Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
HUDSON
After the talk about how me and the guys dating Lily might impact the business, I decided it would be best to share the news with my dad before he found out through the gossip mill.
I rap my knuckles on his office door. His head pops up from a pile of paperwork.
Construction is rough on a person’s body.
His face is weathered and tan from years of working in the sun, but he still looks good for sixty.
The way his features light up, the smile accented by wrinkles, remind me of the type of man I want to be.
The kind that laughs and lives, despite life’s hardships.
“Hey, Son. How’s it going?”
I stride into the room, smiling back. “Closer to world domination every day.” Daylight spills in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, bright enough there’s no need for the overhead lights. I take a seat across from him, eyeing the paperwork. “Everything okay?”
“I think so.” He sets a piece of paper down and leans back in his chair. “What’s with the face?”
“What face?” I ask, bristling.
He chuckles. “You forget I can read you like a book. I’m your dad, remember? I have a radar for things like–”
“My face?”
“Serious conversations,” he corrects.
Exhaling, I shake my head. “As much as I want to pretend like you’re wrong, I do have something to talk to you about.”
His grin deepens. “Go on.” Picking up his worn coffee tumbler, which is older than I am, he sips on what is probably his second cup of coffee.
The funny thing about parents is that for the most part, they operate on a very consistent schedule, growing into full creatures of habit as they age.
Dad gets up an hour before the sun. He stretches, has his first cup of coffee, then waits exactly one hour after finishing that one before getting another.
Unfortunately, because we work together, I also happen to be all too aware of his bathroom cycle. I have about ten minutes before he’s going to have to get up.
Clearing my throat, I look him in the eye. “I’m seeing someone.”
He lifts an eyebrow.
“Lily Emerson.”
Looking thoughtful, he turns and gazes out of the windows. “She and her mom moved here when you were in elementary school?”
“Yeah, that’s her.”
“What about Matt? Wasn’t he dating her?” Isn’t he your friend?
“Things are complicated. Matt has been acting weird lately. . . I know it’s messed up to date her, but I really like her, is that so bad?”
“I suppose that depends on how serious it was.”
“Matt’s already dating again.” I shrug. “I think he’s more pissed she broke up with him before he broke up with her. He never really seemed to like her.”
He hums, sitting quietly for a moment and thinking carefully about his next words.
“Well, she seems like a nice woman. Does she make you happy?” He looks at me, suddenly serious, some of that hurt he buries deep shining through.
He loved my mom to the moon. As much as she loved him too, she was always missing part of who she really was and ended things.
While he never showed it or admitted it, I know it must’ve killed him on the inside to lose the woman he thought he’d spend the rest of his life with.
“She does.” I pause, taking a breath. “But there’s more.”
“She’s pregnant,” he says, so certain he’d bet money on that.
A laugh bursts out of me. “No, dad, jeez. She’s not pregnant.”
“Shame. I kind of want grandkids.”
“Isn’t pestering me about babies Mom’s job?”
“We’ll work together on this one,” he says with mirth flickering across his face. They may be divorced, but they’ve managed to keep a cordial friendship going for my sake.
“Well, she’s not pregnant.” I shake my head. “What I was going to say is, Lily isn’t only dating me.”
He tips his head. “What do you mean?”
“Gage and Cole are also dating her.”
The words carry over to him and he hesitates to grab hold of them while he processes, squinting slightly, brow wrinkling.
Then he seizes it, understanding rippling over his face.
“Ah! You’re a polyglot? That explains why you’ve been single for so long.
Not many women in Big Ridge would be comfortable with that situation–being a polyglot I mean. ”
“Do you mean polygamy?”
He thinks for a second. “No, I’m pretty sure it’s a polyglot.” He’s so confident it’s kind of funny.
Trying not to laugh, I say, “I don’t think it is.”
“Care to put money on that?” he asks, picking up his phone and looking at his screen through his glasses. Outside of owning a construction company, he’s a world champion Googler.
“Oh, absolutely. Three hundred.”
Laughing to himself, he mutters, “Prepare to lose, Son.”
I cover my mouth with my hand and watch intently as he speaks into his phone.
“What is a polyglot?” He looks at me over the rim of his glasses. “You should know better than to bet against your dad.”
“Uh-huh,” I say, a chuckle tumbling out of me. This is absolutely ridiculous. I know he’s wrong. Sometimes people have to dig their own grave, though.
“All right, here we go,” he says, grin a mile wide. “A polyglot is a person who. . . oh.”
Relaxing in my seat, I nod, more than ready to watch him eat crow. “Please, keep reading.”
