Hudson Read online

  She eyed him suspiciously. “Are you humoring me?”

  He held up his hands. “Not at all. I promise. I work great with visuals; I’m a builder,” he told her. “And you’re a hundred percent right. If there’s no rope or rungs, you can’t climb a slick wall. So I think the solution for those in bad situations is education.” He pointedly looked at the school.

  She smiled, her entire face lit up as lights practically flashed in her eyes. “See! If I can get through to you, then maybe I can get through to others. Yes, education is definitely a key. I’m a huge proponent of school choice. But not just education. There have to be resources too. The more we can reach out to people, the more they can see their potential. I think there are some who simply don’t care and only want an easy route. But I believe the majority of people want an opportunity to shine.”

  “And what’s the plan today to make that happen?” Hudson asked.

  “We’re going to save this school and make it a place of learning again. Maybe it won’t be an actual school, but we can turn it into offices with counseling, tutoring, job skills, and social workers. We can fix up the grounds, plant a community garden, have a shop class, and do lessons. We can provide a jobs counselor and a clothes closet for proper clothing for job interviews. There are so many options. None of that is a free handout, it’s a way for people to help themselves.”

  “Why does the school need saved?”

  Some of that light in her eyes dimmed. “They’re trying to tear it down and build a mall, a giant apartment complex, or something else we don’t need. I went to this school. I have so many good memories here, and so do others. Not only should it stand because it’s a wonderful place, but we need more than malls and high-rise buildings. We need history and educational sites that remind us of where we came from and where we can go next. To put it simply, we need to keep our history to become better humans in the future.”

  “How much time do you have to save it?”

  “Your uncle got us a stay, but not a lot of time.” She pushed her shoulders back and smiled again. “But I have faith . . . just as I have faith in changing your mind. I’m doing it one place, and one person, at a time.”

  “If anyone can do it, it’ll be you,” he said.

  “Let’s get to work,” she said. She jumped from the truck and he quickly followed.

  “Hi, Daisy. Glad to see you brought help,” a woman said with a wave and a smile.

  “You know I try to bring in new people each time we meet,” Daisy said.

  They spent the next hour helping people unload, and the following six hours doing manual labor. They took breaks to tour some of the booths they helped set up that offered delicious foods and drinks with all the proceeds donated to save the school.

  A community fair started that evening at four, and though Hudson hadn’t thought they’d get everything done in time, he was happy to be proven wrong. The grounds looked as if they’d never been trashed. The school was lit up with colored lights and the school and its grounds opened up for touring.

  A band began playing, carnival games rang out with laughter, and people showed up one after another, spending money, discovering what they could do to save the school, and getting involved in this community they were a part of.

  Hudson hadn’t thought he could learn anything from Daisy that day. He’d simply been humoring her. But by the time they left, after spending thirteen hours at the school, he’d changed his mind.

  He didn’t care what it was going to take, he’d personally save this school for Daisy and the community, and he’d make sure his family was a part of the building process. Maybe she had a point that it took an entire community to come together to make the world a better place, and it all started with one plot of land, one historic building, and one community at a time. He knew there was more he could do. He just wasn’t sure where it was all going to lead.

  By the time he took Daisy home, not stopping at his work trailer this time, he’d had one of the best days he’d had in quite a while. The sun had long set, and it didn’t appear as if anyone was home at the small house she shared with her grandfather.

  He stopped the truck and turned off the engine, opening his door. She put a hand on his arm. “Thank you for the day. You really went above and beyond,” she told him. “I had fun, and I think the community members did too.” She paused. “But you don’t have to walk me to the door. This is work, not a date.” She smiled away any sting to her words.

  He stared intently at her for a moment before stepping from the truck. She was still unbuckling when he opened her door and held out a hand to assist her.

  “I spent the entire day learning more about you and this community. I definitely look at this as a date — probably one of the best I’ve ever had,” he corrected.

  He was rewarded by a hitch in her breath, and the widening of her eyes. She’d avoided touching him all day. That was going to stop right then and there.

  “Hudson, this is just us trying to prove something to each other,” she said, but there wasn’t any force to her words. She turned from him and quickly walked to her front porch. He was right on her heels.

  “Then I certainly have something to prove to you right now,” he told her.

  She didn’t even pretend to stop him when his arms came around her and pulled her against him. The kiss the day before had been the best he’d ever experienced. He wanted to know if it was because it had been more than a month of fantasizing about kissing her again — and so much more — or if there really was so much electricity between them they could power an entire city block. If that chemistry wasn’t there, wouldn’t it have dimmed since the one and only time they’d spent a night together?

  The second their mouths touched, he knew it wasn’t a feeling that was going away anytime soon. Sparks ignited in his body as her mouth softened beneath his. His hands clutched at her hips, and his mouth was firm and hungry. She opened to him and his tongue dove inside, twisting with hers.

  She groaned as her body melted against him. He pulled her closer, pressing his arousal against her softness. He wanted her more than he wanted air. He’d implode if he didn’t get to take her again soon.

