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Chapter 18

18

Charlie

Charlie’s Luck:

What happens in Cork never stays in Cork.

Before I realized where I was heading, I found myself aiming straight at the huge barn across the gravel parking area next to the house. Sassy had let me set Mama up in a stall that opened up to a fenced area. I’d intended to leave her there while I had breakfast in the main house, but I guessed now I had to gather her up and figure out where to go next. I wasn’t about to subject her to another international flight again so soon. I wondered if there was a hotel nearby that allowed animals.

As I entered the darkened opening at the front of the barn, I noticed my pulse was still jackhammering from the confrontation with Hudson. I couldn’t believe things had gone pear-shaped so quickly.

Despite knowing I was being put up at the Wilde Ranch, I’d truly not had any expectation of seeing Hudson. From what I’d learned online, Hobie was two hours away from Dallas by car. There was absolutely no reason Hudson would be at his family’s ranch on a random January weekend.

But that was just my luck.

When I’d walked in and spotted him in track pants and a long-sleeved T-shirt, my heart had thunked almost loudly enough to be heard over the din. He’d looked so dear, still half-asleep and hair messed up. I’d felt my grin come on faster than I’d been able to stop it.

Until the moment he’d spotted me. And then it had all gone to shit.

Instead of grabbing Mama’s things and heading right back out the door as I’d intended, I sank to the floor and threw my arms around my sweet collie to bury my face in her fur. Stupid fucking straight boys. Total jackasses when confronted with their little experiments. Was this a good time to give myself the old I told you so?

I gritted my teeth until they hurt. Of all people to reject me so soundly… Hudson had turned on me the same way everyone else seemed to. I wanted to laugh at myself for being such a dope. Why had I ever thought leaving after sex that night would somehow spare my heart from breaking? It had only prolonged his rejection until now.

I’d left him, but he still managed to pull the rug out from under me with one small sentence.

You should go.

Hadn’t I sworn I wasn’t going to let myself fall for someone like that again? How stupid could I have been coming here to Hudson’s territory? Once I found out who he worked for and what their designs were on franchising F&B, I should have known I’d run into him at some point. And of course he was going to flip the fuck out. Seeing the only other person on earth who knew his dirty little secret was bound to throw him at sixes and sevens. And if he was predictable, he’d turn around and embrace his heterosexual proclivities with a newfound fervor. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him parade a new girlfriend or string of various women around to prove to himself and others the man was straight as a rail.

Fucker.

A light knock made its way to my ears. Poor Sassy hadn’t known what to do with me after the showdown in the farmhouse kitchen. Maybe I needed to reassure her I wasn’t bothered by her brother’s annoying outburst.

I looked up only to find a different Wilde standing there on the other side of the stall door. Hudson’s hands were laced behind his neck, and he looked like he was about to carve permanent stress lines into his forehead with all that brow furrowing.

“Relax,” I muttered, standing and gesturing for him to enter. “I’m not about to tell anyone what happened between us in Cork.”

He hesitated before stepping into the stall and closing the door behind himself. I was sure he didn’t want anyone to witness our little reunion scene.

“That’s not… that wasn’t…” He let out a sigh. “Look, I owe you an apology. I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way, especially in front of my family. It was rude and unprofessional. I don’t know what got into me.”

“It’s understandable, I guess. I surprised you. Clearly you didn’t know I was coming.”

He let out a derisive laugh. “No. Definitely not. I was expecting Devlin or Cait.”

Right. Anyone but me, then.

“Sorry to disappoint,” I said. “But I’m the Murray you got. Don’t worry, I’ll leave. And as far as I’m concerned, what happened in Cork stayed in Cork.”

Hudson seemed to take a moment to process what I was saying. He had a funny expression on his face I couldn’t quite assess. I was expecting relief, but it seemed a bit more like… disappointment.

Was he disappointed in me? What, had he expected me to apologize also? Pfft. As if that was going to happen. I’d done absolutely nothing wrong, either in Cork or in the farmhouse kitchen. If Hudson Wilde expected me to—

“Well hello there,” he crooned, squatting down to pet my girl.

Dammit. I didn’t want him to be sweet to my dog. That was a bridge too far.

I let out a sigh. The man was trying to be nice and all I wanted to do was fight. “That’s Mama.”

“We’ve met before. While you were in Waterford doing those deliveries she kept me company in the office. Hey, sweet girl,” he cooed as he scratched her ears and then her flanks just the way she liked it. “Long flight, huh? Poor baby… what a good girl.” He continued to murmur sweet nothings to her as if he was actually a thoughtful, kind man.

Selfish prick.

“I, ah, saw the horses out there,” I said with a cough, nodding toward the other stalls. “Is one of those yours?”

He looked up and smiled like a damned rainbow after a storm. It was so unexpected, the warmth of it made me dizzy.

“Yeah, let me show you.”

I followed him into the central corridor between the stalls and watched him transfer his animal love chatter from Mama to a large brown horse with lovely black eyelashes and ear tips.

“This is Kojack,” he said with a shy smile. There was a hint of both pride and vulnerability in his smile, and for the first time, I saw a fragile part of him I’d only caught the barest glimpse of back home.

“He’s very pretty,” I said. “And big.” Were there other ways of describing horses? I wasn’t sure.

Hudson chuckled. “He is.” After stroking along the horse’s nose, he moved to the next stall and introduced a smaller horse named Bumble Bee. With every silky nose he stroked and made sweet eyes to, he seemed to come more alive. He snuck treats to them and talked to them as if they were each special in their own way, all the while telling me whose favorite each one was and what their temperament was like. By the time he introduced me to a barn’s worth of animals, Hudson was relaxed and beaming.

