“I might have to find a new job, but why would you have to leave? You’re retired.” I titled my head to the side inquisitively.
“My girlfriend isn’t. She works at City Hall. That’s how I got in over my head.” He sighed. “She found something that didn’t look right with one of the land deals, but she was afraid to talk to Mayor Stevenson about it. I thought I had him—after all the years of watching him destroy Andalusia, I finally had a way to put a stop to it. I was wrong.”
“What happened?” I leaned forward.
“I took what she found to Mayor Stevenson. As much as I disliked the man, I didn’t want to see him end up in handcuffs. That wouldn’t have been good for the town. I thought if he was confronted with the evidence, he would just resign to avoid the scandal.” Dad sighed and shook his head. “Except I didn’t realize how big his corruption was until he laughed in my face and told me to go tell the sheriff if I wanted.”
“Did you?” I felt my heart starting to beat harder.
“Yes, and Sheriff Tate laughed in my face just like Mayor Stevenson did. He told me that there had to be an explanation. I was just about to call the FBI when I got a visit from Mayor Stevenson. He—made it very clear that I needed to forget what I knew or there would be repercussions.” Dad sighed again and stared at the table.
“He threatened you?” My jaw tightened. “That son of a bitch!”
“It was a soft threat, but I got the message. Either keep quiet or things were going to get uncomfortable for me and the people I loved in Andalusia. Hudson had just gotten a job at the fire department, you got hurt, and Jenny was struggling financially as it was. She couldn’t lose her job…” Dad lifted his head slowly. “So, I took the coward’s way out, because being the hero was going to do more damage than I could undo.”
“You’re no coward.” I shook my head back and forth. “You have always looked out for your family. I’m guessing this has something to do with why you decided to retire early?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged and reached for his coffee. “I couldn’t go the fire station every day and know I was powerless to do anything about the shit I saw on the job. Sometimes I regret the decision I made, but I didn’t want my choice to impact anyone else.”
“But the things Mayor Stevenson does…” I narrowed my eyes angrily.
“He doesn’t hurt anyone. I mean, as far as bad people go, at least he’s just a greedy bastard.” Dad sat his coffee cup down with a thud. “It could be worse.”
“I think we need to make sure that it gets better instead of worse.” I pushed my chair back and stood. “That dirt Jenny found on Mayor Stevenson—do you think it would be useful now?”
“Jenny said he’s gotten a lot better at covering his tracks now. It won’t be easy to get anything on him, but if someone wanted to do some digging, I would recommend the land deals.” Dad started to stand as well. “That’s where he makes his money.”
“Okay, it’s a start. I’ll talk to Hudson and see what we can come up with.” I nodded as I started to walk away.
“You have to promise me one thing though.” My father raised his voice, which caused me to stop in my tracks.
“What’s that?” I looked over my shoulder at him.
“If you’re going to go after this bastard, don’t do what I did—if you find something, you have to take him down.” Dad nodded, and I saw determination on his face.
“Even if it ends up causing problems for Jenny?” I raised my eyebrows in concern.
“She’s in a better place now that I’m living here. It won’t be easy, but we can make it. Trust me, we’ve had more than one conversation about how much we regret missing that opportunity.” He exhaled sharply.
“Okay.” I nodded and walked towards the door.
I couldn’t help but worry as I thought about what Dad said on my way to Hudson’s house. It wasn’t going to be easy to take down Mayor Stevenson, but if Hudson was going to do it, he would need my help. He would need all the help he could get. I owed my brother a tremendous debt for everything I had done, and I would stand by his side, even if it cost me everything. That was the choice I should have made when he told me he loved Eliza. I should have been brave enough to admit my own feelings and fight for what we had. I couldn’t undo those mistakes, but if I could help Hudson with his campaign, I might have a chance to prove that I had become a better man. The forgiveness they both gave me was cherished, but I hadn’t done a damn thing to truly earn it. Bringing them together was a piece of tape over an open wound that I should have never created in the first place.
I’m going to do what’s right this time. We have a chance to really turn things around in Andalusia. If there’s one person who can stand up for this town, it’s Hudson. I’ll just be honored to stand at his side.
18
Eliza
Hudson and Preston were hard at work on the campaign when I arrived. They were drafting slogans, making lists of people that might be willing to support Hudson’s campaign, and trying to figure out who Mayor Stevenson’s biggest allies were. I didn’t have much to contribute, but they filled me in on the latest developments while they worked. It was strange to see them working so closely together—it reminded me of the summer when the three of us were so close that I dared to believe nothing could tear us apart. The campaign was going to be difficult, but they were clearly determined. After about an hour, Hudson needed a break, and I followed him to the bedroom. I could see the weight of the world on his face—reflected in his eyes. I walked up, and he wrapped his arms around me. He held me for a minute before he lifted my chin and started to kiss me. I melted into that kiss just like I did every time his lips were on mine. Even in the face of uncertainty, I could feel the passion resonating from him. He kissed me until I was gasping for air and my knees were weak.
“I’ve wanted to do that since you walked in the door.” The familiar smile I loved so much formed on the edge of his lips.
“I guess it’s kind of hard with Preston here.” I swallowed hard and looked up at him. “He’ll be here a lot if you two are going to be tackling this campaign together.”
“Yeah.” He nodded slowly. “Is that going to be okay? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable…”
“He’s your brother. There’s no way that I’m going to be able to spend time with you without seeing him from time-to-time.” I shrugged. “We’re just going to have to let he past stay in the past.”