Falling for the Millionaire(33)

When the meal was over, everyone pitched in to clear the table. Then the  women finished the cleanup in the kitchen while the men took advantage  of the remaining minutes of daylight to take the kids outside. The  children played tag and hide-and-seek while Hudson joined Will and Rob  on the front-porch rockers.

Will gave Hudson a pointed look. "You're H. P. Conrick's son, aren't you?"

Hudson stared back and wondered how Will had made the connection. "I am. Do you know my father?"

"I've never met him, but Rob and I have done some contract work for the  food-processing division of Conrick Industries. We have our own trucking  business."

Hudson nodded and wondered what shoe would drop next. "That's great."

Will eyed Hudson. "I'm going to be honest. I don't want to alienate you,  but I have to look out for my sister. I hope you're not toying with her  affections. Just because you have a lot of money doesn't mean you can  cozy up to her, then toss her aside when she no longer fascinates you.  She's had enough heartache in her life."

Hudson sat back in the rocker. Wow! How could he respond to that? After  his experience with Nicole, he'd developed a reputation as a  love-'em-and-leave-'em kind of guy. Had that history now followed him to  this tiny town? Surely not. But Ian had warned him in a similar way.  Melody had a lot of protectors. "I care a lot about your sister. She's  very important to me. I don't know why you think I don't have her best  interests at heart."         

     



 

Will tapped his steepled fingers against each other as he stared at  Hudson. "Melody would be mortified if she knew I was telling you this,  but I won't stand by and see her hurt or used."

Hudson shook his head. "What makes you think I'm out to hurt her?"

"Experience."

"Care to explain?" Had these guys run into one of his old  girlfriends-women who'd probably only pretended to be hurt? All they'd  ever wanted was to have the connections he provided or the money he  could spend on them.

"Sure. This town's made up of mostly poor and middle-class families, but  there are a few very wealthy families who own most of the businesses.  When Melody was in high school, a small group of these rich girls  befriended her. She hung around with them, and they hooked her up with  one of the guys in their group-one of the most popular football players.  He invited her to a party. I'd never seen her so excited. She thought  she was ‘walking in high cotton,' as they say around here."

"And this guy did something to hurt her?" Hudson's stomach churned at the thought.

"Not just the guy, but the whole group. They'd invited her there to make  fun of her, laughing at her clothes, her hair or anything they could  tease her about." Will leaned forward, his gaze boring into Hudson.  "They tore her clothes, threw her in the pool and took her shoes, then  left her to walk home."

Hudson's heart hurt for Melody. "Were those kids punished for what they did?"

Will let out a disgusted laugh. "Are you kidding me? Their daddies  protected them from any kind of repercussions. There are two kinds of  justice in this town. One for the rich and another for the poor."

Hudson thought back to his childhood. Had he ever been mean to someone  because they were poor? Probably not, because his circle of  acquaintances didn't include them. He'd lived in a bubble of wealth. His  time in the army had changed that perspective, but still, he didn't  know how it felt to be without or living paycheck to paycheck. No wonder  Melody had told him when they'd first met that she didn't believe she  fit into his world. How could he show her that she did? "I'm sorry  Melody had to go through that, but I don't plan to hurt her."

"That's what you say."

"What do you want me to do? Quit dating her right now? Won't that do exactly what you're warning me of-hurt her?"

"I suppose it would." Will broke eye contact as he shrugged. "I've  probably spoken out of turn, but I love my sister and don't want to see  her unhappy."

I love her, too. The words filled his mind, but he didn't say them.  Melody should hear them first. "You know there are no guarantees in any  relationship, but I promise I'll do my best to make her happy." Hudson  waited to speak further until Will looked up. "At this point, Melody's  the more reluctant participant in our relationship. Now I understand a  little better why."

With a skeptical expression still on his face, Will stared back at Hudson. "Good."

Hudson wondered if he should tell Melody how he felt, or would he be  pushing their relationship beyond where she wanted it to go?





Chapter Twelve

As they neared her house, Melody wondered why Hudson had been so silent  during the drive. After meeting her family, did he have second thoughts  about their budding relationship? He'd appeared to enjoy himself and had  even invited her brothers to go hunting on his property. Did she dare  ask?

"Why so quiet tonight?"

"I've got a lot on my mind." He looked straight ahead. "We're waiting on  the inspectors to give us a certificate of occupancy. I hope there are  no problems that delay the approval."

"Do you think there could be?"

He shook his head. "You never know what inspectors will find. You think  you've got everything in order, and they come up with some little thing  that's not right."

"Could that interfere with the grand-opening celebration?"

"I don't think so. We have a little leeway to fix any problems. I just  don't want there to be any." Hudson gave her a halfhearted smile. "I'm  glad Adam's excited to have the skydivers as part of the celebration."

"He did seem pretty enthusiastic." Melody had not shared Adam's delight  when Hudson had mentioned the subject, but she'd resigned herself to  that part of the program because she wanted to make him happy. "Is that  all that's bothering you?"

"Should there be something else?"

She shrugged. "I was a little worried that you might not like my family."

"What gave you that idea?"

"I don't know. I thought you might see them as poor country bumpkins compared to your sophisticated family."

"I can't believe you said that. What happened to the woman who doesn't care about people's wealth or lack of it?"

"I still don't care about it, but-"         

     



 

"But you think I do?"

"No." Lowering her head, Melody pressed her fingers to her forehead as  she let out a big sigh. "I was wrong to say that, but I've been on pins  and needles all day, worrying about what you'd think. Forgive me?"

"We're almost to your house. When we get there, we've got some things to discuss."

"Okay." She didn't miss the anger simmering beneath the surface of  Hudson's statement, and he'd never said he forgave her. Why had she  opened her mouth? Her own insecurities had brought her to this point.  Could she undo the mess she'd made?

When they arrived at her house, she hurried to unlock the door. Hudson  remained silent as he followed her into the living room and sat on the  couch. Her heart raced as she sat down beside him. Misery scrambled her  thoughts as she stared at the picture on the opposite wall. Finally, she  looked his way and read his unhappy expression. "All I can say is I'm  sorry."

"I'm sorry, too."

Hudson's response clawed at her heart. She blinked hard to keep from crying. "I don't want you to be angry with me."

"I'm not angry. I'm hurt and disappointed."

"What can I say to make things better?"

He turned to her. "I don't know. You were worried from the beginning  that we didn't fit into each other's worlds. I thought we'd gotten  beyond that."

Melody tried to squash her heartache. "I want to tell you something, but I'm afraid it will make you even angrier."

"We might as well get everything out in the open. Let me have it."

"It has to do with Elizabeth and Julie." Melody swallowed hard.

Hudson frowned. "What about them?"

Melody took a deep breath, then told him what she'd overheard the night  of his dad's birthday party. As she ended the story, she lowered her  gaze. "So I let their words translate into worry about the way you'd  look at my family. I know you better than that, so I have no excuse for  what I said."

In a flash Hudson gathered her in his arms and held her tight. "Now I'm  the one who's sorry. Elizabeth said much the same to me that night, but I  had no idea you had accidentally heard her accusations, too."

Not expecting his reaction, Melody drank in the warmth of his embrace. "Thank you for understanding."

He held her at arm's length. "Seems we both have overprotective siblings."

Melody knit her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

Hudson repeated the conversation he'd had with Will.

Melody covered her face with her hands. "How could he say those things to you? I'm so sorry."