Chapter 34

34

Charlie

Charlie’s Luck:

I finally get the man into bed and he leaves town quick as that.

With Hudson off to Dallas, I spent the entire day at work with half my brain on work and the other half back in my bed at the ranch with a naked Hudson Wilde beneath me. It wasn’t until midafternoon when I headed into Sugar Britches for a coffee break that I realized I had a major problem.

“Well hello, you beautiful thing,” Stevie called out from behind the counter. Once he noticed my face, he frowned. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

I shrugged. “Just tired from the weekend. How are you?”

His eyes narrowed at me while he reached for the largest paper cup they had. He knew what I wanted to drink without asking.

“Lying McLyerson. Tell pookie-bear what’s wrong.”

“Do you have something chocolate?”

He tilted his chin down and looked up at me like I was insane. “No, cutie pie. We don’t serve sweet things at Sugar Britches. This here’s a bakery.”

I let out a pathetic whine. “Gimme chocolate and a hug dammit. I’m having a day.”

Stevie’s smile was full of commiseration. He came out from behind the counter and pulled me into his arms. I couldn’t help but compare his petite hug to Hudson’s big strong one. Stevie smelled like blueberry muffins and caramel while Hudson smelled like sporty deodorant and, more recently, sex.

“Seriously though,” Stevie said quietly, even though we were the only ones in the shop at the moment. “What’s wrong?”

“I have a crush on the wrong guy,” I admitted.

Stevie put a hand on either side of my head and tilted it down so he could kiss my forehead. “Well, bless your heart. Join the damned club.”

“You too?” I asked, hoping like hell it wasn’t me. I didn’t think it was. Despite his flirty nature, I’d gotten the distinct impression on our date he’d been just as happy as I was to end the night with a hug.

He shrugged and smiled. “Oh yeah. This one’s a doozie. Been crushing on the wrong guy for quite a while.”

“Is he straight?”

“No,” he said, moving back around the counter to finish my order. “I’m pretty sure he’s bi, but he’s way out of my league. Treats me like a kid.”

“You ever had it bad for a straight guy?”

“Haven’t we all?” he asked before using a thin pair of tongs to select a powdered sugar brownie from a tray in the display case. “I had a particularly strong crush on one of my friends’ dads once. He was divorced and lived in a house with a pool. Whenever my friend had us over to swim, I had to hide my stiffy in swim trunks. That man was like a Greek god.”

“Have you ever gotten one to let you kiss them?”

“Honey, if I could have convinced him to kiss me, I would have let him kiss me as much as he wanted for as long as he wanted. I would have taken anything that man was willing to give me.”

He handed over the drink and held onto it until I met his eye. “And if Hudson Wilde ever kissed me, I’d grab onto him with both claws, and if anyone tried to wrench him away from me, I’d cut a bitch.”

When I left the bakery with my drink and treat in hand, I’d decided I quite agreed with Stevie about the situation. If I was going to be possessive and upset over Hudson once our time together was over, I might as well push that time off until the far future and enjoy him while I could.

After all, I’d told my sister I was the king of casual sex.

There was no reason for her to know that deep inside my heart, Hudson was mine and I was his. Even if that only lasted a few more months and only truly existed in my mind.

Luckily, the rest of the workday went by quickly, and I was able to head home to the ranch shortly after six. I still hadn’t heard from Hudson, so I turned up at the farmhouse to see if Doc and Grandpa had anything on for supper.

As had become my habit over the previous weeks, I knocked and pushed the door open, calling out “hullo” through the house to make sure I wasn’t interrupting anything.

Mama came careening round the corner from the kitchen and wiggled herself into a frenzy of greeting. I’d had to leave her behind today because of some wet paint at the pub.

“’At’s my girl,” I murmured, scratching her under the chin and on the chest. “Good girl.”

“There he is. Come on in. We’re making curry chicken and rice.” Doc’s arms were outstretched, and I walked right into them. My dad was a hugger, so Cait and I had grown up as huggers too. I’d felt so comfortable with the senior Wildes from the outset, by now it was easy to take the comfort Doc offered. I hugged him tightly before letting go and following him into the kitchen.

Grandpa was checking something in the oven but waved a free hand in welcome.

“Glad you’re here, Charlie. I made enough to feed an army. I figured if no one showed up, it would make good leftovers for Liam and me this week. But of course, it’s better to have your company than a fridge full of Tupperware. Come in and grab a beer.”

I helped myself to a bottle of Smithwicks I found. I’d noticed they’d stocked an assortment of Irish beer since my arrival, and it was one of the many little gestures that had made me feel quite welcome during my stay.

“Where’s your sidekick?” Doc asked, taking a seat on one of the stools at the large breakfast bar.

