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He’d considered Kayleigh a friend, too. Probably the best friend he’d had as an adult. Even closer than Caleb. They’d spent so much time together—time that should have been focused on work but had somehow constantly veered into the personal.
She’d been so easy to talk to that he’d found himself sharing things with her that he hadn’t shared with anyone else. Although he’d still kept his biggest secret to himself.
After checking his email for the message from Caleb, Hudson planned out his remaining hours in New Zealand. The plane was coming with three pilots, so they’d be able to turn around and leave right away. Even though the jet was capable of traveling a fair distance, they’d still need to make a stop somewhere to refuel. All told, the flight was probably going to take around twenty hours.
He had to be at the airport at seven the next morning, but Hudson wasn’t too worried about sleeping that night. His plan was to sleep on the plane and then hopefully not suffer too much from jet lag when he reached his destination.
A destination that was going to be different from what Alexander had planned.
Once he knew the pilots were on the ground, Hudson contacted them to let them know that they needed to adjust their return flight plan.
Instead of flying to New York, he wanted them to drop him off in Miami before returning to New York. Alexander probably wouldn’t be happy about his change in plans. However, while the man could stop Hudson from working, he didn’t have any say over his personal life. Although Alexander would be well aware of why he was going to Miami.
When he boarded the jet, Hudson greeted the pilots and the attendants before settling into a seat and stretching his legs out. He might not be happy that Alexander was interfering in his life, but he couldn’t say he was mad that he was going to be taking the company jet instead of flying commercial for such a long trip.
Alexander probably figured that if he had told him to take a commercial flight back, Hudson would have just stuck to his schedule. Having the company jet come for him was impossible to ignore. And at least he’d be traveling in comfort for his forced trip back to the States.
Though Hudson had hoped to leave everything about Serenity Point behind, that hadn’t been the case. Thoughts of his time there interjected themselves at random points throughout his day. Especially when he didn’t have something else to distract him.
So, as he sat there, being thankful for a private jet, it wasn’t a surprise when he remembered how grateful Jenn had been for the second chance Kayleigh had given her. The jet was a luxury, while for Jenn, the job had been what provided food, shelter, and health insurance for her son.
It had taken Kayleigh to open his eyes to the privileged life he had, though not with judgment, because she too had a privileged life, even if it wasn’t as extravagant as his. Instead, she had shown him how to extend grace and opportunities to others. That had been a lesson he hadn’t been able to forget in the months since he’d left Serenity.
He hadn’t forgotten it, but nor had he put it to use like he should have.
Hudson wanted to hate Kayleigh for rejecting him. However, he couldn’t because she had enriched his life in such a way that he couldn’t separate out those parts of himself. Forever, he would remember those months, even though it would hurt much less if he could forget them.
The anger he carried was directed at himself, not her. He should never have given into his impulse to kiss her. If he hadn’t, maybe they’d still be friends, and he would still be able to visit Serenity instead of avoiding it.
Even without his presence, the situation at the resort in Serenity Point had been resolved. The police had discovered that the person who had set fire to the cabin had been Liz’s brother, with the help of a friend who had hacked the security cameras.
The siblings had concocted the plan to discredit Kayleigh and the resort with all the negative incidents happening, just like Hudson had suspected.
They’d both been arrested, and Liz’s brother had spilled all the beans, basically hanging his sister and his friend out to dry for not just the fire but the thefts and the changed orders at the restaurant.
Hudson wasn’t sure exactly where they were in the legal process, and frankly, he didn’t care, as long as they both spent some time in jail.
Though he wished that he could talk to Kayleigh about it all, that wasn’t an option. He wondered how long it would be before he stopped thinking about her.
After the plane finally landed in Miami, it took Hudson a little over an hour to go through the process of re-entering the country and renting himself a car. There was a Remington property in the Miami area, but that wasn’t his destination.
When he finally approached the entrance to the gated community, Hudson hoped he wouldn’t have any hassles. Gail had told him that his name would always be on the list of people allowed to enter, and it seemed that was true because, after checking his ID, the security guard waved him through.
Hudson drove through the 55+ luxury community, suddenly feeling extremely worn out. When he reached the house where Gail lived, he pulled into the driveway. He sat for a moment, before exhaling heavily and climbing out of the car.
He grabbed his bags out of the trunk and headed for the front door. He’d just stepped onto the porch when the door swung open.
“My darling boy,” Gail exclaimed as she held her arms out to him.
Hudson set his bags on the foyer floor, then bent to hug the older woman. It seemed that she had been expecting him. It could be as simple as the security at the gate alerting her. However, it was also possible Alexander had been in contact with her.
He had probably been talking to her all along. Or maybe, when he was alerted to the change in the flight plan, he’d realized where Hudson was headed and had given Gail a head’s up.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” she said, shutting the door behind him. “I hope you’re going to stay for a while.”
Hudson had no definite departure plan. In the past, he wouldn’t have stayed very long. He’d just pop in for a quick visit once or twice a year to see how she was doing.
This time, however, her home seemed to be the one place he could find solace, and because of that, he wouldn’t be in a rush to leave.
