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“How long are you going to be around the area, Hudson?” Gareth asked.
“I’m not sure yet. A lot depends on how things get sorted out at the resort.”
Garth gave Kayleigh a concerned look. She hadn’t gone into great detail with everyone about Hudson’s purpose there, but she knew that Gareth would be worried about something affecting her job. It was just how they were in the family.
They might not spend tons of time with each other as adults, but if they felt one of the family was being threatened in some way, they would absolutely circle the wagons.
“So you live in NYC?” Janessa asked.
“Yep.”
“Did you grow up there?”
“No. I grew up in Houston.”
“Wow. Moving to New York must have been an adjustment?”
“Yes, it was,” Hudson said. “But like most changes in life, you adapt.”
“That’s true,” Janessa agreed. “When the worst happens, there’s no way to go back. Just have to keep going forward.”
“What’s your favorite thing about New York?” Charli asked. “I haven’t visited, and probably never will, but it seems like it has a lot to offer.”
“It does. There’s a little bit of everything for everyone. Personally, I enjoy the variety of entertainment and food. Something for every person’s taste and mood.”
That was definitely something that Serenity didnothave. Coeur d’Alene was slightly better. But if someone really wanted a unique restaurant or to go to something like a professional ballet, they’d have to go some place like Seattle.
No wonder Hudson had accepted an invitation to dinner. He had probably realized it was the most exciting thing he’d find to do in Serenity on a Friday night.
Kayleigh was glad that she didn’t crave entertainment that Serenity or Coeur d’Alene couldn’t provide. Not that she wouldn’t enjoy travelling to places like New York, London, or Paris. Maybe someday she’d arrange to go, but for now she had more pressing things on her mind.
“So you’re a doctor here, Gareth?” Hudson asked.
“Yep. I’m one of the doctors at the clinic. Misha is the other. Janessa is our nurse, and Aria is our receptionist. Jay takes care of keeping the clinic running smoothly behind the scenes.”
“Kayleigh mentioned that it’s a family-owned clinic.”
“Yes. It’s been in the family for a few generations. My parents were both doctors at the clinic before I came to work there, then Misha started with us last year.”
“Your parents don’t work there anymore?”
“They’re semi-retired,” Gareth said. “They’ll jump in and help if we need it, but they spend most their time on medical missions now.”
“Medical missions?”
Kayleigh found Hudson’s curiosity about their family interesting. She wouldn’t have thought he’d be all that intrigued. It was possible he was just asking out of politeness or to keep from having to answer more questions about himself.
“They have helped to set up clinics in places like Haiti, and most recently, they were aboard a ship that docks in different places to help with a variety of medical needs. The ship has an operating room, x-ray machines and other diagnostic equipment. They also have dentists and optometrists, along with several specialist doctors and several nurses.”
“Sounds like they cover all their bases,” Hudson said.
“They certainly try. It allows the team to offer some services they might not be able to otherwise. They can pull into port and be ready to go.”
Hudson did actually seem genuinely interested, and Kayleigh realized that perhaps this was something he’d never heard of before. In all honesty, until their parents had decided to join the mission ship, she hadn’t known much about it either.
Kayleigh was kind of glad that her family was interacting with Hudson on a more personal level because it gave her a chance to learn a bit more about him. Not much, however, because he didn’t seem as eager to talk about himself.
She didn’t even know if he had a family in New York. Not that it really mattered. Her exchanges with him, first and foremost, needed to be professional. Whether he had a family or not or what he liked to eat or the type of entertainment he liked didn’t factor into their interactions.
