You Make Me Weak (The Blackwells of Crystal Lake 1)

“It’s a hell of a lot more complicated than that, Darlene, and you know it.”

Darlene put her hands on her hips, and all five foot three inches of her vibrated with anger. “I know your relationship with your father isn’t ideal.”

“That’s putting it mildly.”

“I know that it’s been hard and tough and that he can be an absolute bastard. But Hudson, the man is dying. If you want to know the absolute truth, he’s been dying for years. Alone here in this big house with no one to keep him company but regret and pain and pride.”

“He had you.” Hudson wasn’t sure where that came from, and he sure as hell couldn’t take it back.

Darlene was silent for a few seconds and in that small window of time, Hudson glimpsed an incredible sadness.

“I wasn’t enough,” she whispered. “I wasn’t your mother.”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”

Darlene sighed. “Look, Hudson. Talk to the boys. That’s all I’m asking. He’s had a hard time these past years. He knows there are wrongs he needs to make right. But he can’t do them on his own. He needs that chance. None of you have seen him struggle. With his health. His loneliness. With the business.”

Hudson frowned. “Dad wants me to check in on things at the office. Everything okay as far as you know?”

Darlene shrugged. “As far as I know. But you know John. He worries about everything. Worries about the legacy he’s leaving his boys.” Her eyes hardened. “Boys who have no interest in him or his life.”

“That’s not fair.” Hudson was starting to get ticked off. As much as Darlene had been a part of their lives, she’d never lived with them. She was the pretty woman who smelled nice. The one who showed up in the morning before they left for school and made sure they had lunches. She was there when they got home. There to make dinner. When John Blackwell got home from the office, she left. There was a lot she hadn’t seen and a hell of a lot more she didn’t know.

How could he make her understand?

“A parent’s right to respect and love isn’t just handed to them. Like anything else, it’s earned, and sometimes it’s lost. My father wasn’t just hard on us. That doesn’t come close to describing what went on in this house. There are things you don’t know, Darlene. Things no one knows.”

Hands clenched into fists he stared across the room at a woman who’d come as close to a mother as he’d known. He was angry. Pissed. And hurt.

Darlene walked over to him and gave him a hug. When she stepped back, her eyes shimmered. She slowly exhaled.

“I can’t pretend to know what it feels like to be John Blackwell’s son. I only know what I know.” She attempted a smile, but it fell short. “None of the men in this family are happy. You’re divorced. But then you never should have married Candace in the first place. Wyatt is trying his damnedest to prove something. I don’t know what that something is, but I’m going to tell you that if he’s not careful, it’s going to cost him his life. He drives like the devil and takes chances none of those other drivers take.”

Hudson couldn’t disagree with her there.

“And Travis just seems lost to me. The last time I spoke to him, he told me about this fancy new house in LA he’d just spent ten million on. I asked him about the gardens. About what I could send him for his gardens.” She shook her head. “That boy used to help me outside for hours. He loved getting his hands dirty. Do you know what he told me?”

Hudson shrugged, damn certain she was gonna fill him in.

“He told me he hadn’t even been outside. He had no clue what was in his back garden. What kind of man buys a ten-million-dollar house and doesn’t even know what kind of flowers populate his garden?”

“Darlene. He’s busy.”

“No. He’s spoiled and lost and right now only cares about himself. His agent knows more about what goes on in his life than he does. It’s not good for him. He’s not grounded. None of you are.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say.” Frustrated, Hudson ran his hands through his hair.

“I want you to talk to your brothers. I want you to do what you can to get them home so that they can make peace with your father. I want all of you to give him the chance to make things right. If you don’t. If he…” She shuddered and swiped at her eyes. “If he passes without that happening, there will be consequences. Lifelong consequences.”

He kept his mouth shut, because he didn’t know how to respond, and because deep down, he knew she was right.

“I’ll see what I can do,” Hudson said, finally getting his thoughts together.

The relief in Darlene’s face wasn’t something she could hide. She nodded and headed back to the kitchen. “Okay. I’m off to the hospital. I told your father I’d bring him some real food, even though lately he’s had a hard time keeping it down.” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to pop in and see him?”

“Yeah. Later. I want to check out the boathouse. Dad said the dock was starting to rot. Thought maybe I’d take a shot at fixing it instead of hiring out the job.”

“He would like that.” She scooped her purse from the counter and took a few steps before she paused and looked back at him. “Where were you all night?”