No Refunds No Exchanges: A Hudson Family Series- Book 4- Matt and Ali

by Chontelle Brison

  Taylor lunged over the table for the phone but Synclair back away and moved out of reach. Taylor, who only made it over half of the large family table, scooted backward on her stomach until her feet touched the ground and glared at her friend.

  “How do you know it’s a South American area code?” Taylor grumbled as she strained the pajama shorts that had ridden up her legs exposing a very, ample behind. I would lie and say I hadn’t looked, but I was a guy and had definitely taken a second to appreciate her full bottom.

  “You don’t think I remember the area code from when you showed up at the shelter, and we were bombarded with calls from Gabriel Juarez Castillo!” Synclair shrieked as Taylor gasped and put a hand over her heart like she was in pain. Stepping up behind Taylor I put my hands on her shoulders to comfort her and glared at Synclair when I realized that Taylor was shaking. Only my frown turned to concern when I saw the hand that was fisting Taylor’s phone was trembling as well.

  “Reece!” I shouted as I wasn’t sure what was happening but if anyone could talk Synclair around it was my brother.

  Reece came racing into the kitchen in his sweats and no shirt. Luckily, he sized up the looks going back and forth from each woman and slowly approached Synclair from the left while I kept my hands gripped on Taylor, hoping she didn’t leap at my pregnant, soon to be, sister.

  “Hey sweetie, want to tell me what’s going on?” Reece asked his fiancé in a calm, soothing tone.

  “She got a call from South America, and she won’t tell me who it’s from,” Synclair shot accusatory daggers at Taylor who shot her back an equally hostile look.

  Reece recovered from his moment of total confusion quickly and shot me a glance that told me he had no clue what was happening.

  “That’s an issue because…” I trailed off hoping one of the pissed off women would clue Reece and me in.

  I felt Taylor’s shoulders slump, and I took the bulk of her weight as she leaned back against me.

  “South America is where my ex-husband Gabriel lives, he doesn’t know where I am because I write under a different name and use a different picture for my books. I left him six years ago, and he’s held a grudge against me for leaving. He’s also pissed at Synclair for helping me and….” Taylor muttered the last part so quietly that I couldn’t hear what she had said.

  “And?” Reece asked looking at Synclair. After giving Taylor another angry stare, Synclair let out an exasperated sigh and turned toward Reece with a false look of calm.

  “I may have taken a shot or two at his head when he came after Taylor a few years back,” she shrugged.

  Taylor snorted, and Reece’s eyes immediately snapped to the woman I was holding up.

  “Out with it, Taylor,” Reece ordered as Synclair shook her head in an outright plea for Taylor’s silence.

  “She just shot off a few warning shots, right?” I chimed in, hoping that Synclair hadn’t actually tried to take on a drug lord.

  Taylor mumbled under breath and when I squeezed her shoulder she suddenly blurted, “Only if you call shooting off a man’s middle finger, a warning shot,” Talyor shouted then slapped a hand over her mouth when she realized what she’d just said.

  Synclair’s mouth dropped open in shock, and when she rounded the table to lunge at Taylor, I was glad Reece caught her mid-flight and swept her up into his arms.

  “Dammit Hudson, I can walk…I am not helpless!” Synclair struggled against Reece’s hold, but I knew there was no way he was letting her down. He loved that woman with everything he had, and he spent more time worrying about the feisty, midget than he did anything else.

  “Talyor, we’ll talk tomorrow get some rest. Synclair is going to fill me in on all the details about your ex-husband. Don’t even think of leaving this house, I’ve set the alarms on the doors, so if you even open a window an inch, it will sound like the Winchester Abbey in here,” Reece warned a grim-faced Taylor.

  “Dammit Syn, you freaking nark!” Taylor shouted as she went to go after my brother and Synclair. I lifted her off the ground and tried not to grin as she kicked her feet back and forth in protest.

  “Let me down Reece, I just want to smack her a little, just a little, please!” Synclair yelled as Reece stomped down the hall towards their suite.

  Taylor sighed and went limp. Feeling that it was safe to let her down, I slowly removed my arm from around her waist and handed her the phone that Synclair had dropped.

