Page 112 of Must Have Been Love

She sticks her tongue out at him. “Well as you know, Catherine and Ayda were coming out of the café when the police swooped in. Although it was pretty peaceful, according to the cops. Catherine didn’t put up a fight, didn’t even look surprised to see them. Just hugged Ayda and told her to be a good girl and that her daddy would be there soon. Then she let herself be arrested.” Autumn takes another spoon of chili, humming as she swallows it down. “We got there about ten minutes later. Catherine was in the cop car, Ayda was being checked over by the first responders. She’s fine, by the way, but it’s protocol or something.” Autumn shrugs. “I’ve never seen Hudson run so fast. Or shake so much when he picked her up. He hid his head when he hugged her but I’d bet a billion dollars he was crying.” Her eyes sparkle.

“You like the thought of that, huh?” Asher says, looking amused.

“I always like seeing my big brothers melt into mush.” She pokes him. “So then he carried her over to me and told me to hold onto her. She was all smiles and huggy. I swear she just thought it was a day out. Then Hudson strode over to the car where they were holding Catherine and demanded to talk to her.”

Autumn barely takes a breath before she continues. “So there was a bit of an argument, but then the cops finally opened the door and I’ve never seen Hudson look so menacing in his life. I don’t know what he said to Catherine, but I swear her eyes were about to pop out of her face. It reminded me of when I was younger and he caught me trying to smoke a cigarette.”

“You set your hair on fire, Fall,” Asher reminds her. “The only thing that was smoking was the half-can of hair spray you used to use daily.”

“Fall?” I frown.

“That was my nickname when I was a kid.” Autumn shakes her head.

“She was constantly falling over. Bruised. Always injured. Autumn – Fall.” Asher ruffles her hair and she groans.

“And this is why I used to wear hairspray. So you wouldn’t do that.” She shakes her hair. “Do you want me to finish this story or what?”

“Carry on.” Asher gives her an indulgent smile.

“Okay then. So whatever Hudson said to Catherine. She shook her head and started tripping over herself to apologize. Apparently she swore she was always planning to bring Ayda back. That she just missed her and wanted to see her. She came over to the island to see if she could get a glimpse. And then…”

“And then she saw her chance,” I finish.

“So the cops took Catherine away, the ambulance took Hudson and Ayda to get her checked over. The police wanted her clothes for evidence, so I got her some new ones and made a bit of a game of it. Oh, and Dr. Methi came to the hospital.”

“You saw Dr. Methi?” I ask, my eyes widening.

“Yeah. He was cool as a cucumber. Talked Hudson down. Told him that Ayda was fine. Then we came home.” She shrugs. “It’s been a long day.”

Footsteps come from the hallway and Hudson appears in the kitchen doorway. His eyes roam over the three of us standing at the kitchen counter. Asher has finally helped himself to some chili, and Autumn is on her second bowl.

I swallow hard at the black bags beneath Hudson’s eyes. “She’s asleep,” he says. “I’m probably going to head up too.”

“Want some food?” Autumn asks. “Skyler made chili. It’s good.”

He shakes his head. “You should go home when you finish. You all should.” His eyes land on Asher. “Except you.”

Asher grins. “That’s good because I have nowhere else to stay.”

Autumn finishes her second bowl in double time and loads it into the dishwasher before walking over to hug Hudson. “Call me if you need anything,” she tells him.

He nods.

I stand and grab my bag. “I should go home too,” I say.

Hudson’s eyes roam over my face. “Wait a moment. I want to speak with you privately.”

It gives me the gentlest of hopes. The memory of him burying himself in me after he got the legal notice from Ayda’s grandparents sparks inside my mind. I want to offer him succor. I want to comfort him. He looks like he needs it.

After we see Autumn off, Hudson inclines his head at his home office. I follow him in and he closes the door. He turns to face me, his broad body close to mine. His mouth is pulled into a thin line.

“She’s really okay?” I ask.

He nods. “According to the medical staff.”

“And you?” I say softly. “How are you holding up?”

For a moment he says nothing. Then he takes a step back, like he’s trying to distance himself from me.

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