“Sunday.” Hudson nodded. “Not sure what time.”
“Huh.” That had to be bullshit. Who didn’t know what time they booked a flight for?
“Paul’s our marketing director. He put everything together for the booth tomorrow.” Hudson looked at him meaningfully. “His wife said he barely slept last week getting everything together.”
Wife. Okay. That was clear as crystal. So, not a fuckbuddy.
“I’ll have to check it out. Where you stayin’? Somewhere good?”Want to come home with me, darlin’?
“We’re over at the Bellagio,” Paul answered quickly. “Have you stayed there? It’s crazy.”
“Vegas is crazy.” Hudson rolled his eyes.
“It is. I’m going to head out, grab a bite. They have a nice place for the horses.”Wanna come and play?
“Okay. Well, it was nice to meet you. We have an early morning, so we should head back to our hotel too.” Paul nodded to him.
“Uh. Yeah. I guess I should get back.” Hudson cleared his throat. “It’s always good to see you.”
“Ditto. Holler if you want to grab a drink or something.” He didn’t get this—why did Hudson come out to see him?
“I will. Holler. Promise. Have a good night.”
Paul gave a wave as they turned and walked back inside.
Okay, that was weird as hell.
Hudson’s ass still made his mouth dry, though.
“Is Hudson standing you up?” Mackey popped up out of nowhere, making him jump.
“Dammit, old man!” Was Hudson? He thought so, maybe. “You need a ride back? Where’s your man?”
“Something about drinks with suits. There’s an ex-po tomorrow,” Mackey said with a mocking drawl. “I could eat.”
“Shit, me too.” He rolled his eyes and grinned, because he had to. “Steak?”
“Steak.” Mackey clapped him on the back. “You’re driving. You can tell me why Hudson just ghosted you.”
“He didn’t. He came out, but he had work folks with him.” A work guy. Whatever.
“Right. He’s a safety tech guy now, huh? Thinks he’s going to keep the riders safer than I do?” Mackey chuckled.
“Shee-it. Ain’t anyone on earth could do that, Mother.” Mackey was one of the all-time greats, and Jack knew it.
“Damn right.” Mackey sighed. “It was a good night, huh? Fun.”
“It went nice and easy. I like those.” The wrecks were exciting, but he was old enough he wanted peaceful and lazy.
They started up the truck and headed out. The traffic was insane, and he was damn glad he only had to make it to the hotel, because this shit sucked.
“Listen to all the honking.” Mackey shook his head. “It’s just gonna get worse. You ought to leave your truck there tomorrow.”
“You think? Yeah, maybe that’s a good idea. Take a cab and let somebody else deal with it. I hate this shit.” He rolled into another lane, getting ready to make a turn. “So, I might need somewhere for Princess to retire to for a while. You know, until I… whatever. Find my own place.” He wasn’t looking for a place. He might never look. He was used to the road.
“You know she’s welcome at the house. I have a full-time guy. You ought to buy the acreage beside mine. You like it up there.”
“I don’t know. It’s pretty, but… by myself? What would be the point?” Knocking around a house in the woods in the middle of nowhere? Maybe he could do it. Maybe not.