Chapter 37 Hudson
HUDSON
For as long as I lived, I would never regret punching Grant so hard he blacked out. He was fucking lucky that was all I did. Someone had screamed too early, and before I could fuck him up the way I wanted, the security guard had me by the neck, dragging me off the son of a bitch.
To be fair, I hadn’t walked into the bank planning to start a fight.
That side of me—the jailbird with a temper—was supposed to be buried.
But the second Grant opened his mouth and said Matty should “get over it” since it was almost a decade ago and he “hadn’t been forced,” something inside me snapped.
Before, I’d ignored him as much as you would a bad smell. But I’d never liked him after what he did to Lawson. But this? Dismissing what he did to Matty, to a fourteen-year-old boy? No way in hell.
“You’ve done it this time, Hudson,” Sheriff Donald grumbled, his boots echoing on the scuffed floor as he stood in front of the bars. His scowl was carved deep as old fence posts.
I leaned back on the bench. “Spare me the lecture, Donald. I don’t regret what I did.”
The sheriff’s hands went to his hips. “No regret, huh? Christ, boy, you’re lucky this is assault and not attempted murder.
You know how fast the gossip wheel spins in this town.
Bristlecone was about to hit a damn record.
Three months with no one in a cell. And then you stroll into the bank and ruin it with your fists. ”
I shrugged, but the truth was, my stomach was already souring.
I hadn’t been in a cell for years. I’d sworn to myself that I never would be again.
And now here I was. Cold bars. Concrete floor.
But at least this time, I was in here based on my terms. Protecting the man I loved.
The little boy in him who’d been taken advantage of when he was too young to realize it.
Donald jabbed a finger toward me. “You better pray Grant doesn’t press charges. Because if he does, there ain’t much I can do for you. Word in town is you’re the new Magnuson son-in-law, but not even the Magnuson money will be able to fix this.”
“Let’s see if he dares to press charges,” I muttered, jaw tight.
“You just don’t learn, do you?” He shook his head. “For four years, you’ve been in town and managed to fit in well. Don’t even have as much as a speeding ticket. What the hell set you off this time? You walk into a bank to pay a bill and walk out in cuffs. Doesn’t add up.”
I stared at the floor, at the faint scuffs from boots over the years.
I curled my fists, bit my tongue. I might have confronted Grant, but what had happened to Matty was his story to share.
If he’d gone for years with this secret, chances were he didn’t want the whole town to know about the abuse––no, rape, because that was what it was.
Donald sighed like a bone-tired man. “Fine. Keep your mouth shut. But listen to me. You can’t go around assaulting people, no matter what you think they deserve. Your kid’s mama ran out on her. You’re all she’s got now. What if you had killed him? What would become of her?”
My chest burned. I did hear him, and the one consolation was knowing Ivy would always be safe with Matty if anything happened to me. He and Gray and Ozzie would love her and ensure she never forgot me.
God, I had to marry that man. But why hadn’t he asked me, popped the question again? I’d given him forty-eight hours to think it over, but he never got back to me. Then last night, the way he’d set up our date, I’d half expected his proposal. What I’d gotten was a bombshell.
The sheriff shook his head, muttering, “Well, you ain’t getting out until you cool down, so think about your actions while you’re in here.”
The front door creaked open. “Hudson?”
Matty.
My gut tightened.
“Matty, you can’t be back here.” Donald put up a hand, but Matty didn’t even break stride.
“Sorry, Sheriff, but this is a one-man office with a volunteer deputy who’s out fishing till Sunday. Who’s gonna stop me exactly?”
He brushed past the sheriff like he wasn’t even there and stopped in front of the cell, bracing his hands against the bars. His chest heaved like he’d run the whole way.
I sat up straighter, trying to look steady, like I wasn’t wrecked inside at the sight of him. His eyes were red as if he’d been crying. “Don’t even start, Matt. I don’t regret it.”
“Not regret—” His voice cracked, but instead of the tirade I expected, his eyes softened. “I’m not mad, Huddlebug.”
That undid me more than any yelling could’ve. My throat went tight, words failing.
“Sheriff, can you let him out so we can talk?”
“Not going to happen. There were at least six witnesses to what happened at the bank. What happens if I release him and he kills poor Grant?”
“Then at least let me get in there with him.”
“This is a jail cell, Matty. Not that motel room I heard you two love to frequent.”
“Come on, Sheriff. I just want to talk to him.”
