Chapter 24

Fisher

"Hey,I'm so glad you made it!"

Poppy stood to hug me as I arrived at the pub table and Sawyer squeezed my shoulder. They acted as if I'd skipped out on three months of hanging at The Rusty Hook instead of the three days I'd wallowed at home.

"Okay, don't turn it into another friendervention or I'll have to leave again," I said with a weak chuckle. "There's only so much ice cream I can eat with my mother before she gets suspicious."

"Just say the word and we'll kick his ass," Sawyer said.

"Hudson's your boss."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he's not being an idiot."

"Nah," I said. "He told me what to expect from the start. I'm the one who tried to switch it up on him. That's on me."

"Fish—"

I waved my hands to cut him off. "I didn't come out to talk about this. Distract me."

Cash, bless him, launched straight into a story about his hookup the night before. "The dude wanted me to go all the way to Shallow Beach, and I talked him into booking in at Declan's BB instead. But do you think Declan thanked me when he saw me there? No."

"Are you just picking up people so you can see Declan?" Poppy asked. "There's got to be better ways to flirt with the man."

"I'm not flirting with him," Cash protested. "He just always dismisses me, and it's annoying."

"Uh-huh. And why do you care if he notices you?"

Cash squirmed in his seat. "I don't. I just… He's rude, is all. He acts like he can't even see me."

"Maybe we should call a friendervention for Cash," I joked.

"Et tu, Brute?"

"Hey, you already got me once this summer," I said. "Time for someone else to have a turn."

Brooks waved me over from the bar.

I stood. "I'm gonna go see what my cousin wants. Anyone need anything?"

After taking orders for the table, I crossed the pub and found an open spot at the bar. "What's up, man? And please don't ask about Hudson."

"Wasn't going to," Brooks said. "I've seen him moping into his beer enough to know he'll come to his senses soon."

My heart skipped, and I took a breath and reminded myself not to get my hopes up. The problem had never been that Hudson didn't care. I'd seen that he cared. That didn't change his willingness to commit to a relationship.

"So, what did you want?"

"Skylar told me something about those resort developers that I think you should hear."

"Okay?"

"They're not what they seem. They're— Well, I'll just let Skylar explain."

Skylar came up beside me, and Brooks moved away to serve other customers.

I turned to face him. "So, what's up?"

He looked a little nervous. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I know Scott and Leon Wexler a little. They move in the same circles with my father."

"Okay…" I said. "So, what's the bad news?"

He grimaced. "Well, the thing is, they're not the most honest guys. They go into communities, tell them what they want to hear, then develop mega entertainment sites."

"Mega entertainment sites? But why would they do that here? We're just a tiny blip on the Ozarks map."

"That's why," Skylar said with a shrug. "Lots of opportunity for growth. Plus, less competition for them to get a foothold."

"But that's…" I shook my head. "I looked them up, and I didn't see any sign of anything like that. I didn't just take them at their word. I'm not an idiot."

"They probably used a shell company," Skylar said. "Guys like this, they tend to have a lot of different business names they can operate under. It helps them fly under the radar."

"Fuck, seriously?" My stomach twisted. "I've been helping these guys get the whole town on board."

"I'm sorry, Fisher."

"Why did you wait until now to tell me?" I challenged. "The community meeting is next week!"

Skylar shrank back from me, and Brooks's hand landed on my shoulder, squeezing enough to hurt. "I know you're not about to shoot the messenger," he said firmly. "Skylar doesn't owe you anything. If anything, I think you owe him a thank-you for the heads-up."

"I'm sorry," I said, abashed. "I wasn't mad at you. I really do appreciate you telling me. I just wish…"

"It's okay," Skylar said. "You're upset. I would be too. "

I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. "Yeah."

"For what it's worth, I didn't know the details about this resort thing until I saw the flyer for the community meeting and saw Leon's name listed. He and my dad are longtime rivals."

I nodded, numbness beginning to spread through me. Apparently, it wasn't enough that I was miserable without Hudson. The universe wanted to kick me while I was down. If Leon and Scott brought in some mega entertainment site that changed our whole town after I'd talked up the resort plan, I'd be a local pariah.

A sell-out of everything Swallow Cove stood for.

I got all the details I could from Skylar before remembering to place my friends' drink orders with Brooks. I didn't wait to deliver them. Instead, I went straight home to research one of the Wexlers' company aliases, Skyline Expansion Partners.

What I found only made me feel worse. Skylar hadn't overstated the situation.

These guys were the developers for a big casino-resort-bar destination in Shallow Beach along with a third partner. If they were looking to put something like that here, I had to stop them.

Scott answered my call on the second ring. "Hey, Fisher! Good to hear from you. We should have those talking points to you soon for the—"

"Actually," I interrupted, "we need to talk."

"Oh?"

"You lied to me. You said you'd develop something that fit into Swallow Cove, that you'd take residents' input—"

"And we have been."

"But you plan to ignore it all, don't you?"

There was a telling beat of silence. Just enough that I knew the truth. Scott chuckled. "Fisher, come on. We take input in good faith. We can't accommodate every request though. That's just not feasible."

"That sounds like an excuse. Do you plan to take any of the community input you get? Do you care at all about what people in Swallow Cove want for their town?"

"Fisher, you're a good kid," Scott said. "You could have a real future in this, but you've got to get a handle on your emotions. This is just business, you know? We're in it to make money. Swallow Cove will benefit from this development a whole hell of a lot. Not everyone there wants progress, but I know you do. This is your chance to help create a better future for your town."

