Page 11 of An Unexpected Everything
No wonder he was slowly becoming a hermit.
“So, to what do I owe your wonderous presence?” I asked after I shoved Hudson’s boots off the desk.
He didn’t seem to care as he set down his sketchbook.
“Just wanted to bug you. I’ve been up all night working, and figured I’d stop by here on my way into town for coffee.”
I shook my head, lips twitching. “You do have coffee at home, you know. Considering your studio is in your house right on the lake.”
Hudson just shrugged. “I needed to get out. I have family dinner coming up.”
I winced. “Which family dinner?” With Hudson, that could mean more than one thing, and that wasn’t always a good thing.
“Just the brothers one. I can’t really say the originals, because I tend to like the new Cages.” Hudson stole my coffee from me and took a sip. I didn’t bother growling at him. It was what the man did.
“So you’re having it at Aston’s house?” I guessed, considering the eldest Cage had the biggest place.
“This time. Blakely’s cooking.”
Blakely. That was her name. I felt bad I’d forgotten in my memory of our altercation. “Isn’t that weird? Aston all settled down.”
“Not really. We’re getting of an age. And I like Blakely. Plus with her around, Isabella isn’t as antsy. I mean, I like my new sister, but she is just as protective as Aston is, and I know that she’s pissed off at her mom.”
At the sound of Isabella’s name, I stiffened.
“Oh?” I asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
With the way Hudson narrowed his eyes at me, I figured I hadn’t done it well enough.
He shook his head and moved on. “Well, her mom did keep the secret. And while I couldn’t care less what my mother thinks because she’s always been an icy bitch, I have a feeling that Isabella and her mom had a good relationship. Things are a little testy now, but us siblings are at least getting along. Which is weird. I have to have a flowchart in order to figure out everyone. And you know that’s not my thing.”
I remembered Isabella talking about her mother. The twohadbeen good friends. They got along and relied on each other because her father was always working. It turned out that hadn’t been the case. No wonder Isabella seemed to be having issues of her own—and why she had been on that lookout to begin with. She had a lot on her mind. And damn it, I didn’t know why Iwanted to be the one to reach out and see if she needed to talk. It wasn’t like it was my place. I had burned that bridge long ago.
“You think you’re ever going to have a family dinner in town?” I asked carefully.
“Maybe. We have the space. And I know a few of the siblings haven’t been out here yet. Isabella was over here visiting when Blakely came to visit last. But the others not so much.”
Again. Her name. There was no getting away from it. Or her. “I still find it weird that you have so many brothers and sisters.”
“Tell me about it. Christmas is going to be big this year. At least, if we decide to celebrate as a family. That should be fun. How many Christmas trees should we get?” Hudson rolled his eyes before he got up from his chair. “First, I’m here to annoy you. But the real reason is, I wanted to say hi before I head out of town. I’ll be back in a couple days.”
“You need me to take care of your place?” I asked, a familiar refrain.
Hudson shook his head. “I checked all the houses on my way over here. We should be fine. But if there is a random snowstorm because it’s spring in Colorado, let me know and check the house if there’s an issue.”
“You’ve got it. And I can always send Lance to do the work since he’ll be home soon from school.”
“Lance is the same brother who held a party in my place when I was out of town that one time?”
I winced. Because Hudson hadn’t been out of town. He had been deployed. A very big difference. And Lance and his nineteen-year-old friends had nearly destroyed the place.
My brother had been working through his demons, and I had to put my foot down for the first time. It hadn’t been pretty. Thankfully Hudson hadn’t cared because we had cleaned it up. But if it had been anyone else? There probably would’ve been charges.
“Okay, I’ll just send myself,” I said after a moment.
Hudson grunted. “On that note, I’m heading out. Thanks for the coffee.”
“I didn’t get you coffee,” I shouted to his back.
