Page 20 of One Quick Obsession

My father looked between us, lip curled. “Fucking a Cage, are you? That’s one way to raise yourself on that ladder of yours. How many blow jobs did you have to give this one to get your job?”

I moved forward, ready to throttle my dad, but Hudson was already there. With one movement, he had my dad by the back of his neck and lifted enough that my dad’s toes dangled against the ground.

My God, I hadn’t realized Hudson was that strong. But from the way that his muscles bulged, well, it would make sense.

“You’re going to want to watch your mouth.”

“Hudson.”

“Listen to the little girl,” my dad snapped, as if he wasn’t dangling along the ground from a man who could probably break him with his pinky.

“Go, before I stop listening to my inner demons and take it out on you.”

If possible, my dad paled even more, and when Hudson let him down, he nearly fell down on his knees, but then scrambled away, indeed looking like he had his tail between his legs.

Hudson stood there with his back to me, hands fisted at his sides as his shoulders moved up and down with each deep breath.

“I would say thank you⁠—”

“Don’t. Don’t say a damn thing,” he cut me off.

“He would’ve left eventually.”

“Maybe.” Hudson turned then, staring at me with those intense eyes that nearly forced me to take a step back. “Maybe he would have. But I didn’t like the fact that he wasn’t budging when you told him no.”

“My dad never hurt me,” I lied.

Hudson just shook his head. “If you see him around, let me know. I’ll handle it.”

That made me narrow my gaze. “You don’t have to handle it, Hudson. You don’t have to fix everything.”

His jaw tightened, and he gave me a slight nod. “True. That’s not in me. I don’t fix things. I never did.” And with that, he stomped past me and to his tractor.

I watched as he turned on the engine and slowly made his way back to his property, leaving me standing there, alone, wondering what the hell had just happened.

I looked over at my home, my oasis, and it didn’t feel like mine anymore.

Why did men have to continually come and try to take something that was mine? Why did they have to try to break me along the way? Why did I resent the idea that Hudson had been there to witness everything?

And why did I finally feel a slight ounce of comfort that he did?

Chapter Six

Hudson

“Hi, Uncle Hudson!”

Another little girl came on the screen, her hair in pigtails as she grinned widely. “Hi, Uncle Hudson!”

I smiled despite myself as Violet and Hazel each waved dramatically at the phone, and continued to repeat the phrase, “Hi, Uncle Hudson,” until Sophia finally took the phone from them.

“Okay, girls. It’s back for finger painting. Your uncle needs to get off the phone and go back to work.”

“Work, work, work, work, work,” Hazel sing-songed.

“Work like Daddy!” Violet put in. “Daddy loves work.”

Sophia winced and then smiled into the camera. “Sorry about that. Let me just set them up really quick, and I promise I will ask you the question that made me call you in the first place.”