Page 31 of Too Broken to Love

“On my eleventh birthday, my mother took me to the grocery store and told me I could pick out anything in the toy section. Frank was on a so-called business trip, so it was just the two of us, and one of the rare times she had money to spend that wasn’t stolen.” And the first birthday since she’d learned that she’d helped steal the money they lived on. “Frank didn’t like my mother working, but when he would disappear for days, sometimes weeks at a time, she’d pick up shifts with a temp agency. She was a nurse.”

“Is that why you became a paramedic? To follow in her footsteps.”

“Partially.” She’d save that story for another time. “Even though I was eleven and probably too old for stuffed animals, I picked out a black fluffy dog because I’d always wanted a pet.” She wiped away another tear. And then another. “And now it’s toast.”

Hudson pressed his thighs between her knees as he wrapped his arms around her. “Shit, Tessa. I’m sorry.”

She let herself bury her head in his shoulder. “I know it’s silly I’m crying over a stuffed animal, but it’s the only thing she’d ever given me that wasn’t tainted by Frank.”

“It’s not silly.” He pulled back and reached into his pocket. “Give me your hand.”

Curiosity stemmed her tears as she held out her palm. She blinked at the sinker he placed in the center.

Hudson touched the smooth metal. “That’s the sinker Pop used on his line the morning I left for bootcamp. I’ve had it in my pocket ever since.”

“That’s…wait. You said you wanted to keep the ring with something that reminded you of Sam.” She closed her palm around the sinker. Warmth spread up her arm. “This is what you were talking about?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, and it’s not silly. And neither is your grief about your stuffed dog. But please don’t tell me you named him Fluffy.”

Her mouth dropped open.

Hudson laughed. “No way. You did name him Fluffy.”

And there he went again, knowing what to say to make her smile. “I’m a math and science girl. Not the creative type. And speaking of Sam’s ring, you should keep it with the sinker. It belongs in your family.”

Something deep and raw, yet beautiful and bittersweet, awakened in Hudson’s face.

“Pop wanted you to have it.” He brushed his thumb along her knuckles, pausing on her finger.

The barely there, deliberate touch tightened her breath. He remained steady and unguarded, as if he could see the parts she kept buried.

Her phone buzzed behind her. She flinched at the sound. Glancing over her shoulder, she read a text from Lia.

Just finished talking to the police. They’re on their way to your office.

Tessa handed the sinker back to Hudson. Pushing away, she slid past him to the tall cabinet in the corner of the room. “The cops will be here in a minute.” She glanced at the broken glass and scattered seashells. “I should get something to clean up this mess.”

Hudson grabbed her wrist and spun her to him. “Forget the glass. Before you let the police in, I need to tell you why I came to your place so early this morning.”

She leaned against the wall, her strung out nerves buzzing with anxiety. “What is it?”

“You’re in Pop’s will.”

Her nerves settled as she placed her hand over her heart and sighed. “I figured Sam might have left me the duplex. He always said I’d have a home there for as long as I wanted.” Not that it mattered now because it was in ruins, but maybe she could eventually rebuild.

“I don’t think it’s the duplex. Malcolm says it’s something sizeable. Enough for somebody to potentially kill for.”

Sizeable? Kill for? Her eyes widened with each word that sank in. “Wait. What?”

Hudson’s shoulders eased as he let out a breath. “Malcolm can’t tell me what Pop left you, but he said I should start calling you an heiress."

“Heiress?” The word sounded foreign as she whispered it. “I’m an heiress?”

“You will be soon, but I’m still calling you a pretty little thief.”

She jutted her chin up. “I’m not a thief.”

“I never said you were in the material sense.” He dipped his chin, his mouth inches from hers. “And once we’re done talking to the cops, you’re coming home with me.”