Page 67 of Cabin Fever Baby

Even my family.

Which shook me more than I thought was possible. I loved my family. Ifoughtfor my family—especially Rio and Q—beyond comprehension.

But I was always the one taking care of them. Always the one worrying about them. Oh, they loved me—I knew that. But they were happy to live their lives all around the world.

I was the one who couldn’t step away. Hell, I was even still babysitting my brother after all these years.

My parents were always working or corralling the younger kids. I’d been the oldest girl and had been expected to jump in to help at every turn.

And I had.

Willingly. It wasn’t exactly a burden, but there had been little room for what I needed. I loved my family and my brothers and my sister. It had been second nature to watch out for all of them.

I’d never noticed that no one took care of me until Hudson. He worried about me on a level no one ever had.

And it made me want to take care of him right back. Looking at a future was so overwhelming because I’d never planned for myself.

Only for the people in my life.

Quentin sat up and crawled up to the top of the bed to sit beside me. He wrapped his long, ropey arms around me. “How can I help?”

I leaned into him, sniffling into his shirt. “I don’t know. I ruined it all.”

“You’re the best fixer in the world, Ocean. You’ve run my tour better than my own manager. You’ve got time if it really matters that much.”

Did I?

I didn’t know how long Hudson would be here. Heck, I didn’t know where he was. It was a big lake.

And for a small town, it still had way too many people in it. Was I supposed to knock on doors?

It was almost Christmas, for God’s sake.

And I planned to be with my family. They were supposed to come first. I’d made this entire trip about them and now I was so focused on Hudson that I would miss out on them.

He gave me one more squeeze. “Take a shower and come downstairs. Kent is worried about you.”

“Did you tell him?”

“I told him that jackass hurt you.”

“Oh, great.” I pushed him away from me. “That isn’t going to help me get him back.”

“Do you really want him back? Knowing he’s going back to wherever he’s from in a few days?”

“Yeah. I’ll always wonder if I don’t try. And if he doesn’t want me back after I grovel, then I’ll know I tried.”

“All right. I’m heading over to Rory’s place tonight for a quick visit. Maybe he’ll know where this idiot lives.”

“Oh, that’s brilliant.” I threw my arms around him, and he let out a grunt.

He patted my back. “I still don’t like him.”

I set him back and grinned. “You just don’t like him because he gave me all the good orgasms.”

“God, no.” He stood and rushed for the door. “Never say that again.”

“So many orgasms. On the floor, in the shower, on the couch.”