Epilogue - Hudson
T he first person Hudson had called on his new phone was Ty. The first phone number he’d entered into his contacts had been Ty’s number. And while he didn’t need to call or text him every day, he did, even if it was silly, since they slept in the same tent and worked on the same team.
They were always within shouting distance of each other, working in the paddock or in the glade. At mealtimes in the mess tent, they sat side by side, with one or the other of them getting up to go up to the steam table, depending on who wanted seconds.
If someone had asked Hudson whether he would like to be attached at the hip with another human being, he would have said no and hell no. But after five years of pure misery, as well as his life before that, which didn’t have much to show for it, being near Ty was a reward of pure beauty that he’d not been expecting.
Not just because Ty was pretty to look at, with amazing gray eyes and windswept fair hair, a trim body for Hudson to hold in the night, no. It was more than that. Ty was spicy and sweet and funny and kind. He always put Hudson first. Always asked after Michelle and the boys. Always acted for the consideration of others.
His kisses were sweet. His hugs were soul-meltingly good, and long, lasting through heartbeats and lung breaths. The effects lasting far beyond the hug itself.
In return, Ty asked for very little. That Hudson should be near, stay near. That Hudson should say what was on his mind instead of suffering in silence beneath the weight of bleak thoughts that spun and spun, tumbling over each other, razor-edged and painful.
One touch from Ty and those thoughts were dispelled. And for that, Hudson would do anything for Ty. Absolutely anything. Stay near. Be near. Share his thoughts, his doubts.
At one point, toward the last of the season in the valley, Hudson, Ty, Wayne, and Gabe all went down to Laramie County Community College, where they had a truck driving school, to take the written and driving tests. Wayne had been cramming, and Ty kindly included him in the study sessions, so he was sure to pass. Just as Hudson knew he was sure to pass.
And he had. With his license in hand, he could find a truck driving job centered around Scottsbluff. After that, his new life awaited him. His regularly scheduled life, back on track at last. Him behind the wheel, the open road ahead of him, always rolling away, black-topped, like a sturdy promise that ended in a glowing sunset of happiness.
The summer in Farthingale Valley drew to its end, days of rain showers mixing with sprightly breezes that hinted at the autumn and winter to come. The work in the valley was mostly done, with inspectors scheduled to come to certify its readiness as rustic retreat come the spring.
Hudson didn’t know if he was sad or glad to be stuffing the last of the boxes from tent number eight into the mini-van that Michelle had borrowed from the owner of the laundromat. He didn’t have much, which was lucky because Ty had to fit his stuff in there, as well. And with both boys along, there wouldn’t be much wiggle room.
“How are you holding up?” Hudson asked Michelle as he slid the door close, taking in lungfuls of pine-scented air, wondering what the air around Scottsbluff would smell like in comparison.
“I’m doing okay,” she said, though the wobble in her voice told Hudson she was just being polite about it. “It’s hard to believe Mom is gone, but she is.”
That was the hard part. Two days before the graduation ceremony for the Fresh Start parolees, Mrs. Andrews, Michelle’s mother, had a stroke and passed away that same day. Which meant Michelle and the boys hadn’t been there to see Hudson line up with the others to get his certificate. Didn’t get to drink beer from ice cold pony kegs, poured into red Solo cups. Didn’t get to shake Leland Tate’s hand and get a hearty hello.
Michelle had been at a funeral while Hudson enjoyed very good beer while standing beneath a snow-white pavilion that was tucked in the woods. He’d not wanted to send her pictures, not wanting to make her feel bad, but she insisted and sent back emojis of hearts and sunshine when he did. She had sent five hearts in response to the selfie that Ty had wanted them to take. Then she’d sent a photo to Hudson, not of herself, but of Gareth and Trevor eating funeral potatoes out of a paper bowl.
All of this had made him feel sad rather than happy, but his reward for bearing up was the constant presence of Ty at his side. Ty, who knew all the right things to say and do, and who was now entertaining the two boys, giving Hudson and Michelle a quiet moment.
“The apartment’s not very big,” she said.
“We won’t be there very long. We’ll sleep on the fold-out couch while we find a place, and then we’ll be out of your hair.”
“I’m not worried about my hair,” she said, and he was pleased that a small smile displayed itself. “I’m worried about the boys imagining that every night is a sleepover and that you’ll get very little rest because of it.”
“We’ll manage,” he said, touching her arm and then, on impulse, drawing her into a hug. “I’m just worried about Ty being cooped up, so the sooner we find him a ranch job, the better.”
Ty had already said his goodbyes to Zeke and all the horses, taking extra time to give Honey kisses on her nose and between her eyes, long pets to her neck, an extra special grooming session.
How Ty was going to manage living in an apartment, cooped up with two kids and with no opportunity to ride, Hudson did not know. He’d be there for Ty, sure, to give him all the support he could, but it wasn’t going to be easy.
“Oh, look, it’s Royce,” said Hudson as Royce approached them, looking dapper and fresh in his white linen shirt with a bolero tie with a hunk of turquoise in it. New blue jeans that looked like they’d been ironed. Boots with a bright blue inlay. Gold curls sprightly around his head, his smile bright.
“Who’s Royce again?” she asked quietly.
“He’s one of the team leads,” said Hudson. “Super smart. For some reason, he liked to ask us to sit with him and Jonah, that’s one of the members of his team. He’s taken a shine to Ty, and maybe his family owns horses or something? And he likes talking to me for some reason.”
“It’s because you’re a good listener,” said Michelle.
Normally he would have disagreed with her, on account of compliments made him feel squirrelly, but Ty had told him not to do that. Say thank you and move on , Ty had said.
“Thank you,” said Hudson, acknowledging Ty in his mind. “He knows a lot about a lot, that’s for sure.”
