AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why? Because he doesn’t live here?” Alexander asked. “That could have been worked out. He travels a lot, so his home base could be anywhere, really. Or was it because he travels a lot?”
“No. It was none of that.” Kayleigh said a quick prayer, asking God to give Alexander an understanding about what she was going to say. “I was raised in a Christian home, and I’m a Christian myself. Part of what we were taught was to not be unequally yoked.”
Alexander frowned. “Unequally yoked?”
“Since my faith is the foundation of my life and the basis of how I live, being with someone who doesn’t share that faith would pull me away from God.”
The man seemed to consider her words for a long moment before he said, “So, because he isn’t a Christian, you won’t have a relationship with him?”
Kayleigh had a moment when she wanted to deny that, because even after months apart, she longed to see him again. To be close to him once more. To see his smile and hear his laughter.
But she had to stay strong. Stay true to the faith she’d embraced her whole life, even if her heart wasn’t fully behind the actions she’d taken.
“I can’t,” she said. “It would be a compromise of my faith.”
Alexander took another sip of his coffee, then set the mug on the table before leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed. His expression was contemplative. However, Kayleigh wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
“Hudson’s mother was a Christian, and he was involved in church until her death.”
“Really?” Hudson hadn’t talked at length about his mom or his life prior to her death, though he’d mentioned her more than he had his father.
“Yes, but when she passed away, he lost all interest in going to church. He also didn’t want anything to do with me, so I had a woman who I trusted move in with him to take care of him. She was also a Christian, which I thought his mom would approve of. However, Hudson was resistant to any effort on her part to draw him back to church.”
Kayleigh wasn’t sure if the revelations made things better or worse. He’d known about her being a Christian, and yet he’d still wanted to be around her. If she’d made different decisions and they’d ended up together, would he have continued to reject God? Or would she have been able to guide him back to the faith he’d lost?
She shut that line of thinking down right away.
Dating with the hope that one day their morals and values would align with their partner’s was something her parents had always cautioned against. If that alignment wasn’t already there before dating, there was absolutely no guarantee that it would develop over time.
Or if they did eventually align, it didn’t necessarily mean it would be a good thing. It could be just as likely that she’d be pulled away from her morals and values to his.
“What sort of relationship did you have with Hudson’s mom?” Kayleigh asked, even more curious about Hudson’s past.
“Lucy was beautiful. So gregarious, and she had the most infectious laugh.” Alexander’s smile faded into sadness. “Unfortunately, she was so young. Just barely twenty when I met her. I should never have gotten involved with her. However, my second marriage was crumbling, and I was drawn to Lucy’s inner and outer beauty. But there was no future for us. There couldn’t be.”
“Even after she got pregnant?”
“She didn’t want me in Hudson’s life. She hadn’t realized that I was married when we met and got involved. When she found out, she told me that I wasn’t the type of man she wanted to be with.”
“So you didn’t have anything to do with Hudson as he grew up?”
Alexander shook his head. “Lucy told me that I wasn’t a good role model for him, but I still wanted him to have a good life. That’s why I made sure that Lucy had plenty of money for the two of them. Hudson went to the best schools and was able to play any sport or activity he wanted. I made sure he wanted for nothing. Lucy too, actually. When I found out she was going to college for a degree, I paid for it.”
Kayleigh wondered if the reason Hudson hadn’t married or had kids was because of the way Alexander had lived.
As if reading her mind, Alexander said, “I think because of my many failed marriages, Hudson decided to be the opposite of me. At least in his personal life. That he was interested in you seems like a minor miracle. You could have been Hudson’s Candace. The woman who helped him want to be the best version of himself. I just wish…”
Tears pricked at Kayleigh’s eyes. She’d never been one to cry much, but the tears she’d shed over Hudson had been plentiful. And even all these weeks later, her emotions and tears were still so near the surface.
Alexander sat forward, leaning his arms on the table. The weight of his personality pressed down on her, and his sharp blue gaze bored into hers. “Are you absolutely sure there’s nothing I can do to get you to change your mind and give him another chance?”
Kayleigh’s shoulder slumped. The temptation to give in, to tell him that she would love to be with Hudson, was strong. Stronger than any temptation she’d ever felt before.
It would make Hudson happy.
It would make her happy.
But she knew it wouldn’t make God happy, and that was most important.
