“That’s Ali’s husband? I thought trainers used whips and stuff, that doesn’t sound like something Ali would be down with.” I replied confused.
“It wasn’t. Alison’s mother had worked with Taggart, Ali thought he was fantastic, and when she was just seventeen, he convinced her to marry him against her father’s wishes. As soon as Alison discovered who he really was and how he treated the animals, she left him.” John blew out a breath, and I could tell I wasn’t going to like the next part.
Her parents bought the land on Mt. Charleston and Alison’s father had a construction crew build a habitat for Alison’s favorite bear, Baloo. Richard was pissed off that Alison left him and sold Baloo to a man in Wyoming before her mother could steal him away. The man filed down Baloo’s teeth to nubs, and now the bear freaks out when he see’s a gun. Soon, they acquired Nala the lioness, and Lady the one-eyed hawk. Her father hired Trevor, a man that had worked with her mother in one of the preserves in Africa.” John looked at me and then slid into the seat across from me.
“Ali was trying to start her life over, she was going to a university in South Africa to get a degree in Exotic Animal Science, but her father’s brakes failed, and they hit the side of the mountain before falling down a fifty-foot ravine. Ali’s parents were killed on impact. The car must have caught on fire at some point but despite that Ali pulled both her parent’s bodies from the wreck while getting burns over twenty percent of her body and having a broken leg. I was the first one that discovered her at the scene” John’s eyes pierced mine, his meaning clear.
“Are you saying Alison’s father’s brake lines were cut?” I asked, my gut swirling with a bad feeling. I couldn’t imagine Alison having to drag her dead parents out of the burning car. I had thought the loss of my parents in a car accident was the worst anyone could endure, I was wrong. Alison Collins had suffered more and then some.
“I don’t know for sure, I was gone for about eighteen months and didn’t hear about any conclusions on the accident until I got back. Ali wouldn’t talk about it. She wouldn’t talk to anyone for almost two years, she just hobbled around the ranch only spending time with Baloo and the others.”
“Shit!”
“Yeah Shit! Now, cousin, you need to understand that Richard Taggart is capable of murder, he’s a not a man to let someone get in his way when he wants something. You should know, about four months back, Pepper, Alison’s niece, came charging into my cabin screaming for help. Had I been another five minutes the bastard would have raped her, Matt.”
I jumped out of the booth with such force that I knocked all the place settings to the floor.
“He’s not her husband, Matt. According to Pepper he’s been practically begging her to get back together with him, he wants her land, and he’s starting to get pretty desperate about it. So, when Lucas says you’ve been played, he means by Taggart and your own insecurities!”
“John, she said that developers from New York have been hounding her to sell the ranch. Is there any way to find out what’s do damn special about that land. She’ll never sell it.”
“I’ve got someone on my team looking into it now, but you better invest in a good pair of knee pads cousin,” John’s voice took on a serious tone.
Confused I searched his face for some sign of what he was talking about.
“For groveling little brother, it seems the Hudson men always need to do a bit of groveling here and there,” Reece explained hugging Synclair and Wyatt.
“Welcome to the club Matt.” Lucas chuckled as Sara whacked him on the arm.
“What club?” I asked even though I didn’t want to know the answer.
“The Hudson club, where we find the woman we want forever and then systematically screw it up so bad, that it requires an insane amount of groveling and one huge gesture,” Dalton told me rubbing his hand together like a mad scientist.
“Don’t feel too bad, Matt, I think it’s genetic,” Synclair said laughing.
Great, the woman I loved and who loved me was being hounded by an ex-husband who had attacked her, developers trying to get her land, someone sending threatening letters and I had accused her of fucking me over. Not to mention the fact that I had gone back to the airline agent and had the dog sent home with me instead of her.
Chompers had turned out to be a great dog. He followed Synclair and Wyatt around like a puppy. I had done it just to piss off Alison and then had ignored her calls and rage texts where she went into great detail of exactly the kind of asshole I was. How was I supposed to grovel my way out of that?
