Chapter 23
Dakota sat in her car in her parents’ driveway and tried to stop her body from vibrating. After leaving Hudson’s, she’d stalked
toward her house and rushed inside. Trouble had met her at the door, singing his usual chorus of meows.
While she fed him, her hands still shaking, she pondered everything Hudson had said to her.
I wanted you with me in New York City. It all meant nothing without you.
You were everything to me.
You’re the love of my life, Dakota, and I never got over you.
Dakota had dropped onto a kitchen chair and held her head in her hands. She’d always thought that Hudson had left her, but
the truth was, she’d pushed him away. It was all her fault that they’d missed their chance at happiness.
And then the hypocrisy of it all smacked her in the face—her stubbornness had driven away not only the love of her life but also her niece and her business.
And now it was time to fix it. But first she had to swallow her pride and ask for help.
She’d picked herself up and driven to her parents’ house. And now, as she stared at her parents’ front door, she sucked in
a breath. It was time for her to tell them everything.
She knocked on the door, rocking back on her heels as she tried to mentally rehearse her speech.
Mom opened the door and hugged her. “Dakota. What a nice surprise.” Then her expression flickered with worry. “What’s wrong?”
“I need to talk to you and Dad.”
Her mother held the door open wider. “Of course, sweetheart. Come on in.”
***
“Why didn’t you tell us this sooner?” Dad asked after Dakota had shared everything with her parents—the money she’d lost on
her stock, her loss of sales, her higher mortgage payment, the new leaks in the pipes, and her argument with Skye. The only
thing she left out was her argument with Hud.
She rubbed her forehead. Sitting at the kitchen table with her parents made her feel like a little kid again—vulnerable, immature,
lost, and confused. But at the same time, a tremendous weight had been lifted off her chest and shoulders. She wasn’t alone
in this debacle anymore.
Mom touched her hand. “Dakota, you should already know we’re always here for you. You, your brother, Eileen, and our grandchildren
are the most important people in our lives, and we’d do anything to help when you need us.”
“I know.” Shame squeezed Dakota’s throat, making her words come out in a squeak. “I guess I was afraid of hearing ‘I told you so.’”
Dad’s brow puckered. “Why?”
“Because you said I bit off more than I could chew when I bought the house right after I opened the store. And in the end,
you were right. I did take on too much, and now I’m dealing with the repercussions.”
Dad’s expression turned contrite. “Sweetheart, I’m sorry I made you feel that way. You shouldn’t ever be afraid to tell us
if you need help.”
“Yeah, I’m learning that.” Dakota drew invisible circles on the table. “The truth is that I’m in over my head. My dream was
to work as a seamstress, but I don’t have the business sense to run a store. The twenty-three-page lease makes no sense to
me, and I had no idea I’d made a terrible mistake when I lowered my insurance coverage. My true love is creating and altering
clothes, not worrying about financials, but I was too stubborn and too proud to admit that I had taken on too much.” She sank
back in the chair. “The worst part is that I feel like I let you both down.”
Mom shook her head. “Honey, you could never let us down.”
“She’s right,” Dad agreed. “Now tell me, Dakota, how can we help?”
She clasped her hands together and sighed. “I think it’s too late to save my store and my house. I’m going to have to break
the lease on the store and then try to find a job.” Her lips puckered. She couldn’t imagine going back to working for someone
else, but what option did she have?
“Nope, that’s not what you’re going to do.”
Dakota’s head popped up. “Huh?”
“You’re giving up too easily,” Dad said, and Mom nodded.
“What do you mean?”
“First off, are you sure the lease says you’re responsible for the damage in the store? The landlord is truly off the hook for everything?”
She nodded. “Yes, I’m sure.”
“Okay. That means we’re going to get the plumbers to fix their mistake. You need to call them and demand they make it right.
Also, you need to insist that the plumbers give you a refund for the work they’ve done to this point.”
“You think they’ll do that?”
“ Make them do it, Dakota,” Dad told her.
“Okay.” She sat up straighter as renewed confidence filled her.
“To save your store, how much money would you need?” Dad asked.
Dakota sat forward in the chair. “I’d have to think about it.”
“Let’s figure that out now.” Dad crossed to the counter, picked up a notepad and pen, and then returned to the table.
They discussed her expenses in broad strokes, and when they came up with a figure, her head began to ache. It was more money
than she could ever imagine earning.
“You’re sure that’s what you need?” Dad asked.
She sagged in the seat again. “Yup.”
“Sounds good to me. We can go to the bank tomorrow, and I’ll cosign on a loan for you.”
She shook her head. “I hate asking you for so much help.”
Her parents shared a look.
“Am I missing something?” she asked, her gaze bouncing between them.
“When we were expecting Nick, we were going through similar circumstances,” Mom began. “Your dad had started his own business,
and it wasn’t going as well as expected.”
Dakota’s eyes widened. “What? You never told me this. What business?”
“It was a printshop,” Dad explained. “I’d purchased the machines, and I was going to run the place myself.” He pursed his lips. “I refinanced the house and cleaned out our savings.”
“And then it was a total flop,” Mom said matter-of-factly.
Dad blew out a dramatic sigh. “She’s right. There was another printshop in town, and it was much more efficient and affordable.
So I had to ask my folks for help.”
“Really?” Dakota tried to wrap her mind around this new information. “I had no idea.”
“That’s because we never talked about it,” Mom said. “It was a real test of our marriage. Right, Mitch?”
