Chapter 26

26

Charlie

Charlie’s Revelation (and Lament):

Of course Darci is a good person. Why else would Hudson have chosen her?

Meeting Darci had been a shock, but I had to admit the woman was a sweetheart. Of course she was; it would be way too easy if she was a villain I could love to hate.

But she wasn’t. And after a miserable Thursday at work with no Hudson to sneak glances at, I had the opportunity to spend more time with her. As soon as I finished running Mama through some exercises in one of the fields behind the barn, I made my way into the stalls to visit Kojack. It was silly, and I wouldn’t dare admit it out loud to anyone, but part of me felt like being close to that dumb horse was a bit like being close to his owner.

“Your man’s in the city tonight, big guy. Ask me how I know. Spent the whole day feeling sorry for myself,” I murmured into his neck. “No pretty eyes to gaze at. No cute bum to admire. Poor me.”

I whispered more silly words to him and stroked his nose for a bit before hearing a sound from the direction of the barn door. Hoping it was Hudson, himself, I was utterly disappointed to see it was Darci instead.

“Oh, hiya,” I said, willing my fair skin to keep its blush to itself.

She jumped in surprise when she saw me but then smiled. Her smile was genuine and friendly which galled me. I didn’t want her to be nice.

“Hi Charlie.”

She was dressed in pink patterned nursing scrubs and I was struck by how tall and beautiful she was. Despite her lovely looks, however, her eyes shone with the same natural openness that made me feel as though I could tell her anything. I could definitely see why Hudson had been attracted to her and why she most likely made a good nurse.

“Sorry about Mama,” I added, gesturing to the gray ball of fluff whimpering at her feet. “She’s a bit affectionate.”

“What a sweet girl you are,” Darci cooed at her, crouching down to scratch under her chin. “Are you daddy’s girl, hmm? Such a good girl.”

And she’s nice to dogs. Fuck me.

“Do you ride?” I asked, nodding my head toward the curious equine faces peering out of the stalls around us.

“A little. I took lessons as a child, but I never seem to find the time these days.” As she spoke, she straightened back up until the light from a nearby fixture illuminated traces of a yellowing bruise on her chin I hadn’t noticed the night before. I couldn’t help but gasp.

“What happened?”

She reached for her chin and touched it gently, wincing a bit. “Oh crap, can you see it?”

I wasn’t quite sure whether or not I should lie. “Um…”

“My makeup must have rubbed off. It was one of those days at work,” she said with a soft chuckle. “Hudson didn’t tell you about what happened to me?”

I thought of the cold shoulder I’d been giving him at work until that afternoon. “No. We haven’t talked much lately about personal stuff.”

“He’s kind of shy and quiet anyway,” she said.

I thought about the man who’d babbled all night across the bar the first time we’d met and wondered if we were talking about the same man.

Darci continued. “I had this terrible date with a guy I’d been seeing. After we broke things off, I trudged my sorry ass home to my apartment, only to be laid flat by some jerk running out of the downstairs apartment.”

“You’re kidding? You poor thing,” I said. I wondered if I was more surprised she’d been dating someone or more upset she was no longer seeing him? Either way, I was a selfish prick.

“Yeah, I kind of landed on my face. Anyway, I filed a report with the sheriff’s deputy and found out the people who live there are drug dealers. After that, I was kind of scared to go home, you know? Hudson came and got me and let me stay at his place. He’s an angel.”

The fact he’d rushed in to rescue her didn’t surprise me at all. Hudson Wilde was that sort of man. The good sort.

“Christ, Darci. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

She smiled and nodded. “It could have been worse, I guess. But I have to admit to feeling better being here at the ranch than living above people who might be up to no good. Plus, with Hudson around all the time, I feel safe. Well, all of you, really.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m not sure I could stand up against someone like that in a stiff wind, but I could at least tell Mama to bite the man’s arse,” I admitted.

Darci chuckled. “Hudson told me you have a sister. I’m sure you’re protective of her the way Hudson is with his siblings, right?”

I thought of how in a scuffle, Cait was more likely to have to protect me than the other way round. I let out a laugh but then realized something. “Hudson told you about Cait?”

She nodded. “He talks about you all the time; I feel like I know you. He told me about your dog training, about where you grew up in Ireland, and how everyone in Hobie swoons over your accent. I can see why. It’s lovely.”

