Iwas on cloud nine when we walked into the hotel later that night, hand in hand.The cooking lesson had been playful and fun, with the accompanying private dinner on the balcony utterly romantic.
I was eager to get my man back to our room to show him some of the lingerie I’d bought during my shopping spree.
“Lucy.”The all-too-familiar male voice had me stopping in my tracks.
I turned in shock to find my mother and father standing in the lobby, both looking almost nervous—an expression I’d never seen on either of their faces.
Hudson immediately pulled me behind his body, his posture taut, ready to protect me from any harm.“You want me to get you up to the room?”he asked over his shoulder, his arm still holding me back protectively as Garrett and Liz stepped forward, ready to intervene.
Hudson held up a hand to halt them, waiting for my response.I knew he’d move heaven and earth to get me away from here if that’s what I wished.
“We just want to talk, just for a few minutes.Please,” my father added, shocking me with his conciliatory tone.
And in that moment, I realized I wasn’t intimidated by them.Instead, I was curious.
“Fine, a few minutes,” I agreed stiffly.“But not here.”I scanned the lobby, knowing we were exposed to anyone who might be taking photos of us.I’d gotten used to it, and usually people were discreet, but this was a private matter.
“I’ll get a space cleared,” Garrett said, already striding toward the front desk.
It was only a moment before he was guiding us toward the smaller of the two bars in the lobby, which was closed due to the late hour.
“You guys can wait outside,” I murmured to Garrett and Liz.I knew my parents would never physically harm me.Psychologically, that was another story, but I had Hudson for that, and my own gumption.
In the relatively short time since I’d left DC, I’d come into my own.I wasn’t the young woman they could disregard or manipulate to meet their own agenda.I was proud of who I was and the life I was building.And with Hudson’s quiet strength beside me, his hand on my thigh for reassurance, I sat that much straighter.
To their credit, they didn’t question Hudson’s presence as we sat around one of the round-top tables, the candle in the center still lit.
Somehow, they both looked older to me—more worn out in a way I hadn’t seen before.With a jolt, I realized that they wouldn’t be around forever.I just wasn’t sure what that meant for any form of a relationship with them.
“We would have called, but you changed your number,” my mother stated.
“I did,” I agreed simply, not about to apologize for it.
“We didn’t think you or Goodie would appreciate us showing up in Green River,” my father added, surprising me with that amount of thoughtfulness.“When we heard about the concert, we thought we’d try for neutral ground.”
“How did you know we were at this hotel?”Hudson demanded.
We’d checked in under an alias, and I knew this breach in security was concerning for him.
“I pulled some strings,” my father answered vaguely.“We have no intention of infringing on you further.We just wanted to have a conversation with our daughter.”He eyed Hudson with an assessing look I was well accustomed to.
My father was good at reading people, and the deference in his tone proved he’d read Hudson correctly.He wasn’t a man to be trifled with, particularly when it came to me.
“It’s late, and Hudson has a show tomorrow,” I prompted, ready to get on with it.
My father looked over at my mother, who sat primly.The only evidence of her discomfort was the deep swallow she took before she regarded me.“We were unaware of how unhappy you were,” she began, her fingers clasped tightly in her lap.“To us, you leaving felt like it came out of nowhere.But we’ve reflected on it, and looking back, we see where we pushed you in certain directions and perhaps ignored many of your interests.”
I leaned back in my chair, floored that they were capable of displaying any form of self-awareness.
“You’re our daughter, our only child.We would very much like to be in your life,” she added.
My mother had never asked me for anything—only demanded.I couldn’t help but be skeptical.Hell, it was prudent to be.
“You can’t blame me, after everything, for finding your motive questionable,” I noted dryly.“You’ve always wanted success and power.It seems to be the only thing that drives you.It came at the cost of my self-esteem, of years of my life lost to a man who treated me like trash.And part of that is on me.I should have put an end to that long before I did.I should have pushed back harder.But I’m your daughter—why did you make me have to?”I demanded, unable to mask the hurt that lanced through my tone as I continued.“And now, here I sit next to one of the most famous artists in the country, and you’re placating me for the first time in my life.”
For a moment, they simply stared in shock, as though frozen by my blunt assertion.
Finally, my father cleared his throat and leaned forward, his arms braced on his thighs.“Politically, that’s true,” he acknowledged.“I’ve always had ambition.But we have no aim to take anything from your new man here or your life.We simply want to be part of it, if you’ll have us.”
