The Maverick's Holiday Surprise. Karen Smith Rose

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      Hudson was horrified that Bella actually believed that. She was one of the sweetest women he’d ever met. “You can’t blame yourself for what fate hands out.” But he could see she did.

      Bella had torn apart her ribs at that point, and instead of trying to eat them with a fork as some women might, she nibbled the meat off the bone. Her fingers were sticky, and so were her lips. Hudson couldn’t stop looking at her lips. She was in midchew when she realized he was staring. She stared back.

      All eating stopped as they gazed at each other, and it was quite possible there was even a hum in the air. He wondered if she was just a little bit attracted to him.

      But he never got to ask because one of the teachers popped her head into the break room.

      “Got enough for me?” she asked.

      That broke Hudson out of his trance. “Sure do, Sarah. Come on in and join us.”

      As the boss, he knew that was the right thing to do. But as a man, what he really wanted was to be alone with Bella. To find out more about her. To get to know her.

      To kiss her.

      * * *

      Hudson let himself into the ranch house on the Lazy B, thinking that living in Rust Creek Falls for a while wasn’t a chore. He tremendously liked where he was staying. He’d met Brooks Smith, the town’s veterinarian, on one of his first trips to Rust Creek Falls. He knew the town vet could always recommend the best place to ride or rent out a horse. Brooks had done better than that. He’d suggested Hudson rent Clive Bickler’s ranch.

      Clive, an eccentric wealthy man who’d bought the property after the big flood several years ago, traveled a lot. Besides the main ranch house there was a smaller log home on the acreage where an older couple lived. They’d lost their ranch in the flood, and they lived on the Lazy B now and ran the place. Clive rented his home to high-end clients who appreciated his art collection and other niceties. Hudson, basically a trust fund cowboy, filled the bill. Living here was not only convenient but downright pleasant.

      As he tapped in the code for the security alarm, he heard noise in the kitchen. That didn’t bother him because he knew who was there—Greta Marsden. She wasn’t only the wife of the foreman, but she also made sure Hudson had meals and treats to eat. Now she was loading a casserole into the refrigerator. The kitchen was all shiny stainless steel and high-end appliances. Not that Hudson cared because he didn’t do much cooking.

      Greta was in her fifties with silver hair that fluffed around her face. She had a wide smile and a kind disposition. She might have been a few pounds overweight, but she was fit in jeans and a plaid shirt. Her wool jacket hung over a nearby chair.

      She glanced over her shoulder at him as she made room in the refrigerator for the casserole dish and smiled. “Do you need supper?”

      “No, I had ribs. Not that they could stand up to anything you make.”

      She closed the refrigerator door, blushing a little. “You sure do know how to charm a woman, but save that for the ladies your age. I’m beyond it.”

      Hudson laughed. “You’re not.”

      She waved his comment away. “When kids are grown, companionship and affection mean more than anything else. I’m relieved I don’t need to look hot for anyone.”

      So that was what marriage developed into—companionship and affection. He wasn’t sure his parents had that.

      On the drive here, he’d thought about everything Bella had told him about her family. In fact he hadn’t been able to get her story out of his head. He was still distracted by it now.

      Greta bustled around the kitchen and pointed to a plastic container on the counter. “Oatmeal raisin cookies. These cold nights they’ll go good with hot chocolate before you turn in.”

      “So you think I’m still a growing boy.”

      She laughed. “No, just a hardworking man with a big appetite.”

      Hudson wasn’t sure about the hardworking part. He’d never really had to work too hard because his family was wealthy, so he was wealthy. He tended to take on jobs as he liked and then move on. His last project in Cody, Wyoming, had been about helping a friend start up a ranch—buying horses, choosing computer programs to manage the place efficiently. Over the years he’d managed ranches, wrangled cows and trained horses. This gig with Just Us Kids Day Care Center was something entirely new to him.

      Greta looked around the kitchen and shook her head. “Edmond needed me to do bookwork today, so I didn’t clean up here,” she explained. “I’ll be back to do that in the morning.”

      Hudson wasn’t concerned about collecting a few dust bunnies. “No problem.”

      As he remembered Bella saying Our grandfather blamed us when Grandma died, he considered Greta’s comments about marriage.

      “Do you mind if I ask you something personal?”

      Greta shrugged. “I suppose not.”

      “How would you feel if you suddenly had teenage grandchildren to raise? What if it happened overnight? What would you do?”

      Greta didn’t even hesitate. “Edmond and I would try our best to love them to bits. The people who come in and out of our lives are gifts.”

      When Hudson thought about Bella, he realized how she usually seemed sad unless she was around the kids. Had that been because of the way she’d been raised?

      Apparently her grandparents hadn’t considered her and her brother as gifts. That had to color the way she looked at herself and the rest of her life.

      Hudson nodded, suddenly a bit pleased with the evening. Though she hadn’t revealed too much over their quick dinner, he had learned quite a bit about Ms. Bella Stockton.

      * * *

      When Hudson entered Just Us Kids the following morning, Bella was already there.

      As he walked into the reception area, he tipped his Stetson and gave her a cheery good morning. Yet she simply murmured hello and hardly lifted her head. What was that about?

      He wondered that same thing again when she wouldn’t meet his gaze at a brief staff meeting before the children began arriving. He was sure something was wrong midmorning when Bella dropped time sheets on his desk without even looking at him.

      She didn’t act like a beautiful young woman of the millennia. It wasn’t that she lacked self-confidence, because she didn’t. With the staff, with the kids, with every aspect of organization, she was confident in her abilities. But not around him.

      He had to get to the bottom of it.

      Hudson had found he enjoyed being with the kids. It was odd, really. As an adult, he’d never been around children much. Several times a day he’d wander through the sections of children in different age groups. He knew many of the children by name, and they knew his name. He often stopped to help with an art project or just to converse with a curious four-year-old. They came up with the darnedest questions. He pretty much stayed away from the babies, watching over them from afar. The teachers didn’t СКАЧАТЬ