Chapter 33
NATALIE
“Let’s go see him,” I said.
“What? Who?” Huxley was leaning back on the couch with his legs stretched out in front of him. He looked like he was going to doze off at any minute.
“Hudson,” I said. “Let’s go to his apartment. I think we’ve let him sulk long enough.”
“I don’t think he would want the attention.”
“I don’t want him to think we’re mad at him,” I said. “I don’t want him to think I’m mad or scared. I walked out of the shop because I was upset at the situation in general. I’m not upset with him. He was protecting my honor. That’s actually kind of hot.”
“Gross,” he groaned.
I giggled and got to my feet. “Come on. If we leave him alone with the thoughts he must be having right now, he’s going to have a rough night. I don’t want to add to his misery. He needs to sleep. We don’t want him to have nightmares.”
“I don’t think we have any control over that,” he said.
“Come on,” I said again. “I don’t like the way we left things. I feel bad. He didn’t start the fight. He was protecting himself.”
“I know.”
“You should have told me,” I pouted.
“I did.”
“Not until after he was gone,” I said.
“Fine,” he said, sighing. “Let’s go.”
I grabbed a jacket and we stepped outside. It was just starting to sprinkle. I paused in the doorway.
“Change your mind?” he teased. “Afraid you’ll melt?”
“Very funny,” I said. “I wish I hadn’t drunk those beers. Now, we have to walk.”
“I’m sure it’s just a little sprinkle,” he said, shrugging.
We made the trek to Hudson’s place first. After knocking and calling for him, it was clear he wasn’t home. “He’s probably at the pub,” I said.
“Let’s go.”
There was no way we weren’t going to worry.
Hux had heard from him earlier but nothing since.
It wasn’t hard to think the worst. Hudson had left in a shitty mood.
His project was taking a turn for the worse.
He was likely in a dark place. I just hoped it wasn’t too dark.
I hoped he wasn’t going to give up and run back to the military. Or worse.
The rain picked up on our walk to the pub. We rushed inside just before it opened up in a full downpour. It took about three seconds to discover Hudson wasn’t there. Teresa was mopping the back corner.
“Hey,” Hux called out.
“What are you guys doing here?” she asked and returned the mop to the bucket.
“Is Hudson here?” I asked.
“No,” Teresa answered.
The look on her face did not give me hope. “What’s wrong?” I asked. “Is he okay? What happened? Did he say something? Where did he go?”
Hux put his hand on my shoulder. “Give her a second to answer the first question,” he said. “Hudson is a big boy. We don’t actually have to babysit him.”
“He got a search and rescue call,” Teresa said. “Him and Gus ran out of here.”
“What?” I gasped. “Search and rescue?”
“When did he get on the team?” Hux asked. “Last I heard he was interested.”
“I guess he was accepted today,” Teresa said, shrugging. “They took off out of here about an hour ago.”
“Where?” I asked.
“I just heard from one of the regulars a couple didn’t come back after their hike this morning,” she said.
“Where?” Hux echoed my question.
“Birch Trail,” Teresa answered.
We all knew the area. It was a pretty common place to hike. It wasn’t a part of any park. It tended to be one of those places that only locals really knew but they would often recommend it.
“That’s a pretty easy hike,” I said.
“I’m guessing they went off the trail,” Teresa said with a shake of her head. “You know how steep that cliff is.”
“Great, now it’s up to Hudson to save their asses,” Hux growled. “And it just started raining. It’s going to be dumping up there.”
“He never told me he was actually going to do the search and rescue thing,” I complained. “He said he was going to sign up and volunteer.”
“I don’t think he told anyone,” Teresa said. “Gus didn’t even know until Hudson got the same text while they were eating dinner.”
“This isn’t a surprise,” Hux said. “Hudson never says anything to anyone. He keeps everything to himself. Don’t take it personal. He’s always been that way. He’s a private man.”
That didn’t exactly make me feel better. “Was he even ready to go out?” I asked.
“Hudson is always ready,” Teresa said, laughing. “You haven’t noticed he still wears his boots all the time?”
I had definitely noticed. I remembered him taking them off and how long it took. “Can I get a beer?” I asked her.
“Of course,” she said, smiling. “You two sit. I think we have a long night ahead of us. I know you aren’t going to go home until we know he’s safe. Both of them.”
Hux and I took a seat. I stared out the window that was streaked with rain. “Do they call the search off if the weather gets bad?” I asked.
“I think they’re supposed to stay out in the bad weather unless it’s too dangerous,” Hux said, shrugging.
Teresa returned with two beers for us. “Gus will often be out all night,” she said. “Once they get out there, those searchers don’t like to give up. It takes a lot for them to call it off. They won’t call it because of rain.”
“But it’s dark,” I said. “How dangerous is it going to be?”
