Heartbreaker (Havenbrook #3)

Chapter 35

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

MAC

I followed Asher’s SUV as it turned down the path leading to our homes, honking twice when they turned off at the main house and I continued on to mine.

I’d wanted to go to town hall and get in a few more hours of work, but Avery must’ve put the word out, because Nat said she’d spill secrets to our momma—namely that the dent in our car when we’d been younger hadn’t been caused by a runaway cart but rather me running into a dumpster—if I so much as drove past there before tomorrow morning. And my sister was many things, but a liar wasn’t one of them.

Despite the niggle in the back of my mind that I needed to be at work, I was looking forward to the time off to decompress. Finally allow myself the brainspace to think about what I’d been avoiding all day—namely Hudson and the handful of texts he’d sent me while I’d been at the hospital.

He hadn’t asked where I was or what I was doing. Hadn’t pestered me or demanded my attention. He’d simply let me know he was thinking of me. Texting random, hilarious observations of people milling around the Square, or a picture of a tiger’s-eye marble he must’ve found at the gift shop, or of CB rolling around in a pile of leaves.

I’d tried not to read too much into it. Mostly because I couldn’t. I didn’t have that luxury, because despite what I wanted , I knew I couldn’t make Hudson stay.

He was leaving, whether I liked it or not. And besides, now wasn’t the time to start a relationship. Not when Havenbrook was resting on my shoulders. Not when my parents were counting on me. Finally believing in me.

Two cars were parked in front of my house, and I froze, my Jeep coasting down the driveway without any instruction from me. Hudson’s old truck sat beside Lilah’s newer sedan. She was nowhere to be seen, but Hudson sat perched on my roof, cleaning out the gutters and tossing the dead leaves to the ground where Caleb was gathering them.

And no. No . My stomach absolutely should not be fluttering, nor should my heart be soaring. Not like this. Not because of a man who might as well be a ghost in Havenbrook. But, dammit, both were true.

It was so easy to picture myself coming home to this. Something so utterly mundane, but I suddenly ached for it.

It’d been a long time since I’d allowed myself such fantasies of a life with Hudson, but sometime since he’d been home, they’d crept in and taken up residence in my heart. A heart that skipped a beat when Hudson lifted his head and his eyes locked on mine.

I parked my Jeep on the other side of his truck, gathered my things, and had one leg out my door when my phone went off. I’d been paranoid since the whole Ridge fiasco, so I pulled it out of my bag without a second thought and found a text from Edna.

My momma could barely say hello via text, but I got messages from Gran and Edna almost daily. They were the most technologically savvy senior citizens I’d ever met.

Edna:

You were the talk of the town today. Folks went on and on about what a great job you’ve been doing. Rumor has it your little friend Hudson had something to do with that…

And just as fast as my heart had soared, it plummeted as I read the last sentence. I frowned down at my phone and typed out a reply.

Mac:

You’re sure it was Hudson’s doing?

Edna:

I said RUMOR, didn’t I?

Narrowing my eyes, I dropped my phone back into my bag and slid the rest of the way out of my car. That was something I’d unpack later when I wasn’t walking toward Hudson and Caleb, trying to come up with something quippy to say.

All that came out was, “I didn’t ask you to do that.”

Hud laughed and tossed down another handful of leaves. The last of it, I assumed, since he climbed down the ladder and joined me on solid ground. “Hello to you, too.”

Without hesitation, he leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. Soft and sweet, but not casual. Not friendly. Heated and intense and…loving.

I didn’t even close my eyes, darting them to Caleb, who wasn’t paying us an ounce of mind. Why I worried about that, I had no idea. It wasn’t like half the town wasn’t already talking about me and Hudson being back together . And wasn’t that just going to be a punch in the boob when he left?

“Hey,” I said on a sigh when he pulled away.

Without a word, he lifted my bag from my shoulder, just as an exuberant CB barreled toward me. The tiny dog jumped up when she got to me, bouncing on her hind legs until I squatted to be closer. CB took that as an invitation and leaped right into my lap, not stopping until her front paws were on my chest and the dog was doling out puppy kisses like candy at a parade.

“Oh my goodness, look at you!” I cooed, running my hands down the dog’s silky fur. “You smell so much better. Yes, you do.” I glanced up at Hudson, a smile still on my face. “You got her groomed?”

“Lilah and Caleb did. Much as he loved how she smelled, it was time.”

Caleb simply lifted his eyes to Hudson as he stuffed the last bit of leaves into a yard bag. Something must’ve passed in the silence between them because suddenly Hudson laughed as Caleb’s lips quirked up on the side.

“Well, whoever did it, thank you. My clothes even started to smell like her nastiness.” I stood, cradling the dog to my chest. “Did you make it out to the vet today?”

That’d been one of the texts he’d sent—that he’d intended to see if she was microchipped so we could find her owners.

“Yeah.” He propped his hands on his hips and sighed. “Nothing.”

I frowned down at CB, my stomach knotting at the thought of Hudson dropping her off at the shelter. I nuzzled the dog and asked into her fur, “What’re you gonna do?”

He was quiet for so long, I lifted my eyes from CB and met his gaze. Staring at me, he shook his head. “That’s the million-dollar question.”

“You need anything else before I head out, sir?” Caleb asked, brushing his hands together.

Hudson expelled a deep, exasperated breath and shot Caleb a look out of the corner of his eye. “What’d I tell you about that?”

Caleb shrugged. “That a no?”

“That’s a no.” Hudson clapped him on the back. “Thanks for your help today. And don’t worry about anything at the cabin. You’ve done enough work out there without me. Just relax tonight.”

An emotion passed over Caleb’s face that was there and gone before I could decipher it. “It’s not a problem. See you later, boss.”