“He went to Dallas for the day to work in the office. Said he’s headed back tonight, but I’m not sure he’s left yet.”

“Well, we can save some for him in case he turns up hungry. Now, tell us how the pub is coming along,” Grandpa said.

I told them about how well the framed photos had turned out. Cait had managed to scan and send historic photos from home, and we’d taken them to the framing gallery on the square in town. After inviting them to stop by and see the place soon, I told them about Rhonda’s visit to the pub earlier that day.

“That woman thinks your grandson is a tasty treat,” I said with a laugh. “She’s coming back tomorrow just so she can ask his opinion on the design work she did in person. In fact, you might want to time your visit with hers tomorrow just so you can watch her in action. Poor Hudson.”

Grandpa’s eyes glanced behind me a split second before I felt strong arms wrap around my waist. I froze in shock. According to my Hudson radar, which was finely tuned, the man hugging me intimately in front of his grandfathers was none other than my straight lover.

A cold nose pressed against my neck. “Why ‘poor Hudson’?”

I gritted my teeth against a full-body shiver at the sound of his voice. Instead, I kicked it up a good twelve octaves and squeaked out my surprise.

“What are you doing back? I thought you were planning on calling first.”

As I spoke, I tried desperately to wiggle away from his embrace. Couldn’t he see his grandfathers’ jaws on the ground?

Hudson’s hand threaded through my hair as he turned me to face him. “I decided to surprise you instead.”

And then he fucking kissed me full on the goddamned lips.

I should have jumped back and made a joke. I should have laughed it off as funny Hudson pulling a prank on his grandfathers. But I didn’t. Instead I let myself melt against him and surrender.

Kissing Hudson was like shooting heroin. Or, at least, what I’d imagine shooting heroin would feel like. Warmth ran through my veins and left a euphoria behind. All I could do was ride the wave of pleasure, not giving one whit about any other thing in the world.

I lost myself in him. His lips were firm and attentive, even though the kiss itself was fairly chaste. His strong arms wrapped around my waist and held me close, ensuring I didn’t actually melt to the ground in an undignified puddle. I didn’t even realize he’d stopped kissing me until his words made it through my stupor.

“…late. I meant to get here by six, but I had to change a flat. How long’s it been since any of us had to change a tire on the side of the road?”

The deep rumble of his voice vibrated against my cheek, and I realized I was leaning my face against his chest and hugging him tight. His lightly stubbled chin rubbed across the side of my hair, and his hands roamed up and down my back in a reassuring caress. It felt so damned good being held like that, I wanted to stay in his arms forever.

But I didn’t.

I cleared my throat and stepped away. “Did you run over a nail?”

“Um, can we talk about the gay elephant in the room?” Doc asked slowly, continuing to stare at his grandson.

Hudson’s ears turned pink, but he managed to keep his composure. “It might be more of a bi elephant or a pansexual elephant. Or it might be one of those stubborn elephants who refuses to be labeled but doesn’t mind wearing rainbow colors. Like Elmer from that book you have in Pippa’s room. You know the one.”

His voice was rock steady, and his index finger had snuck out to wrap around my pinky finger while he spoke. I squeezed it encouragingly. The man was braver than brave.

“Point taken,” Grandpa said with a straight face. “But I’m afraid we’re going to have to throw you a big Welcome to the Gay party. You know that, right?”

Doc pointed his thumb at his husband. “He’s right. And Stevie will insist on being the emcee. We’ll serve cocktails and mini wieners. Nico will make us all eat bananas in slow motion. I’ll have to pick up more mixed nuts. It’s going to be a thing.”

Hudson groaned and threw a dish towel at Doc. “Don’t make me regret being open with you.”

Grandpa came around the counter and took Hudson into his arms. “I’m so fucking proud of you, Hudson Wilde. I don’t say it enough, but you are an incredible man.”

I could hear the emotion in his voice and glanced at Doc. His eyes were suspiciously damp also. I turned away and tried to blink back my own tears. This family and their love. It was unbelievable.

Hudson pulled away from Grandpa with a cough. “Enough. It’s no big deal. What’s for dinner? It smells amazing.”

Grandpa and Doc let Hudson change the subject, but I noticed them continue to sneak assessing glances of him throughout the evening, as if looking at him through a new lens. I couldn’t imagine what they were thinking right now, but I also knew they’d do anything to keep Hudson from being self-conscious about it. They had to know how very unlike him it was to share such personal information about himself before he was quite sure.

We spent the evening in good company. Grandpa told us about how old he’d felt that day chaperoning Pippa’s class trip to a nearby petting zoo, and Doc showed us a baby announcement he received in the mail from one of his old patients. “Can you believe I delivered this baby’s grandfather? Talk about something making you feel old.”