“I think Hudson is probably the most skilled guy out there right now,” Hux said. “He knows danger. He knows how to mitigate danger and what needs to be done.”
“He’s also stubborn as an ox,” I muttered. “He’ll put his life at risk to save another.”
“Yes, he will,” Hux said, nodding. “That’s the way he is. I don’t think he would be happy doing anything different. He has to be helpful. He has to be the guy that gives his all, no matter the cost.”
“I’m not sure I like that,” I said with a sigh.
“I think it’s exactly what you like about him,” Hux said. “He’s the All-American Hero in the perfect little package.”
“I bet there are a thousand women that want him,” I said.
“Don’t tell him that,” he said, laughing. “He doesn’t need another ego boost.”
I checked the time and looked outside once again. “It’s still raining.”
“Which is why they need to get those people out of there,” Hux said.
“What was he wearing?” I called out to Teresa.
She looked up from where she was wiping down the bar. “I don’t know, the usual. I wasn’t paying attention.”
I tried to remember what he was wearing at the shop before he was asked to leave. “Cargo pants,” I said, nodding. “I bet cargo pants. Did he have a jacket?”
“I don’t know,” Teresa answered.
“I’m sure they would have provided him with the right gear,” Hux said. “They’re not going to send him out with his T-shirt and shorts. They’d just have to rescue him too.”
“It’s been almost two hours,” I said. “We got here half an hour ago. That means he’s been gone for almost two hours. That’s a long time. Do you think they’re okay?”
“Yes,” Hux said. “Relax. You’re freaking out. Thank God you weren’t hooking up with him when he was a SEAL. You would have been a nervous wreck.”
I groaned at the thought. “I don’t know how the wives at home handle that.”
“Probably because they never talk about what they are doing,” he said. “They don’t tell anyone where they are going or what they are doing.”
“I’m not sure if that’s worse or better,” I said. “As you know, I have a pretty healthy imagination. I can spin some wild stories in my head.”
“So, are you going to tell me what the deal is between the two of you?” he asked. “I’ve tried to mind my own business, but he’s my brother and you’re my best friend. Am I going to be put in the middle of something?”
“I honestly don’t know what’s going on,” I said. “We haven’t really talked about anything.”
“Do you care about him?” he asked.
“Of course.”
“I mean, do you see him as a boyfriend?” he pushed.
“You’re asking me to put a label on something that doesn’t exist,” I said, shrugging. “He has definitely never indicated he wanted to be anything more than a friend.”
He snorted. “With benefits.”
“Not talking about that with you,” I said.
“You don’t have to talk about it,” he said, laughing. “I’m not an idiot. I know my brother’s sex appeal. I know the two of you stayed the night together. I’m not quite dumb enough to think nothing happened.”
If it was any other guy, I would have told him because that was what we did. We were friends. We talked about things like that. Certainly no specifics, but we talked about who did what with whom. I knew when he was seeing someone.
“I’m not denying something happened,” I said. “I’m just not sure if it meant anything more than it did. Both times.”
He frowned at me. “Both times.”
I grinned. “Do you think I went out on the boat without getting some kind of reward?”
He groaned and put a hand over his eyes. “I’m going to have the thing steam cleaned.”
I was giggling while he made a big deal out of it.
“I should have known. I couldn’t believe it when you said you went swimming.”
“Naked,” I teased. “Both of us.”
“Alright, alright,” he said. “I get it.”
“Do you know if he’s ever had a girlfriend?” I asked.
“Not that I know of,” he answered.
“He’s probably not even interested in something like that,” I mused aloud.
“You know, usually, this is a conversation you have with someone before you hop into their bed,” he said dryly.
“As if you have any room to talk.”
“I think you should talk to him,” he said seriously.
“I know you. Shoot, I probably know you better than I know him. Hudson has never talked about women to me beyond the locker-room talk. Like Teresa and I were just saying, he doesn’t talk about anything.
He keeps all of that to himself. Maybe he talks to his SEAL buddies, but he’s never talked with us. ”
“What if he doesn’t have any interest in a relationship?” I asked.
“You’re not going to know unless you broach the subject with him.”
“Yeah, I’m sure that’ll be super easy,” I said, sighing. “Especially with the way I acted this morning. First, I snapped at him for something he didn’t do. Then I turn my back on him after he defended me. I’m really racking up the points here.”
“You’ll have a chance to talk to him soon enough,” he said.
I looked out the window again. “I hope so,” I murmured.
I hated that he was out there. Hated that he was putting his life in danger.
Thinking about him out there made me feel a little selfish.
He was out there doing something I knew he loved, and all I could think about was pulling him back in.
Someone needed him, and I was being very selfish by denying them the guy I knew would rescue them.
Hudson didn’t know how to give up on people. It had almost gotten him killed once that I knew about. I wondered how many other situations he put his life on the line to save a buddy or even a total stranger.