“I didn’t.” Hud shook his head. “Damn it. She had me the minute I laid eyes on her at Dewey’s. I shouldhave walked away after I walked her to her car that first night. But I opened my mouth and told her I wanted to see her again.”
“And then on that first date you tried to get her into bed, made her angry, and still never told her how you are about commitment.” Eli studied him. “Why are you so afraid of it?”
Hud was quiet for a moment. “Maybe it goes back to my mother. You know how that went. She left right after Case was born, left Dad to raise the three of us. She’s on her fifth marriage now. This last one, the guy is my age.”
“I know all about it.” Eli crossed his arms. “But Hud, you are nothing like her. You’ve been letting her live in your head for forty-some years, and she doesn’t deserve that kind of real estate. Look at your dad. He’s happier without her. But you won’t give anyone a fighting chance.” Eli tilted his head. “Is that what it is? You think anything you build is going to fall apart the same way her marriages have? Because she can’t be happy. That’s her problem, not yours.”
“Maybe.” Hud looked at his screen without seeing it. “I’ve run into her a time or two over the years and it’s never good. I can’t forgive her for what she did to Dad. To us.” He paused. “And maybe I look at myself and see the same pattern. Going from one woman to the next, never letting anything stick.”
“That’s something you’re going to have to work out for yourself. But it might be exactly what’s driving all of this.” Eli straightened and glanced toward his desk. “I’d better get back. You heading out tomorrow?”
“Shelby. Creed and Luke are with me.”
“Then I’ll see you when you’re back.” He pointed at him. “You all be damn careful out there.”
“We will.”
Hud watched him cross the room and settle back at his desk, then turned back to his own screen. He sat with it for a moment, turning over what Eli had said.
He wondered if he should try again with Blair. Make it right somehow.
Damn, though. That woman had a temper.
He almost smiled thinking about it.
Chapter Nine
Blair sat on the sofa with the TV on and had no idea what was playing. Her mind had been elsewhere since Saturday night.
He hadn’t called. She wasn’t going to call him. That much she’d decided.
But the whole thing kept circling back around. How angry she’d been. How he’d left without a fight, just closed the door quietly behind him like he was being considerate, which somehow made it worse. She’d had time to cool down since then and could admit, at least to herself, that he hadn’t lied to her. He said he never stayed and that was exactly why he’d walked out. It didn’t make it feel better, but at least she knew it wasn’t just her.
And then there was Gina. Was he being straight with her about that, or was there someone else in the picture she didn’t know about yet?
She sighed and stared at the screen. The thought of never seeing him again sat heavier than she wanted it to.
Her phone buzzed on the arm of the sofa. She reached for it without looking, then smiled when she saw Celine’s face on the screen.
“Hey.”
“Have you heard from him?” Leave it to Celine to skip straight past hello.
“Not a word.”
“He went to Shelby this morning. Killian mentioned it.”
“I forgot about that.” Blair pulled her feet up under her. “That still doesn’t explain Sunday or yesterday. He could have sent a text. Two sentences. That’s allit would have taken.” She leaned her head back against the cushion. “Celine, I felt cheap. I felt used. He left and I just lay there thinking, what was any of that even about?”
“I don’t think that’s how he meant it.”
“Then he needs to say so. He told me he never stays, like that was supposed to make it better. Like knowing I’m just like every other woman he’s been with was supposed to help.”
“There has to be a reason behind it. Something deeper.”
“Maybe. Who knows.” She shook her head. “Men say we’re hard to understand.”
“I know. But I think you two need to talk it out.”
