‘And effort.’ Their words crossed each other; the tears flowed some more. Both of them wanted, needed, to see what the future held for them.
But they didn’t get to do much more talking because Giles barrelled into the ward with a call from his father to walk, not run.
And after Nadia passed Bella to her daddy, she hid her emotions behind a hug with her nephew.
28
Hudson hadn’t seen much of Nadia over the last week since that day at the hospital, since their almost-but-not-quite kiss. But he understood. Her family had been absent from her life for such a long while that this, her sister turning up and Archie as well as two kids in the mix, was a lot to get her head around.
When there was a knock at the door that evening, he opened it expecting it to be Beau having forgotten his key again. He did it frequently, had done for years. Beau had improved a lot; he was working hard at school, he’d helped a lot at the airbase. Hudson guessed he couldn’t change everything about the kid, and why would he want to?
But it wasn’t Beau, it was Nadia, and he didn’t mind one bit.
A rumble of thunder came in overhead when he answered the door. ‘Come in,’ he said.
‘I don’t want to intrude.’
‘You’re not intruding. Now come in before the heavens open.’
She looked behind him as if to check who was around. ‘Are you sure this is okay?’
‘It’s absolutely fine.’ He took her hand, led her inside. ‘Carys is asleep, Beau is out with a friend. How about a cup of tea?’
‘That sounds good.’
In the kitchen, he put the kettle on and offered her a biscuit from the tin. ‘They’re only the packet sort, I’m afraid, nothing like the ones you make.’
‘Not for me, thanks, I’ve just eaten with Monica and her family.’
‘Yourfamily,’ he corrected her and got a smile in return. ‘How are they all doing?’
‘They’re doing well.’
‘And is Giles enjoying having a sister?’
‘So far, I think he is. He sees himself as her protector by the sounds of it.’
‘Just like Beau. I kind of love that about him: that he wants to keep watch for his little sister. God help the boys she goes out with one day – he’ll likely have left home by then but knowing him, he’ll be keeping a close eye.’
He set the mugs down on the table once the tea was made and she reached for hers. ‘Beau is well liked at the airbase.’
He knew she wasn’t here to talk about work or about Beau, not directly anyway, but what he’d learned along the way with Nadia was that sometimes, she had to settle into a conversation first before she’d say what was really on her mind.
‘He is; it could’ve gone a very different way. But I’m glad it didn’t. And he is very keen on a career with an air ambulance one day; his passion is growing and I’m over the moon about that. I think Brad talking him through some of the stuff he’s involved with as a critical care paramedic may well have ignited a flame of enthusiasm. The way he talks about his next years in education is a lot different to the moaning he’s done in the past; it’s as though he sees the point of it now. It might not last but…’
‘I really hope it does.’
‘I’ve told Lucinda too. In the interests of joint parenting and keeping each other in the loop.’
‘I’d say that’s wise.’
‘She hoped he’d go into business, the same way she has, that he’d be in charge of a team and work his way to the top. He might still do that, but I didn’t want her to dampen any of his enthusiasm for a possible career doing something else if it came out of the blue.’
‘Do you think she’d do that?’
‘I don’t, not really. But I just need to make sure we’re both on the same page when it comes to the kids.’
‘You’ll always be linked by them.’
