Chapter 2
Chapter Two
“Hey, Carl,” TJ Sparks called out to Granddad from his usual stool at Sparks Barbeque.
Hudson Ryan shook his head slightly, grinning, because he hadn’t been in this restaurant in thirteen years, and TJ was still sitting in the same spot as always. Apparently, there was some truth to that old “the more things changed, the more they stayed the same” adage.
Granddad walked over to the man, and Hudson followed. This was his first foray back into the social scene in Maris, and he wasn’t sure how the good people of the town would take his return. He’d been a bit of a shit when he lived here before.
Actually, he’d been a gigantic shit and an asshole, but he was hoping folks around here were the forgive-and-forget types, who would chalk up his behavior back then to youth.
“Well, well, well, as I live and breathe, Hudson Ryan.”
Hudson glanced behind the bar, where Macie stood staring at him, one hand on her hip.
“Hey, Macie. Good to see you again,” he said.
Macie had been a couple years ahead of him in school, but it wasn’t like Maris High School was so big that it mattered what grade anyone was in. While he didn’t have any classes with her, they still crossed paths in the hall, the cafeteria, and the library.
Macie had always been one of those live-and-let-live kind of people, and he was praying that was still so.
“I was sorry to hear about your dad,” she said kindly.
Hudson nodded in thanks, relieved that she’d chosen to greet him with compassion. He was certain the same wouldn’t hold true for other members of her family.
“So, what brings you back to Maris?” she asked. “Here for a visit?”
Hudson glanced at his granddad, wondering if now was a good time to spring his news. God knew once he told Macie and TJ, the entire town would know.
Granddad took the decision out of his hands, practically beaming when he answered her question, placing a proud hand on his shoulder. “He’s moving back for good. I’m officially retiring, and Hudson’s taking over Ryan Construction.”
“Well, hey,” TJ said, excitedly. “That’s good news! This town was going to be in a whole world of hurt when this old coot retired on us. Best damn contractor in Maris.”
“You might want to watch that old coot crap,” Granddad said, chuckling as TJ slapped him on the back.
“You’ve got more gray hair than I do. What’s left of it, that is.
” Granddad lifted the front of TJ’s baseball cap, showing off the man’s receding gray hairline.
The two men had been friends for most of their lives, so ribbing each other was second nature.
“You got here just in time,” TJ said to Hudson. “That young upstart, Beck Reed, needs some competition. Getting too big for his britches.”
Hudson had never met Beck Reed, who was fairly new to Maris, but he’d heard the man’s name enough. Now, as always, Granddad growled at the mention of his name.
“Yeah, well, Ryan Construction is more than just back in the game. Because Hudson’s not only a talented builder and contractor,” Granddad said, squeezing his shoulder. “My grandson put his years in Dallas to good use. He’s also a licensed plumber.”
Hudson realized that probably sounded impressive, but all it really signified was that he’d done nothing but work his ass off for well over a decade.
He’d become a broken record—work, home, sleep, repeat.
Day after day, month after month, year after year, until he looked up and thirteen years had passed.
“You don’t say,” TJ replied, clearly impressed. “We’ve had a terrible time getting plumbers ever since Jack Brody moved away. Have to call all the way to Douglas these days. Takes forever to get someone here.”
Hudson was aware of that. It was one of the most compelling arguments his granddad had made when asking him to return to Maris to take over the company.
Not that it had been a terribly hard sell.
Hudson had been working for someone else and apprenticing long enough that he’d formed his opinions on how projects should be done.
He looked forward to the opportunity to be his own boss.
In an ideal world, Hudson would have returned to Maris a few years ago when his grandfather’s health began to decline.
Granddad had been forced to take fewer and fewer jobs as rheumatoid arthritis made it difficult for him to get out of bed a lot of days.
While Granddad had a decent-size crew that worked for him, projects tended to suffer whenever he wasn’t onsite.
And, well, because of his age and the pain he was in, Granddad had also dropped the ball on several occasions, making some small—and a few costly—mistakes.
Because of that, Beck Reed had swooped in and taken advantage of the situation.
Granddad warned him that business had been slow, but Hudson didn’t realize until returning this week that slow meant practically nonexistent.
He’d expected to come home and step in to take over at least a few projects from Granddad, but apparently Ryan Construction had lost too many bids to Beck’s company lately.
