“Huh. Never figured you for a lawman.”
“No?” Considering he’d been a bit of a hell-raiser back in the day, not many folks did.
Mackenzie slowly shook his head. “No. I remember you and Becca talking about moving up north. You guys were always camping or on the water. I remember plans to own your own hunting and fishing lodge. Never saw you for a suit-and-tie guy living in the city.”
Annoyed, and for no reason other than the man in front of him, Hudson barely kept his tone civil.
“Life doesn’t always turn out the way we want it to.”
Mackenzie took a step back, and gone was any semblance of warmth. “I hear ya there. Just ask Rebecca.” He glanced to his right. “Harry. You ready?”
Hudson’s hands balled into fists, but he made no move to get up or say anything else to Rebecca’s brother. He watched Harry follow Mac from the coffee shop, and, with one last sip, finished his coffee.
“Can I get you anything else?” Beatrice asked softly. It was obvious she’d heard most, if not all, of his exchange with Mackenzie. No point in ignoring it.
“What’s Harry doing with Draper?” He had to admit he was curious. Last he’d heard, Mac was some big shot architect in New York City. Now he was back in Crystal Lake with a kid and wife and living the life of domesticated bliss. Mac thought Hudson had done a one-eighty? Well, he could say the same about Draper.
“Gosh, that Mackenzie Draper is just the nicest man. He’s involved in that development across the lake. The one with the big golf course. I think he designed it. He’s given jobs to folks like Harry. It’s really a blessing. And I hear he’s looking into developing low-income housing, which is so badly needed for the community. For folks like Harry and for families in crisis.”
Shit. Since when had Mac Draper become the savior of Crystal Lake?
“The only problem is land.”
“Oh?” Seemed as if Beatrice was a fountain of information.
“From what I understand, most of the land around the lake is privately owned or protected from development, and there’s not much in town that’s suitable or for sale.”
“That would be a problem,” he murmured. Hudson glanced at his watch. “I should get going. Thanks for the coffee, Beatrice.”
“It was very nice meeting you, Hudson. Tell your father we said hello.”
“I will.”
Hudson left the coffee shop feeling pissed off, annoyed as hell, and just plain grumpy. The rain was falling in sheets, the sting of the cold drops sharp on his cheek. But it wasn’t pain he felt. In fact, he liked the sting. It was exhilarating.
This weather. The cool, crisp air. The damp. The smell of the lake. He loved it. As he walked toward Blackwell Holdings, his chest tightened and his breathing sped up. There was a hole punched in his gut—a hole he’d forgotten about. A hole slowly breaking open. It wasn’t just melancholy that settled across his shoulders. Or sadness.
It was loneliness. And regret. It was the mourning for the life he’d never lived.
The visual of Rebecca curled into his arms as they cuddled in front of a fire. A fire they’d lit in a place they called home. A place in the forest at the edge of a lake. Maybe a dog or two.
Damn Mackenzie Draper for reminding him of everything he’d lost.
Because as Hudson strode up the steps and entered the building that held his name, he knew he’d never get it back. No matter how much he wanted it. No matter how much he needed it. It was too late.
Twelve years too late.
Chapter 14
Work had been crazy busy. Tuesday was blocked off for surgeries, but there were always a few emergencies that couldn’t be delayed, and they added to the chaos. Then Ethan Burke decided to pay the clinic a visit. Talk about sending the office into a tizzy. Kimberly Higgins’s eyes had nearly popped out of her head when Ethan stopped by reception to say hello to Rebecca.
“He wants you,” Kimberly proclaimed after Ethan disappeared into his father’s office.
Here we go.
“You think every single man in the area wants me.” Rebecca couldn’t help but grin. She didn’t have to look far for an ego boost.
“They do.”