It was so like him to take the high road and also to be so passionate and unwavering about it. He would fix this, he would be the one to learn the self control of Buddha, he would be the one to keep her safe and happy. She admired all of that about him.
Until she didn’t hear from him for months. Her texts got a heart emoji and her phone calls a quick,I’m almost theretext back. She needed him, not Superman. She hated the distance between them and she was an emotional mess. She lost weight, was often sick to her stomach, and her mom fretted over her every time she went home for a weekend.
When she realized she was expecting it was a shock but at least it explained her nausea and out or control emotions. She was in a panic and at school in Boulder when the test she took as more of a curiosity came back positive.
Her mom drove the three hours to be with her, let her cry and try to talk it out. She had no idea what she should do. How to go forward with her life. She had her CNA and a decent job at a nursing home, but she couldn’t provide for herself and her baby and somehow get through the RN program.
Were all her dreams going to disappear? Her mom would help all she could but had little extra money running the ice cream shop.
At least she had Hudson. Kelsey had to trust in him. He would come for her. No matter how it changed their life plan. This past few months had been weird with the self-control passion and never hearing from him, but she’d never doubted he loved her and she know how deeply honorable and good he was.
Her Brave would somehow make it all right. She always teased him about his charmed life and his magical powers, but he’d always used both to take care of her, protect her from snakes and anything else that threatened her, and treat her like a princess. With Hudson by her side she could make it through school and being a twenty-year old Mom. Of course he’d come home and marry her. There was no other option. Even with him not calling or texting for months she knew he still loved her and a Delta man would never ditch her or their child.
She tried to call a few times, finally some girl had answered his phone, sounding very annoyed. She said he wasn’t there and she didn’t know when he’d be back. That was confusing and hurtful. He’d claimed he wasn’t calling her to become the strong man she deserved, but some girl had his phone?
Shortly after he started his extreme sports career and was getting more followers and attention she’d seen a picture of him on social media kissing a beautiful redhead. Of course it had made her sick and she’d called him immediately. He’d promised the girl had planted one on him and he’d pushed her away but someone had captured the brief contact on camera and posted it. He begged her to trust him and not to look at social media as things were often skewed, only a piece of the real story.
She’d trusted him. She hadn’t looked.
When she heard that girl’s voice on his phone she knew she had to look. She let herself Google him. It was bad. Lots of women cheering on his every stunt and even more women hugging him in lots of different locations throughout the world.
Her heart broke in two, but even then she couldn’t give up on Hudson. She sent him an abrupt text that she was pregnant and she needed to see him as soon as he could break away from his busy schedule.
He never texted back. And she hadn’t seen him since. It was still shocking sometimes that her Brave had ditched her. She’d wake up in the night thinking they were still together then it would hit her like a sledgehammer.
She thought she’d been heartbroken initially. It had grown into a hollow ball in her chest, filled alternately with pain, confusion, sadness, and anger. Four long, lonely, heartbreaking years. But she had Mo. And that was all that mattered. Their son kept her laughing and happy. It was Hudson who was missing out and she had to harden her heart and not care about him.
“Mama too tight,” Mo whispered loudly.
A few people turned to smile at her three and a half year old son. He was a crowd favorite wherever he went. Big surprise that he was irresistible just like his father. She was sometimes stunned that no one besides Hudson’s sweetheart of a mom, Myrna, had ever directly confronted her about who Mo’s father was. Before Kelsey would answer Myrna’s inquiry, she’d asked if Hudson had claimed he was Mo’s dad. Myrna admitted that no he hadn’t. Her heart broke a little more and she lied to the angelic woman. She wasn’t proud of it, but if Hudson didn’t want her and Mo and if he wouldn’t come to her on his own, she refused to use his mom to force him into being responsible. She didn’t want to be his responsibility. She wanted his love. For her and Mo.
Myrna was adorable with Mo. Her eyes lit up whenever she saw him and she took every opportunity to talk to him and give him hugs. Kelsey had found gifts and cash hidden in her piece of junk car on various occasions. Myrna either still believed Hudson was the dad, or she was just that sweet and kind. The rest of the Delta family was just as friendly and incredible with her and Mo. She had no clue what they believed about Mo’s father but she wasn’t going to be the one to tell them the truth. That was on the famous, death-defying Hudson Delta.
“Sorry.” She relaxed her hold slightly.
The bridesmaids were sauntering down the aisle. Delta women and future in-laws, all looking beautiful in a fitted, pale blue, silky dress.