  “She only wants to help, you know,” I told her when she finally turned toward me to grab her phone from my hand. “Synclair hasn’t picked up a ton of friends in life, but when she cares…she cares all the way.”

  That got a smirk from the red-faced beauty. “You really do get her, don’t you?” Taylor stated more than asked.

  Rubbing a hand over my face, I looked at Taylor hoping she could see how sincere I was, “I love Synclair like a sister, she’s had a rough go of it. I’d do anything for her Taylor,” I used my fingers to raise her small face so that she had to look at me when I spoke next, “that extends to the people Synclair loves too, Taylor. That means that if Synclair considers you one of hers; then the Hudson’s will consider you one of ours and we take care of our own Taylor.” I wiped the single tear that slipped down her cheek and didn’t try stop her when she stepped away.

  “Does that offer extend to the people I love too?” Her small voice whispered and for the first time, I realized that while Taylor was a tough bad ass, woman, she had a heart as soft as Synclair’s.

  “Of course,” I promised, happy to see her sarcastic grin return to her face.

  “Great, cause I love Alison, Matt. So, I hope you take care of her as one of your own,” she said smiling as she practically skipped out of the kitchen, leaving me standing alone trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.

  Ali

  “The guy is mental, a serious nutcase…absolutely batshit crazy,” I said aloud to no one in particular. After months of random text messages, Matt Wolf who I know is actually Matt Hudson, I have pointedly ignored after our first exchange.

  It went like this.

  Unknown: Good Morning Alison Collins, anyone tie you to a bed and ditch you lately?

  Me: Nope that only happens in the movies.

  Unknown: Well, Cinderella, do we get a happy ending…wink…wink

  Me: Sorry, I don’t believe in fairy tales.

  Unknown: Pity, because I’d love to whisk you away to my castle for a few centuries

  Me: Wow, as amusing as this has been…not…I won’t ask you how you got my number…stalker. Ahem. I just need my notes back.

  Unknown: What are your plans for Halloween?

  Me: Okay, that’s random. No plans, I’m a little old for dress up.

  Unknown: Not true, the next time I have you alone you wear the cuffs,and I’ll play the horny intruder!

  Me: Not happening.

  Unknown: Let’s make a deal.

  Me: What kind of deal?

  Unknown: I’ll return your notes if you spend Halloween with me.

  Me: Halloween is not for months! Surely, there’s some airheaded woman out there who’s more than willing to hang off your trick or treat bag and stroke your…ego.

  Unknown: Ouch, babe. So Savage! The answer to your question is no, and I find myself not wanting anyone hanging off my “trick or treat bag” but you!

  Me: Not my problem, let’s not play games, just give me back my notes…I’ve been stalling my boss for almost two months now!

  Unknown: Come on Ali, live a little! One date, just one and you get the notes back. Come on…You know you want to.

  Me: What game are you playing Matt? Why would you want to go out with me?

  Unknown: Why not?

  Me: Don’t be stupid! You and I both know I’m not in the same league with the women you date or the women who PAY you. Run along Matt and play with someone else!

  Unknown: Grrrrr. You-Alison Collins, will be going out with me- Matthew Hudson, on Halloween. S
o mark your calendar!

  Me: What part of no are you finding difficult to comprehend????

  Unknown: The part where you mean it! I’ll be in touch Ali.

  Me: Wait, Matt…Dammit, I just need my case.

  Me: Matt?

  Me: Asshole!!!!

  If that hadn’t been frustrating enough, every time I called the number that he had text me from, it went straight to a voicemail box. Surprisingly enough, Taylor had been really understanding when I complained about what had happened with Matt Wolf in Vegas. She had actually laughed and told me to get her the notes when I could. Of course, I promised to get them for her as soon as possible, even though at the time I had no idea how that was going to happen.

  Besides, who did Matt Hudson think he was? Who goes out on Halloween? What was I four? Were we going to go house to house gathering bags of Tootsie Rolls and Sweet Tarts in our pillow cases?

