Reese bit down on her bottom lip, feeling oddly guilty for feeling so relieved, even though she hadn’t been the one to break it off. Peter was a nice guy. A hardworking, dedicated man with ambition. Maybe he talked about himself a little more than seemed appropriate, but he checked all the boxes. Well, the practical ones anyway. “This morning,” Reese finally confessed. “When he dropped me off at the airport.”
Ronnie stared at her long enough to make Reese fidget with the buttons on her shirt. “What happened?”
“Hope ice water will do for now.” Colten’s interruption was so well timed Reese could’ve hugged him. Ronnie downed her glass like she hadn’t had a drop in days, giving Reese the opportunity to change the subject.
“I hear your mom is coming for a visit,” she said to Colten before taking a sip.
“Yeah, sorry about the inconvenience. She sprung it on us, but we didn’t want to turn down the help. I’m committed for a couple of overnight cattle drives this week, and Ronnie has her hands full with her newest flip. We needed help with Cami, so she’s really doing us a favor.”
Reese attempted eye contact, but Ronnie seemed extra focused on the design on her glass. Ronnie was always working on some house flip or another, even between filming seasons like she was now. But even this seemed a bit much when Hudson’s house was added into the mix. “You really have a full plate,” Reese said to Ronnie.
“A little too full,” Ronnie admitted. “I’m really glad you’re here, Reese. You’re doing me a huge favor by helping Hudson.”
The mention of his name made Reese’s pulse double. She didn’t care for that one bit. “I might grab that shower now.”
Chapter 3
Hudson
Hudson hated being late. It was the only reason he’d been sitting in this booth alone for thirty minutes. Thankfully, Misty seated him in a corner where he could hide from most diners and sip on a beer. He ordinarily welcomed the quick social visits with locals he’d grown quite fond of. But he was too preoccupied for simple conversation, and didn’t want anyone to be the wiser.
To ensure he had plenty of time to clean up before dinner, he’d rushed through his chores and left Jed to mending the fence on the east side of the property. Hudson needed to secure a grazing lease, but he couldn’t do that until the badly neglected fence was repaired. It was one of many items on a very long list.
With Reese in town this week to help him with the house, he was lucky to have Jed. Even under uncomfortable circumstances. The kid was eighteen years old; a legal adult. One who didn’t want to attend college, despite his parents insisting he needed to go. Joe, Jed’s dad, was still technically Hudson’s boss.
“Need another?” Misty swiped the empty beer mug and replaced the breadbasket with fresh temptation.
“Just water.” Hudson checked his watch. “Bring a couple extra. The girls should be here any minute.”
“Sure thing.”
“And one iced tea. With extra lemon.” Hudson’s hands tremored above the table, so he shoved them under as Misty stopped at another booth. He was never nervous around Reese. That was one of the reasons he’d fallen so hard for her. During her brief visits, they existed alongside one another effortlessly, as if they’d known each other lifetimes.
But because of this ridiculous plan Ronnie concocted, he was nervous this time.
He was ready to settle down. To plant real roots. But he wasn’t ready to lose Reese if all this went south.
“Why are you hiding us in a corner?” Ronnie patted Hudson on the shoulder, shaking him from his thoughts. He never sat pointed toward a wall, but today he didn’t want to be recognized if he could help it.
“Misty promised it was the cushiest booth in the place,” he said, completely aware of Reese standing just behind the booth by her lavender scent. His pulse went wild with her proximity.
“Youarethoughtful.” Ronnie kissed him on the cheek and slid into the opposite seat. “Reese, would you mind sitting with Hudson? I already feel like I’m smuggling a beach ball over here.”
“Sure thing.” Reese turned a welcoming smile toward Hudson, effectively stopping his heart for several beats. She’d always been beautiful, but seeing her now, knowing what was at stake, he was transfixed by every detail. Her dark curls, slightly longer than her last visit, brushed her shoulders. The curve of her delicate lips he’d tasted under the stars exactly four times. The almond shape of her brown eyes with lashes for days.
“Got a couple waters and an iced tea,” Misty said as Hudson made room for Reese on his side. The server likely saved him from staring too long.
“Iced tea is for her,” Ronnie said with a nod, swiping a roll from the breadbasket. “I’ll take a strawberry lemonade.”
“How was the trip?” Hudson asked Reese, because Ronnie was sending him secret glares to say something.
“Uneventful.” Reese sipped her tea, and if he wasn’t mistaken, sent him an appreciative smile. Though they hadn’t spent much physical time together, and never stayed in touch between visits, Hudson knew more about Reese than he’d ever known about his ex-fiancée. The way she took her coffee, how she tucked her hair behind her left ear when she was concentrating, and that the only gum flavor she liked was peppermint.
“Uneventful is hardly the word I would choose,” Ronnie piped in, laughing between bites of honey wheat bread. “She dumped her boyfriendatthe airport. I never did get the whole story.”
Hudson swore he could feel Reese squirm in her seat. He, on the other hand, felt an immense relief that he wouldn’t be responsible for a breakup he wanted no part of. “Peter, was it?”
“He dumpedme,” Reese admitted, reaching for a piece of bread and buttering it quickly. Her tone betrayed no heartbreak, only facts. “I was offered the promotion he wanted, and he didn’t take that very well.”
