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Oh, fuck. That couldn’t be happening. I couldn’t let Hudson know I knew and ruin it all. Maybe he wasn’t going to propose, I told myself. It might not even be for me. But I knew better. There were too many signs. Hudson kept kissing my ring finger, saying odd things, and asking me to call himhubbywhen he wasn’t sick. The overwhelming happiness built up in my chest. He’d been easing me into the next stage of our relationship. My heart knew it.
Not wanting to be caught, I left the box with Max and ran from the room before Hudson got out of the bathroom.
???
HUDSON
As soon as Eugene’s footfalls faded, I opened the bathroom door and grinned at Max. Scooping up the box, he strode over and gave it to me. I petted his head and gave him the treat I had in my pocket for that purpose.
The box was covered in drool, but it didn’t matter. “What do you think? It’s a good sign if you ask me.”
I heard her gasping and sniffling even when I had the shower turned on. When I saw her pull into the driveway, I ran to the bathroom. My ear had been plastered to the door ever since she entered the house. After encouraging Max with enough treats, he led her to the bedroom.
I found her in the kitchen, drinking water. She was flushed head to toe, with a glassy look to her eyes. Since she was so flustered, she didn’t notice that my hair wasn’t wet, and it didn’t make sense for me to shower that time of day anyway. A lot of times we showered or bathed together.
“How was the restaurant?” I walked over and kissed her.
“It was good.” She averted her gaze.
It seemed I would have to propose that night. I couldn’t let her remain so awkward around me, although I found it cute. August’s nights were nice, so I could make a fire outside and roast some marshmallows. She’d like that more than taking her out and making the proposal a public affair. It would be fun, and the quicker I had the ring on her finger, the happier I’d be. I needed that woman to be my wife six months ago.
“What’s wrong?” I teased.
“What do you mean?” she said, but we were interrupted by my phone ringing. It was my mom. “Hello?”
“Turn on the news,” Mom said quickly.
I frowned. “What’s wrong?”
“Just turn it to channel six.”
“I don’t have cable,” I said. Honestly, I streamed programs and watched Netflix.
Mom groaned. “Just go to their page, and you’ll see. The money wasn’t stolen.”
“All right. I’ll call you back.” I hung up the phone, feeling puzzled.
“Is everything okay?” Eugene asked.
“Mom said for us to look at the news,” I replied. “Come on. I’m sure I can find whatever it is on their Facebook page.”
Eugene followed me into the main room. I plopped down in the recliner, and she sat on my lap as I went to the news page. When I saw the article about Danny Hopkins, I clicked on it. There was a video.
Eugene gasped as we watched the footage. I couldn’t blame her because no one had the story right. Danny Hopkins was dead. The police found him in his vehicle at the bottom of Lake Campbell, a place in Eugene’s old town. There was suspicion of foul play. An autopsy would be performed. More interesting was that his missing wife had been found in California under an assumed identity. When the woman had a medical emergency, her information matched the missing person’s report.
I assumed she might be involved. The police learned of her whereabouts around the same time they found Danny’s body. The police weren’t saying anything to confirm or deny her involvement yet.
“Holy shit,” Eugene said.
I didn’t think much about Eugene’s attack those days, but I was livid after reading that article. According to the article, the police confirmed the checks weren’t cashed. Although the police leaked that the money had been stolen, the lie led to Eugene’s attack.
“You should have never been attacked over this fucking mess,” I muttered as I put my phone away.
Closing my eyes, I leaned back and frowned at the ceiling.
“Jerry will likely feel guilty now,” she whispered. “You know, for hurting me.”
“He didn’t just try to hurt you.” My eyes slid over her. “He tried tokillyou.”
