“Oh. Thank you.”
“You might want to come down,” she added. “I doubt the bags will make it up there any time soon. The kids got distracted with Hudson’s model trains.”
It took me a second to piece together what she meant. Then I laughed.
“I’m coming.”
I really liked Tara. She was one of those people who had no filter, though she sounded tougher than she actually was. Sarcastic to the bone, but all heart underneath. The way she had instantly cared for Mochi without asking questions—no doubt about it.
Chapter 9
I was on my way to the kitchen when I heard Daniel’s and Hudson’s voices drifting to me from behind a small open door we had skipped during the tour.
I peeked through the doorway and stepped into what I expected to be a storage closet. But it wasn’t just that.
The room had clearly started as a utility space. One side contained shelves lined with buckets, cleaning supplies, and plumbing tools. But the rest had been completely transformed.
A large, custom-built table occupied most of the space, and on it sat an entire miniature village—not a quick weekend project, but a whole world. Snow-covered mountains, winding train tracks, a station with blinking lights, rows of tiny houses and shops. There was a town square with market stalls, dogs in the park, and people mid-conversation. The details were so rich, it looked like the figures would start moving at any moment.
Daniel and Hudson were standing over the village, completely absorbed. They were so excited, they looked like little kids.
“Look at this,” Daniel said, glancing up as I stepped farther inside. “Hudson added a whole mountain village.” He pointed to a cluster of wooden huts nestled high in the faux snow. Each hut had its own chimney and windowpanes painted with frost.
I moved closer. There was just so much to see.
“This is incredible. You two built all of this?” I asked.
Daniel nodded. “It was my escape. I loved working on it with Hudson.”
“When I started all this for Daniel, I thought it was just a kid’s toy,” Hudson said. “But once we got the trains running, Igot hooked. Now it’s my favorite thing to do in my spare time. Every piece in here is hand-painted.”
“Wow.” I leaned over the edge to take in the tiny faces of the people at the market. Some had red cheeks and even makeup. Others were waving or carrying grocery bags. The detail was incredible.
I straightened up and looked around the room again. The light was dim, with just one bare bulb overhead, casting a warm glow across the scene. It still felt like a utility room. I couldn’t help but wonder: why hide something this beautiful in here?
Daniel seemed to hear the question out loud.
“My dad wasn’t a very warm person,” he said, picking up a small figure of a woman in a summer dress. “He didn’t really like kids. Hated seeing toys around. It actually made him angry. So we built it in here. Kept it quiet. He had no idea all this even existed.”
Hudson rested a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. There was something in the gesture that said more than words could.
“I’ve had some of my best memories right here with you,” he said. “Some of them will replay in front of my eyes when I leave this world. That’s how much they mean to me.”
Daniel smiled at the figure in his hand, but I knew the smile was meant for Hudson.
Something in my stomach sank, heavy and sharp, like I’d swallowed a stone. We had been at the Breakers for less than an hour, and I had already learned more about Daniel’s past than I had in nearly four years together. I’d never imagined his father had been cold or unloving. I had no idea Daniel needed to hide joy in a storage room.
Hudson cleared his throat. “Of course, I’ll also never forget the time you cried for days because one of your favorite socks went missing in the laundry.”
Daniel burst out laughing. “We searched the entire house. Even the maid’s panty drawer.”
“To this day, I can’t believe you made me do that,” Hudson said. He shot a look at me. “He blackmailed me. Swore he’d cry for another week if I didn’t. With her permission, I looked for his sock. It was awful. I felt like a terrible human.”
Daniel was still laughing, but his voice softened. “As a grown man, I now understand why you fought me on that so much. I kinda almost can’t believe you actually did it. You could’ve told me to suck it up. To go to my room and cry it out.”
“Ah,” Hudson said. “The maid laughed it off. She didn’t mind. She felt bad for you. We all did. You thought those socks gave you superpowers. How was I supposed to take that from you, considering everything you went through with your—”
His voice cut off.
