She wrapped her arms tighter around him and held him to her as if she never wanted to let him go. “Looks like.”
He hummed against her mouth, unable to stop himself from tasting her again. When they finally came up for air, he pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes. “Does that mean you’re gonna be at the cabin waitin’ for me, just like we planned?”
She hummed, and he met her gaze, finding her watching him with every ounce of love he felt for her reflected back at him. “I guess you’re just gonna have to show up and find out.”
Oh, he would.
Just like he told himself all those years ago, Kenna was it for him. And come hell or high water, he’d be coming back to her.
The last place Mac should’ve been headed to was the cabin. Havenbrook was in mourning, the lives of two beloved residents stolen too soon. And Nat needed all the support she could get as she tried to help her best friend navigate his new normal that was nothing he could have possibly planned for.
But even as mayor, there wasn’t much Mac could do besides offer emotional support. And Nat had sent her—shovedher—away, saying she was smothering her and to back the fuck off. Ah, sisterly love. Mac didn’t know how long Nat would be home to support Asher, but she’d take every second of it she could get—all four sisters hadn’t been in the same place for more than a handful of days at a time for years.
Muscle memory had her driving her Jeep down the winding roads without conscious thought, allowing her mind to wander. She and Hudson hadn’t missed talking in some form for a single day since he’d left Havenbrook. And they’d both been right—itwashard. But they were crushing it because they were too bullheaded to do anything else.
What had been a surprise for her was that thehardwasn’t necessarily the distance. It was the wondering and worrying. It was the disappointments when orders were given and plans were changed, and suddenly their scheduled reunion, ten years in the making, couldn’t happen. At least, not for another several months.
With a sigh, Mac pulled into the gravel driveway in front of the cabin that had held so many memories for the two of them. Even if Hudson couldn’t be with her tonight on his birthday like they’d planned all those years ago, she’d wanted to be here because this was where she felt closest to him. Where before, she’d avoided this place at every turn because of the memories it held, now she came as often as she was able to, specifically for that reason. Lilah and Marianne had all but given her free rein to come and go as she pleased, and she abused that as often as her demanding job allowed her to.
A demanding job she actually sort of loved.
She wouldn’t lie and say it’d been easy—she couldn’t step into a role that had been filled by men the entirety of Havenbrook’s existence without it being difficult. But she’d proven herself—the election they’d held to replace her daddy had demonstrated as much when she’d won by a landslide. There were still the male elders to deal with, but Mac didn’t back down from them anymore. She was there to get shit done, and they could either get on board or get the hell out of her way.
“All right, CB. You ready?” she asked her favorite canine, reaching out to scratch behind CB’s ears. She was a lot tinier than Hudson—and a lot hairier—but at least Mac had a bed partner to keep her company when the nights got too lonely without him.
The dog jumped across the center console and straight into Mac’s lap, her tail wagging and tongue lolling. She loved coming out to the cabin almost as much as Mac did.
The two of them stepped out of the Jeep, and Mac breathed in the fresh spring air. Flowers sprouted up in the gardens Mac had weeded last weekend, and the hammock strung up between two blooming trees called her name. She grabbed the bags from the back seat—one of these days, she’d just leave their stuff at the cabin so she didn’t need to pack something each time—and slammed the car door shut.
She stepped up to the cabin, fumbling with her keys as she tried to balance her and CB’s bags—that spoiled dog traveled with more items than she did. A package on the doorstep caught her eye, and she furrowed her brow. Not much mail showed up here, and even fewer packages—as in none. She dropped the bags on the porch and bent to pick up the box, seeing her name across the label in Hudson’s unmistakable handwriting, and excitement shot through her. Unable to wait another second, she ripped open the tape and lifted the flaps, finding a pile of pink Starbursts surrounding a small, square box. She breathed out a laugh, shaking her head. Tucked along the side was a note.
I found this at a tiny store in Germany nine years ago. It’s the only one I never mailed to you because I needed it with me. It doesn’t compare to the real thing, but it’s the exact shade of your eyes, and it made me feel close to you even when we weren’t.
She lifted the lid on the box, finding a marble inside. And Hudson was right—it was the exact color of her eyes. “Just like Hud to one up me, sendingmea gift onhisbirthday,” she mumbled to no one.
Why the hell would he send her this, though? Didn’t he still need to feel close to her while they were apart? God knew Mac could use some of that closeness because it’d been too long since she’d felt his arms around her.
Suddenly, the door flew open from the inside, and Mac let out a shriek, jumping back. CB came running, barking her head off, until she sniffed out who stood inside the cabin.
Hudson.
Hudson was…here. Looking utterly exhausted, his hair cut close and a way-past-five-o’clock shadow covering his jaw, his lips quirked up on the side.
“What…what—” Mac couldn’t find any other words. Could only stare at him openmouthed, her heart trying its hardest to beat straight out of her chest.
“I knew I should’ve greeted you naked like I’d planned. Didn’t have enough time, though. I just got here.”
“Just got—” Mac was smarter than this, but her vocabulary was doing its damnedest to prove otherwise.
“I gotta be honest…I thought I’d at least get a hug by now. Maybe a ‘happy birthday.’”
She breathed out a laugh, set the box on the entry table, and jumped into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck and squeezing him as tight as she dared. Pressing her nose into his skin, she sucked in a lungful of Hudson-scented air and felt tears prick the backs of her eyes.
“What are you doin’ here?” she asked into his neck, her throat thick with emotion.
He squeezed his arms around her, and nothing had ever felt this good. “I need to tell you something.”
Mac’s heart skipped a beat, and she pulled back to stare into his eyes, swallowing down her apprehension. Whatever he had to tell her, whatever mission he’d been called up for or new duty station they were sending him to, or any number of other possibilities the army could come up with, it would be fine. They’d make it work.
