25. Hudson
Chapter 25
Hudson
When we arrived at the private airstrip, a sleek Gulfstream jet sat on the tarmac, waiting. Not as large as the one I used for official state business, this one would be perfect for our short flight to Portland.
Evan whistled. “You travel in style, Governor.”
I chuckled. “That’s not my plane. It’s Greer’s.”
Thomas stopped the car at the bottom of the stairs and looked at me over his shoulder.
“Give me a minute to check things out, Governor.”
I nodded and glanced over at Evan. “Did you call your mother?”
He grinned, then reached across the seat to take my hand. “Sure did. And she’s excited to meet the new person in my life.”
“Did you tell her I have kids?”
Evan laughed. “You think that’s the most important part of this story?”
I shrugged. “Well, it’s a big deal. I’ve been married before and she might think I’m too old for you.”
“What about the governor part? Is that important?”
“Yes, but that’s a short reality. At the end of the day, I’m just an unemployed middle-aged man with two kids to raise and a wealthy boyfriend. She might think I’m after your money.”
Evan threw his head back against the seat and laughed. “You’re deranged. There’s no way she’ll think that.”
Thomas knocked lightly on the glass before opening my door. Standing outside the plane were two men. One wore a pilot’s uniform and the other I recognized as Greer Rowan’s husband.
Stepping out of the car, I buttoned my jacket and smiled as Evan made his way around to me. Thomas got back in to move it off the tarmac.
“Good morning, gentlemen,” I said, extending my hand. “I’m Hudson Gatlin, and this is Evan Ellis.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Austin replied, shaking my hand. “I’m Austin Wentworth, Greer’s husband. And this is Captain Jason Conrad, our pilot.”
“Nice to meet you both. Our flight time is going to be approximately ninety minutes.”
The pilot put his hand on Austin’s shoulder. “I’m going to do my final walk around, then we’ll be ready to go as soon as everyone is buckled in.”
Austin nodded and eyed Thomas approaching. “Good.”
He looked at us, then motioned toward the stairs. “After you.”
We climbed the ten steps up to the main cabin and made our way to the cream-colored leather seats. The high-end finishes were to be expected in a billionaire’s plane, and this one did not disappoint.
“This is a beautiful aircraft,” I said to Austin.
He looked around and smiled as he ran his hand over the armrest. “Yeah, we love it. It holds a lot of fond memories for us.”
“Really? Like what?” Evan asked, a smirk stretched across his handsome face.
“You do not have to share any details with us. Ignore him,” I chided.
Austin smiled. “This is the plane Greer used to hold me hostage.”
My eyes bugged out. “What?”
Austin laughed. “Okay, not a hostage in the way you think. The short version is he is my older brother’s best friend, and I’ve known him since I was seventeen. We shared a mutual attraction, but a lot of shit got in the way, and he ended up hurting both of us. Fast forward to a year ago when he hired me to be his bodyguard for a trip to Costa Rica. It’s an eight-hour flight. That’s how he got me to hear him out.”
Evan grinned. “That’s one way to get your man.”
Austin nodded. “And it worked. When we flew back ten days later, he was my husband.”
“Hmm,” Evan said. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”
“Can I get you anything to drink?” Austin asked, getting to his feet. “I’m the flight attendant, too.”
I liked him immediately.
Thomas was stationed outside the door as we sat down around the small conference table in Greer Rowan’s large office that overlooked the stadium.
“After we spoke on the phone, I read about what you’ve been doing. It’s impressive, Governor. Preston said you discussed a potential partnership to expand the program.”
I nodded and relaxed immediately. Talking about feeding people was as easy for me as talking about Jack and Erin.
“Yes, we did. And please call me Hudson. Hopefully, we can work together to extend the program up here as well. His property makes things much easier. We’ll just need the Pirates to help draw attention to it.”
Greer nodded. “Yes, I’m sure some of them would love to help. My PR team loves community involvement. We helped get an Equine Therapy program off the ground a couple of years ago. When are you looking to kick this off?”
“Next year. I leave office in January, so my team has targeted next spring to kick off in San Diego.”
He looked over at Evan and smiled. “I can see why San Diego is the best option for agricultural partnerships.”
“It’s good for a lot of reasons,” I added. “As I mentioned when we spoke on the phone, my relationship with Evan has prompted me to take a look at other concerns for LGBTQ people in California. I’d like to pick your brain if I could.”
Greer laughed. “Absolutely. I’ll answer anything I can. But for my team, it starts with me.”
Greer explained how he made sure his player contracts included a no-penalty trade option available and players were vetted before they were scouted.
“I won’t allow the harassment that Patrick Griffin hid out of fear due to his sexuality to happen again. And I’m positive Will won’t tolerate it in San Diego either. It’s become quite the topic during the owner’s meetings. And as far as I can tell, the Storm management should be just fine. One of Will’s children is openly gay.”
“How did people handle it when you married Austin?’
Greer smiled and looked at his husband. “We got our fair share of hate on the internet. Fortunately, Austin’s background is in security, so he monitors things from a safety standpoint. And threats were made that we told no one about. EHM handled those.”
I was concerned about that. “How long did it go on?”
Greer looked at me seriously. “It hasn’t stopped completely, but it has slowed down. We’re not sure it ever will because we live under a spotlight as well. And unfortunately, because you’re well known, people think they have the right to say whatever they want. Set your boundaries, and stick to them. Treat your relationship like you treated your marriage and protect your kids at all costs. In the end, your family are the only ones that matter.”
I nodded, filing away all the information I needed.
We talked for a little while before Evan’s phone pinged with a message from Laura.
“She wants to know if we can do a video call tomorrow. Something came up.”
I nodded. “Sure. No problem.”
When we were finished, we stood and thanked them for their time.
“Let us know if we can help,” Greer said. “And we’ll see you in November, if not before. Go easy on us, Ellis.”
Evan laughed. “No can do.”
“And Hudson, let me know when you’re ready to talk more about the project with Preston. I’m very interested in helping.”
“I will, Greer. Good luck this season.”
He smiled. “Thank you. Maybe we can have dinner when the Storm comes to town. Before the game, of course.”
“That would be great,” I said, shaking his hand.
I was ready to get to work structuring protection for LGBTQ families like mine. But before I could do that, it was time to meet Evan’s mother.
Our world as we knew it would never be the same.