“The museum was my first major fund-raiser.”
“Well, you’ve set a high standard. I look forward to attending any future events you plan.”
She opened her mouth to speak but then closed it again.
Hudson didn’t miss a beat. “Out with it.”
“The Harris Group offered me a position planning fund-raising events full-time.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Impressive. That’s a prestigious organization.” He spun her away and then yanked her back against him. “Are you taking the job?”
She shook her head. “I turned it down. But Mr. Harris said the door was always open if I changed my mind.”
“And have you?”
“No. Although it was certainly a tempting offer.”
“I can’t just leave the foundation. I made a commitment and people are expecting me to see it through.”
“Let me ask you this—what do you want?”
She chewed on her bottom lip as she considered her reply. “I love my work at Better Start. The people I’ve met there are amazing, so committed to helping kids. But I also loved putting together that event. All of it, even the aggravating details. With this new position I could still raise money for the foundation, but I could also help so many other worthy causes.” She paused and her voice grew softer. “For the first time in my life I feel like I’ve found something I’m actually good at. Me. Not my family’s name or money. Just me.”
“It’s your life, Allie.” He tugged her closer, curling his fingers around her hand and pressing it against his chest. “You should do what makes you happy.”
She leaned into him, not entirely sure they were still talking about her job. They swayed gently from side to side as Sinatra crooned about a summer of young love. The lyrics conjured images of sandy beaches, entwined hands, and lingering kisses. But just like the song said, all summers come to an end, and so had their dance.
“Hmm, the summer wind.” Hudson pressed his cheek to her temple and his warm breath fanned over her ear. A delicious tingle swept over her skin and she shivered. “Cold?”
“A little.” It wasn’t a total lie.
He ran his hands up and down her arms, soothing the goose bumps that had formed. “Sit. I’ll get a fire going.”
Allie sat on the rug in front of the fireplace while Hudson stacked several birch logs on the grate. “So what about you?” she asked, drawing her knees up and leaning back against the couch. “Is running an empire what you’ve always dreamed of?”
“Not exactly. But then again, dreams change.” He lit the starters and then closed the screen, staring into the stone fireplace as the white bark crackled with flames.
The question was meant as nothing more than a lighthearted inquiry, and his sobering reply surprised her. She waited for an explanation, but none was offered.
“How so?” she finally prompted.
He came to sit with her, sliding in behind her and pulling her between his legs. “Well for starters, I never saw myself going to college, much less owning my own company.”
She wondered what had altered Hudson’s path in life. Obviously something had since he was now one of the most powerful businessmen in the country. But during the summer they spent together, he never showed any interest in college whatsoever.
“What changed your mind?”
Hudson picked up Allie’s hand and fit it into his palm. “It was either that or continue to work on the docks. Driving that damn boat and running with the same old crowd was obviously getting me nowhere.”
Allie turned in his arms, not quite sure how to ask the obvious. “How did you—”
“Afford it? Loans, work study. I took whatever jobs they gave me, but usually I was stuck washing dishes in the cafeteria. On the weekends I hustled as a barback.” He cracked a slight grin. “More dishes.”
She settled back against his chest. “Doesn’t sound like you had much time for fun.”
Hudson frowned. “I wasn’t there to have fun.”
The flames shot higher as the logs caught. She watched them and couldn’t help but think about her own college experience. Being invited to the right parties had been almost as important as getting into the right classes, maybe more. And paying tuition had certainly never been a concern. Hudson had gone to college to work hard and change his life. All on his own.
“What made you decide to take on Wall Street?” she asked.
“I landed an internship and discovered it was a place where I excelled. Moving in on vulnerable companies, cultivating serious ins with private resources, leveraging billions of dollars or killing deals at the drop of a hat. . . after a while, it all became a game. A sport, really.
“Your very own version of Monopoly?”
He chuckled. “I suppose. And I liked the power and control that came with having money.” His arms tightened around her. “Although none of it could make up for what I’d lost.”
“You mean your mom?” she asked softly.
“And Nick.”
“Nick?”
Hudson nodded. “They took him away from me.”
What? Allie sat up. “Took him? Who took him?”
“The county.” His words were barely audible. “Not five minutes after telling us our mom was dead.”
Hudson closed his eyes and his brow creased as if he were in pain. He was quiet for several moments and she began to wonder if he would continue. But then his eyes opened and his body tensed. He turned his head to look at her and she saw unthinkable horror reflected in his eyes. Allie held her breath.
It was all coming back to him.
“When the doctor came out, he had the sheriff with him and some lady from DCFS. He told us he was sorry, that they’d done all they could.”
“Nick must have been so scared,” she said, her voice mirroring his.
“I’ll never forget the look in his eyes when he realized what was happening. He started screaming, begging me not to let them take him. Christ, I think the whole damn hospital heard him.”
Her heart clenched as she imagined a frightened young boy losing his mom and then being taken from his home. “Did they give you a reason?”
“They gave me a load of crap about how it was all in his best interest.” He ran his hand through his hair and exhaled a harsh breath. “Yeah, fucking best interest.”
“Next thing I knew the sheriff was trying to take Nick out to the car, but his hand locked down in a vise grip on my arm. The more the sheriff pulled, the harder Nicky held on. He kept screaming for me to do something but the sheriff was already unsnapping his cuffs like he was expecting trouble from me.” Hudson’s face grew pale, and when he spoke, the sound was more gravel than voice. “There wasn’t a damn thing I could do except pry his fingers off my arm.”
A log in the fireplace shifted and a spark popped. Tears burned Allie’s eyes as she watched Hudson stare blindly at the flames in front of him. His pain and anguish was palpable. In the end, he had been the one to tear his brother away. He had been the one to break his heart. She couldn’t even begin to imagine how hard that must have been for him.
Silence stretched between them. Once again Allie found herself wondering what had become of Hudson’s father. She’d asked about him when they were teens, but Hudson’s terse reply had made it clear his father wasn’t a subject he wished to discuss. And as much as she wanted him to open up to her, she refrained from asking. Instead she merely held his hand and waited, letting Hudson reveal what he wanted at his own pace.
Long moments passed before he cleared his throat and continued. “After that Nick was dumped into foster home after foster home. He’d call, beg me to come and get him, threaten to run away. I tried to get him released into my custody, but who would give a young kid to a fuckup?”
“You were just a kid yourself, Hudson.”
He gave her a sideways glance. “I should have had my shit together. My brother needed me, but I didn’t have the means to get him out of that defective system.” He sighed, and in a quiet voice added, “The way things played out that summer gave me a cold, hard look at my life. Everything I’ve done since then has been driven by my need to never feel that helpless again.”