Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
HUDSON
“That is some bummer news.” Nat sighs in response to finding out that while my team made it to the regional championship, it means we’re playing East Bay University—Bodhi’s team.
Nat continues casually flipping through her textbook sprawled out across my bed, and I turn to look at Ellie, who’s gone white as a ghost.
“He won’t come anywhere near you, darlin’,” I promise.
Nat lifts her head, glancing at Ellie. “Ellie, you remember how terrified he was of me. I’m sure he’s even more so now that he knows we’re together. He’ll stay far away, and he if doesn’t, I’ll fuckin’ deck him.”
Ellie huffs, flopping back on the pillows, staring at the ceiling. “What if he confronts you, Hudson? What if tries to taunt you about—”
I snort. “Respectfully, I know she’s your mother, but I don’t give a fuck about Candace.
I don’t give a fuck that they had an affair, and I don’t give a fuck if he thinks it gives him some kind of superiority over me.
I’m thirty-six fucking years old. There is nothing he could do that would cause me to act stupid. ”
She exhales deeply.
“Has he been trying to contact you lately?”
“Not sure.” She shrugs. “I blocked his number a few months ago. He annoyed me.”
“That’s my girl,” Nat chimes in.
Ellie lifts onto her elbows. “My mom has reached out again, though.”
“And?” I ask.
“I’ve been ignoring her, but blocking her feels…
wrong. I don’t want any kind of relationship with her.
My life is so much better off without her in it, honestly.
But at the same time, eventually, I feel like I need to tell her I’m in a live-in, long term relationship with her ex-husband.
If I don’t, doesn’t that make me as terrible as she is? ”
“No.” I lean over the mattress, kissing the top of her head. “I’m not still married to her. You don’t owe her anything, Ells, but I understand where you’re coming from. I don’t think the timing is right just yet, but when it is, we’ll tell her.”
Truth be told, I don’t trust Candace within an inch of my life.
I think when she finds out that Ellie and I are together, she’ll lose her fucking mind.
I know her well enough to understand the entire reason she began fucking Bodhi to begin with is because she’s in the midst of a midlife crisis.
She’s struggling to come to terms with the fact that her daughter is more beautiful, intelligent, and kind than she could ever hope to be.
I have no doubt that beginning an affair with Ellie’s boyfriend gave her a sense of power.
Ellie is undoubtedly better off without her.
I also know Candace well enough to know that when she finds out about us, she’ll stop at nothing to ruin it—ruin me specifically, even if that means she brings her only child down with her.
If I’m still working at Westgate when she discovers us, I have no question she’ll report me.
She’ll get her own daughter expelled before she allows us to be happy.
I think Ellie is still convinced that, as her mother, Candace wouldn’t go to such lengths, but I know her differently. Plus, regardless of her mother’s involvement, I’ve long been frustrated with the secret nature of our dynamic, and I don’t want to hide the two of them anymore.
I’ve been working on a new opportunity, but I’m not yet ready to tell the girls, because I don’t want to get their hopes up if it doesn’t come to fruition.
I’ve been keeping it close to my chest, but by the time they both begin their senior year of university, I hope we’ll have the freedom to be as open and honest as we all desire.
“If you don’t want to come, I understand,” I say to Ellie.
Her features soften. “Of course I’ll be there.”
“She’ll have her scary, black cat girlfriend by her side.” Nat waves us off. “She’ll be fine.”
That pulls a laugh from me, and I kiss them both gently before leaving them to their homework as I head downstairs to make dinner.
Two Weeks Later
I pull my phone from my pocket when I reach the tunnel, leaving my players with Garrett as they warm up for the championship.
During games, I keep my notifications silenced for anyone but Ellie and Natalia, and they know not to call me unless it’s a true emergency.
So when I realized my phone was ringing, I immediately stepped off the ice.
As I’m exiting the rink, eyes fixed on my screen, I’m shoulder checked. I stumble backward, my head snapping up to find none other than Bodhi stepping onto the ice.
“Hey, Coach.” He shoots me a cocky grin. “Good luck out there today. Hope there aren’t too many steals, though. I know those are rough on you.”
“Shut the fuck up, Bodhi.” I sigh, bored, but when I see the name flashing on my screen, my cheeks split into a grin. I hold up my phone to show him. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to take a call.”
I allow enough time for him to register who’s calling before I slide my thumb over the screen and hold it to my ear. “Hi, angel. Everything all right?”
