Chapter 26
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
MAC
I couldn’t think of a better weekend I’d had. I’d been outdoors, soaking in all Mother Nature had to offer and challenging my body, all the while hanging out with my best friend. A best friend who kept handing out orgasms like they were candy.
And there was no question anymore—he was still my best friend. How could he not be with the kind of history we shared? He still understood me like no other, not even Will. Still supported me like no other. Still saw me like no other.
So, really, it was no surprise I’d fallen head over heels in love with him. Again. The bastard. And now I had no idea what I was going to do…what would become of us.
Because the fact of the matter was, Hudson was leaving…and soon. I didn’t even know where he was stationed right now, or where he’d be heading on the deployment his commanding officer had called him about, or when that would be happening.
The thought of him in a foreign country, taking on enemy fire, made me so nauseated, I worried I might actually throw up the breakfast he’d made for us—and, no, it hadn’t been me.
“I had fun with you this weekend.” He hooked an arm around my neck, tugging me into his side to plant a kiss against my temple.
“Me too.” I looked up at him, hand resting against his stomach as I managed a smile, even though my insides were in knots.
He took the opportunity to press his lips against mine. And just like every other instance, it took no time for him to have my face cupped in his hands, his tongue invading my mouth, and his body flush against mine. I both loved and hated how he seemed to get hard the second he was in my vicinity.
How was I supposed to get anything done other than, well, him when he was so obviously as starved for me as I was him?
CB—living up to her name—started barking at our feet, and I pulled away with a laugh, Hudson with a groan. He rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes, blowing out a frustrated breath.
“Tell me her name doesn’t fit,” he said, his voice full of gravel.
I laughed, continuing on the path once Hudson released me. “No argument from me.”
He reached down to scoop up CB, irritation written all over his face. “I can drop you at the shelter anytime, you know.”
But I could see it was all an act in the way he nuzzled CB even though she smelled like a dumpster. In the way he continued holding her as we hiked down, conscientious of the dog’s little legs and how much work she’d already done out here before we’d found her.
And then I remembered our conversation last night—how Hudson didn’t want to drop CB at the shelter. That thought had buoyed my hopes, but I hadn’t been able to focus on it—not when he’d dragged me into the tent and done unspeakable things to me.
Now, though, my wheels were turning, my mind playing out a scenario where he didn’t send CB to the shelter and chose, instead, to let her stay with him…because he was staying.
The thought carried me all the way down the Ridge, until we finally passed through the tree line to where his truck sat parked where we’d left it. I’d just worked up the nerve to ask him if that was what it all meant when my phone started buzzing in my pocket, an avalanche of notifications blowing it up.
My heart leaped into my throat when I realized that while I’d meant to send a text to Will about staying an extra night, I’d gotten distracted by the hottie standing next to me. God, I was an idiot—Will was probably worried sick about me.
I pulled out my phone at the same time Hudson reached into his back pocket for his own, his attention immediately focused on what he saw there.
“My momma,” he said, holding up his phone.
I swallowed as I glanced at my screen, seeing a mix of missed calls, voice mails, and texts—and not just from Will, but from multiple people in my family, as well as Avery—the list stretching the entire length of the screen and then some.
The ridiculous number of texts all amounted to call me , so I did, starting with my mom, though all it did was ring until finally clicking over to voice mail.
“Momma,” Hudson said into his phone, his brow furrowed as he listened.
I was already calling Will, my heart beating too fast, though I didn’t know why. As the phone rang in my ear, Hudson’s gaze snapped up to mine, and something in the look he shot me had the bottom dropping out from my stomach, sending a wave of panic through me.
Something was wrong—I knew it. Could feel it in my bones. And no one was answering their damn phones.
“Mac!” Will snapped, both irritation and relief in her voice. “Where the hell have you been ?”
“Campin’…remember? With Hud?”
“You were supposed to be back yesterday!”
“I—we…” I cleared my throat, swallowing down the lump that had formed there. “We decided to stay an extra day. I meant to send you a text, but?—”
“You should’ve called! Rory was ready to call in a search party and only relented when I told her about your trainin’—sorry, the cat’s outta the bag on that. And huntin’ you down was the last thing we needed to be worryin’ about now.”
“What’s—” I swallowed down the sudden flood of moisture in my mouth, my stomach churning in a way that had nothing to do with my breakfast. “What’s goin’ on? Everyone’s been callin’, and I tried to get ahold of Momma?—”
“It’s Daddy,” Will interrupted, her voice tight with emotion. “We need you here, Mac. He had a heart attack. He’s in surgery right now.”