  After not hearing back from him, I had decided to piece together my research from memory, hoping that it would be enough to get Taylor started until I convinced asshat to return my messenger bag. Now it was the middle of October, and I was sitting at the table staring at a box. The box contained a silky, blue dress with a pearl necklace, tear drop blue earrings, matching heels, clutch and a freaking bra with matching thong set! Sitting on the nicely packed clothing was a plane ticket in my name leaving Las Vegas for Dublin, Ireland on October 28th at six in the morning. Of course, the cherry on his little blackmail Sundae was the beautiful invitation to Reece Hudson and Synclair Patrick’s wedding that was to be held on Halloween in Ireland.

  So, I return to my original assessment that the man, is in fact, batshit crazy.

  “Damn what is that, Aunt Ali?” Pepper asked as she dropped the mail on the table. I tried not to flinch when a familiar white envelope caught my attention. It was the same envelope that contained the same cryptic warning that I had been receiving for the past year. I ignored Pepper’s question, grabbed the envelope and tore it open. The white parchment paper had the same words written on it that it always had- Sell Now or Be Sorry!- I thought it was a strange threat because I hadn’t had anyone offer to buy the Sanctuary. I knew some residents had been trying to get my permit for my animals revoked, but could they be stooping to threats?

  I looked over and caught Pepper watching me with a look of concern, so I quickly shoved the letter and envelope in the drawer of my desk with the others I had kept.

  “That!” I told her pointing to the box on the table that she had been eyeing when she came in, “is Matt Hudson’s idea of blackmailing me to accompany him to his brother’s wedding,” I grumbled grabbing the wedding invitation out of her hands and shoving it back in the box. I had told Pepper about my “night” with Matt ‘Wolf’ Hudson. Of course, I had left out a lot of the details but had given her the basics. Of course, I had fudged some of the sketchier details, like the one where I told her Matt had fallen asleep when I had made my escape for the night, and I definitely didn’t tell her about all the manhandling.

  I probably shouldn’t have told her that he was an escort, or let it slip that the man was sex on a stick. However, I had always been straight with Pepper, and the girl knew far more about life than a girl her age should.

  “I think you should go.” She decided to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. She threw the cap down on the table and smirked as it bounced off and hit the floor.

  “Why the hell would I do that?” I asked as I pointed to the cap, she grudgingly bent down and picked it up. Pepper’s blue eyes sparkled with mischief and her suntanned, make-up free cheeks made her look all about twelve years old. She’d thrown her blonde hair back into a sloppy ponytail, and her small hands with black nail polish were on her hips in her favorite moody stance.

  “Because Aunt Ali, it’s not good to be alone so much! You’re still young, kinda, and your boobs still look good!” she said simply as I gripped the back of the chair to keep from falling in shock.

  “One..I’m not alone, I have Baloo, Nala, Lady and the other animals. I also have Trevor and even you…at least I have you when you come to visit from that camp you’re going to be stuck at for another few months.” I reminded her. The camp for troubled teens was court ordered, and she had until the end of November until she was finished. I hadn’t told her yet, but I had spoken to Lela, and she had given me permission to have Pepper stay here at the Sanctuary with me and the animals. I was saving it for a surprise for when she had finally finished serving her sentence for freeing those birds from her boarding school that her Principal had been planning to hunt.

  “Yeah, yeah, I hate that place, I don’t want to go back.” She protested. It was the same thing she said every time she got a weekend pass to come see me. My flaky sister hadn’t made the time to visit Pepper, not once. I knew it was Lela that Pepper wanted, I just didn’t know how to make it happen. Lela had always been more concerned about her own happiness than she had been about Pepper’s.

  “Pepper, we have been through this, you did the crime, and now you do the time, you’re almost done!” I told her as I pulled the box that Matt had sent from Pepper’s hands and threw it on the counter. I figured I could deal with Mr. Blackmail later.

  “I think I want to find my father.” She replied as if she were talking about the weather.

  I gasped because I couldn’t help it. Pepper had never spoken about her father. Only once, when she was younger had she asked, and I had told her the truth as I had known it. Lela had suddenly left here and gone home to live with her mother and stepfather in Italy, and five months later, Lela’s mom told my dad that Lela was pregnant but would only say that it was some Italian man she’d met when she’d come home. I had my doubts about her story but had never actually pressed it because my father and Lela refused to talk about it.

