by Liz Isaacson
“So I got a meat lovers,” he said. “Because that’s what I like. And for you….” He opened the top box and saw the pepperoni, sausage, and ham and promptly closed the lid. The scent of meat and marinara made his mouth water.
“For you…let’s see. What’s your favorite kind of pizza?”
“Is this a magic trick?” Her eyes glittered at him, and he sure liked this game they were playing.
“Maybe,” he said, switching the order of the boxes so the second one was on top. “Depends on if you answer with what I ordered.”
“Chicken alfredo,” she said, and Hudson actually froze.
“Really?” he asked, lifting the lid. “I mean, I figured you’d like white sauce better than red, but…really?” He looked down at the cheesy chicken alfredo pizza. It had red and green onions, along with big chunks of chicken. It actually looked good, but it was no meat lovers.
“No,” she said, laughing. Her long hair swung as she shook her head. “The guy read me the order outside.” She took a piece of the chicken alfredo anyway and plopped it onto a paper plate.
Foolishness hit Hudson, but he didn’t show it. He set the boxes side by side on the counter and took three pieces of his precious meat lovers for himself. “What is your favorite pizza?”
“You were close,” she said. “I don’t really like marinara. But I definitely like chicken barbeque. Or the chicken bacon ranch is divine.”
“So I was half right.” He watched her take a bite of her pizza, and the desire to kiss her shot through the roof.
“Mm.” She licked her lips and reached for a napkin. After swallowing she added, “Yeah, half right. And this is great. Really.”
She twisted, got another piece of pizza, and went into the living room. He sat beside where she perched on the couch, and they ate in companionable silence for a moment. Then she asked, “Can I feed Hound?”
“He’ll drool all over if you don’t.” Hudson held out a piece of sausage and Hound took it with the softest lips.
Scarlett fed him a chunk of chicken and then cut Hudson a look out of the corner of her eye. “What do you think I should assign Carson to do?”
Hudson exhaled like the decision was hard. “He’s a career cowboy,” he said. “He could do anything.” He didn’t want to tell Scarlett what to do. It was her ranch.
“Maybe I should have him coach me,” she mused, her gaze on something only she could see.
“He’d be great with any of the animals,” Hudson said. “And you’ve got me for the horses, and Sawyer does the lessons already. He’s mainly over farming, so you could turn over the cattle to Carson. He did come from a cattle ranch.”
“I’m going to give him the llamas and pigs too,” Scarlett said. “That’ll free me up to do other things.”
“What other things?”
“Jewel called me back the other night,” she said. “Last night. Was it just last night?” She shook her head. “I swear, the days out here mesh together.”
That they did. Ranch life had a way of doing that, because there were no days off. Hudson found his shop had operated in much the same way. He could work seven days a week and still never be caught up.
“Anyway.” Scarlett blew out her breath. “Jewel called, and she’s putting together a team to come see the ranch. I want it to be ready when she comes.”
“And by ready, you mean….”
“No trash,” she said. “That dumpster has to be gone. Gramps’s cabin has to be spotless. All the buildings over there by Feline Frenzy? Those have to be gone through, repaired, cleaned, and be ready for Jewel’s inspection.”
“Feline Frenzy?” Hudson asked, a laugh immediately following.
“Yes,” Scarlett said, giving him a glare that really held no power behind it. Now Adele. She could glare a man’s face off, and Hudson was actually surprised Carson still had his eyes, nose, and mouth.
“I named all the areas here at the ranch.”
“Of course,” Hudson said like that was the most natural thing in the world.
“I got the idea from Forever Friends,” she said. “Jewel will love it. Oh!” She put her empty paper plate down. “So I need signs made for each of the areas. How good are you with wood?”
“Wood?” he repeated.
“Yeah.” She reached over and took his plate—not empty—and set it next to hers on the table in front of them. “I mean, you work magic with metal with your hands.” She took both of his in hers and ran her fingers down his.
