The Dangerfields

Chapter Sixteen

Rick. Of all people in Leocia that could possibly be Hudson's uncle, it had to be Rick. The man who has somehow shown up everywhere we are, flirting with my mother nearly nonstop. It's starting to really bother me.

"Oh, you guys know each other?" Emma says in surprise, glancing between Ryder, Rick, Mom and I.

"Unfortunately," I mutter.

"Yeah, this beauty is my dinner date," Rick says confidently, wrapping an arm around Mom's waist.

She stiffens, grabs his hand, and rips it off her waist. She moves to stand next to me on the other side of the kitchen, and says, "Rick, I've declined all invitations to date that you've offered. I'm not interested, and I'm not going to be anytime soon. Please stop flirting with me, or I will resort to drastic measures."

"I'm hurt, baby. By your words, your fire, and your hands," Rick says, rubbing his shoulder, then his cheek, the places where Mom has punished him before.

She glares at him, saying nothing.

Rick grins, then winks at her. "I'm just teasing you darlin', I know you don't want a relationship. But if you change your mind... You know where to find me."

Mom rolls her eyes and mumbles, "That will never happen."

"Rick!" Emma exclaims, "I know you're a bachelor, but if a woman isn't interested, she's not going to be interested five minutes later. You need to give women some room to breathe, or you'll never get a date."

Rick seems a little embarrassed, after being shamed and lectured to by his sister. "You've said that before. You don't need to repeat it," he grumbles with flushed cheeks.

Emma raises an eyebrow. "Oh, I think I do. If you listened to me the first time, I wouldn't have to repeat myself, but you don't, so I repeat myself."

Hudson claps Rick on the shoulder. "She got you there," he says with a small grin.

Rick just sighs in defeat.

There is a slight tension in the air, but it disappears for the most part when Emma instructs Hudson to take over stirring the gravy for me.

"No, I've got it," I tell him, "I want to help with something."

Emma smiles. "Okay, if you insist. Thank you, Willow. Hudson, would you strain the potatoes?"

He does, and a few minutes later, dinner is served. Hudson's dad, Shaun, walks in just as Emma pushes my family and I towards the food. We start dishing up as Emma walks over to Shaun and kisses him on the cheek.

"Rick is here, and the Dangerfields are staying with us for a while, to stay off the streets and away from the government," Emma tells him nonchalantly, as though this is an everyday occurrence.

Shaun looks over at us, smiles, and nods to his wife. He doesn't seem shocked or appalled by the thought of wanted criminals staying in his house. I guess he has faith that we didn't commit any crimes. I've always liked Shaun, but this realization of him has me even more thankful that I get to know him and his family.

Well, maybe not so thankful for Rick. He's just a pain.

But thankful for Shaun and Emma and Hudson, for being amazing human beings.

I surprise myself by relaxing. I didn't notice how tense I was before, or how tense I've been for the past week, but now that I've completely relaxed, I feel free. It is a feeling that makes me rejoice, and I grin brightly.

As though he wants to make sure I'm real, Hudson grabs my hand. I look over at him and squeeze his hand slightly, laughing a little. "It's real," I whisper, "I'm here. It wasn't goodbye forever."