  He reached for the hem of her shirt, needing to feel her skin. His hand slipped up her back, and caressed her, not surprised she was just as soft and warm as she’d been the first time he’d touched her. She wiggled against him, their kiss and touch obviously driving her as crazy as it was him.

  He circled his hand around her side and went up, his thumb rubbing over the underside of her breast. She shuddered as her mouth grew hungrier and she wiggled her hips against him. He was close to carrying her back to his truck.

  Just as his hand lifted, moving over the perfect mound of her breast and squeezing, there was crunching on the driveway as lights flooded the pavement twenty feet from them.

  With a groan, Hudson pulled his hand away and broke their kiss. When she moaned her disapproval, and leaned toward him, he nearly grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder to cart her off into the woods. But a car drew closer, and Daisy seemed to realize they weren’t alone any longer.

  Her eyes snapped open, the dazed look in them beginning to clear as realization flooded her. She stepped back, her legs wobbly. He kept a hand on her hip to keep her from falling. She allowed it for a couple of seconds before moving farther back.

  “I don’t know why that keeps happening,” she gasped as the car parked next to his truck and the engine shut off.

  “Because we have some serious chemistry that would be criminal for us to keep denying,” he whispered, his voice hungry and raw.

  “No. It’s just a fluke,” she told him. Before she could say more, a door shut and her grandfather walked forward.

  “I was wondering whose truck that was,” Bubby said with a big smile as he looked back and forth between Hudson and Daisy.

  Hudson didn’t easily get embarrassed, but he shifted on his feet as Daisy’s grandfather walked up to them. Hudson was gra
teful for the dim lighting, because Daisy certainly looked as if she’d just been ravished on her grandfather’s front porch. Her lips were swollen, her cheeks were flushed, and her breath was uneven.

  “I spent the day with Daisy at the school she’s trying to save,” Hudson said.

  “Well, that’s unexpected,” Bubby said as he moved to his door and unlocked it. “I didn’t take you as a social justice warrior.”

  He opened the door and turned on a light, flooding them with bright rays. Daisy turned away as she tried finger combing her hair, and she absolutely refused to look her grandfather in the eyes.

  “I haven’t been, but I made a deal with your granddaughter. I was surprised today. I agree with saving the school,” Hudson said.

  “Well, that’s fantastic news,” Bubby said. “Why don’t you come inside and tell me all about it while we have a drink?”

  Though it was a question, Hudson knew it was actually a command. Bubby wanted to know what Hudson was doing with his granddaughter. He was sure the man wanted to know if his intentions were pure — which they certainly weren’t.

  “That sounds great,” Hudson said. Daisy groaned — and not in pleasure this time. It wasn’t loud enough for her grandfather to hear, but Hudson knew she wasn’t happy about this new development. She obviously wanted to keep him apart from her grandfather — that made him want to come inside all that much more.

  He moved inside the house, which he hadn’t seen before the sale. He hadn’t been interested in the home, so it hadn’t mattered. If he’d been inside, he’d have been very aware a woman lived there. Her touch was all over the place with soft colored blankets, beautifully framed pictures of her and her grandfather, and who he assumed were her parents. There were cute quotes in frames and candles ready to be lit.

  It was obvious she loved and cared for this home. He wondered how it would be for her to be on her own when they moved out. That was something he’d never thought about regarding an adult. Most eighteen-year-olds couldn’t wait to move from their childhood home. They didn’t care if they were sharing a room with four other kids, as long as they were out of their parents’ place and somewhere they didn’t have rules.

  “Your home is beautiful,” Hudson said.

  Bubby walked to the fridge and pulled out a couple of beers before he moved to the back sliding glass door and opened it, stepping out onto a large deck where four cushioned chairs faced the water. The moonlight shone down, giving them a nice view yet feeling intimate and secluded.

  “Yes, it’s been home for a very long time. But it’s certainly a lot of work to maintain,” Bubby said as he moved to a chair and sat, indicating the one next to him for Hudson.

  “I imagine it takes up a lot of your time. I can see why you wanted to sell,” Hudson said. “But it’s difficult to find such a private paradise near Seattle.”

  “I’ve had privacy for a very long time. I want to socialize now,” Bubby said with a chuckle. “I have a good friend who’s moving into that new senior living community over near Bellevue that your family has almost finished. I’m looking forward to a smaller place with a lot of activities and a lot of friends.”

  “I love living here,” Daisy said as she joined them, her own beer in hand.

  “I know you do, sweet pea, but it’s also holding you back. We can’t hide from the world, neither one of us. You’re too young to do it, and I’m too old. I want to live out the rest of my life dancing and playing golf, not mowing lawns and cleaning gutters.”

  “I’ve told you I’ll take care of all of the upkeep,” Daisy said, her tone pleading.

  “And I’ve told you a young lady should be dating, laughing, running wild, and living her life, not taking care of a bunch of land or catering to her old grandfather,” he said, his voice firm yet loving at the same time.

  She folded her arms over her chest, still managing to keep the bottle in her hand. She looked like a pouting teenager — one who most certainly wasn’t getting her way.

  “I’m sorry I’ve caused tension,” Hudson said, thinking he’d rather be anywhere other than in the middle of them right then.