Sparks erupted through Hudson, and he found it quite difficult to breathe. He marveled at how she could affect him so strongly when he’d been in love before, been married before, been devastated before.
Was he really going to go through all of that again?
For her? The question ran through his mind, being chased by the answer.
Oh, yeah.
For Scarlett Adams, Hudson was willing to get his heart broken again.
“You have such big hands,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. “Strong. Capable.” She turned them over like she’d read his palms. “Surely you can make a sign for each of the animal habitats.”
She looked up at him through her eyelashes, and Hudson’s imagination went wild. He blinked, trying to focus on the reality in front of him.
“I suppose I can make a sign,” he said. “You want it painted or something?” The words scratched his dry throat, and he focused on her lips as they curved upward.
She looked at his hands again, still holding them as if they were precious. “Surprise me, okay?”
Hudson chuckled and gently withdrew one of his hands from her, curling his fingers of his other one around hers. “Scarlett, I don’t think you’re surpriseable.”
“Surpriseable? That’s not a word.”
He leaned back into the couch, a smile on his face and a sigh on his lips. “It is tonight.”
She joined him, but she definitely carried a pout in her voice when she asked, “You think I can’t be surprised?”
“I think you know exactly what you want those signs to look like, and you’d best just open your phone and show me so I don’t waste my time.”
Scarlett’s hand slipped out of his, and Hudson regretted his words. He opened his eyes and prepared to apologize only to find her swiping on her phone. She held it up for him, and he examined the bright, colorful signs she’d obviously found on a crafting website.
“May I?” He reached for the phone and took it from her to get a closer look. The letters were raised, which meant they’d been carved somehow. Then painted. “You have wood for this?”
“There’s a bunch of wood way out in the corner of the ranch,” she said. “I found it when I first got here. We’ll take the four-wheeler in the morning, if you’d like.” She folded her arms. “And I’d like your help going through the buildings too.”
He looked at the signs again, thinking an old, neglected wood pile would not yield them the supplies he needed to make signs look like the ones she wanted. He handed her phone back and said, “I can make the signs. Do you have tools?”
“We should talk to Sawyer.”
“I can help with the buildings,” he said, though what he really wanted to ask was when he was supposed to fix those cars.
She curled into his side, and he lifted his arm around her, finding her adorable and attractive at a new level. “I’ll just steal you away from the cars in the morning,” she said as if she’d read his mind.
“Because you need those out of the yard before Jewel comes too, right?” He didn’t need to ask.
“Right,” she said.
He sighed. “You really drive a hard bargain, Scarlett,” he said, brushing his lips against her temple.
“Yes, well, I’m worth it,” she said, a giggle following. Hudson didn’t contradict her, because he had the distinct feeling that she was indeed worth the effort.
“I have a question for you,” he said, and she stiffened for a moment.
“Yeah?”
“Do you know of a church I can attend on Sunday?”
“Yeah, sure,” she said. “There’s a little red brick church a block or two from the road that leads up here. Gramps has been going there for decades.”
Hudson nodded. “Do you go to church, Scarlett?” He wasn’t sure why he was asking. Jan hadn’t been particularly religious. Hudson either, for that matter. Sure, he believed in God, and he went to church on occasion. But if Jan wanted to go to the beach, or there was a car to be fixed, Hudson could’ve just as easily chosen those tasks on the Sabbath.
At least until he’d learned about Jan’s infidelity. Then he’d really turned to the Lord, and He’d become Hudson’s only friend over the past year. Well, besides Hound.
“Sometimes,” she said. “I didn’t go in the city much. Vance—that was my husband—didn’t care much for religious things.”
Hudson let his thoughts drift and settle. Then he said, “My brother—one of the ones I don’t talk to—is a minister. Jude and I never really saw eye-to-eye about anything. Even growing up, he was always so much better than me.”
