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Nora blinked in surprise. She hadn’t realized she’d gained so much of his trust. That or the fact that she wasn’t someone he’d known for a long time could be a factor. She was new enough that he wasn’t embarrassed to speak, but not a complete stranger either.
She nodded. “I would, so long as you’re comfortable.”
Hudson seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking. “I lost my mother when I was four. She was sick for a long time, and I remember it being hard to visit her in the hospital. And then, one day, she was gone.”
Nora nodded to encourage him, trying hard to keep her face neutral. He’d clam up and refuse to say another word if she looked too pitying. She was certain of it.
“My father was devastated, of course, after losing his m… um, his wife. He always seemed so distant after that. It didn’t take long for him to follow her. And then I was left with no one.
“I was, of course, placed with one of my relatives. My aunt was the first to take me in. However, after six months, she sent me to live with a cousin of mine. She said she just wasn’t able to handlemy state, as she called it. I never knew whatthatwas supposed to even mean.
“I lived with my cousin and his wife for nearly a year before they sent me to live with an uncle of mine. Their excuse was that they were about to have a baby and couldn’t handle taking care of me. From there, I was passed on from relative to relative until I ended up with my great-uncle when I was thirteen.”
His jaw tightened. “My great-uncle had no interest in raising a child, and so he didn’t. He treated me and held me to the same standards as any adult in his employment. And when I was eighteen, he wanted nothing to do with me. But at least he kept me longer than anyone else. None of them wanted the responsibility of a grieving, traumatized child. He ignored the fact that I was a child and treated me more like an employee, but at least I had a place to stay.”
Nora was practically quivering with anger as he spoke. She had half a mind to track down these relatives of Hudson’s and throttle them.
He had beenfour. Of course, he had been grieving and lonely and different. And his own family had held it against him.
And she knew how damaging it could be to a child’s psyche to be passed around like that. To be so clearly unwanted and made to feel like it was all their fault. And that was on top of the trauma he’d already been through.
And then that great-uncle of his treating him like he was just another worker. No wonder Hudson didn’t have any attachment to anything that could be considered childish. He’d been made to feel like being a child was a bad thing.
His gruff exterior made so much sense now. He’d always had to wear that mask to cover up the scared little boy inside.
Oh, that poor boy. Her heart ached as she wondered what he was like before he lost his parents. What he could have been like had his family not made him feel like gutter waste. A burden.
He deserved to feel the same unconditional love that he should have had. That he could still have.
Gently, she put her hand on his. He looked at her in surprise.
“I hope you know that none of that was your fault. You should’ve never been treated that way,” she said firmly. “You are allowed to experience emotions just like any other human being, and you don’t have to be ashamed of them.”
There was something in his gaze she couldn’t quite place, but he didn’t argue with her.
Good.
She intended to show him the unconditional love he should have had.
TWELVE
HUDSON
Going on business trips for long periods of time was nothing new to Hudson. Typically, he even enjoyed them. It was an excuse to get out of the house and his office.
Now, it seemed like a burden. Even his bear agreed.
At first, it hadn’t bothered him so much. But by his second day of being away, he began to feel the loneliness of the hotel room. The mundane meetings and wrangling deals. It felt overdrawn and wasteful.
By the third day, he realized what made it feel so wrong. Hannah and Nora weren’t there with him.
They hadn’t lived with him very long in the grand scheme of things. And yet now he wasn’t sure how he ever lived without them in his life. His mind would often wander to thoughts of them. How they were doing, what they were up to, and how Hannah was progressing.
It wasn’t like he was completely cut off from them. He called them every day to check up on Hannah and her progress.
“What’s it like in Denver?” Hannah had asked on one of their calls.
“Far too crowded,” he said with a smile. “But there are some interesting exhibits we’ll have to visit in the spring and summer.”