“That’s not any better,” Hudson called after him.

With a barely there smile, Caleb said, “Bye, Mackenna.”

I jolted over the use of my full name, not used to hearing it when I wasn’t in trouble with my momma. But then it suddenly clicked. The poor guy probably had no idea what to call me since Hudson called me Kenna but everyone else called me Mac.

“Bye.” I waved to him as he got into Lilah’s car and drove off, before turning my attention to Hudson. “You could tell the poor guy to call me Mac.”

“Why would I do that when it’s so fun to watch him fumble?”

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “What’s all this?”

“All what?” he asked as he held my side door open for me.

“All—” I cut myself off, my eyes narrowing as I stepped into my kitchen.

It smelled like peaches and fresh-baked deliciousness, and my mouth watered. On my counter sat nine pies. I spun around to face Hudson, cocking an eyebrow.

“All this ,” I said, gesturing to my counter and then to the front window where I could still see the ladder propped against the house.

He shrugged and set my bag down before plucking CB from my hands and depositing her on the floor. The tiny fur ball ran straight to a small bed Hudson must’ve picked up today and walked round and round in a circle until she found the perfect resting spot and settled in. “Had some free time today.”

“Uh-huh. In between the vet and picking up CB a bed and workin’ on the cabin. You had time to just whip up nine pies and clean out my gutters and—” I spun in a circle before facing him again and narrowing my eyes. “And what’s this I heard about me being the buzz around town for workin’ so hard? You have anything to do with that?”

“First of all, you and I already did the piecrusts, and I had commercial means to help with the rest. Momma and Lilah closed The Sweet Shop for a few days while Nash finishes up. Bakin’ nine pies in a professional kitchen doesn’t take too long.”

“And the gutters?”

He shrugged and reached for me, pulling me by the belt loop into the space between his legs. “You mentioned it a while back, and I wasn’t busy.”

I scoffed, because his version of not busy was certainly different from mine. “You’ve been nothing but busy all day! You didn’t have to?—”

He cut off my words with his lips, and as much as I needed to start hardening myself to this pull between us, I couldn’t stop from melting into his body.

I rested my hands on his chest and breathed him in, languishing in the slide of his tongue against mine, of his large hands cupping my ass and pulling me into him so I could feel how hard he was for me. How desperately he wanted me, too.

But before I could get lost in the haze of lust that seemed to engulf me whenever he was around, I needed more information about the gossip around town. Pressing against his chest, I broke away and pulled back.

“And what about what Edna said? That everyone’s suddenly titterin’ about what a great job I’m doin’. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”

He gripped my hips, massaging them in a way that made me want to melt right there at his feet. He lifted a single shoulder. “I may have run into a few people when I was out today and mentioned how hard you’ve been workin’.”

I stared at him, trying desperately to take the gesture how he no doubt meant it—with only love. But I couldn’t stop the niggle in the back of my mind that said he wouldn’t have done this if he believed I could do it for myself.

The fact that I was suddenly receiving support from the townsfolk only thanks to Hudson’s prodding made me feel…unworthy.

I’d come up against nothing but roadblocks in the form of the good old boys—the physical manifestation of the goddamn patriarchy—whenever I’d tried to do anything , even sit in on a simple appointment. No one had time for me or my ideas. No one wanted to listen to a single word that came out of my mouth. And now, because the hometown hero said they should support and appreciate me, they suddenly did?

They were doing it for him , not because they thought I deserved it. And certainly not because they thought I’d earned it.

Where I’d always been trying to be seen by my parents, by others in general, I’d never needed to do that with Hudson. It’d always felt like he’d seen me.

But if his actions today were any indication, he’d seen me, all right. And then decided I still wasn’t capable of handling it on my own.

That cut deepest of all.

I stepped out of his reach, crossing my arms over my chest as if that alone could act as my shield. “Why did you do that?”

He scratched his jaw, clearly not liking that I’d put space between us because he tried to close it again. “What do you mean?”

“Why’d you feel the need to talk to everyone in town and tell them how much they should support me?”

He furrowed his brow—at my question or my continual dodging of him, I wasn’t sure. “I wanted you to see what I see in you—how amazin’ you are and how much you’re doin’. How much value you bring to the town.”

I breathed out a disbelieving laugh. “It did the exact opposite of that! Now I’ll never know if they’re supportin’ me because they truly believe I’ve earned it, or if it’s simply because I’m a Haven and their favorite hero told ’em to.”

“No, that’s not?—”

I held up a hand to stop him. “The intention doesn’t matter, Hudson.”

Blowing out a resigned sigh, he scrubbed a hand down his face. “Fuck. You’re right. I’m sorry. I just got so damn frustrated listenin’ to you tell me about all the obstacles you were comin’ up against. It’s all bullshit—you know it as well as I do. I was just tryin’ to smooth your path a little. I didn’t mean to undermine you.”

“Well, you did. And then you’re gonna leave next week, and I’m still gonna be here, tryin’ to figure out how to get their respect when the guy who told ’em to give it to me is gone.”

He stepped up to me and cupped my neck, sliding his thumb along my jaw. “It doesn’t have to be like that.”

I stopped breathing. I wouldn’t be surprised if my heart stopped beating as well. At least right before it leaped into a gallop, racing so hard, he could probably see it through the layers I wore.

“Like what?” I asked, my throat tight with so much hope, it felt like a physical entity inside my body, desperate to spill out.

Was he going to stay? Was that why he hadn’t taken CB to the shelter yet? Why he’d been doing so many renovations on the cabin? Why he’d started something with me when we only had weeks together?

Was it because he’d known he’d be staying a lot longer than weeks? That, this time, it’d be forever?

He bent his knees until we were eye level. “I want you to come with me, Kenna.”