The Maverick's Holiday Surprise. Karen Smith Rose
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most. After all, it was an investment he didn’t want to fail. He owned the property the day care sat on; his brother Walker owned the franchise. He’d let his brother talk him into staying for a while in Rust Creek Falls to oversee the staff and handle the PR that would put Just Us Kids back in the public’s good graces. But, to be honest, mostly he stayed in town because he wanted to get to know Bella better.
As soon as he saw Bella’s face, he didn’t hesitate to step up to her desk. “It wasn’t your fault,” he said adamantly.
As day care manager, Bella ran a tight ship. She enforced policies about not signing in sick kids, incorporated stringent guidelines for disinfecting surfaces and educated the staff. But it seemed she couldn’t put the whole awful experience of the lawsuit behind her.
Bella brushed her bangs aside and ducked her head for a moment. Then she raised burdened brown eyes to his. “I just can’t help thinking that maybe I slipped up somehow. What if I wasn’t vigilant enough before the outbreak? What—”
Hudson cut her off. “I’m going to say it again, and I’ll say it a thousand times more if you need to hear it. You didn’t do anything wrong,” he assured her. “I read numerous blogs about day care and RSV when Walker asked me to take over here. RSV looks like a cold when it starts. Kids are contagious before they show symptoms. That’s why it spreads like wildfire even with the best precautions. It’s going to be our job—” he pointed to himself, and then he pointed to her “—to make sure an outbreak doesn’t happen again.”
Bella met his eyes intently. Suddenly the day care center seemed very quiet. Maybe it was just because he was so aware of her gaze on him. Was she aware of him? They could hear low voices in one of the classrooms beyond where tables were set up for the parent-teacher conferences. But other than that, the facility suddenly had a hushed atmosphere.
Hudson noted that Bella seemed to be gazing intently at him. That was okay because he was studying her pretty oval face. He missed seeing the dimples that appeared whenever she was with the kids. That’s when she seemed the happiest. Her hair looked so soft and silky that he itched to run his fingers through it. But he knew he couldn’t. This was the first time she’d even stopped and looked at him like this. Had she thought he was the enemy, that he’d pick apart everything she did? That wasn’t his style.
He found himself leaning a little farther over the desk. He thought she was leaning a little closer to him, too.
All at once there was a rap-rap-rap on the door.
Sorry that they’d been interrupted, he nevertheless excused himself and went to the door. When he opened it, the brisk November air entered, along with Bart Dunner, a teenager who was a runner for the Ace in the Hole. Hudson had ordered a mess of ribs from the bar for anyone who was still around when dinnertime came. He paid Bart, gave him a tip and thanked him. On the way to the break room, he glanced over at Bella. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, he told himself.
“Have you eaten?” he asked her.
“No, I haven’t. I’ve been making out schedules and ordering supplies for the new year.”
He motioned to the bag. “Come join me.”
At first he thought she was going to refuse, but then to his surprise she said, “I skipped lunch. Supper might be a good idea.”
As they washed their hands at the sink, Bella kept a few inches between them, even when she had to reach around him for a paper towel. Was she skittish around all men...or just him? Maybe she was just shy, he told himself. Maybe she was a virgin. After all, she was only twenty-three.
At the table, they each took one of the Styrofoam containers with ribs, crispy fries and green beans. “These ribs smell delicious,” she said, and he didn’t think she was just making conversation. But it was hard to tell.
As they ate, he tried to get her to talk. “You know, we’ve been working together for over a month, but I don’t know much about you, except that you live with your brother and help with his triplets. I also know lots of people in town signed up to create a baby chain to care for the kids.” Jamie Stockton had lost his wife, leaving him with the newborns to care for and a ranch to run. “That says something about Rust Creek Falls, don’t you think?” If he could just get Bella talking, maybe she’d realize he was interested in her.
“That’s the way Rust Creek Falls works,” she responded. “Neighbors helping neighbors. And what you know about me is probably enough.”
“Come on,” he coaxed. “Tell me a little more. Did you grow up here?”
“Yes, I did. I was born here.”
“Have you and your brother always been close?” he prompted.
“We have. I love my nephews and niece dearly.” She took a forkful of green beans, then asked, “What about you? I know Walker is your brother.”
“I have four brothers. But we aren’t that close. Maybe because we’ve always had our own interests, or maybe because—” He stopped.
Bella studied him curiously. “What were you going to say?”
Hudson hesitated and decided he had to give to get. “Maybe because my parents never fostered closeness.”
She gave him an odd look at that. “Our parents died in a car accident when I was twelve and Jamie was fifteen. We always had to rely on each other.”
No wonder she didn’t talk about her childhood. Losing parents had to be traumatic. “I’ll bet you did rely on each other. Who took you in?”
“Our maternal grandparents took us in—the Stockton grandparents had both died. But Agnes and Matthew Baldwin didn’t really want that responsibility.”
“How can you know that, Bella? What starts that way sometimes can turn into something else—a real family.”
Looking troubled now, Bella shook her head. “When our grandmother died of a heart attack, I was fifteen. Jamie was eighteen. Our grandfather blamed us.”
“You can’t be serious.” Hudson was outraged for her. How could her grandfather have even given that impression? But then he thought about his own parents and how cold his mother seemed.
“You don’t know the situation,” Bella said gently. “Jamie and I weren’t the easiest kids to raise, and our grandfather was probably right.”
Hudson was horrified that Bella actually believed that. She was one of the sweetest women he’d ever met. “You can’t blame yourself for what fate hands out.” But he could see she did.
Bella had torn apart her ribs at that point, and instead of trying to eat them with a fork as some women might, she nibbled the meat off the bone. Her fingers were sticky, and so were her lips. Hudson couldn’t stop looking at her lips. She was in midchew when she realized he was staring. She stared back.
All eating stopped as they gazed at each other, and it was quite possible there was even a hum in the air. He wondered if she was just a little bit attracted to him.
But he never got to ask because one of the teachers popped her head into the break room.
“Got enough for me?” she asked.
That broke Hudson out of his trance. “Sure do, Sarah. Come on in and join us.”
As the boss, he knew that was the right thing to do. But as a man, what he really wanted was to be alone with Bella. To find out more about her. To get to know her.
To kiss her.
* * *
Hudson let himself into the ranch house on the Lazy B, thinking that living in Rust Creek Falls for a while wasn’t a chore. He tremendously liked where he was staying. He’d met Brooks Smith, the town’s veterinarian, on one of his first trips to Rust Creek Falls. He knew the town vet could always recommend the best place to ride or rent out a horse. Brooks had done better than that. He’d suggested Hudson rent Clive Bickler’s ranch.