Chapter 45

45

Hudson

Hudson’s Revelation:

You snooze, you lose.

My flight was canceled, and I wound up rebooked on another airline. When we finally approached DFW, we circled in the air for three more hours. I understood the weather delay, but every moment we remained up in the air, my stomach clenched harder with nerves over telling Charlie about the tap ring deal.

I didn’t want him to feel pressure from me. Plus, what if all of this was too much too soon? What if I was reading more into his feelings for me than there was? And what if he had no interest in moving to Hobie and running the pub?

We landed after midnight. I knew Charlie had to have been exhausted from working late the night before, so I assume he’d long since fallen asleep.

Should I wake him?

I wondered if I could make the trip to Hobie this late at night without falling asleep. Maybe I could slide into bed next to his warm body and hold him until morning.

Otto’s stories of responding to motor vehicle accidents popped into my head. He’d lectured me time and again about how dangerous the roads were late at night. Better not chance it.

My phone’s text alert chimed when I turned off Airplane Mode. Bing, bing, bing, bing.

Shit.

I hit the button to call him, but it went straight to voicemail.

I took a breath and checked the texts to see how much trouble I was in. They started out timid, asking where I was and if the flight was delayed. Then they became more worried until finally there was a thread of frantic scrambling in his tone.

If you’ve died in a crash, I’m never forgiving you!

The internet said your plane never left. Please tell me you’re asleep in a hotel bed in Chicago and just didn’t care about me enough to let me know you weren’t coming home or had changed your flight.

It’s storming here, I’m pretty sure you crashed. Asshole.

Oh hell.

Finally, the last one was the worst.

I can’t handle this. I’m turning off my phone. If you’re miraculously alive tomorrow, lose my fucking number. I love you and I hope you’re okay.

It was enough to wake me fully for the long drive to Hobie, but I couldn’t let my panic force me into an irresponsible decision. I texted him.

I’m safely in Dallas. It’s too late to drive up there, but I will leave first thing in the morning. I love you and I’m sorry.

I expected Saint to be asleep or out of town, but he was sitting on the sofa when I entered the apartment. He looked as tired as I felt.

“Hey,” I said, dropping my bag by the door.

“You’re back late. Was it the storm?”

“I guess.” I dropped into the sofa next to him. “I hope it’s okay if I stay tonight. It’s too late to make that drive.”

“Fuck that. If I had a man that pretty waiting for me in my bed, I’d be hotfooting it home right now.”

“Do you know how many fatal accidents happen on highways in the middle of the night? It’s not safe.”

Saint blinked at me. “I’m worried about you, Hudson.”

“Why?” I asked, even though I knew.

“Doc and Grandpa called. They said Charlie’s a mess.”

My heart leapt into my throat. I was such an ass. “He thinks I died in a plane crash. He hates flying.”

“He booked his flights home. He decided to leave before it’s too late to travel with Mama.”

“What? When? Are you kidding?”

I wondered if I might throw up. He was giving up on me because I’d never told him what I was working on. Because I was too scared to run off half-cocked without a plan to present to him.

“I fucked up,” I whispered. “What do I do?”

He shrugged. “What would you want him to do if the situation was reversed?”

I’d want him to come racing home to me the minute he got off the plane.

I took a breath. “I have to go.”

He lifted an eyebrow. “You sure you want to take that risk? Might get in a car crash.”

I felt my nostrils flare. He was right to call me out on my bullshit.

“It’s okay. I have a lucky four-leaf clover I never leave home without. It will bring me luck.”

It didn’t.

When I arrived in Hobie, Charlie was already gone. His room was completely empty, and there was no sign of him anywhere in the bunkhouse. It was as if he’d never been there.

I flew toward the farmhouse and let myself in with the spare key. Without even knocking, I barged into Doc and Grandpa’s room. It had to be four in the morning by then.

“Where is he?” I cried. “Where’d he go? A hotel? Where?” My heart was thundering and I was frantic.

They both sat up groggily, rubbing their eyes. The sound of dogs snuffling came from a giant round dog bed in the corner of the room. When Mama extracted herself from the pile to wiggle over to me, I heaved a sigh of relief. He wouldn’t have left her.

“He went back to Ireland, honey,” Doc mumbled.

My heart stopped. “No.”

Grandpa reached for his glasses and slid them on. “He and Sean left before midnight. His sister called to say their uncle had been rushed to the hospital. They didn’t give us any details.”

I processed the words but still came up with the same result. Charlie wasn’t there.

Could I follow him to Ireland?

No, don’t be ridiculous. You have responsibilities here. At the office, or maybe at the pub if Charlie isn’t around… People don’t just up and fly across the ocean on the spur of the moment. That’s like a scene out of a cheesy movie. Regular people don’t do that. What would everyone think if I dropped everything and chased after a man? Plus, I hate to travel almost as much as Charlie. And I just got off the flight from hell.

I let out a breath. There was no question. I would follow him anywhere.

“Can one of you make some calls while I grab my clothes?”

My grandfathers’ grins could be seen in the dark room. “Atta boy. Go get him.”