Dad kissed her cheek. “But it made us stronger in the end, didn’t it, Debbie?” He leaned over and gave Dakota a hug. “We’re
happy to help you, and you shouldn’t feel bad about it.”
Dakota held on to him and sniffed. “I love you guys.”
“We love you too,” Dad said.
“That goes without saying, sweetheart,” Mom agreed. “We love you dearly.”
Dad patted Dakota’s shoulder. “Now. Let’s meet at the bank tomorrow morning and see about that loan.”
“Right.” Dakota rubbed her eyes and stood. “Thank you both. I’m so grateful for you.” With her parents’ help, she was going
to get her store back on track.
***
The following morning, Hudson hit the code on the garage door, and it hummed as it closed. He glanced over at Dakota’s driveway
and sighed when he found it empty. It was probably best that she wasn’t home. They’d said everything they needed to say last
night.
But that didn’t stop his heart from fracturing at the thought of not seeing her again.
Last night he had called his aunt to say goodbye, and he could still hear her sobs echoing in his mind. The sound had been a stab to his heart, but he had to go. It was the only solution that made sense. Shame mixed with his guilt. He was a coward for not telling her in person that he was leaving, but he just couldn’t bear to do otherwise.
After talking to his aunt, he’d stared at the ceiling all night long, replaying his arguments with his sister and with Dakota
while the minutes ticked by at a snail’s pace.
Climbing into the driver’s seat, he slipped on his sunglasses and started the engine. When he peeked over at Dakota’s house
one last time, he spotted her cat lounging in the window.
“Bye, Trouble,” he said, a little lump expanding in his throat. “Take good care of your mom.”
Hudson motored out of the driveway and down Oak Street with country music playing through his speakers. He turned the music
up, hoping to drown out his warring thoughts. Then he pushed the button to lower the window, and warm late-May air filled
the SUV, bringing with it the scent of moist earth.
When he merged onto Glenn Avenue, a sliver of doubt took root in the back of his mind. Was he running away again like Aunt
Trudy and Dakota had said? He tried to lose himself in the words of the country song, but the doubt remained, morphing and
taking hold of his thoughts.
He clenched his teeth.
Pow!
A sound like a gunshot startled him. He continued on and then heard a flup , flup , flup as the car tugged to the left along the residential two-lane road. When it was safe to do so, he pulled onto the shoulder.
He jumped out of the car and confirmed his suspicion.
A flat tire. Great. Just great.
Hudson peered into the trunk of his SUV, which was packed full of his luggage. He released a long, exhausted breath. This was not how he imagined his road trip would start. Of course the tire iron and jack were in the compartment under all of his belongings.
Hudson grabbed his duffel bag and set it on the curb. Then he picked up a small cardboard box marked “Hudson,” and it came
apart in his hand. A photo album fell out, hitting the pavement and bouncing open. He bent down, finding photos of himself
as a little boy posing with his parents. He examined the album closer and gasped.
He turned the page to find more photos of himself as a toddler—playing on a swing set, paddling in a small plastic pool, blowing
out birthday candles.
He hadn’t seen those photos in years. Only then did he realize he was holding the photo album that Aunt Trudy had given him
at the bridal shower. He had shoved the box in a corner and forgotten about it. Then he’d tossed it into the SUV this morning
before leaving.
Hudson turned another page and grinned at a photo of himself sitting on Santa’s lap. Leaning against the rear bumper, he perused
the album as traffic moved past him on Glenn Avenue. A dog barked in a yard nearby. Birds sang in the surrounding trees. And
the warm morning sun beat down on his face.
Memories flashed over Hudson while he flipped through the pages. Photos of him and his parents at the beach, at the park,
posing by a Christmas tree at Trudy’s, and standing together on a sunny day dressed in red, white, and blue. When he came
to a photo of himself holding an infant Layla, emotion swelled inside him, and his eyes filled with tears.
He sniffed. “We were so happy,” he whispered as a car passed by. “And now...”
His chest constricted, and he wiped his eyes. He’d ruined his sister’s life, and now he had to live with that knowledge.
He refocused his attention on the album and discovered a picture of him with his parents and Layla at church the day she was baptized. He grinned at the camera as he stood at the altar with baby Layla, his parents, and the pastor.
He recalled how Layla cried when Pastor Chris sprinkled the water on her head. She was so tiny, but she had a strong set of
lungs.
When he turned the page again, he found a collage of photos featuring him and Dakota. His stomach did a somersault at the
sight of them together. In one photo they snuggled on Aunt Trudy’s sofa, in another they laughed while posed in the bed of
his pickup truck, and in a third they held hands on her parents’ porch swing.
They looked so happy. Back then things had been so easy between them. They were in sync and so in love.
But that was another time. They’d missed their chance, and his heart would never recover.
He closed the album, set it atop the duffel bag, and returned to the trunk of his vehicle.
He finished emptying it out before retrieving the scissor jack and tire iron. Then he removed the spare from where it was
stowed underneath the vehicle.
He removed the flat, set the spare, and then retightened the lug nuts. After lowering the car and setting the flat tire and
equipment in the trunk, he loaded his luggage back into the SUV.
Back behind the wheel, he placed the photo album down beside him on the passenger seat and stared at it for a moment. The
memories the book held rushed over him, and he found himself once again doubting his decision to leave town.
Then he turned over the SUV’s engine and slipped it into Drive.