“Dad, what do you want?”
“Right, uh, I have some good news. You two should come down so we can talk about it,” he says, slowly side-stepping out of my bedroom.
He gets one foot over the threshold before I stop him. “Hey, Dad?”
“Yeah, son?”
“About Mom…”
“I have plausible deniability since my back was turned.” His hands are up like he’s surrendering to an armed assailant.
My smile comes quick, Hud chuckling under the blanket. “Thanks, Dad. We’ll be down in a few.”
I get a thumbs-up from him before he closes the door behind him with a soft click.
“Well, that was fun.” Hud snickers as he emerges from his hiding spot.
“We need to learn to shut the door before we fuck,” I grumble, throwing the blanket back and grabbing our clothes from the floor.
Hudson laughs, catching his shirt that I toss to him. “Well, your dad got an eyeful of my naked ass in the hospital a few times, so no big deal.”
I turn away, gritting my teeth at the reminder that just a week ago, he was still laid up in a hospital bed.
Taking a moment to pull myself together, I slide my basketball shorts on and turn back to the bed.
Hudson is dangling his shirt from his fingers, a cute smile on his face. “Help me?”
The simple request sends my heart soaring. I sit next to him on the bed to help him out of his sling and carefully slide the shirt up his arms. I get a small kiss for each button I fasten.
“How much longer do you have to wear this thing?” I ask, gesturing to his bound arm.
“Hopefully, just one more week. Most of the healing happened while I was in the hospital.”
My lips pinch tight as I nod, grabbing his hand and leading him from my room.
We walk hand in hand down to the kitchen, where both of my parents are waiting for us, including Hudson’s dad. Mom jumps up from her seat to give Hud a warm hug and kiss on the cheek.
“Hudson, sweetheart. How are you today?”
He glances at me, smiling, before turning his attention back to my mom. “Today is a good day, Mrs. Eliza.”
Mom cups his cheek, a soft smile on her lips. “There are more good days ahead.”
He nods and takes a seat on the opposite side of the table. “What are you doing here, Dad?”
“We received some information from the detective and wanted to tell you. When Mom couldn’t get either of you on the phone, she asked me to stop by on my way home from work.” He gives us both a pointed look.
“Sorry, we were, uh… napping.”
My dad coughs, choking on the sip of coffee he just took. Hud’s ears turn bright red as he looks away from all the adults in the room.
Mom just glances between everyone, brows drawn.
I grab a couple of bottles of water, then sit down next to Hud, linking our fingers together. “So, what’s this about?” I ask,changing the subject to avoid the embarrassing elephant in the room.
Dad takes the opportunity to jump in. “You remember the campsite the police found?”
“Yeah,” Hud and I say in unison.
