Page 65 of Summer Escape
Hudson dropped his head slightly. "I should be over this by now. It was a long time ago. But I thought you’d be there. I never anticipated going at it alone."
"I thought you'd have Dad."
"I did, but it wasn't how I envisioned my future. Maybe Dad would have already retired if you were running the business with me. But we'll never know. I was hurt for a long time, but I think meeting Elena healed me in a way. I realized that there was more to life than what I'd built. I didn't need to be alone and do everything myself. I could have a partner. And maybe you've realized that too."
My forehead creased. "What do you mean?"
"You're with Saylor, aren't you? After all these years."
I sucked in a breath. "You knew about her?"
"Dad wanted me to find out what was distracting you from work. He thought it might be a girl, and it was. He was heartened to discover she was just a tourist and would be leaving at the end of the summer."
I nodded. "She left, and we didn't see each other again until now."
"You picked up where you left off?" Hudson asked.
"We formed a new relationship, one that is more mature than it was back then. But we aren't together. She has a life somewhere else, and I have my daughter to think about."
Hudson's forehead wrinkled. "You're going to let her go at the end of the summer?"
"I don't have a choice. It was never supposed to last."
Hudson lifted his head. "You don't think that things could change?"
"Saylor has a job, a life she built in Jacksonville. I don't want to be the one to take her away from it."
He grimaced. "I hope you know what you're doing."
"I don't expect you to forgive me for what I did. But I hope that we can move forward from it and work together without any animosity between us."
Hudson let out a breath. "Elena thinks I need to let this go."
I was thankful that Elena was in his life and helping him get through this. It made me think of Saylor and her influence in my life. Was she healing me too?
"I miss our friendship. It was always me and you. And then it was just me and the weight of responsibility."
"I'm hoping to share that burden with you. If you'll let me."
Hudson nodded. "I want that."
I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him against me. When I let him go, he handed me the beer. "Tell me about your summer."
"I've been navigating the life of a teen girl, figuring out a way to help her deal with the ups and downs. When you have a kid, I have a great book I can recommend to you to deal with the teen years."
"You think that's it for you? Or do you want more kids."
"I never really thought about having more because I haven't met anyone I'd want to share that with. I certainly don't want to do this apart from someone again. I'd love to share that experience with a significant other."
"You think that could be Saylor?"
"When we were teens, I thought what we had was young love. That we'd move on and meet someone else. Except I never did. Then when we ran into each other again, that desire was still there."
"Is she the one for you then?" he asked, tipping his beer bottle.
The more I talked about it with Hudson, the more I thought she could be. But there were so many things to consider. "I don't know."
"Everyone comes to me when they're having issues with their significant others. I'm not sure how that happened."