  “You haven’t caused anything,” Bubby said. “We’ve had this argument before. But she’ll see I’m doing it out of love soon enough.” He paused, took a drink from his bottle, and zeroed his gaze in on Hudson. “What are your intentions with my granddaughter?”

  Hudson hadn’t been expecting him to be quite so blunt right in front of Daisy, and he found himself shifting in his seat. He was now the one who felt like a teenager being grilled.

  There was no way he was sharing his plans with Daisy’s grandfather, but it made him feel slightly guilty about all of the women he’d dated once or twice, taken to bed, and then walked away from. They were each someone’s granddaughter, someone’s sister, someone’s daughter. They were women who were loved, and he’d had zero qualms about taking what he needed from them. He’d reasoned they were taking just as much from him. That seemed like a flimsy excuse at the moment. If it was his daughter being treated the way he’d treated so many women, he’d have murder on his mind.

  “There’s nothing between us, grams,” Daisy said with a sigh before he could form an answer. “Please don’t try to make it into something it isn’t.”

  Hudson could’ve let it go at that, but he didn’t. He wasn’t sure why he said what he did next, but it just sort of flew out of him. “I plan on dating her,” he said. “A lot.”

  He felt good getting the words off his chest. He leaned back and continued to sip his beer while Daisy gasped beside him. Bubby grinned.

  “I wouldn’t mind that one little bit,” Bubby said. They gave each other a look of understanding. “But if you’re just planning on taking without giving, it would be best to move on your way.”

  Hudson’s respect for this man grew. He obviously loved his granddaughter. Bubby reminded Hudson a lot of his Uncle Joseph. It was no wonder the two men were friends.

  “I have no plans of doing that,” Hudson assured him. And now that he’d made that promise, he’d have to stick to his word.

  “This isn’t the eighteenth century, and I’m not the dumb little female who needs a man to take care of her,” Daisy huffed. “I don’t appreciate this conversation and I don’t like feeling as if my fate is in anyone’s hands other than my own.”

  “Well tough, because I love you, and I want what’s best for you,” Bubby said. He grinned at her and blew her a kiss before facing Hudson again. “And I have a feeling about you. I can see true integrity in your eyes. You have an honest face.”

  “No one’s ever said that to me before, but I’ll do my best to keep your opinion of me the same,” Hudson said.

  Daisy got up and stomped away, letting them know by her heavy footsteps that she wasn’t pleased with either of them. If this had been a hundred years ago, he might be asked for a cow and three sheep for the privilege of dating Bubby’s granddaughter. He might give that to the man anyway. The thought made his grin grow even wider. If Daisy heard his internal thoughts she might just stab him.

  Hudson stayed out on the porch visiting with her grandfather for another hour. By the time he left, Daisy was nowhere to be found, but he was whistling as he climbed into his truck.

  He might be biting off more than he’d been willing to chew just a few weeks ago, but he wasn’t unhappy about it. He’d gotten his land, and in the process had found one hell of a woman he wanted to learn a whole lot more about. He wanted so much from her, and the more he saw her, the more he wanted to know her, about who she was, and why she’d cast such a spell over him. He’d never been so drawn to a woman before.

  This might not be a fling.

  That thought was quite humbling to a confirmed bachelor. This might actually turn into a real relationship. He honestly couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a girlfriend. As he drove away, his smile faded. There was one thing for sure he didn’t want to catch — and that was the damn marriage flu that had infected three out of f
our of his brothers.

  He might need to tread a bit more carefully . . . if he even could at this point.

  Or he might just throw all caution to the wind and go with what he was feeling. He guessed that only time would tell what was coming next — time and a whole lot more of Daisy.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Daisy climbed from the shower when persistent knocking sounded on her front door. There wasn’t a lot she could do about it, so she ignored the sound as she dried off, wrapped her hair, then applied lotion and body spray. The person knocking wasn’t giving up.

  With a huff, she wrapped herself in her favorite purple terry cloth robe and marched through her small house. She didn’t look before unlocking the door and swinging it open, a scowl on her face.

  “Good morning,” Hudson said, looking far too cheery as he held out a bag in one hand and a coffee in the other. “What took you so long to answer?” Even as he asked, though, his eyes traveled from her towel-wrapped hair, across her perfectly covered body, and down to her bare feet where her bright pink toes stood out.

  “I was showering,” she said. His eyes flashed with desire hot enough to make her feel scorched right there in front of him.

  “Need any help finishing?” he asked as he took a step forward. She shook her head.

  Daisy automatically stepped back, and he pushed his way into the house. “I didn’t see Bubby’s car, but yours was in the driveway so I didn’t think you’d gone anywhere.”

  She looked at the clock. “It’s eight in the morning,” she told him, having no choice other than to shut the door and turn to face him. He’d set the bag and what she assumed was her coffee on the table, sipping from his own cup. “I didn’t think you got up this early.”

  Hudson laughed, the sound just as infectious as the first time she’d heard it. She didn’t want to justify his behavior by taking the coffee he’d brought, but she hadn’t had a cup yet and she knew how good it would taste. She tried to act nonchalant as she moved over to the table and picked it up.