Page 7 of Waiting for Forever
“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?”
Granddad laughed. “That you do.” He pointed toward the swinging door to the kitchen. “She’s back there right now, making our meal. Jeannette Sparks.”
Hudson didn’t bother to hide his surprise, his eyebrows raised.
Jeannette, like Macie, had been older than Hudson, but he still knew who she was. For a minute, he thought maybe he was mixing up his Sparks girls. “Jeannette’s the shy, quiet one, right? Who moved in with Judge Sparks when her parents were killed in the car accident?”
“That’s the one.”
“Wow. I wouldn’t have seen that coming. Good for her,” he added. Then he recalled the first thing his grandfather said. “But you said there were two threesomes?”
Granddad nodded. “The second is our local doctor, Tyson Sparks. He’s happily settled down with Harley Mills and Caleb Hott, whose parents run the Feed and Seed. The three of them still play in that bluegrass band of theirs, Ty’s Collective, from time to time.”
The shock he felt over Jeannette’s throuple didn’t hold a candle tothisnews. “Judge Sparks’ son is in a committed ménage?” Hudson couldn’t help it. He laughedhardthis time. “Bet that went over like a lead balloon with the holier-than-thou prick.”
Granddad narrowed his eyes. “You need to let go of that hostility toward the judge, Hudson. While you might not believe it, he wasn’t the hard-ass you thought he was when it came to you and your crimes.”
Crimes.
Hudson hated when Granddad used that word, but the truth was, hehadcommitted quite a few crimes while in high school. Vandalism, shoplifting, some accidental arson caused when he was smoking a joint in Old Man Potter’s crappy shed. He evendid a bit of joyriding one night in his granddad’s pick-up truck with a couple of buddies, none of them older than fourteen.
As far as criminals went, Hudson had proven himself to be a shitty one, because he managed to get caught more than a few times. And when he did, he always found himself standing in front of the haughty Judge Sparks. Hudson had hated the judge with the passion of a thousand fiery suns back in the day. He’d transferred all his anger over being forced to move to Maris after his father’s incarceration to Judge Sparks and Granddad and…
Her.
Hudson couldn’t even think her name without feeling like the world’s biggest prick.
“I was a total shithead.” Hudson had been a cocky, arrogant asshole, strutting around town with a chip on his shoulder as big as Colorado. Recalling the terrible things he’d said to Granddad, the disrespect he’d shown pretty much everyone, was something he’d regret until the end of his days. “I don’t know why you didn’t wash your hands of me. You should have told the judge to kick my ass into juvie or put me in foster care.”
Granddad sighed. “I would never have done that, Hudson. Yeah, you were a pain in the ass, but I understood why you were acting out. In truth, I blamed myself for a lot of your behavior.”
“Yourself? Why?”
“Because I knew your dad was drunk ninety-nine percent of the time, and I still left you there with him in Dallas. I should have pulled you out of that damn apartment years before I did. Maybe if your grandmother and I had still been together. Or if I’d remarried…”
If there was one thing the Ryan men had in common, it was their inability to establish long-term, committed relationships.
Granddad got divorced when Hudson’s dad, Granger, was six. Apparently, she didn’t like the long work hours Granddad kept while trying to get his business off the ground, so she foundherself a nine-to-five banker and left him. She remarried and moved to Boise. Dad went with her at first, but he hated his new stepdad, so within a year, he was back with Granddad.
Then history repeated itself when Hudson’s mom cut and run. He was only four. Mom was tired of supporting an alcoholic husband. When she found a new boyfriend, she spied a way out—one she could only take if she left Hudson behind, because the new guy didn’t want any excess baggage. So, she left him with Dad, never looking back.
Those two examples of unwedded bliss had made an impact on Hudson.
