Page 11 of The Wedding Cake Wish
Hudson looks a little confused at the sudden change ofsubject. Then he nods. ‘Good idea. His mum’s the only person who’s heard fromhim since he apparently took this sudden holiday from the company where heworks. Do we have her address?’
‘Yup. Fen passed it on to me. But she said not to mention itto Rob. Apparently, he’s convinced himself that Rory will be back any day andthere’s nothing to worry about.’
‘When was he last seen?’
‘He went round to his mum’s last Thursday night after work.He was meant to meet Rob at the pub on the Friday night but he didn’t show up.’
‘Did he contact Rob to tell him he wasn’t going to make it?’
I shake my head. ‘Nope. Rob waited in the pub for over anhour, then he went round to Rory’s flat but the place was in darkness.’
‘He could have had an emergency of some kind and just forgotabout the pub.’
‘Maybe. Fen says he’s really close to his mum, Rachel. Itwas just the two of them when he was growing up and I don’t think they werevery well off. He did send his mum the text telling her he had some business toattend to and would be back soon and not to worry.’ I shake my headthoughtfully. ‘But is there any point telling a mum not to worry? They’realways going to worry.’
‘Too right.’ He frowns. ‘My mum was always quite relaxedwith us when we were growing up, but since we lost Myles, she’s forever phoningto make sure I’m all right.’
‘I don’t blame her.’ I smile sadly. Most of the time, Hudsonmanages to put on a brave face, but losing a sibling – especially a twin – mustbe absolutely devastating. ‘How are you feeling now? Is it getting a bit easieras time passes?’
He makes a doubtful noise in his throat. ‘Kind of. I knowit’s been four months since Myles died in the car accident, but sometimes itseems like it happened only yesterday. But...you know, I’llget through it...especially with people like you rooting forme, Rubes.’
He smiles and I nod slowly, thinking that being Hudson’snumber one rooter is something I’d very much like to be.
‘You know what I miss?’ he says suddenly, staring intospace. ‘I miss the times we’d go hiking in the hills, just me and Myles...thatfeeling of pushing yourself to your limits, getting up a steep climb and makingit to the summit...breathing in the crystal-clear air anddrinking in the views from the top. Myles loved being out in the countryside.We’d set the world to rights on those walks.’
‘It sounds like you had a great bond.’
He nods with a wistful smile. ‘That’s not to say we didn’tfight over lots of things. Power Rangers. Obviously when we were a bit younger.And girls when we were growing up. And then more mature things like who thealiens would like more if we ever got abducted and whether it was okay to puteggshells back in the box when you’re making an omelette. Myles used to do thatall the time. He’d come over to mine, fry an egg and...’ Heshrugs.
‘Put the shell back in the egg box.’ I grin.
‘That makes him sound like he was a slob but he wasn’t. Hejust had a thing about not wanting to trail egg innards to the bin.’
‘Quite right, too. I think I’d have liked him a lot.’
He grins. ‘We used to have this thing where we’d argue aboutwho was the best-looking. We’d do it just to wind people up, and you could seethem staring at us and thinking,But you’re identical twins. You lookexactly the same!
I laugh. ‘You did, too. I can’t tell you apart in any of thephotos you’ve shown me.’
‘Even our mum found it a challenge sometimes.’
‘I guess the eyes are the only give-away.’ I look directly intothem and I get a funny fluttery feeling inside. ‘One blue, one green. Exceptit’s your right eye that’s blue and the left one that’s green. While Myles...’
He nods. ‘The other way around. Left one blue, right onegreen.’
We’re silent for a moment, absorbed in our own thoughts.
Then Hudson rallies. ‘Anyway, when are you free to go andtalk to Rory’s mum?’
‘Evenings are best for me now that I’m back working at theTrue Loaf Bakery with Anita.’
‘What about tomorrow after work?’ he suggests. ‘I could pickyou up from the bakery at five?’
‘Great.’ A surge of excitement rushes through me. I’d beenworried that once our first investigation together was complete, we might notget to work together again. But then Fen approached us and told us about Roryand how worried she and Rob were – and I’d given thanks to Fate for interveningand giving me an excuse to carry on being friends with Hudson...
‘I...by the way...therewas something I wanted to ask you, Ruby.’
‘Oh?’ I glance at him curiously. He’s looking sheepish, notquite meeting my eye.
