Hudson (Anderson Billionaires #4) - Melody Anne Page 0,94

began lining them up on the counter. She started opening them, found the crab puffs, and snagged one. “Delicious.”

“Are you going to save me any this time?” he asked with a laugh as she found the sweet and sour sauce, took another puff, and dipped it.

“Maybe one or two if you’re lucky. They’re my favorite.” Hudson set a plate in front of her as he grabbed spoons and joined her. He took a healthy scoop of chow mein before he grabbed another box and smiled as he opened it.

“I know, that’s why I got two large boxes this time,” he said with a wink, putting a few puffs on his plate while Daisy giggled.

“It’s a dang good thing I have a high metabolism; as much as I love food I wouldn’t be able to fit through doorways if I didn’t. Gramps warns me that as I get older it might slow. I’m dreading the day.”

She filled her plate with a bit from all of the boxes before she smothered it all in soy sauce, sweet and sour sauce, and hot mustard with a good helping of sesame seeds to top it off.

“I say that I’d rather live happy doing what I want than follow a whole lot of rules and being miserable,” Hudson told her while diving into the next box of food. “I’ve met people who’ve been on a strict diet for most of their lives. They might be healthy, but they’re miserable since they’ve never had a Hostess cupcake.”

Daisy laughed. “I have to agree with that. Life needs to be lived to the fullest,” she said.

“I’m surprised to hear you say that since you’re such a justice warrior,” he told her.

“I can believe in the common good and in preserving the past and still love to live for the moment,” she told him. She bit into another puff and a drip of sweet and sour lingered on her chin. He leaned over, licked her lips, and handed her a napkin, making her giggle.

“I don’t know why people want to focus on the past. I think it’s a waste of time,” Hudson said. He was reaching in for a second helping of everything. It was quite impressive how they could polish off so much Chinese food together.

“It’s not so much that people want to focus on the past, it’s more about wanting to remember who they are and where they come from,” Daisy told him. She stopped eating as she looked at him. “What happened? Something seems off with you right now.”

He looked as if he didn’t want to talk about it and she wondered if she needed to push him. But before that happened he sighed and took another bite of food. She continued to eat, giving him time to gather his thoughts. She didn’t have to wait long.

“My uncle wants to take my brothers and me on a trip this Friday and I don’t want to go,” he finally said.

“I thought you loved spending time with your family.”

“I normally do, but this is a trip back to the past.”

“I’m lost. You’ll have to explain,” Daisy told him.

Hudson sighed. “He wants to go to this camp that we used to go to when I was a kid and bring up things that are long over and buried. I don’t see a point in it.”

“What does he want to talk about?”

“I don’t know how to explain it,” he said as if he was getting frustrated. He stood up and began cleaning up some of their dishes. Daisy waited for him to go on. She’d lost her appetite, but kept nibbling as she sipped her wine.

“We used to go camping when I was a kid. It was cheap, and my mother loved it. But when my dad was around it wasn’t a fun experience at all. They always fought, but my mother wasn’t causing it. She could walk the wrong way and my father would yell at her. If she didn’t cook the food right, he’d cut her down. The last time I remember camping, she said the wrong thing and set the man off; he backhanded her, sending her flying to the ground. I was only five at the time, but I remember it as clear as day. I yelled at him, screaming that he couldn’t hit my mom. He laughed at me before leaning down and telling me that he was a big man and he could do whatever the hell he wanted. He told me if I