She shouldn’t have done it, but she let her gaze slide to Hudson while everyone else focused on the line of women walking up the aisle.
He must’ve sensed her stare as his blue eyes swiveled to hers, and stopped. His eyes filled with warmth and longing. Kelsey couldn’t catch a full breath as she was caught in his gaze like a gazelle being focused in on by a lion. The lion seemed playful and powerful and enticing, but in reality he was deathly and dangerous and sneaky. Hudson could rip her apart faster than any lion with a gazelle, but he didn’t seem to want to track her down. He’d never come after her in the four years since she’d told him she was pregnant. If someone would’ve claimed her beloved, fun-loving, yet honorable Brave, the indisputable love of her life, would ditch her and his own son four years ago she would’ve ranted, raved, and probably hit something.
But here she was. A single mom deserted by the man she’d loved and thought loved her back.
The wedding march started and Kelsey stood, cradling Mo in her arms. He was almost forty pounds and off the charts in height for his age. He would be tall and strong like his daddy. Her son would definitely prefer standing on his own, but she could hold him for long enough to prevent him from running to the bride for hugs, begging the groom to “throw him”, and effectively interrupting the gorgeous ceremony. She knew Shelly and Thor wouldn’t care, but Kelsey wasn’t going to mess up these beautiful and kind people’s day. No matter what.
The problem was with Hudson looking at her with such longing, she wanted to hand Mo to her mom, push the happy couple out of the way, and fling herself into Hudson’s arms. It had been so long since she’d felt the excitement and safety of those strong arms.
Hudson’s gaze shifted to their son. His face tightened, his brow furrowed, and his blue eyes filled with … concern. Anger made her neck get hot and any thoughts of forgiveness and reconnecting disappeared. How dare he look at their son like that? Like he was worried about him. If he was worried about him he should’ve gotten his backside home and stepped up to take care of him. She was doing just fine on her own. Mo was incredible and everybody loved him. Everybody except the one person who should. What a jerk.
Obviously the Hudson she’d known and loved no longer existed. The Hudson standing in that line of perfect men and women didn’t deserve his spot there or his surname. The Delta family were honorable and incredible and she admired them as much as any family she knew. She wanted to scream to the entire crowd of family and friends that Mo was Hudson’s son and the selfish playboy had deserted his own flesh and blood to pursue his famous extreme-sports career and have a different woman in his arms every night. Her stomach rolled at the thought of him with other women, but she couldn’t deny the truth.
Pastor Sam asked everyone to be seated. Kelsey was seeing red and hoped she could get through today without making a scene. She cradled Mo close, love and protection for her boy surging through her. She’d make sure Mo never knew who his traitor of a father was. She’d raise her son up right and give him all the love of a mother and a father. Maybe someday she’d meet someone she could love and who could be an example to Mo and adore him, his cute antics, his innocent and fun personality, like his own father should have.
She made the mistake of glancing at Hudson again. His eyes were focused on her. She glared at him as fiercely as she could before focusing her attention on the bride and groom. How dare he not love Mo? She guessed the concerned look in his eyes made sense, he was worried about how his son was doing. But he had no right to worry when he’d been the one to desert them. Besides, his blue eyes should sparkle when he saw their boy. He should be the one making a scene, pushing people out of the way to get to her and their son and make up for all the time he had missed. Her heart was pounding so hard she feared her mom would notice and every moment her anger multiplied.
Kelsey, and most people who knew her, would claim she was even-tempered and wouldn’t squash a spider. If Hudson Delta dared approach her tonight … Ooh! She’d do all she could to squash him emotionally and maybe she’d even punch him. Yeah that sounded good. She’d slug him in those perfect abs that he seemed to like to show off to the world. She’d hit him hard and try to hurt him. It wouldn’t make up for the pain and neglect of the past four years and he deserved much worse, but what else could she do? Write a negative review on his YouTube page? Tell beautiful women to steer clear of him? She wondered how many other children he’d fathered around the world. She wanted to puke. She could do nothing to warn other women away. Hudson was irresistible and none of his adoring female fans would listen to her. Nothing she did would matter to him, or hurt him like he’d hurt her.
She prayed inside to somehow let the pain and anger go. She’d been down that road far too many times and it only made her bitter and not able to be the fun and involved Mom, and the example of God’s love she wanted to be for Mo. But couldn’t she just hit Hudson? Just once? It sounded fabulous, but heaven obviously wouldn’t approve.