The Maverick's Holiday Surprise. Karen Smith Rose
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home on the acreage where an older couple lived. They’d lost their ranch in the flood, and they lived on the Lazy B now and ran the place. Clive rented his home to high-end clients who appreciated his art collection and other niceties. Hudson, basically a trust fund cowboy, filled the bill. Living here was not only convenient but downright pleasant.
As he tapped in the code for the security alarm, he heard noise in the kitchen. That didn’t bother him because he knew who was there—Greta Marsden. She wasn’t only the wife of the foreman, but she also made sure Hudson had meals and treats to eat. Now she was loading a casserole into the refrigerator. The kitchen was all shiny stainless steel and high-end appliances. Not that Hudson cared because he didn’t do much cooking.
Greta was in her fifties with silver hair that fluffed around her face. She had a wide smile and a kind disposition. She might have been a few pounds overweight, but she was fit in jeans and a plaid shirt. Her wool jacket hung over a nearby chair.
She glanced over her shoulder at him as she made room in the refrigerator for the casserole dish and smiled. “Do you need supper?”
“No, I had ribs. Not that they could stand up to anything you make.”
She closed the refrigerator door, blushing a little. “You sure do know how to charm a woman, but save that for the ladies your age. I’m beyond it.”
Hudson laughed. “You’re not.”
She waved his comment away. “When kids are grown, companionship and affection mean more than anything else. I’m relieved I don’t need to look hot for anyone.”
So that was what marriage developed into—companionship and affection. He wasn’t sure his parents had that.
On the drive here, he’d thought about everything Bella had told him about her family. In fact he hadn’t been able to get her story out of his head. He was still distracted by it now.
Greta bustled around the kitchen and pointed to a plastic container on the counter. “Oatmeal raisin cookies. These cold nights they’ll go good with hot chocolate before you turn in.”
“So you think I’m still a growing boy.”
She laughed. “No, just a hardworking man with a big appetite.”
Hudson wasn’t sure about the hardworking part. He’d never really had to work too hard because his family was wealthy, so he was wealthy. He tended to take on jobs as he liked and then move on. His last project in Cody, Wyoming, had been about helping a friend start up a ranch—buying horses, choosing computer programs to manage the place efficiently. Over the years he’d managed ranches, wrangled cows and trained horses. This gig with Just Us Kids Day Care Center was something entirely new to him.
Greta looked around the kitchen and shook her head. “Edmond needed me to do bookwork today, so I didn’t clean up here,” she explained. “I’ll be back to do that in the morning.”
Hudson wasn’t concerned about collecting a few dust bunnies. “No problem.”
As he remembered Bella saying Our grandfather blamed us when Grandma died, he considered Greta’s comments about marriage.
“Do you mind if I ask you something personal?”
Greta shrugged. “I suppose not.”
“How would you feel if you suddenly had teenage grandchildren to raise? What if it happened overnight? What would you do?”
Greta didn’t even hesitate. “Edmond and I would try our best to love them to bits. The people who come in and out of our lives are gifts.”
When Hudson thought about Bella, he realized how she usually seemed sad unless she was around the kids. Had that been because of the way she’d been raised?
Apparently her grandparents hadn’t considered her and her brother as gifts. That had to color the way she looked at herself and the rest of her life.
Hudson nodded, suddenly a bit pleased with the evening. Though she hadn’t revealed too much over their quick dinner, he had learned quite a bit about Ms. Bella Stockton.
* * *
When Hudson entered Just Us Kids the following morning, Bella was already there.
As he walked into the reception area, he tipped his Stetson and gave her a cheery good morning. Yet she simply murmured hello and hardly lifted her head. What was that about?
He wondered that same thing again when she wouldn’t meet his gaze at a brief staff meeting before the children began arriving. He was sure something was wrong midmorning when Bella dropped time sheets on his desk without even looking at him.
She didn’t act like a beautiful young woman of the millennia. It wasn’t that she lacked self-confidence, because she didn’t. With the staff, with the kids, with every aspect of organization, she was confident in her abilities. But not around him.
He had to get to the bottom of it.
Hudson had found he enjoyed being with the kids. It was odd, really. As an adult, he’d never been around children much. Several times a day he’d wander through the sections of children in different age groups. He knew many of the children by name, and they knew his name. He often stopped to help with an art project or just to converse with a curious four-year-old. They came up with the darnedest questions. He pretty much stayed away from the babies, watching over them from afar. The teachers didn’t seem to mind him wandering through. They often gave him a thumbs-up, and he praised them for the way they handled the kids. It wasn’t an easy job, and he knew it. He’d handled two-year-old horses, and that task had seemed easier.
Throughout the day he often glanced at Bella and wondered why he was so interested in her. Her beauty, for sure, that pretty face, that pixie hairdo, that slender figure. There was something else, too, though—something that both unsettled and intrigued him.
He’d never been seriously involved with a woman. He’d never wanted to settle down because he’d seen the coldness in his parents’ marriage. When he had dated, he’d seen that women wanted to tie him to one place. Moving from place to place gave his life the excitement romance couldn’t. No woman had ever meant as much to him as not being tied down.
However, something about Bella Stockton made him want to get to know her a little better. He wanted to know why she’d gone all shy on him.
Late in the day, when only a few stragglers remained to be picked up, he had his chance.
He went to Bella’s desk and asked, “Can I see you in my office?”
She looked up at him with startled eyes. But then she asked, “Do I need my tablet to take notes?”
He shook his head. “Not about this.”
That brought a frown to her pretty face. But she followed him into his office, and this time he closed the door. He didn’t claim to be a human resources expert. Yes, he could spin a good story. However, this moment called for some honesty.
“I suspect you’re not happy that I’m here to oversee Just Us Kids. But I want to reassure you I know you do a good job. My being here is just necessary in the wake of everything that happened.”
“I know that,” she murmured.
“Do you?” He looked at her directly, making eye contact, not letting her look away.
“It’s not just you,” she said. “It’s me. I don’t want to make a mistake. I don’t want anything to jeopardize Just Us Kids.”
“I understand that. Up until yesterday, I thought we got along just fine. At least we could have a simple conversation.”
She didn’t say anything to that.
He went on. “And yesterday, I thought we were finally getting to know each other a little better. I’m glad you told me a bit about your childhood.”
“I shouldn’t have,” she quickly said.