Donald scowled and scratched his head. “Fine. But you have only twenty minutes. If you can’t talk some sense into him, then he’s gonna spend the night right here in jail.”
He reached for the keychain on his belt, muttering about being “too old for this shit,” and swung the barred door open with a clang.
Matty slipped inside before Donald could change his mind. The cell door clanged shut again, locking us in together.
“Twenty minutes, and keep it PG in there, for Christ’s sake. I ain’t running a brothel,” Donald barked from the other side.
He turned his back and stormed out, cursing under his breath.
I was on my feet in a heartbeat, crossing the two steps it took to get to Matt. My hands found his face, and his found mine, and for a second, there was no cell, no sheriff, no damn Grant. Just us.
“Hud,” he whispered, his forehead pressed to mine. “What the hell am I gonna do with you?”
“Love me,” I rasped. “That’s all I need.”
“I do.” He pressed his lips hard to mine. “So fucking much. But what were you thinking?”
“I’m sorry, Matt. I tried. I really tried but couldn’t forget what you told me last night. I couldn’t just walk away and let him keep breathing like he didn’t do anything wrong.”
Groaning, Matty pressed my face to his neck. “It’s my fault. I should have known what you were up to when Dad told me you went to town and you didn’t mention it.”
“Are you sure you’re not mad? ’Cause I got him real fucking good, but it doesn’t feel like enough.”
“Listen to me, babe. I’m not angry. You’re the only one outside of my dad who’s ever wanted to protect me. How can I be mad at you?” He stepped back, brushing over my cheek. “But I don’t agree with how you handled it. You could’ve killed him. And then what? What about Ivy? What about us?”
“I didn’t go with the intention to fight, but his stupid face annoyed me and his mouth even more.
” I inhaled sharply and let the breath out slowly.
“But I trust you, Matt. Trust that if anything happens to me, you’d raise her right.
That she would have her papa and her Ozzie to give her a good life. You’d make sure she never forgot me.”
He pressed his forehead to mine again. “God, you fucking idiot. Of course I’d take care of her, but I want you too, Hud. Don’t take that away from me by putting yourself in this position ever again.”
Something inside me broke and settled at the same time. Before I could think better of it, I dropped to my knees on the concrete, wrapped my arms around his hips, and looked up at him.
“Marry me,” I blurted, voice rough.
Matty blinked. “What?”
“When Grant went down, all I could think was that there are two people I’d go back to jail for without blinking.
Ivy and you. And if anything ever happens to me, I want it on paper that you’re her other parent, that we’re family.
And because I’m also obsessed with you, Matty Magnuson, and apparently will go around punching people in their face if they say stupid things about you, so save Ivy from an uncertain future and marry her daddy. ”
For a heartbeat, the room was just his breathing and mine. “Hudson,” Matty whispered. “Get up.”
I held on tighter. “Not until you say yes.”
He huffed a wet laugh, then cupped my jaw.
“Yes. Of course it’s yes.” He tugged at me until I stood, then slid a hand into his pocket and pulled out a small, square box like a damn magician.
“And for the record…I meant to ask you last night.” His voice shook.
“I bought this when I went to Denver. My mom even helped me pick it out. I had everything planned, and then I…told you about Grant, and it didn’t feel right to pile good on top of rot.
Then I wanted to ask you again today, but you were nowhere to be found. ”
My head spun. “You want to marry me? I thought you changed your mind when you didn’t ask again.”
“I wanted to find the right time. For it to be memorable.”
“Ah, well, I don’t think anything tops a proposal in jail.”
Matty laughed and snapped the lid of the box open.
“It’s for you,” he said, throat working.
“I’m gonna marry you, Hudson Granger. I’m gonna make you a Magnuson and put you on the biggest lockdown this state has ever seen.
But this is more than just a proposal about us.
It’s also a promise that I’m going to do whatever it takes to adopt Ivy, if you’ll have me. ”
“Of course.” I laughed, an ugly, relieved sound that cracked in the middle, and pressed my forehead to his again. “Oh God, I never thought I could love somebody this much.”
He smiled, brushing his thumb along my jaw, then slid the ring onto my finger like it had always belonged there. Damn, it looked expensive. I loved it.
“Wait, did you say your mom helped you pick it out?”
“Yeah. She might have scored major points for that, but I’m still not over what she did yet.”
I groaned, wrapping my arms around his neck. “You got your man. Just bury the hatchet, Magnuson.”
“Maybe after I get you down the aisle.” He slipped his arms around my waist.