door. I assumed it would be Ford since whoever it was would have needed a key to get inside. As far as I knew, only Hudson and Ford had keys to the place.
Sure enough, Ford and Wells came through the door. My time alone with Hudson was over, but that was okay. I got up from my spot on one of the two barstools that he had.
Not really sure where I should be or what to do, I wandered back over to one of the bookshelves and started reading over the titles. It appeared that Hudson had a fondness for suspense thrillers. I could certainly see that about him. He had an entire case filled with one particular author, and I smiled. I’d read several of his books, but sadly, I’d not had any time for anything in the last five years, so I was terribly behind on any new releases.
“You ready to eat?” Hudson said right next to my ear. His hands on my hips had me turning to stare into his brown eyes.
“Yeah, I could eat. Are we taking it back downstairs?” I moved, causing his hands to drop from my hips. That was probably better anyway because I definitely needed to talk to Chris about some things.
“Naw. I figured since we were up here already, and so was the food, we’d just eat here,” Hudson said and pointed to a table that I hadn’t even seen before. On it were several paper plates, bottles of water, as well as the food. Huh, well, I needed to be more observant.
“Sorry. Let me help.” I started to take a step in that direction, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me.
“No, everything is finished just about. Ford is grabbing the last few things. Wells is in the bathroom washing his hands.”
“You know, they weren’t gone nearly as long as I thought they’d be,” I said, making an observation.
“We got lucky. The little hardware store here in town was still open. They pack it full of just about everything you could imagine. They had mortar, so they got it from there. Come on, let’s eat. But only eat what won’t make you sick. I have plenty of food in the fridge too if you want something besides naked chicken wings.”
“Thanks,” I said. I gave Hudson a smile and walked with him over to the table.
“What’s in the fridge to go with these wings, Ford?” Hudson called out. He trailed his hand down my back before he veered off to the kitchen and joined his cousin, who was busy rummaging through the fridge. I looked to the table and resigned myself to spending some time with Wells. Not that I had anything against him. I didn’t know the man.
“Hey, Sawyer. How are you liking Pleasant Grove?”
“It’s okay. I’ve only seen a little bit of it actually, but from what I have, it’s nice. Much slower pace than Breckenridge.”
“Breckenridge. Wow. I can’t ski, but I’ve heard they have some amazing slopes.”
“They’re not bad, I guess. It’s like Pleasant Grove in that it has a lot of shopping and other tourist things to do. Don’t not visit just because you can’t ski. And there’s always lessons. Plenty of adults are getting lessons every day.”
“Yeah? That sounds like fun. I don’t know why I didn’t think about that. I might have to look into it if I ever decide to take a vacation.”
We were joined by Hudson and Ford, and I smiled when Hudson put a bowl of mixed fruit in the center of the table.
“Fruit? Really?” Wells asked.
“Yeah,” Hudson told him. Then he looked at me. “I put a bag of mixed vegetables in the microwave. They’ll be ready in five minutes.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Wait, you’re not a vegetarian, are you?” Ford asked, drawing all eyes to me.
“Not at all.” I sighed. I should just get it over with. It wasn’t like it was a big dark secret or anything. “I was under too much stress and not taking proper care of myself. I started having some stomach issues, and when I went in, I was told I was on the verge of having at least one ulcer, possibly two. I have to watch what I eat now. That’s all.”
“Well hell. I wish I would have known,” Ford said.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll have a few chicken wings and some fruit and veggies and I’ll be good. I don’t have much of an appetite lately either. It’s honestly not an issue. I promise,” I