I leave Bodhi on the ice, stuttering and gaping like a fucking idiot.
“Hudson,” Ellie hisses into the line. “My mother is here.”
My blood runs cold. “What the fuck?”
“I know, I know.” She sighs. “She just texted me—she was in attendance and wanted to see if we could talk. I didn’t tell Nat because I’m afraid if she sees Mom, she’ll cause a scene.”
She absolutely will. Nobody hates Candace more than Natalia.
Fuck it. I was hoping to share my news with the girls tonight after a big win, but I will not allow my ex-wife to fuck up the entire game for me, or for Ellie.
“Tell her to meet you near the door to the tunnels right now. I have twenty minutes before I have to bring the team back down to the locker room. I’ll let you both through the doors and we’ll hash it out right now.”
“Are you—”
“Yeah, Ellie. I’m done with this shit.”
“Okay,” she breathes. “I’ll see you soon.”
I hang up, pacing the tunnel as I wait for the two of them. It takes about ten minutes before there’s a soft knock on the doors to the locker rooms. I shove them open as Ellie and Nat slip inside.
“She’s just behind us,” Ellie says.
“Do not hit anyone, Natalia,” I warn.
“No promises.”
I keep the door propped with my foot until I hear her voice calling Ellie’s name. Opening it wider, I watch Candace’s face morph to shock when she spots me. It’s faux surprise, because of course she’d fucking know I’d be here, and the way she’s dressed is telling.
Fitted black pencil skirt, sky-high stilettos, a sweater that’s a size too small. Her pin straight, cherry-red hair is brighter than her natural color, and she’s wearing far more makeup than she did when we were married.
I think her goal is to look younger, and she’s failing.
“What’re you doing here?” she spits.
“It’s a job requirement,” I mutter, stepping aside to let her in the tunnel. I shut the door behind me, and Ellie steps between Candace and Natalia. “I have under ten minutes, so let’s get this over with. What do you want, Candace?”
“I wanted to speak to my daughter.”
“I gathered that,” Ellie murmurs. “But why are you here?”
She throws her arms up, designer purse swinging.
“I knew you’d be here, and I had no other options.
I haven’t been able to get a hold of you for months!
I haven’t seen you in almost a year.” She softens, taking a step toward her daughter, though Ellie moves right back.
“You look good, honey. Have you lost weight?”
Natalia scoffs. “I swear to fucking—”
“It’s fine, Nat,” Ellie promises.
“Oh, we’ll talk about the two of you..” She looks between Nat and Ellie, tone dripping with disapproval, before Candace whips to me. “But first…did you ever plan to tell me my daughter is living with you?”
“How do you even know that?” Ellie asks.
“I was curious as to how your tuition was being covered, and since you wouldn’t answer my calls, I had to inquire about it myself.
I found out you were still enrolled under the faculty dependent credit, which would only be possible if…
” she turns back to me, “she was living with you. Do you know how incredibly inappropriate that is when we’re no longer married? ”
“I suppose you’d think it’s inappropriate of me to be fucking him too, then?” Ellie snipes.
Nat chokes on a laugh.
Candace’s eyes burst, nostrils flaring as her skin pales. “That’s a sick joke, Elenor.”
“Almost as sick as your boyfriend cheating on you with your own mother, huh?”
Candace is shaking with rage, eyes narrowed.
“So it’s true?” she asks me before spinning to face Ellie again.
“Is this some kind of revenge? To get back at me?” When she addresses me again, every word is laced with venom, “Are you that stupid? Allowing yourself to be used like that by a student? You could ruin your entire career. Her reputation. Her future!”
She shouts with mock concern, but I know it’s a threat.
“Screwing Hudson for revenge would mean I gave a single shit about you, Mom,” Ellie
responds, voice calm and clear. “I don’t. I don’t want anything to do with you. I simply fell in love with the man you were too stupid to see the value in.”
Candace rears back like she’s been punched, bottom lip quivering as her eyes well before spilling over with crocodile tears.
“I have a question.” Nat raises her hand, pressing off the wall. “Why not find Ellie on campus? Or at practice during her own team’s season? Why wait until today? The day your ex-husband’s team faces off against the team of the student you’ve been fucking.”
I wasn’t going to voice it, but the thought certainly ran through my head.
Ellie’s brows draw together before her mouth drops open. “Oh my God. You’re still seeing Bodhi, aren’t you? I bet you’re dressed like that to catch Hudson’s attention too. Was that the plan? Shove your fucking boy toy in your ex’s face?”