Ali
Tired…Tired…Tired…I was so exhausted that as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was going to sleep for a week. Hell did not even begin to describe the last few days.
On a tip from an anonymous call, I had driven all the way to Utah to rescue a white tiger, of course when I got there I found out it was a wild goose chase. A chase orchestrated by Richard so that he could to steal Baloo from the sanctuary.
After a frantic call from Trevor about the six large men that were led by a determined Richard Taggart, I sped all the way home. I had no idea that when I had told him, he couldn’t have Baloo for his exhibition, that he would actually try to steal him. It seemed Richard had only gotten more wicked as he had gotten older. The fact that I had worshiped him so blindly as a teenager made me sick to my stomach.
Thank God for neighbors. Before I had even hit the mountain, friends of John had come out of nowhere and sent Richard and his band of misfits running. Trevor told me the men fought like well-oiled machines, and Richard’s men had run screaming for their trucks.
Baloo had been the problem. When I had arrived, one of John’s men had his gun drawn. A sight I had known would cause Baloo to freak out. Baloo had bolted into the woods, past homes, and barns before I could reach him on the ATV. Of course, John’s guys insisted on coming. I allowed it only because they promised they’d keep their guns holstered. Actually, I was certain they were only placating me and were going to come along whether I wanted them to or not but they at least let me think I was in charge.
Two hours later and a lot of coaxing, followed by several large, scary looking men with tattoos shadowing me back to the ranch, I had gotten Baloo back in his enclosure. Just as the first streaks of daylight broke over the mountain from the east. I said my thanks to John’s men who disappeared into the woods without a sound, sent Trevor to bed, and now I was slowly making my way to my room.
A deep cough racked my chest as I walked past the hot tea I hadn’t gotten to drink earlier that day. I had planned to lay on my sofa and nurse this cold that had come back with a vengeance. It seemed that ever since I had gone to Ireland, I would get rid of this cough thing, only to have it rear it’s ugly head again. It was my fault, I knew better than to let myself get run down. Ever since the ugly confrontation with Matthew I had gone from crying to cursing him, to not sleeping, not eating and then crying all over again.
I mean, wasn’t there a statue of limitations on a broken heart? If I needed any evidence that I hadn’t truly loved Richard, then this was it. My heart had never ached like it had the past three months.
Tomorrow, I promised no one in particular. Tomorrow I would nurse this fever, stay huddled in bed and if I wasn’t better in a week I would force myself to go a see a doctor for antibiotics. It was not that I hated medicine, it was being in a hospital and smelling that clean, antiseptic smell and staring at those cold, white tiles that made me sick. I had spent far too much time in hospitals after the accident, and I had nothing but terrible memories.
Not even attempting to make it to my bed, I limped to the couch practically dragging my throbbing leg behind me.
“Ahhhh, I am never leaving this couch! Do you hear me world? I am snuggling up with my pillow and watching reruns of Grey’s Anatomy and Animal Planet!” I shouted through my sore throat to the universe.
The universe, who has a sick sense of humor answered, the theme song to Disney’s Jungle Book, tore into m
y silence, and I glared heavenward. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I wondered who would be calling me at the butt-crack of the day.
“Hello, this better be good because my shit meter is at capacity!” I croaked into the phone barely keeping my eyelids from slamming shut.
“Well, as much as I hate to be the one tipping the capacity of your shit meter, ma’am, this can’t wait. It’s about your niece Pepper Alessio,” a calm and slightly amused voice replied.
My exhaustion forgotten, I sat up so fast that the room spun. “Shit, shit, shit…okay universe, I get it. I will never shout out to the world anything about what I will and will not do!” I whispered as I silently willed the world to stop spinning before I threw up.
“Mrs. Collins?” the man sounded concerned now.
Shit, I had forgotten about him. “Yes, and it's Ms. Collins. Is Pepper okay?” I dropped my head in my hands as I listened to Sherriff Jones tell me of my niece’s newest adventure.
“So, because she’s a minor I need a parent or guardian to come and pick her up. She’s rather insistent that you should come instead of my notifying the camp she bolted from.”