I felt the heat rise on my skin, but it was quashed with a rush of guilt. I had no business being flattered by the man she might still have some kind of relationship with or feelings for.

“You’re lucky to have Hudson in your life,” I said, clearing my throat and pretending to fuss with Mama’s collar. “He’s a good man.”

“He is. One of the best. I hope he still feels the same way about me. It was a mistake for me to ever let him go.”

The tone in her voice sounded the way I felt, lovesick and wanting. It was clear she had plans to get him back. Hell, for all I knew, they were on their way to reconciliation already. I reached out to squeeze her shoulder and mumbled something about letting me know if she ever needed anything. Before she finished thanking me, I was whistling for Mama to follow me back to the bunkhouse so I could try to escape my head in sleep.

* * *

On Friday,while Hudson was still in Dallas, I lost track of Mama. Ever since the Grump incident, I’d been bringing her to work at the pub where I could keep a closer eye on her. Now that she wasn’t fertile any longer and she’d gotten to know several Hobie residents fairly well, I left her to her own devices most of the day.

Round about lunchtime I realized I hadn’t seen her for a while and raced around like a spinning top trying to track her down. I searched everywhere in the pub, out back in the patio garden area, and out front in the village green. No sign of her. By the time I began checking other shops nearby, I’d gathered quite a team of helpers.

“Mama’s been snatched!” Stevie’s screech notified half the town who came to assist in the search. I tried to remain calm, but the more places we searched with no success, the more I worried.

Finally, someone called out from the direction of the dusty old antiques store a couple of doors down from the pub. “She’s here. Awww, look at that. How sweet.”

The crowd bustled over, and I spotted her, curled up in the display window on an oriental rug. Nestled into her belly like the little spoon in a snuggle was a spotted calico kitten.

“That’s Milo,” someone behind me said. “The new shop owner’s cat.”

Someone else jumped in to correct them. “Nah, Milo’s the man. Augie is the cat.”

“Augie is the man. It’s short for August. Milo is definitely the cat,” someone else said.

I didn’t particularly care one way or the other but I needed to extract my dog back.

“Excuse me,” I muttered, making my way to the front of the pack to open the shop door. Inside I found an attractive man about my size fussing with a large wooden crate.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m afraid my dog has trespassed on your hospitality,” I said, nodding my head toward the window display. “I hope she didn’t cause any damage.”

He turned toward me with a little jump of surprise. “What? No, of course not.”

I nodded, stepping closer and holding out my hand. “I’m Charlie Murray. I work at the pub opening up down the way.”

“Oh, sorry,” he said, wiping his hands on an actual linen handkerchief pulled from a back pocket. “I’m August, but my friends call me Augie. You have a nice dog. She’s well trained. All I have to do is give her a look and she seems to know what I mean.”

I let out a chuckle. “That’s Mama. Some say she’s smarter than I am. I, myself, am sure of it.”

“She’s welcome here anytime… as are you,” he said, blushing at his own words and glancing down at his feet. “I mean, it’s no bother.”

He was kind and attractive, yet I felt nothing. No desire to flirt with him. No need to ask him out in order to get to know him better. No mental undressing of his button-up shirt and tweed trousers. Hell. Maybe I was broken. Hudson had ruined me and now I would never find anyone else.

No wonder Cait accuses you of being dramatic.

I smiled at Augie. “Same goes for you at the pub. Come see us anytime.”

After exchanging a few more friendly words, I extracted my wandering canine and made my way back to the pub. That afternoon, Mama made four more trips to the antique shop. Four more times I found her curled up in the window with Milo. By the time I found her that fourth time, Augie simply laughed and told me to leave her there.

Within the span of one day, she’d become a kitten whore and the centerpiece of the town’s entertainment. I left work to collect her for the ride back to the ranch and saw the most recent display in the window. Mama was dead asleep on her back, and Milo was stretched out on top of her from her neck to her belly like a calico necktie. At least twenty people stood out front of the antique shop smiling and pointing at the merry image in the window. When they saw me coming, several people called me by name and pulled me in to see the charming sight.

I couldn’t help but smile and feel a part of the magic of this small Texas town.

Just another Friday night in Hobie.