“Smart. I am smart,” Mochi echoed.
“And some of the sassiest,” Tara added with a laugh as she carried him inside. Mochi kept repeating how smart he was.
“Well, let’s start with the garden and loop back in from the rear,” Hudson said.
We walked past the main house and down toward his cottage. It mirrored the mansion’s stone facade, just smaller and simpler.
“Tara leaves in the evenings,” Hudson explained. “She lives in Camden with her family. But I live in that cottage. If you need anything, I’m always around.”
“Thank you,” I said.
We followed a path along the side of the house. Below it was a steep drop to where waves slapped against jagged rock. No fence. Just open air and raw cliffside. It made me aware of every step.
When we reached the back garden, my breath caught again. A stone fountain was nestled in a bed of blooming flowers, with boxy hedges lining gravel paths.
“Who maintains all this?” I asked.
“We have several crews come biweekly. Cleaners, landscapers. I keep it ready for Daniel at all times.” Hudson placed a hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “So he has nothing to worry about when it comes to the Breakers.”
Daniel’s lips curled into a fond smile. “Let’s go inside,” he said.
“Sure,” I mumbled, still in awe.
We entered through the back porch and stepped into the kitchen, where Tara was preparing lunch. The sunlit space was filled with the scent of herbs and something baked. Mochi sat peacefully in his cage on a chair near the window, nibbling a slice of watermelon like a happy child on summer break. He chirped between bites, completely in his element.
The room felt like an old, historic kitchen, the kind rich people spend a fortune trying to re-create. It had wide-plank floors, tall cabinets, and a deep farmhouse sink. Yet, despite the old-world charm, everything gleamed as if it had been installed yesterday.
Tara smiled warmly as we passed through and walked into a room just off the kitchen. There, a fireplace crackled low beside a polished billiard table. The thick wooden beams overhead gave the impression that we’d stepped inside a castle.
“This is the game room,” Hudson said.
The next rooms came quickly as Hudson continued the tour. First, a formal dining room with a long mahogany table that could seat a large group. Then a small study lined with bookshelves. We made our way into the biggest room yet. It was open and airy, with tall windows and a grand piano under a crystal chandelier.
“Parties are hosted here,” Hudson said as we walked through.
I turned slowly, taking it all in, still trying to grasp that this was real.
We stepped into a cozier room with couches arranged around a stone fireplace. Above the mantle, a wide rectangular mirror hung in a heavy gold frame.
“This,” Hudson said, “is the family room.”
He picked up a remote from a side table and clicked something. The mirror flickered, then revealed a television screen. A bright, flashy reality show came to life across it.
“It’s a TV,” he said, his voice full of honest wonder. “A mirror that turns into a TV. I just won’t ever get over that.”
I laughed, equally impressed, as he turned it off and the mirror returned.
“All right,” he said with a grin. “This way. We’ve got more to see.”
We followed him up the grand wooden staircase.
“The main bedrooms are on this floor,” Daniel said as we reached the landing. Even up here, everything was elegant and screamed luxury: double doors with brass handles, crown molding, and thick rugs that muffled every step.
“This is my room. Well, our room,” Daniel said, opening one of the doors. Inside, the room looked like something out of a luxury resort catalog. The king-sized bed was draped in crisp white linens and flanked by wooden nightstands and matching lamps that cast soft golden light. Everything was done in a coastal color palette of warm whites, driftwood grays, and ocean blue accents. A sitting area with two armchairs faced a fireplace built from pale stone. Nothing about the room said childhood or nostalgia. It appeared to have been cleared of every personal item and professionally staged for an elite guest. Hotel-like in its perfection.
I walked to the window and froze. The view took my breath away. It stretched out over nothing but sea. Just water. Endless. Glittering. Alive.
The motion of the waves was so rhythmic, so calming, that it hypnotized me. Below, the manicured garden added a splash of vivid green, but the ocean stole the show, stretching out in every direction under the late afternoon sun.
