He’d smoothly avoided calling the guy his stepson, which I didn’t comment on. “No. In fact, since I’m not going to take part in the production like Ruth had planned, how about you tell them that considering Jae would make me very happy.” I quickly added, “Make it clear that I don’t want them to hire him if he’s not perfect for whatever part they might have, but you know…” I shrugged one shoulder.
He smiled hesitantly, as if to make sure I meant it, then nodded, clearly relieved. “Okay. Okay, I can do that.”
“River looked him up a few days ago,” I confessed. “He’s been in a couple of shows now, right? Guest starring?”
“Yeah and he was on Criminal Minds as a kid. He had a small role in a B-movie back then, too. So far all he’s gotten are those guest roles and a couple of teen movies, horror and high school comedy stuff. Nothing major.”
Something about his tone made me make an educated guess. “He wants serious roles?”
“Yeah.” He lowered his gaze to his hands that rolled his mug around. “Sometimes…” I let the silence hang until he broke it again. “I’m not always sure if acting was his dream or his dad’s, you know?”
“Ah…” I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know Jae and I barely knew Hudson. “Well, he’s an adult now, so I suppose he’s able to make his own decisions, right?”
“Right. He’s twenty-one this year.”
“Theo mentioned you were married to his mom, but that he never lived with you guys?”
“Yeah. His father was the one who stayed with him in LA when my ex divorced him. She got a better job offer, first in San Jose, and then in Chicago when Jae was seven. It was a hard move for her, but she’d been working since he was a baby and her ex-husband had been the homemaker and then the stage dad.”
“And then you and her met?” I prompted when he got lost staring at the dregs in his mug.
“Right. A couple of years later. We dated for a year and got married when Jae was…twelve-ish. He was acting more then, mostly stage and commercials, and obviously going to school like any kid. Between all that…” He sighed. “We saw him on holidays sometimes and he came with us on our annual trips every other year or so until he was seventeen.”
He didn’t elaborate, and before I could ask, Ben appeared from my office.
“Hey, I’m all ready when you are,” he said almost timidly, clearly not wanting to interrupt.
“Oh, that’s okay. I was going to go anyway,” Hudson blurted out and got up. “I’ll figure it out, Lake, and email you later?”
“Absolutely. Thanks for everything, again.” I got up and started to clear the table.
Once Hudson was gone, Ben cleared his throat awkwardly. “I didn’t interrupt, did I?”
In the name of honesty, I glanced at him. “You did, but it wasn’t important. And it wasn’t anything he wanted to really talk about, so you gave him an out he clearly needed.”
Ben nodded. “Oh, okay then.”
My phone rang.
“What’s wrong?” Ben asked, seeing my expression.
“I don’t really want to answer, but I have to.” I walked to the big window in the living room. “Hey, Anderson. Thanks for getting back to me.”
Chapter 22
Theo
The new horses and ponies seemed like they’d be pretty easy to train once I figured out what made them tick. They were all underweight and skittish, but otherwise I didn’t see much wrong with them. They’d become someone else’s trash, and we’d turn them back into the treasures they really were.
Barry stood chuckling at something when I went back into the stable.
“What’s up?”
“This pony.” He gestured at the little almost-white creature inside the stall. “He’s pissed at being inside.”
“What’s he doing?” I peered in, too.
“Nothing alarming, just keeps kicking the door every time I move away from it. Watch.”
