The worst thing about the stupid itinerary wasn’t that Hudson had hidden it from her. It was that he needed it at all. She foolishly believed he knew all these things about her when the reality was he needed a cheat sheet.
She shouldn’t be mad.
After all, she had only spent four weekends in Starlight before this visit. They never stayed in touch between those visits, at Reese’s insistence. But staying should have been her choice to make without all the misleading temptations. How could she trust his feelings when she couldn’t trust a single thing he’d orchestrated this whole week?
Tears stung her eyes before she could stop them.
This morning, she’d been completely ready to throw away her whole life for this man. Now, she didn’t know what to do or how to feel.
Head on the steering wheel, she heard someone knock on her window. Her tear-filled eyes turned to daggers, ready to annihilate Hudson if he was foolish enough to chase after her. Ronnie squeaked when she made eye contact.
Reese rolled down her window, but didn’t apologize.
She was the oneowedthe apology.
“Reese, what’s wrong?”
“This.” She shoved the stapled papers at Ronnie. “Did you make this?”
“Oh, sweetie.”
“Don’toh sweetieme. I’m not a child, Ronnie.”
“Come inside,” Ronnie insisted.
“Why would I do that?”
“Come inside and I’ll tell you everything. If you still want to hate me after you hear me out, I’ll help you pack.” Ronnie turned on pleading doe eyes that only a seven-month pregnant woman could effectively use as a weapon against Reese. “I have coffee.”
Chapter 17
Hudson
“I tried to get it from her,” Jed said in the stable as they worked side by side to muck out the stalls. “She’s really strong. And scary.”
Hudson huffed a laugh, because despite how much this all sucked, he knew exactly what Jed was talking about. Reese was sweet as a kitten most of the time, but when her ferocious side came out, it was better to back off.
“Is she coming back?”
Stabbing his pitchfork into the hay, he sighed. “I don’t know, Jed. She’s pretty upset. I never should’ve let Ronnie talk me into this.” He’d hoped that knocking out some regular chores would allow him time to think. To figure out what to do in the very short time he had left. For all he knew, Reese had already changed her flight. The only reason he carried a shred of hope that he’d see her one more time was that her things were still unpacked in her room.
“But you love her.”
Hudson was done talking about his love life with a kid. He didn’t expect Jed to have any answers, and he had enough of his own questions stirring around in his head without help creating more. “Is Aimee the reason you don’t want to go to college?”
“What? No.”
To Hudson’s surprise, Jed sounded like he was telling the truth. He hadn’t expected that. “Then why don’t you want to go?”
“I want to be a rancher. They don’t teach that in school. You learn with experience, not reading textbooks and taking tests.”
“But you could study agriculture or ranch management. Something you learn there might help you later on.”
“I’ve talked to guys who did. They wished they’d stayed and worked the land. Said it was a waste of time and money and made them miss out on valuable experience.” Jed picked up a hoof pick and got to work cleaning Ginny’s hooves. “I don’t want to miss what’s going on at home for four whole years, just coming back for summers. I don’t want to come back as some stranger.”
“Have you talked to your dad about this?”
“Tried. He doesn’t listen.”