“Hello, hello,” said Royce. “Ready to head out?”
“Just about,” said Hudson, thinking that Royce was a good guy, treating Hudson with politeness in spite of his past, just as he always had and probably always would.
“I meant to make sure that we had each other’s phone number,” said Royce, pulling out his very slim and very new iPhone. “Just in case.”
Just in case of what, well, Hudson wasn’t quite sure, but he handed his phone over to Royce to enter his information, waited, took the phone back, and then texted Royce to make sure the contact was entered correctly, then put his phone in his back pocket.
“Sure, call any time,” Hudson said, though since Royce was headed back to Montana, apparently, with Beck and Gordy and Jonah, would have his hands full.
Hudson wasn’t sure who Beck was, only that he was Jonah’s friend and had been allowed the run on of the valley on weekends, for reasons Hudson was not privy to.
“Hello again, Michelle,” said Royce, taking her hand and shaking it, all his natural charm on display. “How are you and your boys doing? Ty’s entertaining them, I see.”
Hudson looked over to where Ty was crouched down with a five-year-old and a seven-year-old, looking like he was having the time of his life, cowboy hat tipped back on his head as the three of them pretended to build and light a fire just off the edge of the path to the gravel parking lot.
“He’s good with them, that’s for sure,” said Michelle. “But I guess we better head out so we can make it to Scottsbluff by dark.”
Hudson knew he could make the drive easily and arrive before dark, but didn’t reckon that Michelle would enjoy it if he went eighty miles an hour the whole way. With the boys along, and the fact that he’d be driving a mini-van, he’d have to take it a whole lot slower than that.
“Well,” said Royce. “It’s been an amazing summer, hasn’t it?”
“Ty,” said Hudson, and when Ty looked at him, Hudson jerked his chin. “Come say goodbye. Bring the boys.”
All three were amazingly cute as they came over, dirt streaks on their knees and faces, Gareth with grass in his hair, Trevor somehow with a twig. Hudson reached absently to brush the grass and twig away, and smiled at them. At Ty. At Michelle. In fact, he felt like smiling at the whole damn world and if that wasn’t amazing, he didn’t know what was.
“Hudson’s got my number,” said Royce to Ty. “You’ll keep in touch, won’t you?”
“Sure will,” said Ty, though Hudson couldn’t imagine under what circumstances that would happen. “It’ll be strange not being here, I think.”
They couldn’t ever come back to the valley. Soon the snows of winter would make getting down those switchbacks impossible, and even if you took the shortcut off the two-lane road, going through the trees in six feet of snow would be darn near impossible.
They couldn’t come back the following spring either, simply because it would be inhabited by rich people with money to burn, and a willingness to burn it so they could sit around a campfire under the bright Wyoming stars.
Hudson’s eyes grew hot at the thought of it, that he’d never stand in this parking lot beneath the green pine trees, or walk along the path to the mess tent as the leaves on the aspen trees rippled in the wind.
He felt Ty’s hand in his, and looked at Ty, and knew Ty understood what was going through his mind. There was sorrow in the leaving, and joy in the going, and the two mixed together became a bright heat in his chest.
“Nice to see you again, Royce,” said Michelle. “If you’re ever in Scottsbluff, I hope you’ll look us up and stay a while.”
“I’m sure to,” said Royce, as though he had every intention, though, again, Hudson knew he was just being polite. “You’ve got so many birds down your way, interesting ones. Like the beautiful Falco sparverius , for one thing, and even more exciting than that is the fact that Branta canadensis love those sandpit lakes around that area. If you’ve ever heard the sound of a thousand geese wings flapping when those birds land, you’ll have heard something amazing indeed.”
Hudson wanted to open his mouth and ask, The what and the what now? But he knew he could always look up the Latin words later, and figure out what Royce was trying to say, though it was probably what he was always trying to say, which was that he loved birds and wildlife and everything about the natural world.
“Come by and see us when they land,” Hudson said, giving Royce’s hand another shake. “We won’t have room to put you up, but I’m sure we can find a nice motel with comfy beds for you.”
“No room?” asked Royce.
“Well,” said Michelle, picking up Trevor and holding him close a moment before putting him down. “The apartment has two small bedrooms and a very small kitchen and for the meanwhile, these two will be sleeping on a fold-out couch.”
Royce’s eyebrows rose, and he looked a little blank, as if he’d never heard of people crowding together in an apartment to save money.
“Let’s get a move on,” said Hudson, tugging on Ty’s hand.
He had no idea how to respond to the expression on Royce’s face, and no way to explain how to live a life with very little money.
There had been some rumor on the grapevine about a settlement coming their way, and during the party after the graduation ceremony, Mr. Tate had mentioned that Hudson should call someone named Alice Marie Brenner in a few weeks to find out more. But before Hudson could ask for clarification, Mr. Tate had turned to talk to someone else. Hudson didn’t think anything would come of it anyway, so he had no reason to call Ms. Brenner.
“Yes,” said Ty. “Let’s go.”
He didn’t say Let’s go home because Scottsbluff wasn’t yet home. It might be in the weeks to come, or maybe it would be a way station on the way to somewhere else. Hudson was doing his best to stay open about all of that, but what he really wanted to do was find a quiet place to hold Ty in his arms until the world stopped spinning.
He helped settle the boys in the back seat of the mini-van with Ty, and got in the driver’s seat, waiting while Michelle made sure of the boys and then buckled herself in the passenger seat.
“Okay,” she said. “Okay.”
It was easier to focus on the driving. Easier to drive up the switchbacks and notice the beauty of the shadowed woods with the sun slanting through the dark trunks like slices of gold. Easier to make sure the windows were open so Ty and the boys could hang out a little bit and sniff the wind, feel it in their hair, smile in the sunlight. They’d have to close the windows soon enough.