I groaned and counted the reasons why it was not a good idea to tie a teenager to a bed until they reached legal age. “No, no don’t call the camp, please. I’ll tell them I picked her for a visit or something,” I muttered trying to figure out how I was going to explain, Piper’s sudden disappearance from a court order teen camp. Shit, if this got back to the judge, he’d throw her in juvenile hall for a year.
“I don’t suppose she mentioned to you why she was hitchhiking into town?” I asked shaking my head.
“Well, she got into an argument with the fella she was traveling with, and she got out of the car about ten miles outside Carson City,” he paused when I gasped.
I could just imagine Pepper jumping out a moving vehicle to escape some handsy, camp runaway. I hope she had kicked the little bastard in the balls first.
“When I picked her up just outside of town, the girl was half frozen and claimed she was coming to find her father, but wouldn’t tell me who that was, so I’m left calling you.”
I sighed and remembered the talk that Pepper and I had about Jake. It was the only explanation for her sudden desire to take a road trip from Lake Tahoe to Carson City. My wayward niece was determined to confront Jake Summers about being her father. I could just imagine how that would go. How would she even go about it? Knowing Pepper, she’d ambush Jake and blurt out that he was possibly her father. Ugh, I could throttle Lela for leaving me to clean up her messes.
“Thank you, Sheriff Jones, where is Pepper now? It’s important that she not wander around Carson City looking for her father…he’s …he’s not expecting her,” I stuttered not sure of how much to say.
“Well, she’s asleep on the couch in my office. I’ll order in some pancakes when she wakes up, and we’ll wait for you here. Any idea how long you’ll be. I’m not rushing you but it is Sunday, and I usually leave early.”
“Of course, I’m so sorry. You’ve been so good about all this, I am leaving right now and should hit Carson City in about seven hours,” I promised as I leaned back into the couch.
I thanked the friendly Sheriff again and ended the call with a dramatic sigh. I needed at least an hour of sleep before I could even think about hauling my feverish ass into my truck for seven hours one way. I had one moment of panic at the idea of going to the one town that had more Hudsons per capita, than anywhere in the United States. But I figured I would just grab Pepper, throw her in the truck and jet out of town before I could even run into any Hudsons.
First, a nap. A short nap, just twenty minutes, forty winks.
Unfortunately, my twenty-minute nap turned into a four-hour snooze. At just before eleven I bolted up from the couch, coughing and still feverish. Grabbing some Tylenol, I secretly hoped I my fever broke before Pepper saw me. She would take one look at me and insist I go to the doctor, a wise option except I would not go. We would fight, she would yell, and then I would crawl in bed and ignore the little tyrant’s rantings. I had tried to call Sheriff Jones to let him know I was running late, but all I had gotten was his voicemail. I was kind of surprised that Pepper hadn’t called me herself.
I had received a text from Trevor about six hours in, letting me know everything was okay with the animals and that when I got home if I still had a fever, he was throwing me over his shoulder and taking me in.
Blowing my nose for the hundredth time today, I followed my GPS to the Sheriff’s Office. As soon as I walked up the steps, I realized it was closed. Closed? Since when does the Sheriff’s office close?
“Are you Alison Collins?” An elderly man asked me as I turned from the locked door in frustration.
“Yes,” I answered not sure how he knew my name. He didn’t have a uniform on, and he was way too old to be the man I’d spoken to on the phone.
“Sheriff Jones asked me to tell you that he’d gone home for the night,” he said politely. He pushed his glasses up on his nose, and his wrinkled eyes smiled at me.
“What? What about my niece?” Alarmed, I practically shouted at the old man.
He stood from the bench he’d been sitting on and used his cane for balance. Shit, I’d just yelled at someone’s grandpa!
“Don’t worry yourself, it seems your niece was asking about Jake Summers. Sheriff Jones told her that Jake’s Bar was closed today on account of the big celebration out at the Hudson Ranch,” he explained smiling.
A sudden cough racked my body, and it took several minutes to breathe again. “D-d-d-did you say, Hudson Ranch?” I wheezed trying to clear my throat.
