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get your attention
until one of us puts a stop to it.”
     
    “Maybe,” he mused as he stared down at the ground. I
would’ve given anything in that moment to know what he was thinking.
     
    “I think you should at least consider it. Think about it.
Sleep on it,” I insisted. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get her out
of our life and out of our relationship. All of our issues seem to involve
her.”
     
    “A lot of our issues wouldn’t be issues if you didn’t make
them issues,” he said, though he kept his tone delicate.
     
    “I’m working on that,” I snipped.
     
    Hudson laughed. “Okay.”
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER 7
 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    “Hi, Mom!” I said as I ran up to my mother LAX and wrapped
my arms around her. She looked so touristy, but I didn’t care. Her ball cap
covered her thinning, brownish-gray hair, and her eyes were a little bloodshot.
She didn’t smell like alcohol, which was a relief, and I couldn’t hug her tight
enough.
     
    She hugged me back, tight, and neither of us wanted to let
go. I missed her so much, and it meant the world to me that she was finally
going to get the help she needed.
     
    “Hi, Hudson,” she said as she finally let go of me and
walked over to Hudson. She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed him just as
tightly. “Thank you.”
     
    He nodded as she tried to fight the tears that were forming
in her eyes. I could tell she was ready to get better. Not only was he giving
her her life back, he was giving her her daughter back too.
     
    We grabbed her bag, hopped in Hudson’s car, and headed out
to the Paradiso Treatment Facility. It was right off the coast and nestled on a
sprawling little seaside acreage with a million trees. The building was
stuccoed and painted white with a red tile roof.
     
    My mom was nervous when we checked in, but she was trying
her hardest to hide it. She hadn’t left Rock River in at least ten years, maybe
more, and she was completely out of her element. It had to be scary, especially
when she was as sober as she was that day.
     
    “Ma’am, you’ll be in room twelve,” the check in clerk told
her. She had kind eyes. “Roberta will be here to show you to your room in a
second.”
     
    We waited patiently for the treatment coordinator to arrive
and take us to her room and orient her. We were told the orientation was for
patients only. We couldn’t attend. Our temporary goodbye came much sooner than
I expected.
     
    “Now, you’ll take as long as you need, right?” Hudson asked
her. “Don’t worry about a thing. Just get better.”
     
    “Thank you,” my mom said to him, again with misty eyes.
“Thank you more than you’ll ever know.”
     
    Hudson smiled, his eyes compassionate. He reached over and
took my hand, squeezing it in his.
     
    “We better go, Mom,” I said. I hated leaving her in such an
unfamiliar place, but I knew it had to be done.
     
    She nodded and smiled. She understood.
     
    As we walked away, I turned to take in one last look at her.
Her ratty jeans, faded t-shirt and foggy eyes were a reminder of the person she
was. It was going to be the last time I’d see her that way. By the time she was
done with her treatment, she was going to be the mother I always knew she could
be, and I couldn’t wait.
     
    “Thanks, Hudson,” I said to him as we walked out to his car.
     
    “No problem,” he said as he scouted the parking lot for
hiding paparazzi. I didn’t even think about the risk he was taking by being
seen at a treatment facility, but he was doing it for me.
     
    As we cruised down the highway right alongside the gorgeous
Pacific ocean, I couldn’t help but think about how amazing Hudson was. He had
changed my life in so many ways, and I knew I’d never be able to repay him in a
million years. He never asked for much. Actually, he never asked for anything.
The only thing he wanted was me.
     
    We rode in silence, both of us lost in our own