"Maybe you're right," I said. "I'm a good kid. I was na?ve enough to trust you. But I'm not doing any more of your dirty work. I'm going to tell everyone in town what to really expect from your development."

"It doesn't really matter now," Scott said. "As soon as we close on the property sale, we've got the permits we'll need to break ground, thanks to you. The community meeting was just a formality. We're developing this resort whether you like it or not."

Hudson

"What the hell are you doing?"

I startled awake, sitting up so fast I rammed my shoulder on the edge of the boat where I'd bedded down the night before. "Fuck! Shit. Ow."

Sawyer loomed over me, eyebrows raised. "Sleeping in your boat now? You're not drunk, are you?"

"No." I scowled as I rubbed my shoulder and clambered awkwardly to my feet. "Just had a late night at the office and didn't feel like making the trip home."

"Uh-huh." Sawyer crossed his arms. "This wouldn't have anything to do with what's waiting for you at home, would it?"

"No. What would be waiting?"

"Nothing," he said pointedly.

I rubbed at my aching chest. Score 1 for Sawyer.

"What are you doing here? You're not scheduled for a daytime cruise."

"Just checking on you."

I stepped off the boat with as much dignity as I could manage. It wasn't much, considering I'd taken to sleeping in my boat to avoid my empty bed and we both knew it. "I'm fine."

"Oh, I can tell," he said dryly.

I paused after a few steps and turned back toward Sawyer. "How is he?"

Sawyer didn't look pleased. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

"I will when I…" Figure out what to say. I took a breath. "I will soon."

"I hope so. You're both kind of pathetic right now."

I went through the motions once I got to my office, powering up my laptop and checking my messages, but my mind wasn't fully engaged. Ever since Fisher had walked away from me, I'd been trapped in a Catch-22: wanting to chase him while also afraid of the damage I might do if I caught him.

His words to me, that he should have a say in our relationship, also bounced around my head. After all, it was Fisher's heart, and if he wanted to risk it on me, who was I to deny him? Especially when I missed his warmth so damn bad.

But something held me back, no matter how badly I wanted to be with him. A fear of history repeating itself. Had I really changed since I was with Karen, or would I simply make all the same mistakes with him?

I paused on the latest message from my investor, Gavin Addison, requesting a call back. With the boat repair expenses I'd just taken on, even the added bookings for the upcoming Dock Hop weren't going to get Swallow Adventures in the black.

I was already miserable, so I bit the bullet and made the call.

"I thought I was going to have to send Skylar back over there to do a welfare check," Gavin said by way of hello. "I've been waiting for an update."

"It's not good news, I'm afraid."

"Swallow Cove just isn't getting the job done," Addison agreed. "It's time to think outside the box."

I knew where this was going, and I'd placed this call knowing what I had to do.

"You mean relocate."

"Well, yeah. Expansion was on the table before this, but now…"

"It's not feasible, I know."

"And you can get all the bookings in the world, but when you have to travel up and down the lake to pick up folks because they're not actually staying in Swallow Cove, it's not a winning proposition."

"We could downsize," I said. "If we run fewer boats—"

"I didn't get into this business to downsize, Hudson," he said. "I invested in these boat tours because I know the potential out there at the lake. There's more you can achieve somewhere else. A lot more."

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that."

"Well then?" he pressed. "Are you going to get your head in the game? I want proposals for—"

"No," I said abruptly.

"No?"

"If I relocate, it means finding new real estate and new staff, and I'll have to manage that transition while running boats every day so we don't go under. It's a hell of a lot of work to take on."

Work that would leave me very little time for anything else. It would be a good way to distract myself and try to move on from the foolish fling I never should have started.

So why did the idea make my heart pound and palms sweat? Why did it make me want to yell and beat my head against the wall?

"Hudson, I know it's not ideal," Addison said, "but we went into this business with certain profit goals in place, and in order to hit those—"

"I'll figure out another way."

"Another way? I don't know what you think you'll do."

Neither did I. I just knew I couldn't leave Swallow Cove. Couldn't take on the additional work that would leave no time for Fisher.

Because he comes first for me…

The realization struck me with the force of lightning. It lit me up and electrified me.

I would never make the same mistakes with Fisher that I'd made with Karen. I wouldn't be forced to work long hours at a job I hated, making me miserable, because I was the boss. I could set my own schedule. And I wouldn't choose to work those kinds of hours because I wasn't looking for an escape from a relationship that was already failing.

And even if I was in a predicament where I had to choose between my business's success and Fisher… Well, I'd just made that choice, hadn't I?

Fisher came first.

I enjoyed running charter boats, but I was no longer interested in money or success. Ambition wasn't important to me.

Only Fisher and the joy he brought into my life.

Maybe I should have realized sooner that my relationship with Fisher would never play out the same way it had with Karen, but until push came to shove, I just hadn't trusted myself. Now, I knew my priorities because I was choosing Fisher. And I would keep choosing Fisher for as long as he allowed me to.

I'd downsize the business, even if Addison didn't like it. Maybe even sell off the business and run a single charter boat if that's what it took.

But first, I had to win back Fisher.

"Sorry, Addison, but I gotta go."

"What? But, Hud—"

I hung up the phone, my heart still racing, and jumped to my feet. I had to go to Fisher. Had to beg his forgiveness. Had to promise him anything his heart desired.

Right fucking now.

And I knew exactly where he'd be.

At the bait shop. With his father.

Who hated me.