He eyes me. “Don’t gloat.”
I hold up my hands. “I’m not, only curious.”
The look he aims at me screams I don’t believe you. With a sigh, he continues reading. “A polyglot is a person who can speak or understand many languages.” He frowns at his phone.
“Fascinating. I swear someone said that was the wrong word.” I hold out my hand. “Pay up.”
“My grandpa told me once not to have kids because they’d bleed you dry.” He digs out his wallet. “Should’ve listened to him.” He counts out the cash, far too much of it in his wallet for anyone in the modern century, and hands it over.
I hold up the bills. “This is your own fault. The word you’re looking for is polygamy.”
“Well excuse me, Mr. Dictionary.”
This time I burst out laughing. He joins me after a moment, not even offended at losing the bet.
I get a hold of myself, subduing the laugh as best I can.
“I don’t know that this relationship is technically polygamy because we’re not married, but for the sake of discussion, yeah, I guess we’re polygamous?
I mean, I don’t want to date anyone else and neither do the guys. ”
“But she can date all three of you?”
I nod, catching the hint of fatherly concern. “Yes, but it’s not like that. She’s exclusive with the three of us. She’s not going out with just anyone.”
“You and Gage and Cole were always close like brothers. Matt too but he was always a little difficult.” He rubs his chin. “Your mom and I used to joke about how maybe you, Gage and Cole were separated at birth. Had I not been there to witness you coming out–”
“Please stop.”
He chuckles. “It’s nature, Son.”
“I don’t need to hear about that.”
“Well, all right, but you’re sure you’re happy? I don’t want you to go along with something you’re not comfortable with.”
His concern is well received. He’s always looking out for my best interest, and I’m not upset at him questioning me. “I promise I’m comfortable. The guys and I are on the same page, too.”
Nodding, satisfied, he leans forward. “Well, is that all?”
“Trying to get rid of me?”
“No,” he says quickly. “I had something to discuss.” Gathering up a stack of papers, he slides it across the desk.
I pick it up, eyebrows jumping to my hairline as I read the Assignment of Ownership document. “I thought you weren’t ready to relinquish control?”
“I’m not, but I’m tired. If you read, you’ll see that I’m still to be consulted about the big decisions and I retain a piece of ownership, but it’s mostly passive.”
This is a big deal. Everything I’ve been working toward.
Dad’s worked since he was sixteen. After the divorce, he worked even harder, so much so that I think he forgot there was an entire world outside of this company.
I’m more than ready for this next step in my career, and he’s long overdue to treat himself to some leisure time. “I’ll make you proud.”
He nods. “I know you will, but there’s one catch.”
“What’s that?”
“Well outside of all the legal and state fees, there’s the matter of paying for the company itself.”
“And how much is that?” I ask warily.
“After careful consideration and disregard for my lawyer’s advice, I’ve landed on a number that I think is fair.” He pulls off his glasses, face suddenly severe.
“Okay. What’s the number?”
“Three hundred dollars.”
Shock ripples through me, but my mind catches up to his bullshit and I bark out a laugh. “You’re such a shit.”
He smiles, all too proud of himself as I hand back the money he just coughed up. “Pleasure doing business with you.”
“Yeah, yeah,” I grumble, though I’m not mad.
“You know your mom’s birthday is tomorrow.”
“I didn’t forget,” I say like a sixteen year old about to be in trouble.
“You got her a gift?” he presses, squinting at me.
“Yes, Dad.”
“Good. Better give it to her tonight.”
“Are you asking or telling?”
“What do you think?”
“Right. Telling.” I stand, paperwork in hand. “I’ll sign this in the morning.”
“But you’re here right now,” he says with a frown.
“Yeah, but you told me I should go see Mom.” I stride to the door, a smirk on my face as he mutters behind me about me being a shithead and how he might need to rethink the agreement, though I know he’s only teasing.
I pause at the threshold, looking over my shoulder. “Hey, old man?”
He glances at me. “What?”
“Thanks.”
Any mock annoyance on his face fades, and he dips his head in acknowledgement. “I’m proud of the man you’ve become, Hudson.”
With that approval settling in my chest, I leave the office and climb into my truck, eyeing the gift for Mom on the passenger seat and shaking my head at how Dad bossed me around. Some things never change.
I park outside of Mom’s house. Michelle is cleaning out her garden beds but pauses to wave at me.
I return the gesture and grab the present, tucking it under my arm as I climb out.
When I was younger, still angry about the divorce, I used to hate Michelle.
Now though, I’ve realized that parents are humans too.