When it was time to go, Hudson glanced at me. “I’m going to go check on the horses. Don’t set the dogs on me when I come into the bunkhouse, all right?”

“I’ll try to refrain from settin’ the dawgs on ya,” I said in my best efforts at his Texas drawl.

Hudson Wilde winked at me and damned near caused me to trip over my own feet. Grandpa must have noticed my reaction, because he let out a wolf whistle. “Kiss the man before you leave him, son. What the hell’s the matter with you?” he teased.

Hudson strode back from the direction of the door and planted one right on me, leaning me back until I had to throw my arms around his neck to keep from falling to the floor. The kiss left no doubt as to the way things were between us.

Hot. They were hot.

A woman’s voice called out from behind us. “Hudson?”

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.It was Darci. All the blood had drained from her face, and she looked like she was reframing her entire life instead of one man’s sexual identity.

Hudson’s eyes closed for the briefest of moments before he smiled down at me. I tried not to interpret his affectionate look for something more than it was.

“I’m going to go talk to her,” he said softly, standing me back on my feet. “I’ll meet you back in the bunkhouse.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead before walking toward Darci. As the two of them left the house together, my heart went out to her. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to catch Hudson kissing someone else instead of me.

Once the two of them were gone, I turned back to give my own thanks to Doc and Grandpa but found them staring at me intently.

“That was awkward,” I said nervously. If there was ever a reason for them to reject me, it would be this. I hadn’t intended to come into the Wilde family and fuck everything up.

Doc walked forward and gave me another one of his big hugs. I wanted to sob with relief, but I squeezed my eyes closed to keep the emotion from coming to the surface.

“She wasn’t the right one for him, Charlie,” he said. “It’s fairly obvious now, isn’t it?”

Grandpa snorted.

“Is this where you question my intentions?” I asked with a sniffle. “You both look like you have a million questions.”

“It goes without saying you’d better not hurt him,” Grandpa began with a smile.

“What are your intentions?” Doc asked.

I intend to shag him to sleep tonight and start all over again at daybreak.

I swallowed. “I’ve been assuming I’m some kind of experiment for him. Honestly, I’m a bit more concerned with his intentions than my own.”

“He’s a fairly careful person. Not really the type to try something on if he hasn’t thought long and hard about it first,” Grandpa mused.

“It would seem that way. But the fact remains he wants the American Dream. The pretty wife, the well-behaved children, the picket fence,” I said. “He can’t have those things with me.”

Doc’s eyes lit up. “Sure he can, only instead of a pretty wife it would be a pretty husband. Don’t forget who helped raise him, son.”

I shook my head. “He’s a bit too traditional for that, I’m afraid. He’s had this picture in his head his whole life. I think he emulates his father. He mentioned that was who advised him about going into finance. Did you know he wanted to be a rancher like you?” I looked at Hudson’s grandpa. “But he thought his father expected him to be some kind of junior version of himself. Finance, responsibility, looking after the family. I wonder if he’s ever done anything spontaneous or just for him.”

Grandpa and Doc exchanged a look. “You’ve known him for five minutes and you’ve seen something pretty major in him we never noticed before,” Grandpa said. “I have to admit how upsetting that is.”

I looked down at my feet. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply—”

Grandpa reached out a hand to squeeze my own. “No, Charlie. That’s not what I meant. I’m grateful to you for caring enough about him to notice. It’s not that we didn’t notice the direction he’d chosen, it’s more we didn’t realize it wasn’t what he wanted. I wonder how we might be able to encourage him to follow his own path now instead of Bill’s.”

I’d been considering that very thing.

“I don’t know how to ride horses. Would one of you mind teaching me enough so I might be able to go with him on some trail rides? The more we can get him outside and on a horse, the more he might reconnect with that part of him. At the very least, he’ll enjoy the outdoors and fresh air. He works too much. Saint told me Hudson’s never available to go out in Dallas because he’s always working late, and one of the sisters heard the same thing from Hudson’s assistant. Even if he stays in his current career, he can’t have his life be all about work.”

“Are you taking him to that dog trial with you near Austin?”

I shrugged. “Originally I wanted to take him so he could see Mama work, but now I’ve decided to leave Mama here, I’m not sure if he’d still want to come.”

Doc laughed. “Don’t be an idiot. If you’re going, he’s going to want to go.”

My phone buzzed on the kitchen counter where I’d set it down earlier. I checked the screen and saw a text from the man of the hour.

FYI: I am naked in your bed.

“Sorry, gotta go,” I blurted to the gents. “Thanks again for dinner!”

Pretty sure my feet didn’t touch the ground until I was standing over a naked Hudson with the door to my room locked behind us.