Oh boy.Twenty-four hours ago he’d been staring at the ceiling, ruing how easily she drove him to his last nerve.
Back downstairs, his brothers had cleared away the game and returned to the kitchen. He joined them.
Hudson stood at the kitchen island, stirring something that smelled like chocolate and cinnamon. The others sat at the table, their expressions serious.
“She okay?” Kennedy asked.
“Stubborn. Frustrating. Too tough for her own good.” Jericho ran a hand through his hair. “But yeah, I think so.”
Hudson grinned, sent a look at Sully.
“What?”
“Just ... you know. Old times. That thing between you.”
“There’s nothing between us now.”
Sully nearly choked on his hot cocoa. Grabbed a napkin.
“Here.” Hudson slid a mug across the counter. “Some chocolate to go with that lie.”
“It’s not—listen. She’s got a life in Juneau. Besides, today was a good warning of what I don’t want.”
“Which is what?”
He cocked his head at Sully’s question. “Harley has always been impulsive. Too fierce for her own good. And just like I said years ago, she’s going to get herself killed. And I can’t watch that.”
Although his own words pinched.“I won’t let him hurt you. Whateverit takes,I’ll keep you safe.”Well, for right now, yes.
He took a sip of the cocoa, tasted the bite alongside the chocolate. “Mom’s hot cocoa recipe.”
Malachi accepted his own mug. “With the secret ingredient?”
“Cayenne pepper isn’t secret if you announce it.” Sully took another sip. Nodded. Turned to Jericho. “You say you can’t watch and yet, here she is, in our house.”
His mouth tightened and he stared at the cocoa. Sighed. “Fine. Yes.” He looked up. “I regret a lot about leaving her.” He looked at his brothers. “Leaving you all, really. I ... I should have come back after my first deployment. Shoulda helped you with this place, Hud. And Mal.” He looked at Sully. “And I’m so sorry I wasn’t here when...” He glanced at Kennedy.
She put a hand on his arm. “God was here. And that’s all we needed.”
Still. “I guess I just...”
“Hey,” Hudson said. “The crash took us all out.”
“No.” He met Hudson’s gaze. “You don’t...” And here went nothing. “Dad and I had a big fight right before he took off that night.”
Kennedy released his arm.
“We were on a video call. He was waiting to leave—the weather window was closing—but I was going in country, and ... anyway, I was approaching the deadline to re-up and called him to tell him, and he got ... well, I think he thought it was a one-time tour.”
The argument rung in his head, just the important part.“I thought you were coming home. The legacyI want isn’t just this resort—it’s you.You were made for this. Don’t throw it away,son.”
“He wanted me to come home and take over the resort, and I turned him down. And then hung up on him.”
No one moved.
Yep, his last words to his father had been in anger. So, that was a joy to live with.
“Dad always thought you’d take over,” Hudson said quietly.