir?”