Twenty-Four

Jack

I stayed at Isaac's through a movie, and we cooked a frozen pizza and split it. It was a typical night for the two of us without the sex, and it wasn't bad at all. My phone buzzed with a message, and I smiled when I saw it was from Hudson.

Hey just wanted to say goodnight. I hope you got everything worked out with Isaac .

"Is that Hudson?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah, he's just going to bed." I tried to control my smile but couldn't and gave up.

"You really do like him," Isaac said, and he wasn't mad, in fact, he looked happy.

"I do. I don't know where it's going but I'm along for the ride. He makes me feel things I've never felt for anyone, and I want to see where it can go," I said, finally admitting out loud how I felt.

"Really?" Isaac asked. "I never in a million years thought you'd meet someone that made you look the way you do right now."

"I didn't either." I tapped out a quick message to him before putting my phone away again.

Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning

"Do you think he'll end up staying here?" Isaac asked.

"I'm not sure, but I hope he does. He seems happy here, but I've seen his house in Sacramento, and it's really nice. He also has a good job there. It just doesn't make sense to me he'd want to give all that up to move back here." That was the crux of it. No matter how I tried to convince myself otherwise it was on my mind every time we were together.

Isaac sat by me then and slipped his arm around me. "He'll stay. He looks at you the same way you look at him. Even if he is old and decrepit and an obvious city boy, he'll end up staying here," he said before ducking away from me.

"Thanks, I feel so much better, and he's not old and decrepit."

"How old is he?" Isaac asked completely serious.

"I'm not sure," I lied. "And it doesn't matter."

"At least he's hot," he mumbled, and I hit him with the pillow from his bed that always seemed to find its way out here to his couch.

"Good morning," I said as I walked in from the back. Hudson was at the front of the store with a box of pastries and two coffees in a carrier.

"Good morning," he said, and put everything down on the counter. "I missed you." He kissed me before taking me in his arms and holding me tight. "And I brought you coffee."

"I almost stopped but I just had a feeling you would. Thank you, and next time it's on me," I said and reached for the caffeine I desperately needed.

"Did you and Isaac work everything out?" Hudson asked and looked a little nervous.

"Yes, we talked, and I stayed for a movie and pizza. It was just like all the other nights I've gone over there but without the sex." Hudson's eyes widened before he cleared his throat. "Sorry, I just want to be honest."

He grinned at me then and cupped my cheek. "Thank you," he whispered.

"For what?"

"Being honest. I can't do games. Neither of us know what will happen between us but I'm really glad we're starting off right." His eyes were full of emotions that should have scared me, but I couldn't make myself look away.

"Me too, and since we're being honest, I've never had a boyfriend before. Every relationship I've had has mostly been a hookup. So, if I fuck up, please talk to me because I want you to know you can trust me."

"I already trust you." He kissed me again and we opened up the store.

"When is Jonas coming back?" I asked as I set his box of pastries near the front.

"I'm not sure, I talked to him last night and he sounded so happy. I don't think I realized how unhappy he's been." Hudson looked away before glancing around the store. "He seems excited to know I'm still interested in buying."

"The past year he hasn't been here as often as he was before. He started letting me open up and after a few months he'd just stop by during the day for maybe an hour. I thought maybe he was just moving to let me run the place and have him just be the owner, but he never mentioned anything about selling. He did thank me all the time for keeping it going."

Hudson's eyes widened. "I had no idea he hadn't been coming in. Neither of my parents said a word. I guess we're lucky you were able to keep it going or it would have closed by now."

"I appreciate your dad giving me this job. I had no experience, and he taught me everything about running it, but he hasn't been stocking everything, and as you can see, he's neglected more than just cleaning." I didn't want to worry Hudson, but it was time he knew the whole truth. "This place has barely been hanging on the past few months."

"Do you think it's money issues?" he asked and paced in front of the cash register.

"I don't know. But he hasn't been ordering like he used to. It might just be because he hasn't been here as much and he's not sure what's needed. He's always been very casual about inventory, but it's been way worse than it ever was. Customers notice so some of them have started going out of town or to the feed store. The feed store has started carrying more of the items we seem to be out of all the time." It was like a rush of words spilling out of me. "I appreciate all that Jonas has done for me, but I don't want the business to close. Foggy Basin needs us as much as we need them." That was the big issue. If Nuts and Bolts closed there were many residents that would have nowhere to go to get the little things they needed. Some of them didn't drive so they'd have to get a ride to the feed supply, and some of them never left town. Small towns were full of people who didn't particularly like people and were more than happy to never leave the place they found sanctuary.

Hudson's brows pressed together as he stared at a spot on the floor, before his eyes met mine with a look of determination that took my breath away. "Looks like we have our work cut out for us. Do you think we have a chance of bringing the business back like it was?"

"Yeah, I do. They don't want to go anywhere else; they've just had no choice." I looked around at the store that had once been full of stocked shelves and walls that were all neatly packed but now looked more like an old army surplus store that hadn't been cared for in years. He didn't say anything else, just walked to the back of the store and came out with the broom and a trash bag.

"Today things change," he said, and started sweeping.