Chapter Ten #3
“So you live in Connecticut?” Beck did his best to keep his tone conversational.
“Cromwell,” Hudson confirmed. “Shitty little town south of Hartford.”
“You’re a long way from home,” Heavenly clucked like a mother hen. “How did you get here?”
Beck suppressed a smile. His little girl was both feeling her maternal streak and playing peacekeeper, smoothing over what she probably saw as his too-direct approach. But someone needed to cut through Hudson’s shitty attitude.
“Well, I didn’t fucking walk,” Hudson drawled. “Of course I bought a plane ticket. Duh.”
It took all of Beck’s restraint not to grab the kid by the throat and squeeze. Instead, he got in Hudson’s face. “Don’t talk to her like she’s an idiot, or we’re going to have problems. Are we clear?”
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “This is just awkward as fuck.”
“You’re not making things any better by mouthing off. How did you pay for your plane ticket?”
“I had a job over the summer. I saved some money,” Hudson said defensively.
“What kind of job?” In Beck’s experience teenagers with unexplained cash usually had sketchy side-hustles.
Hudson’s expression shuttered completely. “Student by day…gigolo by night.”
Beck raised a brow. “Sure you are, smart-ass. Try again.”
The kid’s mouth quirked slightly—surprise, maybe, that Beck was keeping up verbally. “I was a lifeguard at the local pool, okay? Geez…”
“Better. We know you want to meet Seth, but what else do you want from him?”
“Closure? A relationship?” Heavenly asked, her voice a feather compared to his anvil.
Hudson’s laugh was sharp enough to cut glass. “I don’t want a damn thing except to put a face to the name of my sperm donor daddy.”
Heavenly flinched, and dread settled in Beck’s chest. The kid had clearly spent years building up his resentment, painting Seth as the villain in a story he only half understood.
Heavenly looked at him with pity. “Is your mom still alive?”
“Of course.”
“Does she know where you are?”
The kid shrugged. “I doubt she cares. She’s got a new husband and a new baby. She doesn’t have time for a fuckup like me.”
There it was. Beck recognized the pain behind the casual dismissal.
Hudson felt sidelined since his mother had moved forward, so he was throwing out insults before anyone could reject him, building walls before people got close enough to hurt him.
Beck had used the same defense mechanisms for years after escaping the Chosen.
“You should call her,” Heavenly suggested. “Let her know you’re safe.”
Beck saw the nope all over the kid’s face. “Call her. We’re not harboring a minor without her permission.”
Hudson rolled his eyes but pulled out his phone and dialed.
“Hey, Mom.” A pause, and even from across the room, Beck could hear a sharp female voice shooting rapid-fire questions that made Hudson hold the phone away from his ear.
“Jesus, Mom. I’m fine. I’m in California.
” Another pause. “Yeah. I’m safe, okay?” A longer pause.
“Fuck. School can wait. I have something more important to take care of.” This pause was the longest yet as the woman on the other end of the phone screeched, then Hudson replied, “I came to meet Seth, okay?”
Beck winced as the woman’s voice rose to near-shrieking levels.
Heavenly stood and approached, her face full of sympathy. “Hudson, would you like me to talk to her?”
The kid looked relieved to hand over the phone. “Good luck.”
“Hello?” Heavenly’s voice was warm and soothing as she activated the speaker. “I’m Heavenly Young, a…friend of Seth’s. He’ll be home tomorrow. Hudson is welcome to stay with me and his doctor friend until then.”
“I’m Hudson’s mother, Laura Clarke. I can’t believe he flew across the country alone. Is he really okay? He’s been missing since this morning, and I was about to call the police.”
“He’s fine,” Heavenly assured her. “Probably tired from traveling, and we’re about to feed him Chinese. He has his own guest room. It’s quiet here. He’ll be safe until he and Seth can talk.”
Beck was impressed by how smoothly his little girl handled the conversation, setting the woman at ease while protecting Seth’s privacy.
“You’re sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Thank you,” Laura breathed. “If…if things don’t go well, will you make sure my son gets safely on a plane home?”
“We will,” Heavenly promised. “Let me give you my number so you can reach us, just in case.”
After exchanging contact information, Heavenly handed the phone back to Hudson, who shifted uncomfortably and disengaged the speaker. “It’s me. I don’t know when I’m coming home. We’ll talk later, okay?”
He ended the call and tossed the phone aside, clearly annoyed. “Happy now?”
His dismissive tone didn’t fool Beck. The kid was desperately trying to maintain his armor, but he was scared.
“Tell me about this invisible father of mine.” Hudson stuck out his chin. “What’s he really like?”
“He’s a good man,” Heavenly insisted. “I already told you he has four brothers. He grew up in New York. His mom is getting remarried next month, actually. His father was a police officer who was killed in the line of duty when Seth was sixteen. He stepped up and helped raise his younger brothers after that.”
Beck watched Hudson’s expression flicker at that information—surprise, maybe curiosity—but the kid quickly buried it under an indifferent expression.
“For a while, Seth was a cop, like his dad and grandfather,” Heavenly went on. “But he left the force and started his own private investigation business. He’s successful, honest, and he cares about people. Especially family.”
“Sounds like a real saint.” Hudson sneered. “If he’s so awesome, why did he kick his pregnant girlfriend to the curb?”
