Page 51 of The Wedding Fake

He closed his eyes, inhaling deeply. “This seemed like a good idea earlier, but I don’t know if I’m ready.”

I remembered Hudson mentioning he didn’t like visiting Cranberry Falls since his brother’s death, but I didn’t know more than that. “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked quietly.

“I don’t know if I can,” he said gruffly.

I looked around us, wishing some solution would present itself, but nothing was forthcoming. “Do you have good memories?” I asked.

“Of Lawrence or of firefighting?”

Lawrence, I repeated in my head, realizing I’d never heard his name before. “Of your brother.” I looked around us. “Out here, in town, do you have any great memories?”

Hudson looked around, his gaze following mine, a sad smile curling his lips. “See that church?” he asked, pointing.

“Sure.”

“When Lawrence was eleven he broke into it to ring the bell.”

“Can you do that?” I asked seriously, but the question only made Hudson laugh.

“If you mean can you as in is it possible, then yes, because he did, but if you’re wondering if he got in trouble, the answer would be he sure as shit did.”

I smiled. “But why? Why did he want to ring the bell?”

Hudson shrugged. “Doesn’t everyone want to pull the bell?”

“I never would’ve thought of such a thing,” I replied, “but it would be cool, I suppose.”

“It was cool,” he said, looking fondly at the church once more. The intensity of his sadness had lessened, but he wasn’t his usual self, and I wished I had a way to soothe him. I stepped closer, and he wound an arm around my waist, pulling me tight against him and kissing the top of my head. “Right there,” he continued, walking until the two of us stood at the start of the bridge that crossed the Winona, “is where we used to sneak down to get close to the falls.”

My brow furrowed, looking at the rushing falls that dropped at least ten feet. “Did you cross the falls? That’s dangerous.” My scolding tone earned me a grin.

“Once, in middle school, but I had to do it at night, and when my mom got wind she lost her mind.”

“Did Lawrence cross, too?”

“He went first. Lawrence always went first.” The sadness still tinged his dark eyes, but his smile held a sort of rueful pride.

“If I were your mother, I would’ve murdered you,” I replied seriously.

He chuckled. “We did way worse than that. When we were kids, she always complained we scared the hell out of her, and then we joined the fire department and she was never worried.” He looked off downriver, and I saw his eyes turn dark once more. “Probably thought we’d be safe together.”

I didn’t know the whole story, but I didn’t need to. It was very clear Hudson blamed himself for Lawrence’s death, and also that it wasn’t his fault. Whatever had happened, I was sure beyond a shadow of a doubt Hudson would’ve moved heaven and earth to bring his brother home safely. “I bet she was actually terrified.”

“What?” he asked, jarred out of his memories.

I tilted my head back to look more clearly into his eyes. “I bet your mom was scared shitless.”

“She never said anything,” Hudson replied doubtfully.

“Of course she didn’t. She may have told you when you were scaring her as kids, but that was to guilt you into not doing it anymore. When you both chose such a dangerous career, she was supportive. You didn’t need to have her worries in the back of your head while you were working.”

“Maybe it would’ve helped,” he said gruffly. I didn’t know enough of his history to comment, but I touched his cheek, feeling the muscles of his jaw ticking under my fingers.

Hudson closed his eyes, relaxing under my touch, then opened them once more. The anger was gone from his eyes, but the sadness persisted. “This is a terrible date.”

“It’s not,” I protested. “Cranberry Falls is lovely. I can’t believe I’ve never been here before.” My thumb tracked over his lips indulgently. He was, after all, mine for a few more days. “And I like talking to you.”

Hudson’s smile was soft and tender as he leaned in to capture a kiss. “C’mon. There are some vintage stores up here you may like.”