The man nodded and a look of concern flashed in his eyes. “Yep, you okay dear? That’s a bad cough.”
“Y-yes, I’m fine. Did Sheriff Jones say that’s where Pepper was?” I crossed my fingers, hoping the Sheriff had taken Pepper to a diner or a hotel even and dropped her off, anywhere but the Hudson Ranch.
“Well, Pepper told Sheriff Jones that you knew the Hudsons and when he called over to the ranch they told him to drop her by, and they’d look after her until you arrived,” he said sweetly.
“Of course they did, the little traitor!” I muttered trying to talk myself out of climbing back in my truck and driving home without Pepper. It would serve the little twit right, I can’t believe she was consorting with the enemy. Probably swayed by pink lemonade and barbecued chicken!
“I’m sorry, what was that dear?” The kind old man asked with a twinkle of mischief in his eyes. Yeah, he was enjoying this. Hell, he was probably Grandpa Hudson!
“I don’t suppose you need a ride to the ranch?” I groaned when the man smiled so big that I was sure his face would crack.
“Well, now that would be lovely. I do like sitting here under this tree, but I should probably head out that way,” he chuckled as I helped him to his feet and then sprinted ahead of him to open the passenger door. As soon as I climbed behind the wheel, I had another coughing fit and let my head droop on the cold leather of the steering wheel cover.
I felt a large hand pat my back affectionately. It reminded me of my father. It seemed like another life ago when someone had touched me in a paternal way, and I found myself tearing up like a ninny.
“Oh sweetie, you really are sick. You get us to the Hudson Ranch, and Doc Williams will take a look at ya,” he promised still patting me on the back.
I wiped the tears from my cheeks with the back of my hands and smiled back at him. Maybe when I got back to Vegas, I would suck it up and see a doctor.
“I don’t suppose your last name is Hudson is it?” I asked eyeing him suspiciously.
He moved his hand to his lap and gave me a kind grin. “Nope, the name’s Sam Wilmington.” He said buckling his seat belt.
Starting the truck, I backed out of the lot and typed in the address that Sam rattled off.
“Thank God, I thought you were another Hudson,” I told him relieved.
“Naw, I’m n
o Hudson. But Lucas is my son in law,” he quipped with a grin.
I hit the brakes so hard I jarred forward, when Sam just stared back at me, I shook my head. “Of course he is,” I grumbled pulling away from the stop sign, wondering what I had done to piss off the universe so much.
I pulled up to a huge ranch house behind a line of huge trucks. As soon as I put the truck in park, I began to shake.
“I don’t suppose you’d go in there and grab my niece and send her out here, would you Sam?” I pleaded with my hands clasped together under my chin.
“Aw..it’s a party, Alison. Besides, with all the people here I’m sure you can just blend in, find your niece and escape without anyone even noticing you,” he suggested.
I went to answer but another coughing fit took hold and by the time it was finished I was gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles.
Sam was out of the truck and walking up the steps with a stride he hadn’t shown back in town. Worried, he would go find a Hudson, I quickly got out of the truck and ignored the tremor radiating down my hip through the back of my leg. Please, please don’t collapse now…Just give me 15 minutes okay? Then you can throb and ache all the way to Mt. Charleston. As I walked up to the door, I silently prayed to every God I could think of to let me quietly slip into this house un-noticed.
I opened the door and stepped in, only to have to fight the urge to step back out. The place was packed. There were people everywhere I looked. Talking, laughing, chasing children around a comfy looking living room with a blazing fire. I was drawn to the mantle that was lined with photos. There were pictures of Synclair and Reece and Lucas and Sara from the wedding. Some pictures were of various Hudsons at different ages and one picture in the center of them all, Matt’s parents. Both smiling as they embraced and posed for the camera. I could see the same dark hair, green eyes, and dimples that graced each Hudson and their mother’s smile had definitely been passed down to them too.
No Refunds No Exchanges: A Hudson Family Series- Book 4- Matt and Ali Page 23