“Pastor Williams is great,” Scarlett said. “I mean, I’ve only been once since moving here, but Gramps likes him. I don’t think he’d judge you.”
“Jude doesn’t judge,” Hudson said, trying to find the right word for how his brother acted.
“I didn’t mean to say he did,” Scarlett said. “I just—” She cut off, and Hudson felt her nervousness coursing through him.
“It’s fine,” he said. “I’m not offended.”
She relaxed, and he found the word he’d been searching for. “Jude is condescending. Holier-than-thou. Pretentious.” So he’d found a lot of words for Jude.
Hudson wasn’t surprised at Jude’s attitude, actually. His father’s was almost identical, and Jude had never fallen far from the Flannigan tree.
“So you didn’t get along because he was religious and you sort of weren’t?” she asked.
“No, he thought all mechanics were crooks. Couldn’t believe that was what I’d choose to do, and he bragged about how he hadn’t taken his car in for anything in years. Changed his own oil and everything.” Hudson rolled his eyes, though he didn’t particularly enjoy having these dark feelings about his own brother.
“I’m sorry,” she said, and Hudson once again felt at peace with his life choices. Not everyone acted the way his father and Jude did, and Hudson had never ripped anyone off. He got paid to fix cars—there wasn’t anything wrong with that.
And for the first time in a year, Hudson felt like there wasn’t anything wrong with his life at all.
Chapter 9
Scarlett caught the scent of cinnamon and yeast as she knocked on Adele’s door. “Adele,” she called through the wood. “Can I come in?”
A moment later, the door opened two inches to reveal a sliver of her best friend’s face. “No. I’m busy.”
“Busy?” Scarlett stretched up on her tiptoes to try to see over Adele’s head. “Did you make cinnamon rolls?”
Adele opened the door further and squeezed out onto the porch with Scarlett. “I don’t want to talk about it. You said I’d have my privacy out here.”
“From cinnamon rolls?” Scarlett looked down at Adele. “You’re acting really weird. Secret baking and what was with all that glaring at Carson the other day?” In fact, Adele had made herself very scarce around the homestead since then too. “And you still won’t tell me what you’re plotting with the goats.”
Scarlett folded her arms and waited for Adele to start talking. When she didn’t, Scarlett sighed like she was being difficult on purpose, because she was. Adele had always been more of a planner than Scarlett. She didn’t reveal things until she was sure they would work, and she usually had most of the details already worked out.
She lifted her chin and said, “I’m willing to tell you two things. Name them.”
Scarlett grinned at her. “One: Carson.”
Adele rolled her eyes. “Oh, I met him in town the day before he came up for the interview. He was a real jerk, and I was shocked to see him show up here. That’s all.”
“Met him in town? You didn’t mention that.”
“Yeah, well, nothing worth mentioning.” Adele crossed her arms too, and her voice pitched up slightly.
“You didn’t think an incredibly hot man was worth mentioning?”
“Not all of them are,” Adele said. “Besides, he doesn’t need this job.”
“How do you know that? He applied.”
“Yeah, because he’s homesick and bored.” She shook her head. “He sold that ranch in Montana because oil was discovered on it. He has plenty of money.”
Understanding flooded Scarlett. “Oh, so you hate him on principle.”
“That’s right,” Adele said, her eyes widening. “I hate him on principle.”
Scarlett didn’t want to be unsupportive. Adele had been there through every step of her separation and divorce. They’d always been there for each other. She drew her friend into a hug and said, “I’m sorry it still hurts.”
Adele melted into her and her shoulders shook for only a moment. “I hate that it still hurts.” She pulled away and wiped her face. “I hate that he still gets to make me feel like this.”
“It gets better,” Scarlett said. “I mean, I know you hate it when I say that, but it’s true.”
Adele nodded and tucked her hair behind her ear, where it fell right back out again. “What’s the second thing?”
Scarlett looked at the closed front door and back to the homestead, though she couldn’t see the Goat Grounds from here. “Goats,” she said.