Beck’s jaw tightened until he could practically hear his teeth grinding. “What makes you think he did?”
“What other explanation is there? Mom gets pregnant, dad disappears. Typical shit.”
Beck leaned forward, his voice deadly calm. “Is that what your mom told you?”
“Not in so many words,” Hudson admitted, his posture defensive.
“So you’re making assumptions?” Beck pressed. “I’m one of his best friends. I’m telling you now, I don’t think Seth ever knew your mom was pregnant, so stop assuming he’s a steaming pile of—”
Heavenly’s hand on his arm stopped him mid-sentence. He glanced her way, at the plea in her eyes for him to dial it back. He sighed. She was right. Hudson’s attitude was annoying as fuck, but he was just a lost kid.
Like Beck had once been.
Heavenly sent Hudson a soft stare. “Beck is right. I don’t think Seth has any idea you exist.”
“Whatever,” the boy drawled, but Beck caught the way his shoulders sagged slightly, as if some of the fight had left him.
The doorbell rang.
They settled around the kitchen table with their takeout containers. Beck watched Hudson try not to look impressed by the spread—orange chicken, lo mein, fried rice, and spring rolls.
“So,” Heavenly said, breaking the silence. “What kind of music are you into?”
Hudson shrugged, digging into his orange chicken. “Rap mostly. Travis Scott, Kendrick, some drill music.”
“Seth likes classic rock,” Beck offered. “But I’ve heard him listen to hip hop.”
“Hmm.” Hudson shrugged like he didn’t care, but Beck bet he was filing away the information.
“What about sports?” Heavenly asked. “Do you play anything?”
“Football and baseball. Made varsity teams in both as a sophomore.” There was a hint of pride in Hudson’s voice before he caught himself. “I’m a decent pitcher and an all-star receiver.”
“Do you have a favorite pro team?” Beck asked.
“The Yankees. Obviously.” Hudson shot him a look like he was an idiot. “Best team out there.”
“Seth is a Yankees fan too,” Heavenly said with a smile.
Hudson’s fork paused halfway to his mouth. “Yeah?”
“When he lived in New York, he went to games with his brothers. He moved to LA this past February. I’m sure he’s sad he missed this season.”
Beck watched something flicker across Hudson’s face—interest, maybe even longing—before he banked it.
“Cool,” Hudson mumbled. “I guess.”
“Got friends back home?” Beck asked.
“A few. Most of those kids are fucktards.”
Heavenly did her best to hide her grimace. “How about…a girlfriend?”
Hudson snorted. “Fuck no. The girls in Cromwell are either stupid, skanky, or boring as fuck. No thanks.”
So the kid felt like an outsider. Beck changed the subject again. “You have your license?”
“Yeah.” Hudson’s expression turned sullen. “Had to take the test twice though. Parallel parking’s a bitch.”
After that, quiet fell. They ate, the earlier tension starting to ease. Hudson even helped himself to seconds, though he tried to be casual about it.
“This is…actually pretty good,” he admitted grudgingly. “Almost as good as the Chinese place back home.”
“Seth agrees but swears New York pizza is way better,” Beck said. “He prefers West Coast Mexican food, though.”
Hudson’s smile was quick but genuine this time. “Yeah, our Mexican sucks. No spice.”
“You like spicy food?”
“Love it. Nothing like a super-hot Thai dish.”
“Seth and I both love that. Her?” He thumbed at Heavenly. “Not so much.”
She swatted his arm. “I’m from Wisconsin! I’ll take cheese curds any day over that.”
“What the hell is a cheese curd?” Hudson asked.
As she explained and finished eating, Beck studied the kid. Beneath the angry armor, Hudson was trying so hard to be tough, to not care. But Beck was beginning to see the cracks.
The question was: what would Seth see when he looked at Hudson tomorrow—a second chance at fatherhood? A gift he’d never expected? Or another son he could lose if he failed to protect him?
Seth had just committed to starting a family with them, but Hudson wasn’t some hypothetical future child. He was real, almost grown, and carrying sixteen years of baggage about the father who’d never been there for him.
“So,” Hudson interrupted Beck’s thoughts. “What time is Cooper supposed to be back tomorrow?”
“If his flight is on time, he should be here by two,” Heavenly supplied.
Hudson nodded as if he couldn’t wait for the confrontation.
“Listen,” Beck said carefully. “I need you to understand something. Seth’s been through a lot. Lost people he loved. Finding out about you is going to be a shock.”
“What are you saying?” Hudson’s voice was deliberately casual, but Beck heard the real question underneath: Will he want me?
Beck exchanged a glance with Heavenly. How the hell was he supposed to explain to the kid who’d come all this way to meet his father that the man might not be emotionally ready to be a dad?
“Just don’t judge him by his initial reaction,” Beck said finally. “You’ve known about him for…how long?”
“Most of my life.”
“Yeah, you’re going to blindside him. It’s not your fault. Just…give him a hot minute to catch up, okay?”
Hudson’s jaw tightened. “If he doesn’t want me around, I’ll just go home. No big deal.”
Wrong. It absolutely was a big deal, and they all knew it. The kid had waited years for this moment. If Seth rejected him tomorrow, it would destroy what was left of Hudson’s already fragile sense of belonging. And Beck didn’t know how to brace either of them.
All he could hope now was that Seth was strong enough to handle what fate had just dropped in his lap.