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“Don’t trip her, Max,” Hudson warned as the dog stepped in beside us. “She has trouble enough with her feet without you.”
He turned back to grin, so I glared. When I saw him leading me toward the stairs, I frowned. “What are we doing? It’s too late to make me sleep upstairs now.” I tried tugging my hand out of his, but he held firm. “You’ll never keep me out of your bed, Blondie.Never.That’s my bed now.”
“It’sourbed,” he corrected. Bending down, he scooped me up and carried me up the stairs. “It took a while to find them all. Some editions are different than what you had, but I’ll keep looking.”
I had no clue what Hudson was going on about until he brought me into the room with all the shelves he built. My heart knocked against my ribcage as I took in the books organized on one of the left bookshelves. He set me on my feet.
As I got closer, I started seeing all the familiar titles I once had.Pride and PrejudiceandPersuasion.The editions were different than what Gran had, but still. I swallowed the ball of emotions in my throat. God.The Hunger Gamestrilogy and theTwilightsaga were there from my teenage years. My favorite paranormal romance series was there, too. I covered my mouth. How was that possible? How could he have known all the books I used to own?
I’d like to believe I was a simple person. I didn’t dwell on the bad things, or else I’d never be happy. The day I lost all my belongings, especially my books, I allowed myself to cry. After that, I told myself to move on because I could start over.
But seeing those books made me realize what Hudson had done forme.I bent over and started bawling like a child, as if a dam burst inside me. Hudson’s hands were at my back as he murmured, “I didn’t want you to cry, baby. You were supposed to be happy.”
“I am happy,” I said.
“There’s a few books I couldn’t identify because of the mold, but I’m sure you can remember what you had so we can get them again.”
I lifted my head, wiping my face with my hands. “How did you know what I had?”
“I took pictures of your books before we left the apartment.”
“Why?” I had only been staying with him for a few days at that point.
“Why else?” He wiped my eyes. “So, I can find them for you.”
“Yeah, but why? We were practically strangers.”
“You’ve never felt like a stranger. I kept telling myself you and your red hair weren’t my type, but the truth is the opposite. You’re everything. It’s like life slid into place, making sense and becoming perfect because you were there. Do you understand? You’re my home.”
I started crying again. The warmth and affection couldn’t be contained inside me, so they needed to pour out in some form.
“Shh, don’t cry,” he whispered, wiping my tears and kissing my forehead.
“Then stop making me,” I said. Max nudged my legs, whimpering, as if he sensed my distress. I reached down and petted his head. “It’s okay, Bear. These are happy, emotional tears.”
Hudson shook his head as I stood up, but it seemed he wouldn’t correct me for calling his dog Bear. Wrapping my arms around my man, I hugged him tight. “Thank you, Blondie.”
He cocooned me in his embrace. “Anything for you, Red. Anything for you.”
???
Later at Homestyle, I was wiping down a table, humming, when Sue stepped in beside me.
“Ya seem awfully happy these days,” she said as she plopped down in one of the chairs.
I smiled. “There’s a lot to be happy for.”
Her lips curled as she arched a brow. “Hudson told me he showed ya the books this morning.”
I froze, eyeing the old woman. “You knew about the books?”
She huffed. “Who do ya think helped him find them?”
“You helped?”
“Of course.”
Sitting in the seat beside her, I wrapped the old woman in a bear hug before she could object. She stiffened as if I caught her off guard before slowly melting into the embrace and patting my back. “Thank you. You guys are too good to me.”