Adele drew herself up to her full height, which was a couple of inches taller than Scarlett. “Fine, but I don’t have all the details worked out yet, so keep that in mind.”
“It’s in mind.”
“Goat yoga.” She said each word individually, with a big space between them.
“Goat yoga?” Scarlett asked, a laugh immediately coming out. When Adele didn’t even smile, she cut the sound off. “Really, Adele?”
“Really, Scarlett. People are doing all kinds of alternative exercise these days, and yoga is huge. Hot yoga. Beach yoga. And we could do goat yoga. I’m a trained yoga instructor, and we have the facilities. They’ve been doing it down South for a year or so—I saw it on TV a couple of months back—and I’ve been training the baby goats.”
“Baby goats?”
“Well, you can’t have a fifty-pound adult goat jumping on people.”
“The goats jump on people?” Scarlett couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Adele….”
“No, really.” She held up her hand. “I have a whole folder of information on it. The babies only weigh about fifteen pounds or so, and they are so smart. I’ve been training them with graham crackers, and they let me pick them up. They jump on my back when I’m doing my poses. They’re awesome. And—and.” She took a deep breath. “We could charge $25 per person for an hour of yoga with the goats. Put up to thirty people in that enclosure we’ve got out there next to the pens. I’ve been leveling it and with straw down, it’s perfect. The babies are used to being in there, and if we could get the mats, we’d be set to go. Sort of.”
Scarlett needed some time to absorb everything she’d said, not to mention how much thirty yoga mats would cost. Instead, she seized on, “Sort of?”
“Well, I need someone to help me run the program. Maybe a couple of people.”
“To do what?”
“While I’m teaching yoga, I’d need at least one person to tend to the goats. Make sure they jump up on every person, circle them through the people. Stuff like that.”
Scarlett looked at her, glee coursing through her. “You know who you can have, right?”
Adele was a smart woman, and she immediately started shaking her head. “No. Scarlett, come on. Give me Hudson.”
Scarlett started laughing. “No way. I’ve already got him making signs. Not only that, but I
just assigned him to Horse Heaven, and he still has to fix all those cars.” She pushed her flyaways back and sighed. “Jewel Nightingale called a couple of nights ago, and this place has to be perfect when she comes. Hudson’s helping me with all of that.”
“Oh, I bet he is.” Adele grinned and lifted her eyebrows.
Scarlett shrugged. “And maybe I like him a little bit.” More than a little bit, but Scarlett didn’t want to quantify it, even to herself.
“I thought we weren’t doing boyfriends on the ranch.”
“Oh, we’re not,” Scarlett said. “I mean, you hate Carson. So you’re safe. We aren’t doing anything.” She moved down the steps, her two questions satisfied. “Anyway, I stopped by to ask you if you’d talk to Carson about taking over in LlamaLand and Piggy Paradise.” At the bottom of the stairs, she turned back and smiled up at her friend. “And now goat yoga too. It sounds like it could really bring in some cash.”
“Yeah, about that.” Adele skipped down the steps. “I, uh, want half the money. The other half can go to the ranch.”
Scarlett wasn’t a math genius, but she knew a twenty-five-dollar fee times thirty people was almost eight hundred dollars per session.
“How often are we doing goat yoga?” she asked.
“I was thinking every morning and every evening,” she said. “We’re not that far up the canyon, and we might get people who come every day.”
“Not for twenty-five dollars a class,” Scarlett said.
“So we offer them a monthly fee, the way a gym membership does.”
“I’m sure you have all those details in your folder,” Scarlett said.
“I’m still working on it,” Adele said.
“Talk to Carson,” Scarlett said. “And I’d love to see this goat yoga going before Jewel comes out to the ranch. Let’s talk again tonight, and I want to see times for the sessions. I’ll try to schedule her to come while one is running.”
“Thanks, Scarlett. And one more thing.”