“Because of what Marla Tillotson said.”
After she finished explaining, Hudson pressed, “And why did that bother you so much? That I might have been having lunch with a redhead.”
Bella suddenly gave all her attention to Katie, wiping a few crumbs from her cheek. “Hudson...”
“All right, I’ll let that go for now. But let me explain the whole situation to you. Guy sent his ranch manager—who just happens to be a pretty redhead—to convince me he needs me in Big Timber. Apparently he thought she could do a better job at it than he could.”
“Because you like pretty redheads?” Bella asked seriously.
Hudson knew a little honesty might go a long way with Bella. “In the past, I’ve been known to have my head turned by a pretty woman. Guy witnessed that.”
“Why does he think you’re the right person for this job? Exactly what is it?” Bella asked, moving away from the topic.
“Last season, one of the ranch’s patrons had an accident. Guy took an economic hit over it. He had clients cancel their reservations. They’re trying to get past it. They’ve seen how I turned around the reputation of Just Us Kids, and they want me to do that for them.”
“Are you going to take the job?”
Hudson couldn’t tell from Bella’s voice or her expression whether she cared personally or professionally.
He said honestly, “I don’t know. Just Us Kids really doesn’t need me any longer. Guy is a friend. But any PR firm could help him.”
Before she could respond, Bella’s phone emitted a lively ringtone. Hesitating only a second, she took it from her shirt pocket and studied the screen. “It’s Jamie. I need to take this. Excuse me.”
He gave her a wink. “I’ll watch this tribe while you talk.”
She answered the call. “Hi, Jamie... Everything’s fine... I told you, you don’t need to check every few hours.”
Even though Jamie was taking a break, Hudson realized he still had the triplets and Bella on his mind. Of course he’d be checking in often.
“We’re good. Order room service. Eat a lot. Sleep, and watch mindless TV. That’s an order.”
Her brother said something that made her laugh. “Yes, that is a change, isn’t it? Really, we’re good. And I don’t want to hear from you again until you come home tomorrow night. Fine. I’ll text you after they’re all settled in for the night. And I’ll give them extra kisses from you. See you tomorrow.”
Ending the call, she pocketed the phone once more.
“I admire your loyalty to your brother,” he said sincerely.
Bella went to the refrigerator and pulled out a casserole dish. She showed it to Hudson. “Cherry cobbler. Our volunteers bring casseroles and desserts when they come. Would you like some?”
“Sure,” Hudson agreed. “That will go great with milk.”
Efficiently Bella microwaved two dishes of cobbler and brought them to the table. She sat across from him, the babies between them.
Despite everything, Hudson felt a connection to Bella, a connection that was growing stronger. Just now, when she’d offered him this snack, it was as if she’d made a decision of sorts, and he wondered what was coming.
She stirred her cobbler a bit, forgot about her spoon and looked him straight in the eyes. “Jamie and I have been a team for years.”
“Anyone can see that,” Hudson commented, lost in her face, the point of her chin, the tilt of her cheek bones, the brown of her eyes.
“We became a team for a reason.”
“Your parents died. That brought you closer together,” Hudson said. She’d already told him that.
“That wasn’t the only reason we became a team. We have five other siblings—Luke, Daniel, Dana, Bailey and Liza.”
Hudson was stunned. He didn’t know what to say. But then he remarked, “No one in town mentioned it.”
“Anyone who knows us respects what we’ve been through. They know we’ve had a lot of heartache, and some of that is due to not having any contact with our other siblings.”
“Why not?”
“After our parents’ accident, we were split apart. Dana and Liza were sent away and adopted because they were younger. Our grandparents considered me and Jamie too young to be involved, and they didn’t tell us much about it. Luke, Daniel and Bailey were over eighteen and considered adults. Our grandparents said they couldn’t handle more mouths to feed, so the three boys left town. They were just as traumatized by our parents’ deaths even though they were older. On top of that, I think they were bitter and resentful that my grandparents essentially kicked them out on their own.”
“Have you tried contacting them?”
“I’ve tried. Not directly, of course, because I don’t know where any of them are. But I’ve used search engines. I haven’t had any luck.”
“And none of them have ever contacted you?”
Hudson could see the anguish on Bella’s face as she shook her head. “It hurts,” she said. “Jamie has never left Rust Creek Falls, and I’ve been here except for college. It would be easy to find us. But apparently they don’t want to. That’s why Jamie and I have been as close as we are.”
Finally Hudson thought he understood the depth of Bella’s loneliness. As much as he and his brothers squabbled, they stayed connected. Reaching out, he covered her hand with his. “I’m sorry for all you’ve lost.”
“I don’t need anyone’s pity,” she said quietly. “That’s why Jamie and I don’t talk about it.”
“Thank you for confiding in me. That means you trust me.”
Bella looked as if she might say more, but then she pushed her chair back and stood. “Maybe we can settle this crew down for a nap. Getting them all quiet and sleeping at the same time could be an impossible feat, but we can try. That is, if you can stay. If you can’t, I understand.”
Hudson wasn’t going anywhere, not until he was sure Bella could handle what she’d taken on.
