I haven’t seen that look in her eyes in years—total faith in me.
“If I do this—and that’s a very big if…” My fists fell open and I nodded. “I have to do it my way. I don’t want Henry Walford’s blood money.”
“The people in this town need something to believe in.” Eliza walked closer. “Believe in them and they’ll believe in you.”
I walked outside and sat down on the porch to think through things. I never wanted to pick up my brother’s mantle. I was no superhero. I didn’t deserve to have a whole town believe in me—I barely believed in myself. Hudson would have been a great mayor. He was fair, compassionate and understanding. I was a loose cannon. If they hadn’t stopped me, I would have run my truck through the gate surrounding Mayor Steven’s mansion and extracted my vengeance with pieces of his flesh. My Dad came outside and talked to me for a few minutes before he left. He offered words of encouragement, but I was hardly responsive. I was lost in my own thoughts—tangled up in my need for revenge while trying to convince myself that there was a better way. I had to do it. There really was no other way to take down Mayor Stevenson. Beating the fuck out of him would have given me a lot of fucking pleasure, but it wouldn’t solve our problems. It would just make them worse—it would turn him into a martyr. I finally came to terms with my decision and walked back into the house.
“Okay.” I nodded and looked at Eliza, who was waiting inside the door. “I’ll do it.”
Eliza didn’t say a word. She walked up to me—close enough to touch. There was something in her stare that I remembered. It was a look that I hadn’t seen since I was a teenager. She grabbed the front of my shirt and pulled me towards her until our lips were pressed together. She kissed me. I was stunned at first and I had no idea how to respond, but all of those emotions came flooding back—the ones I never thought I would feel again. I wrapped my arms around her and started kissing her with a ferocity that I hadn’t felt in years. It was redemption—forgiveness—everything I needed to bring balance back to the turmoil that had raged inside me since I made the worst mistake of my life. We were both gasping when our lips finally separated.
“I guess things are back to normal.” Hudson’s voice sent a surge of concern through me, but when I looked towards the hallway, I saw that he was smiling. “Finally…”
26
Eliza
The next morning
I don’t know what came over me when I saw Preston’s rage boiling inside his veins. That was the guy I remembered—the one I had a crush on in high school long before the Anderson brothers took my innocence. He was pure chaos back then. The only thing I had seen since returning to Andalusia was the broken version of Preston that his lies turned him into. Maybe that’s why I couldn’t see a path in front of me that could rebuild what we shared all those years ago. I was happy with Hudson. I truly didn’t need anything else. Despite that, seeing Preston stand up for his brother—finally come into his own for the first time since I had returned—it set off something that drew me back to him. I would have never acted on that attraction if I didn’t know that Hudson had given me his blessing—even pushed me in that direction more than once. His reaction confirmed it. Our bond had been reforged and it was going to be stronger than ever. We had purpose, passion, and a fire that wasn’t going to go out again.
“Good morning.” I woke up and rolled over towards Preston.
“Good morning to you too.” He chuckled. “I never thought I’d wake up here again.”
“I bet you never thought you’d go to bed with me and just sleep either.” I grinned and rolled towards Hudson. “He’s—fast asleep still.”
“He woke up earlier and took some more pain medication. I didn’t see any reason to wake you up.” Preston sat up. “I’m going to go make breakfast.”
“Then we’re going to get started on your campaign.” My hand lingered in his for a moment before he walked towards the door.
Despite the explosive attraction that drew me back to Preston, I wasn’t ready to share the bed with him except to fall asleep in his arms. I wanted to wait until Hudson was healed and the three of us could have what we had before. I also wanted to make sure my emotions weren’t strained because of Hudson’s condition. I needed to make sure what I was feeling for Preston was real and was strong enough to build on as time went on. I didn’t want to be shared by them—only to have it ruin what I had with Hudson. He claimed it wouldn’t, and I trusted him, but time would show us whether or not it could truly work again. Being open to it was far enough to give us a start while Hudson recovered from his injuries. We had a lot of work in front of us—stressful work that would consume the time we had.
“I think Hudson had a good strategy, but it’s going to be tough to get everyone to give me the same chance they gave him—especially after he got their hopes up before the accident.” Preston sighed as he looked over some of Hudson’s notes.
“It was a good strategy, but we have to be bolder with your campaign.” I leaned against the counter. “I think the bacon is burning.”
“Shit!” Preston turned around moved the pan off the stove. “I hope you like it crispy…”
“You really can’t go wrong with bacon.” I chuckled and nodded. “Just pile it on a plate.”
“What do you mean by bolder?” He turned back towards me after he finished dealing with the bacon.
“You need to do a press conference, and you need to do it today. Don’t hold anything back. You can’t directly accuse Mayor Stevenson of hurting your brother, but the message can still be cle
ar. The Anderson family doesn’t back down—the Anderson family will fight for Andalusia.” I sat down on one of the stools.
“Andersons for Andalusia.” He nodded. “I really like the sound of that.”
“Hudson is still a part of your campaign, even if he’s not running for mayor. I’m sure people are talking. Some of them asked questions at the wedding. They’re not blind or stupid—they know there’s a chance Mayor Stevenson was behind the accident, even if there was no proof.” I picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite while Preston fixed me a cup of coffee.
“Yeah, you’re right about that.” He put the coffee cup in front of me and sat down. “I just wish we had some evidence—something that could sink him.”
“Henry Walford might be willing to support a campaign, but there’s no way he’ll actually implicate himself. That would be disastrous for his family.” I shook my head back and forth. “The best thing to do is become mayor and start undoing the damage. If we can find a way to put soon-to-be ex-Mayor Stevenson in prison, then it’ll just be icing on the cake.”
“I hope it’s that easy, but I have a feeling things are going to be pretty intense once I hit the campaign trail. I want you by my side—but I’m also concerned for your safety. If he went after Hudson, who knows what he would do…” Preston grabbed a piece of bacon and it into it.
“We’re doing this together and I’m not taking no for an answer.” I looked towards Hudson’s room. “If we make a big enough deal about Hudson’s injury and allude to what happened without coming out and saying it, then it might scare him off a little bit.”