He waited a few beats before he pinned Ronnie with a stern look. “A promotion?”
Ronnie shrugged. “You know Reese. She’s always chasing after the next rung on the ladder. It’s just who she is.”
“Exactly. How do I compete with that?”
“Leave that to me. You worry about supporting her.”
Ronnie’s backward logic made his head hurt. “I don’t follow.”
Her phone buzzed, stealing her attention as a picture flashed across her screen. With the way her entire face instantly glowed, the photo was of Cami. “Don’t be a Peter. You have to be supportive of what she really wants,” Ronnie said, still staring at her phone. “That’s true love.”
Hudson groaned, wishing he’d ordered another beer to go with dinner. “You women and your riddles,” he mumbled.
“Follow the plan,” Ronnie said sternly. “This new detail changes nothing.”
Except to Hudson, it changed everything. It meant that Reese would certainly leave again, and this time might never come back. He doubted she would sacrifice the corporate position for one that Ronnie had created to help convince Reese to stay. A director position didn’t offer a lot of downtime for leisurely travel. “I can’t compete—”
“Yes. You can.”
Misty delivered their entrees as Reese returned to her seat, and for several minutes, Hudson enjoyed the comfortable silence. He even entertained the fantasy of dinners like this being a regular part of their future, Colten included of course. Cami in a high chair. Reese with her own baby bump . . .
“I don’t know about you two, but I need a nap after that,” Ronnie announced, pushing her plate back. A yawn emphasizing her point. Her phone buzzed again with a text Hudson couldn’t quite read upside down. “That’s my cue. You two kids take it easy. No need to knock down any walls tonight.”
Hudson and Reese shared a laugh. They’d been behind the idea to knock down an interior wall in the house Ronnie and Colten now called home. At the time, Ronnie hadn’t been so thrilled. “We’ll save the sledgehammer swinging for tomorrow,” Hudson promised.
Ronnie swiped the check from Misty before she could set it on the table. “Hudson, you should show her that fire pit,” she said before leaving them all alone.
He squeezed his empty glass. The nerves that Hudson believed settled were acting up again as reality seeped back in. His future was riding on the fate of this week. One that started right now. Begrudgingly, he decided to give that itinerary a once-over when he got home. “You ready to see the house?”
Chapter 4
Reese
Hudson’s new ranch was a short ten-minute drive from the outskirts of Starlight on slightly rutted dirt roads. The drive took Reese through gently rolling hills showcasing the sun lowering in the west. Another hour, and the horizon would swallow it whole. The country road was nothing her little car couldn’t handle. They’d need to take his truck into town for supplies, anyway.
As long as she kept her mind on task, she could forget that she and Hudson would basically be alone for the week.
She followed his truck under a log archway entrance, gasping at the view beyond it. One that offered a teasing glimpse of the Bighorn Mountains. A golden-orange glow illuminated the grassy hills and tops of century-old cottonwood trees. Wooden rail fencing stretched for hundreds of yards.
Reese wasn’t certain how far his three hundred acres extended, but she understood completely why he’d pickedthisproperty to call home. The Chicago skyline had nothing on this view. She missed watching the sunsets. Her tiny ninth-floor apartment with windows all on one side pointed in the wrong direction.
Completely enamored with the view, Reese didn’t notice the house or barn until she was out of the car. The bright red and white colors of the two-story barn was a stark contrast to the single-story farmhouse with its dirty, chipping gray siding, weathered shingles, and screen door swinging in the wind.
“Welcome to my new ranch.” She’d been so distracted by the state of the house that Hudson had snuck up on her. His tall frame and broad shoulders hovering so close made her feel tiny beside him. She remembered too well how safe and comfortable she felt in his embrace.
Reese forced a step back.
With a week ahead of them, she had to maintain physical distance between them before she did something foolish like fall madly in love with the man. Hudson Ross was the closest thing to quicksand Reese had ever encountered.
“This is your new house?”
“I know it doesn’t look like much, but it has good bones. Just needs some TLC.”
Reese reached into her car for her purse, looping it over her shoulder. “Well, I’m here to help with some of that.”
“I’m thankful for that.” His gaze swept slowly over her face, dipping to her lips before traveling up to her eyes. Her heart did funny pitter-patters she couldn’t afford to entertain for long.
A ping from her phone saved her from falling into a dangerous trance. Digging it out of her purse to check the incoming email, she forced out a question to break the tension completely. “Do you still work at the Livingston ranch, or is this your new life?”
