What could she do about it?Nothing.
“I’d better get after it,” Marcus said.
“Take care out there.”
“Will do, Hudson.”A pause was followed by, “I was real sorry to hear about your loss.”
“Really?”Hudson’s surprise caught her off guard.
“I can’t say I knew your father, but my heart goes out to your family.”
“If you knew Beaumont, you wouldn’t feel that way.”The coldness in his voice, along with those words, meant there was a story.Maybe the horse rancher knew about pain.As beautiful as his blue eyes were, there was a depth, a sadness to them that she felt a deep connection to.One broken soul to another…?
Cassie had been split in half years ago and figured she would never be whole again.It was strange how one mistake could color the rest of your life.Although her physical age was twenty-nine, she felt older than her years.That happened when you grew up too fast and crammed years of living into weeks.
Giving herself a mental headshake, she refocused on the footsteps heading toward her.Relief washed over her when Hudson appeared.A shower.A real bathroom.A chance to get out of the woods for a while.
“Does your offer still stand?”she asked in a quiet voice.
He nodded as he went to work changing out a blown tire.She joined him after gathering up the trash.
“Anything I can do to help?”
“I got it,” he said as he finished up.The man’s arms were bigger than her thighs.His hands were large enough to crush a skull.Those facts should scare her.Instead, they offered reassurance and safety like she’d never known.Hudson Sturgess could handle himself in any situation.He’d thanked her for saving him from the mountain lion.Cassie realized, upon looking at him, that he would have done fine on his own.She might have saved him from a few scrapes and bruises, but despite what he said, Hudson would have been more than fine.However, it was fine if he wanted to give her credit.She’d take any good karma she could get after feeling the effects of bad decision after bad decision.
Were they really considered bad decisions when you had no other options?You were surviving, kiddo.You shouldn’t be so hard on yourself.Those were some of her grandfather’s last words to her.She’d located him after years of searching and had found him weeks before his death.Broke and alone, Cassie had never cried so hard as she had that day.
Three years, four months, and sixteen days ago, she’d lost the one person who hadn’t known about her existence until it was too late.Not too late, Cass.Pull your head out and stop feeling sorry for yourself.A couple of weeks with someone who loved you is better than what some people get.To this day, she would never understand why her mother had kept her biological father a secret and blocked Cassie from that side of her family.
“Do you want to ride in the front seat with me or back in the trailer with Best?”he asked, breaking through her thoughts.“I hope I’m better company, but you never know.Best is a good horse.Not too chatty, though.”
She glanced at the trailer.It took all of a second to realize it would be the safest place for her.Then, she shifted her gaze to the passenger seat of his truck.“I’d hate to stink you out of your own truck.”
“You couldn’t.”He cracked a devastating smile.“Believe me.I had brothers who decided showers were for the weak during peak hormone years.”He laughed, and it lit up his face.More of those little campfires lit inside her, low in her belly.
“Can I borrow your hat?”She motioned toward the Stetson.
He cocked an eyebrow and then opened his mouth to speak before stopping himself.She could almost see the exact moment that he remembered their agreement involved no questions as it played across his features.“Be my guest.”
“Okay, then.Front seat, it is,” she said, hoping she wouldn’t regret this decision.
“After you,” Hudson said before opening the passenger door like they were on some kind of date.This seemed like an appropriate time to remind herself that Hudson was a Texas rancher.Politeness and chivalry were ingrained in him.He wasn’t opening her door to impress her or make her feel like she couldn’t do it for herself.
Cassie liked it more than was probably safe to allow.The rare time she’d gone with her feelings instead of listening to logic, she’d ended up pregnant and alone.You were barely more than a kid.
That didn’t excuse her actions.She couldn’t let herself off the hook that easily.
Complicated wasthe best word Hudson could think of to describe the woman crouched down in the seat next to him with a cowboy hat covering most of her face.She’d tucked her wavy locks up into the hat, which was a clear sign she didn’t want anyone to be able to describe her.Should he tell her there weren’t many folks around this part of the land?
“I’ll stick to my word of not asking questions and leave it to you to tell me anything you want me to know about yourself.”
“Not much to tell.”
He half-coughed, half-choked.
“Be careful there,” she said, sitting upright long enough to pat him on the back a couple of times.“Are you all right?”
“Fine,” he said.