* * *
Although they worked together at the day care center, Bella was surprised to find they also seemed to work well around the babies in the kitchen. She couldn’t help sneaking peeks at Hudson as he wiped Henry’s mouth or as he plucked a piece of cookie from Katie’s hair. He was big and tall, but he was gentle and caring. He was almost as good around the babies as Jamie was.
When he’d thanked her for trusting him, she’d almost told him about her pregnancy and the baby she’d miscarried. She almost told him that she loved taking care of Jamie’s babies because she might never have any of her own. Watching Hudson with Katie and Jared and Henry, she could easily see he’d want kids of his own someday.
She thought again about the job offer he’d received. Another good reason not to confide in him. There was no point. Whether she trusted him or not, whether he was attracted to her or not, he was most likely going to be leaving again. Rust Creek Falls was just a stopover in his nomadic lifestyle.
To her surprise, Henry was the baby who quieted first. After they laid him in his crib, he stuck his thumb in his mouth, and his eyes soon closed. It took longer for Katie and Jared. She and Hudson walked them and rocked them until finally they both dozed off. After settling them in their cribs, Bella gave Hudson a smile as they left the room and went downstairs.
In the living room, she made sure the monitor was turned on. “They could wake up in five minutes,” she told Hudson.
“Or they could give you a break for at least a half hour or maybe longer.”
“Do you always see the world in positive terms?” she asked.
“I try to. But then most of my life has been pretty positive. My family might not be all I want it to be, but I have one. I’ve never had to think about money. I can pretty much go where I want to go and do what I want. I’m grateful for all that. Every day at the day care center I see sing
le moms struggling and dads working two jobs. I look at folks who were hit by the flood here and what they’ve lost. I can’t help but be grateful for what I have.”
“I like your outlook,” Bella said.
He stepped closer to her. “Is that all you like?”
She tried to keep the moment light. “I could make a list,” she teased.
“And I could make a list of everything I like about you. It would be a long one.”
He was right there now, close to her. He loomed over her, but she didn’t feel intimidated. In fact, everything about Hudson being near her excited her. Feelings surged through her that almost made her reach for him. When she thought about that redhead, she hated the idea of Hudson kissing another woman, holding another woman, making love to another woman. Bella wanted to be that woman.
He must have seen the hunger in her eyes because he took her into his arms and kissed her. His lips were unerringly masculine, supremely masterful, absolutely intoxicating. His arms held her a little tighter, and she pressed closer. His scent, man and aftershave, was intoxicating. He was so ultimately sexy. As they kissed, her hand came up to his cheek, and her fingers trailed over beard stubble. When he groaned, she felt as if she’d accomplished a monumental feat.
As if he wanted to accomplish that same feat, he laced his fingers in her hair. He swept his tongue through her mouth until she had no breath left for anything but Hudson. They kept tasting each other as if they could never get enough and gave in to desire that they’d denied for weeks. He backed her up, and she knew what was behind them—the sofa. She didn’t protest or even think about refusing. Her head might know better, but her heart wanted Hudson...wanted him in a primal way.
They’d almost reached their destination...
Then the doorbell rang.
It took a few moments for Bella to realize someone was at the door. She tore away from Hudson, her head spinning, her mouth throbbing from his kiss, her senses filled with him.
“I have to get that,” she murmured. “It could be...anyone.”
No, she definitely couldn’t think straight. That was for sure.
Hudson’s eyes held a glazed look, too, and she wondered if he’d been as into that kiss as she had been. Was that even possible? Had she lost her mind? She’d just listed all the reasons she shouldn’t confide in him and couldn’t get involved with him.
Then what had she done?
She’d kissed him.
To her dismay, that hadn’t been an ordinary kiss. That had been a lead-to-something-else kiss.
The doorbell rang again, and she practically ran to the foyer and pulled open the door. She was so glad to see Paige’s face.
But Paige took one look at Bella and asked, “Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no. No,” Bella assured her, pulling her inside. “I thought you couldn’t get here this soon.”
“Our meeting ended earlier than I thought it would. How are you coping?”
“Oh, I’m coping just fine. In fact, Hudson’s here. He helped me put the triplets to bed. Believe it or not, they’re actually all napping.”
Paige was giving her an are-you-sure-I’m-not-interrupting-something look.
But Bella kept shaking her head. “Come on in. I can use your help. Jamie called, and I convinced him I had everything under control.” She prattled on, filling the air with chitchat, which was so unlike her.
Paige knew that, and Hudson did, too. But she had to do something to cover up that kiss, to process it, to absorb the way she felt when Hudson kissed her.
By the time she and Paige were inside the living room, Hudson had seemed to compose himself, too. He’d taken his Stetson off the table where he’d laid it when he’d come in and plopped it onto his head.
To Bella he said, “It looks as if you have reinforcements, so I’ll be on my way. Nice to see you, Paige.”
“Good to see you, too, Hudson.”
There was an awkward silence until Bella offered, “I’ll walk you out. Paige, I’ll be right back. The monitor’s on.”