Sometimes they make mistakes, and when I was a kid, they were barely my age, still truly figuring out who they were.
That pain of my parents divorcing is still there, even though I’m not mad anymore. Michelle and Mom have a great relationship, and they treat my dad with respect. I think part of what helped me be okay with everything is how well Dad handled the situation.
“Hey, Michelle.” I stop beside her and give her a side hug. “Preparing for winter?”
She nods. “I swear I’ve picked up leaves three times before this.”
“Need any help?”
“Oh, no, sweetie, I’m almost done.” She glances at the wrapped box. “Present for Kim?”
“Dad told me to come tonight instead of tomorrow.”
Michelle grins. “Smart man. Your mom and I are going on a short trip tomorrow afternoon.”
“Where to?”
“Up to Hot Springs.”
About an hour away from Big Ridge, Hot Springs has, as its name suggests, natural hot springs and several of the region’s nicest spas. “That sounds really nice.”
“I hope so.” She dusts her hands off on her pants. “Well, should we go in?”
“After you.”
She leads the way inside where the clatter of pans and spatulas creates a soundtrack. The acrid scent of burnt food wafts over to us as soon as we enter. Michelle and I exchange knowing looks. Mom loves the idea of cooking and baking, but she’s still working on getting good at it.
“You know the drill,” Michelle warns.
“Yup.” Everyone, Dad included, tries their hardest to appreciate the effort that goes into Mom’s cooking more so than focusing on the taste.
I follow Michelle to the kitchen. Mom’s graying brunette hair is piled on top of her head, one of those creepy looking claw clips holding it in place.
The apron she’s wearing says let’s eat our feelings and is covered in flour.
“Hey, Mom.”
“Hudson!” She beams at me. “Perfect timing! The fried chicken is almost ready.”
I eye the pieces of finished chicken on the counter, most of the breading more black than brown. “Sounds delicious.”
Michelle pats my arm in approval. “Why don’t you let me finish up? Hudson brought you a gift.”
“Oh, it won’t take that long.”
“Hon.” Michelle grabs the tongs from her while chicken that’s close to being overcooked sizzles in the cast iron. “Go talk to your son.”
“Okay, but don’t forget the gravy.”
“I won’t,” Michelle says, glancing at me and winking. With her taking over, we might have a half salvaged meal, though I’ll still eat some of the chicken Mom made.
She puts in so much effort it almost feels cruel not to try it.
“Let’s go to the table.” Mom leads me out of the kitchen, which is walled off to the dining room. She refuses to let me come in and open the space up, saying seeing the kitchen all the time would only stress her out more.
We sit at her well-loved table and she pours us both a glass of sweet tea from the pitcher she already had sitting out. I hand over the present.
“Happy early birthday.”
She beams at me. “Thanks, Hud.” Tearing the paper off, she gasps and clutches the brand new binoculars to her chest. “You remembered!”
“Of course I did.” She lost her last fancy pair of binoculars and with how serious she takes her bird watching hobby, I knew this would be the perfect present.
“Aw, sweetheart, thank you! I can’t wait to use them.” She pets the box affectionately then side eyes me. “You know that I know about Lily, don’t you?”
My cheeks warm. “I thought you might.” The women in Big Ridge are always days ahead of the men when it comes to gossip. “But that’s not why I brought you the gift.”
“Oh, I know,” she says with a smile. “She’s pretty.”
“Gorgeous,” I correct.
Mom nods in agreement. “Did you tell your dad? You know you should before it gets around to him.”
“Yeah, I told him today.”
“Good. When can I meet her?”
“Soon,” I tell her, rubbing my palm with my thumb. “I’m kind of worried about overwhelming her too early on, you know?”
“I understand. It’s early, but the right person won’t scare that easily.” Her focus slips to the doorway that leads to the kitchen where Michelle is working.
True. I can’t imagine Lily freaking out after meeting parents, but I don’t want to rush her. She deserves to have time to enjoy our newfound relationship without adding in a layer of complication and pressure.
“Who’s ready to eat?” Michelle calls.
“Come on,” Mom says, standing.
I join her, and she tugs me into a hug, which I accept with a chuckle.
“Thank you for my present.”
“You’re welcome. Thanks for the advice.”
She nods and we head to grab plates full of food.
My mind is too focused on Lily to really taste the charred breading.
There are so many milestones for us to conquer with this relationship.
The first time we have sex. Meeting the parents.
Sharing holidays together. It all feels daunting, but after talking with Mom, I’m more determined than ever to ensure that the guys and I do whatever we can to make sure that this works out.
Lily is end game.