And then Mac remembered their conversation last night—how Hudson didn’t want to drop CB at the shelter. That thought had buoyed her hopes, but she hadn’t been able to focus on it—not when he’d dragged her into the tent and done unspeakable things to her.
Now, though, her wheels were turning, her mind playing out a scenario where he didn’t send CB to the shelter and chose, instead, to let her stay with him…becausehewas staying.
The thought carried her all the way down the Ridge, until they finally passed through the tree line to where his truck sat parked where they’d left it. She’d just worked up the nerve to ask him if that was what it all meant when her phone started buzzing in her pocket, an avalanche of notifications blowing it up.
Her heart leaped into her throat when she realized that while she’dmeantto send a text to Will about staying an extra night, she’d gotten distracted by the hottie standing next to her. God, she was an idiot—Will was probably worried sick about her.
She pulled out her phone at the same time Hudson reached into his back pocket for his own, his attention immediately focused on what he saw there.
“My momma,” he said, holding up his phone.
Mac swallowed as she glanced at her screen, seeing a mix of missed calls, voice mails, and texts—and not just from Will, but from multiple people in her family, as well as Avery—the list stretching the entire length of the screen and then some.
The ridiculous number of texts all amounted tocall me, so she did, starting with her mom, though all it did was ring until finally clicking over to voice mail.
“Momma,” Hudson said into his phone, his brow furrowed as he listened.
Mac was already calling Will, her heart beating too fast, though she didn’t know why. As the phone rang in her ear, Hudson’s gaze snapped up to hers, and something in the look he shot her had the bottom dropping out from her stomach, sending a wave of panic through her. Something was wrong—she knew it. Could feel it in her bones. And no one was answering their damn phones.
“Mac!” Will snapped, both irritation and relief in her voice. “Where the hell have youbeen?”
“Campin’…remember? With Hud?”
“You were supposed to be back yesterday!”
“I—we…” She cleared her throat, swallowing down the lump that had formed there. “We decided to stay an extra day. I meant to send you a text, but—”
“You should’ve called! Rory was ready to call in a search party and only relented when I told her about your trainin’—sorry, the cat’s outta the bag on that. And huntin’ you down was the last thing we needed to be worryin’ about now.”
“What’s—” Mac swallowed down the sudden flood of moisture in her mouth, her stomach churning in a way that had nothing to do with her breakfast. “What’s goin’ on? Everyone’s been callin’, and I tried to get ahold of Momma—”
“It’s Daddy,” Will interrupted, her voice tight with emotion. “We need you here, Mac. He had a heart attack. He’s in surgery right now.”
Mac sat silentlyin the truck as Hudson shot worried glances her way. She’d stopped trying to pretend she was okay, because what was the point? He could see right through her anyway.
His hand hadn’t left her knee the entire ride, even when CB had attempted to get him to pet her. He’d held steadfast, and it was the one thing in Mac’s life she was thankful for right now because it kept her grounded when it felt like everything was falling apart around her.
Though her daddy’s initial treatment had begun at Havenbrook General, they hadn’t had the proper equipment or staff to deal with the kind of complications he had, so they’d had to transport him via ambulance to the nearest large hospital. That meant she and Hudson were headed to Memphis.
They’d only stopped in Havenbrook long enough to drop off CB with a bewildered but rolling with it Caleb, Lilah standing right by his side, and briefly explain the situation before they were on the road again. They hadn’t even bothered to change or get different clothes, which meant they both looked like they’d spent the past two days hiking and smelled like they’d danced around a bonfire for just as long.
While she couldn’t stop the ball of unease from tightening in her stomach, she took comfort in the fact that Hudson hadn’t asked if he should come, or if she needed him. He’d simply done so, as if it were a foregone conclusion he’d be by her side.
She couldn’t have been more thankful for his presence, because without it, she was sure she’d be tunneling even deeper into her self-loathing, and she didn’t know how much further she could go.
“Who has two thumbs and is gonna go down in history as the worst Havenbrook daughter ever?” she asked, then pointed to herself. “This girl. I honestly didn’t think I could fail any harder at being a Haven, but I guess that’s what I get for bein’ cocky.”
“Hey,” Hudson said, his tone harsh. He squeezed her knee until she looked over at him, his gaze bouncing between the road in front of them and her. “Knock it off. You’re not allowed to do that to yourself—not while I’m around. It was shitty timin’, and that’s it. None of this is on you.”
She huffed out a humorless laugh, resting her head back on the seat and closing her eyes. “I certainly didn’t help matters, though, did I? Makin’ everyone worry and wonder where the hell I was. If I was safe. They needed to have their focus on Daddy, and instead, it was split.” She turned her head toward him. “And you mean to tell me you didn’t feel like the worst kind of son when it was your momma in the hospital and you were halfway around the world?”
“’Course I did. It fucking killed me. All I wanted to do was mow down every obstacle that stood between me and home, but I couldn’t. That’s life, Kenna. Even if we’d come back yesterday as planned, none of this would’ve changed. Your daddy still would’ve had his heart attack. He’d still be in Memphis in surgery. You bein’ there wouldn’t have changed any of it.”
“I know… But maybe I’d’ve gotten to talk to him,” she said, her voice watery. “Tell the big idiot that I love him.”
She rolled her lips between her teeth, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill over.
“Ah, baby…” Hudson interlocked their fingers and brought her hand to his mouth, brushing his lips against her knuckles. “He knows.”