As such, they were currently in the final stages of their last two jobs, relatively small ones, with no more waiting in the wings.
He should have moved back sooner. But three years earlier, when Hudson had originally made plans to take over Ryan Construction, his father was diagnosed with cirrhosis, and he and Granddad agreed he’d receive better medical care in the city.
Aware of Granddad’s health issues, Hudson had told the old guy to go ahead, close down the company and retire, resigning himself to the idea of working “for the man” for the rest of his life.
However, Granddad was as stubborn as the day was long, so he kept holding on, even as things at the company took a turn for the worse.
Shortly after Dad’s funeral a month ago, Granddad told Hudson it was time for him to come back, and while he’d had some lingering reservations, given the less-than-stellar reputation he’d built for himself the last time he lived here, he decided there was nothing holding him in Dallas anymore.
“Your regular booth is open, Carl,” Macie said to Granddad. “If you guys want to grab it, I’ll bring the menus and water over.”
Hudson grinned. “Regular booth, huh?”
Granddad waved off his teasing. “Cooking for one person is miserable. Besides, I can’t make anything even half as good as the food here.”
“Probably doesn’t hurt that this is the hub of all the Maris gossip, too.”
Granddad winked. “I’d hate to miss anything.”
TJ Sparks had a tendency to gather old men like a shepherd gathered sheep. Granddad had long been a part of TJ’s group of followers, one of at least a dozen men who hung out at the restaurant, gossiping like a bunch of old hens.
“It’s Maris, Granddad. I can’t imagine there would be much to miss. It’s not like this is some booming metropolis.”
“You’d be surprised. We’ve had lots of scandalous happenings in the time you’ve been away.”
Hudson was relieved to hear that, given the fact he’d probably been one of the primary sources of scandals back in high school. “Do tell.”
Before Granddad could share the goods, Macie came over to the table, giving them each a glass of water before telling them the lunch special.
Neither he nor Granddad bothered to take the menus, both agreeing the pulled pork sandwiches, homemade potato chips, coleslaw, and country green beans platter sounded damn fine.
Granddad was right. Eating here beat the hell out of cooking.
Macie promised to be right back with their beers, then headed to the kitchen to put their orders in.
“So hit me with it. What’s the juiciest thing to happen in Maris since I left?” Hudson asked, expecting nothing more interesting than some couple getting a divorce or someone having an affair. What he wasn’t expecting was…
“Well, what would you say if I told you Maris now has not one, but two full-fledged ménage a trois thingies going on.”
“You’re kidding!”
Granddad shook his head, clearly delighted by Hudson’s shock. “Nope,” Granddad said, popping the p.
“Who?”
“We got a couple full-time firefighters in Maris these days, Diego and Luc. Good guys. Hard workers. They raised money for a rescue squad and got certified as EMTs.”
Hudson nodded as he listened, accustomed to Granddad’s habit of adding way too many unnecessary details to his stories.
“The fellas had a reputation for taking out the ladies together when they first arrived in town.”
“Double dates aren’t exactly scandalous,” Hudson pointed out.
“I’m not talking about double dates. I’m saying the two of them took out the same lady, at the same time.”
Hudson had lived in Maris from the time he was thirteen until he was eighteen, and his presence here had been under extreme duress.
His dad had gone to jail for robbing a convenience store, so Granddad stepped in, bringing him here to live with him.
A city boy from the word go—and a feral one at that—the Hudson he’d been when he was younger had hated every single thing about this backwoods, boring-ass small town.
To say he was surprised by Granddad’s gossip was putting it mildly.
“And there were women here who were into that?”
“More than you might imagine. Probably doesn’t hurt that neither Diego nor Luc are hard to look at. And apparently there were some rumors flying around about their bedroom prowess.”
Hudson laughed, amused by Granddad’s subtle description of the two firefighters tag teaming the local ladies. “Prowess, huh? I have to admit, that’s some pretty good gossip.”
“I haven’t even gotten to the good part yet. Couple years ago, they turned their eye toward one lady in particular, both boys totally smitten.”
It was obvious Granddad was dragging out the suspense of who the lady in question was. “You’ve spent too much time with TJ,” Hudson muttered. “You’re purposely drawing out the story. I suspect that’s because I know the woman?”