It would have been easier and less awkward if Bella had just let Hudson leave. But she’d just have to face him when she returned to work if she didn’t deal with their kiss now.
He stepped out onto the porch and then turned to look at her. They were eye level. “It seemed right,” he simply said, and she knew what he meant. Everything about that kiss had seemed right.
“Maybe, but I’m glad Paige interrupted. We both need time to think.”
He shook his head. “Maybe we should stop thinking and just feel.”
“Hudson, there’s still a lot you don’t know about me.”
“So tell me.”
If she did that, she’d be plunging into the unknown. If she did that, she’d be asking for rejection. Impulsively, she leaned forward and gave Hudson a light kiss on the lips.
“I’ll see you at work on Tuesday morning,” she said.
He looked as if he wanted to take her into his arms again, but she backed up, and he seemed to understand. He nodded. “See you Tuesday morning.”
When Bella closed the door, she couldn’t help but imagine exactly what would have happened if Paige hadn’t arrived.
* * *
Hudson was out of sorts. When he arrived back at the Lazy B, he went straight to the barn. After a stop at the tack room, he saddled up Breeze, mounted and took a path through the fields where the snow had melted. He needed a horse under him, the wind in his face, the cold against his skin.
As he rode, he realized he just hadn’t been able to go into the empty ranch house. The reason? He wanted Bella there with him. He wasn’t sure yet what all that entailed, but he knew he wanted to make a few of his dreams come true—the ones that included Bella in his bed. If they hadn’t been interrupted this afternoon, they would have had sex on that couch. The thing was, if Paige hadn’t interrupted them, one of the babies might have. That would have been even more awkward.
When he made love to Bella, he wanted no interruptions and no one interfering. He wanted their attention to be focused on just the two of them. He also wanted Bella to be sure...to want him as much as he wanted her. To his surprise, that wasn’t just about lust. It wasn’t just about the fun they could have in the sheets, the satisfaction of two bodies coming together. No, these feelings went deeper. He felt protective toward Bella. He didn’t want her to be confused or unsure. Most of all, he didn’t want to hurt her. If they shared a bed, they’d both have to do it freely. Consequences and the future be damned.
The problem was, he’d never felt protective like this about a woman before. He’d never cared about her dreams, her insecurities, her past. He cared about all of that with Bella. She’d lost her parents, her brothers and sisters. He could understand why she wouldn’t want to willingly lose any more.
He didn’t want to lose anything either...especially not his freedom. He felt vulnerable and didn’t like that at all. He didn’t like the idea that a woman could cause upset or joy or create a hunger he just had to satisfy.
Bella confused him. That was a first, and he’d like it to be a last.
He had no idea what he was going to do about any of it.
Chapter Ten
Hudson could fry himself a burger. He could even flip an omelet. What he couldn’t usually do was bake. But he’d missed Bella at Just Us Kids, as did everyone else, and he wanted to bake something to welcome her back on Tuesday. She did so much for the teachers, the parents and especially the children, making them feel comforted and loved. In essence, she was the poster girl for Just Us Kids. More than that, she was the heart.
At first he hadn’t known what to do that would be special yet not over-the-top. He’d nixed flowers right away. Spending tons of money on every rare flower there was and filling her desk with them was too showy and too impers
onal. Besides, he wanted to show her another side of him—one that could be caring in ways that counted rather than only spending money.
After consulting a clerk at the grocery store, he found a box of what she said were never-fail cupcakes. He had to do cupcakes, of course, so they could pass them out and share them with the kids. She showed him the muffin pans to buy and colorful little cups. After one look at him, and hearing his woe that he’d never made icing in his life, let alone a cake, she showed him canned icing. That would have to do.
Before he took all his supplies to the checkout, she asked, “Why don’t you just buy cupcakes or a cake from the bakery? We’d decorate it really nice and even put her name on it.”
But Hudson just shook his head. “That’s not the same thing at all. I don’t want to buy the cupcakes. I want to make them for her.”
The woman gave him a wink and a nod as if she understood, and Hudson left with his purchases, full of hope.
Actually the baking went fairly well, except for a few spills when he poured the batter. The icing, however, was something different. When he realized he’d bought only white and pink, he decided to swirl it and get a little fancy with it. White with a pink swirl, pink with a white swirl. At the end of his project, he had to admit he would never be a cake decorator. But the cupcakes looked presentable, and that’s what mattered.
He left early for the day care center, in plenty of time to hang the pink-and-white crepe paper the store clerk had told him would be a good decoration. He wanted everything ready before anyone else arrived.
And he was ready. As the teachers filed in, he was glad Bella wasn’t among them. He wanted as many teachers and kids here as possible before she came through that door.
All of the teachers were there and some of the children, too, when she came in, saw the decorations and the big sign that said Welcome Back, Bella. Her mouth dropped open.
Her gaze went to Sarah, but Sarah just shrugged. “Not our doing.” She pointed to Hudson.
One of the other teachers, Joyce Croswell, pointed to the cupcakes. “And just look at those. He made them, too.” Her gaze went from Bella to Hudson, as if everyone should realize something more was going on than boss and day care center manager.
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