“You’re really good with them,” I said softly. “I can tell you love it here at the ranch.”

He glanced up at me through his lashes before looking away. “Maybe… maybe while you’re here we can go riding sometime.”

Even though I wanted to let the words wash over me and take away the rejection I’d felt from him earlier, I knew it was too dangerous. I truly needed to leave and put Hudson Wilde firmly behind me.

“That sounds nice, Hudson, but you were right earlier. I should go. I’ll have Cait or Devlin take my place. It’s not fair to—”

“No, I… I don’t want you to go,” he blurted. “I shouldn’t have been so dismissive. I was… I was surprised, that’s all. Surely we can get past this and work closely together just fine. If we can both agree to buckle down, maybe we can finish sooner than three months and get you back home. I can’t imagine you’re very happy being away from home that long anyway.”

It took me a moment for some of his words to sink in.

“Pardon?” I asked. “You and me… us… working closely together? I don’t understand. Devlin said I was to be the pub manager until things were running smoothly enough to replace me. What is your role in the project, exactly?”

I had a bad feeling about this.

Hudson fiddled with some leather straps hanging from a nearby hook, untangling them until they hung straight and tidy.

“You’ll be the pub manager, but I’m acting as the business manager,” he said. As if that made any fucking sense.

“What does that mean?”

“You’ll be responsible for setting up and running the pub like the original Fig and Bramble, including adding those touches that make it look and feel authentic, while I will be managing the budget, the contractor, and the accounting.”

“In other words, I play the part of the leprechaun while you hold the purse strings like Big Daddy,” I clarified. This was so not going to work.

Hudson swallowed and looked away. The blush I’d loved so much a few months ago crept up the sides of his neck. It was impossible to remain angry at him when he was that delectable.

“I don’t intend to be your Big Daddy,” Hudson said before realizing how that would sound.

He snapped his head around and locked eyes with me before I coughed out a laugh and his cheeks stained ten shades of pomegranate.

“Y-you know what I mean,” he stammered. “I’m not planning on riding you hard or anyth— Oh dear god, shut up, Hudson.”

By this point, I couldn’t hold back the laughter, and even Hudson’s lips were twitching. I dropped down onto the edge of a nearby bench and pointed at him before managing to speak through the tears.

“Yes, but might you make me beg for it? I do like to beg, Hudson.”

“Stop,” he said with a snort. “I can’t help it. My words don’t come out right when I’m around you.”

Our laughter died down as our eyes met again. He was so lovely then, face flushed and eyes sparkling, that I wanted to give him something.

“I know you’re just doing your job here. My anger isn’t personal against you. I’m pissed at my uncle, and I’m pissed at my dad. Not to mention Bruce Ames, the fucker. So… I just want you to know that. It’s not like any of this was your idea. I get that.”

Hudson seemed to startle a bit before nodding. “Thank you. For what it’s worth… I’m sorry about all of this.”

“Thank you. That means a lot. Now, about Mama,” I said, deciding to put the shitty work stuff away for the moment. “I hope it’s okay I brought her.”

Hudson’s face lit up. “Of course. But why is she out here in the barn?” he asked, reaching down to scratch her head. “I assumed you’d want her in the bunkhouse with you.”

“That’s the awkward bit,” I admitted. “She went into heat, so Sassy helped me put her in an empty stall in the barn to keep the mess down. I hope your grandfathers don’t mind. Sassy was going to tell them about it for me.”

“I’m sure it’s fine. Doc and Grandpa would want me to tell you to make yourself at home. They’re two of the most gracious hosts you’ll ever meet. Their motto is always the more the merrier, so I’m sure they’ll be thrilled to have you here.”

If his grandparents were anything like him, I knew they’d be genuine, polite, and sweet.

An awkward beat of silence passed. I could tell he was unsure of his continued welcome, and I was unsure of how to convince him to stay with me in the barn just a little longer.

“I thought you lived in Dallas?” I asked.

He looked down at his feet before clasping his hands together on his lap and releasing them again. After smoothing down his shirt front, he slid his hands under his thighs as if to keep them still.

“Yeah, I do. I mean, I did. Well, I do.” He chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Whenever I sound like a babbling idiot, just remember it’s your fault, okay?”

I smiled at him, wishing like hell he was actually flirting with me the way he had back home. I knew his discomfort this time was caused by his insecurity at my unexpected presence, but I still thanked god for that irresistible self-deprecating grin on his face.

“So… you do but you don’t,” I teased.

“No, I do. I had an apartment in Dallas, but I let it go when Bruce said he wanted me in Hobie full-time for this project. So I’m staying here. I’ll have to find a new apartment in the city when the project is complete. My brother Saint and I might move in together since he’s almost never home anyway.”

“You’re staying here? As in here on the ranch? Where? In the bunkhouse?” I asked in surprise and with a heavy dose of trepidation. How the hell would I keep my hands to myself if we were under the same roof?

Hudson looked surprised. “Oh, no. Sorry. I’m staying in a little cabin on the property. It was my cousin’s, and then my brother stayed there. I guess at this point it’s like a guesthouse or something. Anyway, it’s just up a gravel drive. You can see it from here. If you need me for anything…” He let his words trail off, and things were uncomfortably silent again.

“Hudson,” I began, feeling a need to get us out of the awkward turn the conversation had taken. “Do you think maybe your family would still feed me breakfast even though I’ve left them a bloody terrible first impression?”

His grin was as big as the Boeing 777 that had defied all logic and transported me safely to Dallas the day before. “Absolutely. Charlie, you’re about to learn what it means when people call something Texas-sized. C’mon.”

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