Page 34 of Crash and Burn

“Well, you’re right. It’s not ok. But I’m ok. He’s gone and here I am.” I said in an upbeat to tone to try and change the mood because this had gotten far more serious than I had intended.

“Does it ever hurt you?”

“No. It’s healed. The scars are just a reminder of a wrong decision I made once.”

“Is that why you have an electric fireplace?”

I nodded.

“Fuck, Amelia. You deserve so much better than that asshole.” Hudson was still holding my hands in his, looking down at them.

“Thanks, Hudson. I’m fine. Honestly though, it’s why I broke down at the barbecue and it’s why I freaked out the night you came over unannounced. I called my best friend that night because I thought you might’ve been Kevin.”

There was a pained expression on his face when he asked, “Do you worry about him coming after you often?”

“I don’t know…sometimes. I never went back to him after that hospital visit. My friends helped move me out while he was at work, so there was never really any closure there. We were just…done.”

“Fuckin’ right you were. He better never show his face around here.”

I could see the rage in Hudson’s eyes, so I tried to end the conversation. “I’m sure Kevin moved on to another unfortunate woman who doesn’t know any better. He also doesn’t know where I live.”

Hudson stood up, pulling me into him for a hug. “I’m sorry you went through that, Am.”

I let myself wrap my arms around him and sink in, my head against his chest. That close to him, I could smell his scent, and it was incredible. He smelled like the woods after a rain shower in the fall, and he was warm. We had only hugged once before, but this time felt different. I reminded myself,He’s just being a friend, Amelia,and said,“Thank you.”

“You didn’t deserve that. I swear…you’ll never have to worry about that scumbag.”

I laughed. “You can’t always be around but thank you.” I felt safe in his arms, and I hadn’t been held like that in so long. I thought about stepping away from him because the hug feltsogood, but I couldn’t.

“I mean it, Am. Call me anytime. I don’t care what time it is. I’ll be here for you.”

I looked up at him and he looked down at me. The air was so thick. His eyes are gorgeous. I felt his beard on my forehead as he looked up like he was staring at something behind me. He looked back down at me again.

“Hudson…”

“Yeah…”

“I think we better clean up.”

He raised his head, kissed my forehead, and then stepped away and back to the couch to grab our glasses. It left me completely stunned. I was warm, and at the same time, cold, because I had left his embrace.Oh my god, what just happened?I brought my hands to my mouth, the sleeves of my loose sweatshirt bunched around my fingers. I let out a deep breath and turned to help him clean up.

It was almost nine-thirty when he said he was going to head out. “What do you got going on tomorrow?” he asked me.

“Nothing really. I kind of wanted to get a tree. I can’t believe it’s almost December.”

His eyebrows raised with an amused smile. “A tree? Can we have Thanksgiving first?”

“Oh, whatever. Thanksgiving is only a week away. I’ll still thoroughly enjoy my Turkey while looking at my beautifully decorated tree.”

His laugh was deep, and I was falling in love with it. I looked down at my feet as it went quiet again.

He said, “I have an idea. Let’s go pick out a tree for your place and my place.”

I’m sure my excitement was all over my face when I asked, “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, I’m serious! I’ll pick you up around noon and we can grab some lunch first.”

“Yeah, that sounds great. I’m so excited right now!”

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