Part of her wanted to tell them they needed more oxygen in the wood for it to burn properly, but she resisted the urge. Over to the left was Hudson. His bandaged foot was propped on a chair, and he’d changed into a blue T-shirt that brought out the tan on his face.
She didn’t bother to hide. After all, she’d managed to out herself in the most embarrassing way possible. And thanks to his ankle, it wasn’t like he was going anywhere. Zac gravitated over to where Diana and a couple of her friends were sitting, while their dad went to join the men with the meat, and their mom made a beeline to a group of women.
The other reason why she’d spent so much time hiding. At least that way she could be alone on purpose. Unlike her brother, she’d didn’t have a lot of friends, just Frankie. But Frankie was in Cricket Bay and Via was stuck at Camp Doom, so she’d pretty much spent all her time on her own.
It was kind of lonely.
She sat down at an empty table and glanced over to Hudson as Zac’s words pushed into her mind.
It could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
She slammed it down. She hadn’t been that lonely. She’d learned the hard way what happened from being friends with Hudson Trent.
xxxx
“Another burger?” Hudson’s aunt, Ruth, appeared at the table holding a plate of over-cooked patties that probably tasted like ash. He could have told the guys in charge not to starve the fire of oxygen but figured they probably didn’t care.
“Nah. I’m good,” he said. The sun had set, and the night sky was turning from violet to black, broken only by the lights strung up in the overhead tree branches.
“Really?” Ruth raised an eyebrow and sat down on the wooden bench across from him. “Your dad had to cancel and then you randomly fall over and bust your ankle. Seems to me they might be related. Were you too upset to look where you were going?”
He ran a hand through his hair, forgetting he’d had it cut. The short ends prickled his fingers. They were related, but not in the way she thought.
“The ankle was an accident. And as for my dad, it’s no big deal. He’s probably got newlywed brain. I get it.”
“At least one of us does,” Ruth said, her voice turning into a soft growl. “Hudson, I love my brother, but it’s not okay he forgot. You know it has nothing to do with you, right?”
Sure.
Complete coincidence. Just like it was a coincidence his mom had decided to go on a month-long cruise that didn’t include her only son. The only one who lucked out was his aunt, who was now stuck with him for another two weeks. Annoyance flared in him. He’d started going to the gym, just to avoid thinking about the mess his life was, but thanks to his ankle, working out wasn’t much of an option.
He balled his fists instead.
“Seriously, I’m fine.”
“Okay, then. By the way, I’ve arranged for you to go into town on Wednesday to get your ankle X-rayed. The nurse wants to double check nothing was damaged.”
“Not a problem.” He shrugged. Right now the only thing on his schedule was a never-ending cycle of icepacks to bring down the swelling.
“It’ll get better, I promise.” She stood up and patted his shoulder. “You could always spend more time with Via. I forgot you go to school together.”
“We hang out in different groups,” he said quickly, not bothering to elaborate that it meant they split the library. She tended to sit near the 400s, and he stayed at the other end by the reference books, on account of him being her least favorite person in the world.
“This could be a chance to know her better.” Ruth picked up the platter and gave him another smile before walking away.
Yeah, that wouldn’t be happening.
Via was sitting alone at a picnic table. Her gaze was firmly fixed in the other direction, and her back was stiff, no doubt pretending he wasn’t there.
He could go over and tell her not to worry. That he’d stay out of her way. After all, there were only so many venomous looks a guy could handle in one day.
But to do that he’d have to use the crutches. It was a lot of effort just to get abused. Besides, whenever he tried to fix things, he made them worse.
“Hudson,” a lispy voice cried out as his six-year-old cousin, Lulu, came running over, closely followed by Theo, her younger brother. She pointed up at the sky. “Tell us what that star is.”
“It’s Nelly Knobby Knees,” he immediately replied as Lulu leaned against his arm and Theo flanked him on the other side. The pair of them immediately burst out laughing.
“What’s that one?” Theo shrieked, and Hudson racked his brain for another silly name. It was a game they’d always played.
“Pickle Head,” he said. It earned him another round of laughter as his phone beeped. It was a text from his mom.
You ok? Heard about the ankle and your father. He will be the death of me. Sorry you’re stuck there for two weeks. Alaska is gorgeous. Luv Mom.
He didn’t bother to reply, and a second later another text came through, this time from his father.
Hope ankle is ok. Tell your mother I don’t appreciate smart-ass texts. I will make it up when I get back.
Hudson deleted both messages. He’d given up playing the middle guy last year, but it didn’t make a difference. He looked up as Via glared at him then stood up and walked in the other direction. He gritted his teeth.
Fourteen days and it would be over, and he could go back to his regular screwed-up life.
3
So, this was going to be fun. And by fun she