Candace cuts her gaze to the floor.
“You only came to find me today because it was convenient for you!” Ellie exclaims. “Because you happened to be here to watch your little fucking boyfriend play, and you wanted to catch Hudson’s attention.”
She lifts her eyes, rage seething in her brown irises. “You’re not better, Elenor. You’re fucking your step-dad, and that’s not even scratching the surface of whatever this situation with you two is.” She swipes a finger through the air between Ellie and Nat.
“We all fuck each other—mostly at the same time. We date each other too. Love each other, sleep in the same bed. Sounds pretty fucking simple to me,” Nat mutters.
Candace’s face drips with disgust, but Ellie ignores it. “At least I’m not pretending I’m interested in having a relationship with you just because we happen to be in the same room.”
Candace softens. “That’s not why. You’re my daughter. I do love you.”
“Honestly, I don’t think I can say the same to you. I don’t trust you, and I don’t respect you,” Ellie says sternly, and pride surges in my chest at the way she’s stood up for herself.
Another tear falls from Candace’s eye, and I know it’s genuine this time.
“If, someday, you ever find the ability to be honest with me, to accept my relationship, and to be truly fucking sorry for what you did, then I’d be open to a conversation.” She brushes past me, grasping the door handle. “But until then, I don’t want to hear from you.”
“I could report him, you know?” Candace snaps, as if the words are a lasso—a last-ditch effort to halt Ellie from walking out—and I see the moment they land around her neck, tugging tightly. “Do you really want to be the reason he loses everything?”
She’s a fucking conniving woman, and I’d hoped I’d be able to make it out of this situation without sharing the news so I could properly relay it to the girls later, but…
“Actually, I’ve already put in my notice with the university. I’ll be starting an assistant coaching position with Seattle’s professional team this summer.”
Natalia and Ellie both gasp, but I keep my gaze pinned on Candace. “So, the question is: Do you want to be the reason she loses everything? I’m done here as soon as this team finishes its season, but you report us, and Ellie could be the one facing expulsion when she has a year left of school.”
Her nostrils flare, limbs trembling with rage. “Honestly, I don’t even care. Do what you feel like you need to do, Mom, but it won’t change anything. Report Hudson, and the only thing you’ll be proving is that you’re every bit the monster I’ve been creating in my head over the past year.”
Without another word, she slips out of the tunnel.
“Ruin her education, and I’ll fucking kill you,” Natalia seethes in Candace’s direction, and she flinches when Nat passes her to follow Ellie.
“I’d tell you she doesn’t mean it literally, but I think we’d both know I’m lying.” I shrug.
She stares after me with red-rimmed eyes and pure defeat. For the first time since Ellie walked into my office and told me my wife was having an affair, I feel sympathy for Candace.
Not enough to stay behind with her, though. Instead, I follow my girls.
It doesn’t take long for me to find Ellie and Nat standing beneath the stands, embracing as Ellie’s body shakes with sobs. I walk up to them, pulling Ellie from Nat and turning her into my chest.
“That kind of went to shit,” Nat says.
“You’re telling me,” I mutter.
Ellie tries pulling back, but I hold her tighter. “Someone is going to see us.”
“Don’t care much, darlin’.”
She sighs into me before tilting her head, glistening emeralds searing right through me. “Were you lying about the coaching position with Seattle?”
“Nope.” I grin. “Couldn’t stand hiding you two anymore, and it was time for me to level up anyway.”
“Congratulations,” she whispers.
“Thanks, baby.” I extend my arm, beckoning for Natalia to curl into me too.
“Are you moving then?” Nat asks.
I shake my head. “I’ll commute into the city, and once you two are done with school, we’ll find a place somewhere together.”
“That’s like…a half hour drive, Hudson.”
“No bother.” I shrug. “I don’t want to live downtown anyway.”
“Wait…” Nat pulls back, eyes going mischievously wide. “Does this mean we’re gonna be WAGS?”
I wink. “Guess so.”
The two of them laugh—the sound my favorite song. I’ve got three minutes before I need to be back on the ice, but I take the moment to hold them tighter, savoring every moment I’m able to call them mine, grateful for every decision, and every ounce of pain, that led me to both of them.
And three periods later, when my team wins the National Championship and my obligations to Westgate University are no longer, I pull my girls onto the ice. Amongst the confetti, the flashing lights, and the crowd celebration, I kiss them—for all the world to see.