Page 1 of Coming Home

Chapter1

Hudson

Ilook around the barren house and sit down in the lone chair placed in the center of my living room. From where I’m sitting, I can see into the bedroom and the pad on the floor I’ve been using as a bed for the last week.

I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly. I have enough money to furnish this house three times over, but I just haven’t felt the desire to do it. I knew when I left the Army after twenty years, it would take some time to adjust to civilian life, but so far, I’m doing a really shitty job of it.

I never dreamed I would be on edge and unable to sleep through the night, and it seems as if the lack of sleep is catching up with me.

I push myself off the chair and stretch my arms over my head. I’m mid-stretch when my doorbell rings, and I let my hands fall to my sides. I don’t rush to the door. I know it’s one of my four brothers, and I also know that they will not leave until they see me. I walk to the bedroom and shut the door. No sense in giving them something else to worry about. They won’t understand why I haven’t furnished the place. Hell, at least have a bed to sleep in.

The doorbell rings again. I shove my hand through my hair and walk to the front door, buttoning my jeans as I go.

I jerk the door open so fast that my brother Austin jumps back. I hold back my smirk. “Oh, it’s you.”

He rolls his eyes and points at my bare chest. “What the fuck, dude? Put a shirt on, will ya?”

I turn, leaving the door open. “You do know this is my house, right? You’re lucky I have any clothes on at all.”

Austin slams the door and follows behind me. “Yeah, thank fuck for that. I’m pretty sure that image would traumatize me for life.”

“Whatever, little brother.” I grab the shirt off the kitchen counter and pull it over my head. The material stretches across my chest, and I sit down at the bar stool. “So what? Did you draw the short straw or what? You do know I’m on to you guys, right? Every day for the last week, one of you has shown up here.”

I’m not sure what they’re up to, but I know they’re all worried about me. I don’t know if they think I’m losing my shit or what, but they’re all keeping a close eye on me.

“Believe it or not, we’ve missed you, brother. And let’s be honest, today is your lucky day. You get me, your favorite brother.”

I smile and shake my head.

Austin raises his hands with a shrug of his shoulders. “What? Who would you have preferred? Ford would instantly come in and tell you that you need to get your shit together. Lucas is out of control since he found out he’s going to be a dad and is losing his shit. Beau would throw some kind of spreadsheets at you or something. At least with me, I’m not going to give you any shit about anything.”

I’ve never been one for small talk, but the truth is, Austin is pretty entertaining to talk to at least. I plant my feet and lean back against the counter. “So you’re the lesser of four evils, is that what you’re saying?”

“Absolutely.” He stands in the center of the room and does a three-sixty. I know he’s going to give me shit before he even opens his mouth. “What the fuck, Huddy? If you’re going for the minimalist look, you aced it.” He rolls his eyes as he walks past me into the kitchen. I don’t have to turn to know he’s going for the fridge. Even when we were little, Austin was a big eater. Not that you could tell by looking at him. He’s going to be disappointed, though. I’m about to warn him when he jerks open the fridge. “What. The. Fuck? Okay, maybe I should have let Ford come. No food, no furniture, you look like shit. This is probably way above my paygrade.”

“Keep talking shit and I’m going to make you go grocery shopping for me, asshole.”

He holds his hands up. “Forget it. You wanna go have a beer, you need a wingman or to go grab a pizza, I’m your guy. I’m out on grocery shopping.”

I blow out a breath and sit taller. “What are you even doing here?”

“I’m your driver today.”

I cross my arms over my chest. “Oh yeah, where are you driving me?”

He walks back into the living room. “The truck you ordered is in, and they’re delivering it to Blaze. While we’re there, you may as well sit in on the weekly meeting.”

I roll my eyes. “You guys have this meeting every week, I’m not sure what you think I can contribute at this point. I’ve been back a week. Hell, less than a week.”

He throws his hands up in the air in frustration. “I don’t know. Shit man, can’t you just come and sit in? We’ve all been waiting years for you to come home, and now you’re here. I don’t care if you just sit there and stare off into space.”

I slowly stand up and tower over my brother. “Fine.”

I walk over and grab my boots before sitting down, putting them on, and lacing them up. It’s not until I stand up that I notice Austin's smirk.

I look down at myself and back at him. Fuck, I haven’t gone shopping for clothes either. “You think Ford’s going to lose his shit if I show up at the office in jeans and a T-shirt?”

“Probably, but hell, dude needs to relax anyway.”

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