  “What brought this on?” I asked taking the seat across my niece.

  Pepper seemed to drift off for a second, and she nervously rubbed her hands on her jeans. “I just…I don’t know…I don’t even look Italian Aunt Ali…what if mom lied,” she looked at me nervously and then focused on the hands she had clasped on the table.

  “What if your mom lied about what?”

  “What if I’m not from some Italian one night stand.”

  Now it was my turn to look nervous. If Lela hadn’t gotten pregnant when she got back to Italy, that only left one place she could’ve gotten pregnant…and only one person…Jake! No, not Jake. He had been like a brother to me, and while I knew he had been following Lela around like a love sick puppy, it had never dawned on me that things had gotten that far with them. Looking back, if Lela and Jake had gotten caught having sex, it would explain Jake and Lela’s sudden departure.

  This time, when I swung my dark eyes toward my niece, I looked at her with a fresh perspective. She had wide, deep blue eyes…just like Jake. She had an adorable cleft chin…just like Jake….crap!

  “Aunt Ali?” Pepper’s voice snapped me back from my thoughts, and I stood up so fast that my chair fell back against the counter. Startled Pepper shot to her feet and grabbed my arm.

  “Aunt Ali? Is it your leg, should I go get Trevor?” she asked the panic in her voice making me feel guilty for not answering her right away.

  “I’m..I’m fine…I just hadn’t considered the idea that your mom might have lied about who your father was.”

  There, that was true. I had never questioned Lela’s story. I had been so excited to be an Aunt that I never even considered that fact that while Lela was olive skinned, Pepper was creamy white…just like a certain boy that had lived with us when he was younger.

  Without thinking, I went to the bottom drawer of my desk and rifled through bills and papers until I got to the bottom of the drawer and found what I was looking for. Grabbing the stack of cards, I walked slowly to Pepper and realized I may be about open an enormous can of worms. I should contact Jake, I should confront Lela, but when I looked into Pepper’s sad eyes, I realized I couldn’t do anything but hand her the card
s in my hand.

  “Every Birthday since I was fourteen years old, Jake has sent me a card. He signs it- Your Brother, Jake-. I’ve kept them all because even though I send him a Christmas card every year, we don’t talk. I think he’s afraid I’ll ask about why he left that day, and I think I was scared I had done something wrong to make him leave. He has a Facebook page, we’re not friends on it, but sometimes I look it up just to see how he’s doing. He doesn’t post much, but there are some pictures on it. If your mom didn’t get pregnant in Italy, Pepper, then she got pregnant here….by Jake.” I choked out the words trying not to cry when I saw her bottom lip tremble.

  She took the cards from my hands and then threw her arms around my waist in a tight embrace. I hugged her back and hoped that she felt all the love I had for her, I tried to infuse everything I couldn’t say in that one moment.

  When she finally pulled back, she tilted her head back and smiled up at me with tear-filled eyes. “Thanks, Aunt Ali, I can always count on you to tell me the truth.”

  Pepper wiped her eyes, and I silently cursed Lela for letting this poor child go through life not knowing what or who to believe, not having anyone stable to rely on. But mostly, I cursed myself because I had let Lela treat Pepper like she was an afterthought because I had been too afraid of letting someone get too close to me. Well, suck it up Ali because you already told Lela that Pepper was coming to live with you in November.

  “I’m going to go to my room and totally stalk this Jake guy…if he’s my dad…I’m going to completely blow his mind!” she chuckled her bright smile returning to her face as she wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks.

  I smiled back, impressed that Pepper had a strength that I could only admire. I knew if Jake turned out to be her father she would find a way into his heart like she did mine. Although, the idea of seeing Jake again was kind of frightening. I had no idea what I would say. Hey Jake, remember me? Guess what! Looks like you have a daughter! Congrats! Ugh, I could tell I was going to mess this up…badly.

  “Oh and Aunt Ali!” Pepper shouted as she walked down the hall. “You’re totally going to Ireland, you’re going to have a great time and Matt Hudson won’t know what hit him!”