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When she spotted Hudson’s tall figure in the distance, her heart rate picked up in anticipation of being reunited with him.
She grinned at Hudson as he neared, practically dancing in her excitement and relief at having him home again. When he reached her, he dropped his bags and wrapped her in a tight hug.
“Oh, I missed you so much,” Hudson murmured. “That was way too long.”
“Yes, it was,” Kayleigh agreed. “I missed you too.”
They stood there for a couple of minutes, and Kayleigh was grateful for the opportunity to physically reconnect with him. They always kept in contact when he was gone—thank goodness for video chat—but it had been more of a challenge when he was on the other side of the world in a time zone that was different by more than just a few hours.
“Love you, sweetheart,” Hudson said as he loosened his hold on her. “Thank you for coming to pick me up.”
She smiled up at him. “I wouldn’t have let anyone else do it.”
Hudson chuckled as he bent to pick up his bags. Kayleigh opened the back hatch of her car, and after he put his luggage inside, Hudson said, “Do you want me to drive?”
“That’s totally up to you.”
“I can drive.” Hudson said. “Are we going somewhere for lunch?”
“Yep.”
Once they were in the car, they had a brief discussion before deciding on a restaurant they both liked. It didn’t take too long to get there, and soon, they were seated in a booth with menus.
After they’d ordered, Kayleigh relaxed back into her seat and smiled at Hudson. “How was your time in New York?”
“It was good. Candace sends her love.”
“Oh, that’s sweet.” Alexander, Candace, and the kids had come to Serenity for the week between Christmas and New Year’s, and they’d spent a good amount of time with them.
At first, Kayleigh had found it a bit weird spending so much time with her boss. However, Alexander hadn’t brought up work even once outside of the office, so there was a clear line drawn between their work and social interactions.
“How are the kids doing?”
“Xander got a speeding ticket, so his car is parked for the next month. Candace was livid.”
“Oh boy. He promised he’d be responsible if he got a sports car, right?”
“He certainly did, and Candace reminded him about that… loudly. Very loudly.”
“How did Alexander take it?”
“He had a brief conversation with him and let him know he was disappointed in what he’d done, but then he left the yelling up to Candace.”
“I guess Alexander saveshisyelling for his managers.”
Hudson chuckled. “Yep.”
Kayleigh loved that Hudson had been willing to let Alexander, Candace, and the kids become part of his life. It had been a slow process, but Alexander had allowed Hudson to set the pace.
When the food arrived, Hudson said a prayer before they began to eat. That was another area where he’d shown so much growth over the past eleven months. In addition to attending church regularly, he’d joined Gareth’s Bible study, and his comfort in praying publicly as well as talking about his faith had changed so much.
Her faith had undergone some changes too. At Hudson’s prompting, she’d shared the struggle she’d had to desire to obey, not just obey because it was what was expected of her, with her parents.
Their support and guidance had helped her faith to become more genuine, filled with a desire to honor and obey God. It hadn’t all been easy but seeing Hudson’s spiritual growth had been an encouragement for her. Together, they were working to build a firm foundation for their relationship.
It was more than she could ever have dreamed of having in a relationship.
“And how was Caleb?” she asked.
