The Maverick's Holiday Surprise
Author
Karen Rose Smith
Reads
18.7K
Chapters
14
Rust Creek Ramblings A WEDDING IN THE WORKS? We here at the Gazette are amazed to report that trust-fund cowboy Hudson Jones may soon be off the market. The boyish billionaire has been spending more time than ever with Bella Stockton, who manages his day-care center. It seems impossible that quiet, reserved Bella would have captured the fancy of such an alluring specimen of manhood. Bella finds it hard to believe herself, and she keeps pushing Hudson away. What are the odds the footloose cowboy will stick around once he finds out she can't have kids? Don't tell Bella, but our sources report Hudson has his heart set on a Christmas proposal. When he finds out the truth, will it still be a holiday to remember?
Chapter One
Hudson Jones was used to getting his own way. But as he stood in the doorway of his office at the Just Us Kids Day Care Center, he had a feeling he wouldnāt get his way this time. Bella Stockton had him stymied.
The day care manager was beautifulātall and willowy with wispy short blond hair. Heād tried to flirt with her over the past month that heād been here to see to the day-to-day running of the center. After all, a cowboy could get lonely underneath the big Montana sky. But unlike the other pretty women heād flirted with over his thirty years, Bella didnāt respond to him.
He studied her as she talked with a mother, one whoād apparently been involved in the parent-teacher conferences scheduled at Just Us Kids after normal business hours. Hudson recognized the expression on the parentās face. Over the last couple of months, heād dealt with his share of upset parents. An outbreak of RSVārespiratory syncytial virusāhad hit Just Us Kids, sending one of the children to the hospital, which had prompted her parents to file a lawsuit. The day care had been cleared, but the damage to its reputation had been done.
He moved a little closer to the main desk in the reception area where Bella sat.
Marla Tillotson was pointing her finger at Bella. āIf I even see another child here with sniffles, Iām pulling Jimmy out and enrolling him in Country Kids.ā She turned on the heels of her red boots, gave Hudson a glare and headed for the door.
Although Hudson usually didnāt commit too much time to any one place, he had taken this job more seriously than most. After all, it was an investment he didnāt want to fail. He owned the property the day care sat on; his brother Walker owned the franchise. Heād let his brother talk him into staying for a while in Rust Creek Falls to oversee the staff and handle the PR that would put Just Us Kids back in the publicās good graces. But, to be honest, mostly he stayed in town because he wanted to get to know Bella better.
As soon as he saw Bellaās face, he didnāt hesitate to step up to her desk. āIt wasnāt your fault,ā he said adamantly.
As day care manager, Bella ran a tight ship. She enforced policies about not signing in sick kids, incorporated stringent guidelines for disinfecting surfaces and educated the staff. But it seemed she couldnāt put the whole awful experience of the lawsuit behind her.
Bella brushed her bangs aside and ducked her head for a moment. Then she raised burdened brown eyes to his. āI just canāt help thinking that maybe I slipped up somehow. What if I wasnāt vigilant enough before the outbreak? Whatāā
Hudson cut her off. āIām going to say it again, and Iāll say it a thousand times more if you need to hear it. You didnāt do anything wrong,ā he assured her. āI read numerous blogs about day care and RSV when Walker asked me to take over here. RSV looks like a cold when it starts. Kids are contagious before they show symptoms. Thatās why it spreads like wildfire even with the best precautions. Itās going to be our jobāā he pointed to himself, and then he pointed to her āāto make sure an outbreak doesnāt happen again.ā
Bella met his eyes intently. Suddenly the day care center seemed very quiet. Maybe it was just because he was so aware of her gaze on him. Was she aware of him? They could hear low voices in one of the classrooms beyond where tables were set up for the parent-teacher conferences. But other than that, the facility suddenly had a hushed atmosphere.
Hudson noted that Bella seemed to be gazing intently at him. That was okay because he was studying her pretty oval face. He missed seeing the dimples that appeared whenever she was with the kids. Thatās when she seemed the happiest. Her hair looked so soft and silky that he itched to run his fingers through it. But he knew he couldnāt. This was the first time sheād even stopped and looked at him like this. Had she thought he was the enemy, that heād pick apart everything she did? That wasnāt his style.
He found himself leaning a little farther over the desk. He thought she was leaning a little closer to him, too.
All at once there was a rap-rap-rap on the door.
Sorry that theyād been interrupted, he nevertheless excused himself and went to the door. When he opened it, the brisk November air entered, along with Bart Dunner, a teenager who was a runner for the Ace in the Hole. Hudson had ordered a mess of ribs from the bar for anyone who was still around when dinnertime came. He paid Bart, gave him a tip and thanked him. On the way to the break room, he glanced over at Bella. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, he told himself.
āHave you eaten?ā he asked her.
āNo, I havenāt. Iāve been making out schedules and ordering supplies for the new year.ā
He motioned to the bag. āCome join me.ā
At first he thought she was going to refuse, but then to his surprise she said, āI skipped lunch. Supper might be a good idea.ā
As they washed their hands at the sink, Bella kept a few inches between them, even when she had to reach around him for a paper towel. Was she skittish around all men...or just him? Maybe she was just shy, he told himself. Maybe she was a virgin. After all, she was only twenty-three.
At the table, they each took one of the Styrofoam containers with ribs, crispy fries and green beans. āThese ribs smell delicious,ā she said, and he didnāt think she was just making conversation. But it was hard to tell.
As they ate, he tried to get her to talk. āYou know, weāve been working together for over a month, but I donāt know much about you, except that you live with your brother and help with his triplets. I also know lots of people in town signed up to create a baby chain to care for the kids.ā Jamie Stockton had lost his wife, leaving him with the newborns to care for and a ranch to run. āThat says something about Rust Creek Falls, donāt you think?ā If he could just get Bella talking, maybe sheād realize he was interested in her.
āThatās the way Rust Creek Falls works,ā she responded. āNeighbors helping neighbors. And what you know about me is probably enough.ā
āCome on,ā he coaxed. āTell me a little more. Did you grow up here?ā
āYes, I did. I was born here.ā
āHave you and your brother always been close?ā he prompted.
āWe have. I love my nephews and niece dearly.ā She took a forkful of green beans, then asked, āWhat about you? I know Walker is your brother.ā
āI have four brothers. But we arenāt that close. Maybe because weāve always had our own interests, or maybe becauseāā He stopped.
Bella studied him curiously. āWhat were you going to say?ā
Hudson hesitated and decided he had to give to get. āMaybe because my parents never fostered closeness.ā
She gave him an odd look at that. āOur parents died in a car accident when I was twelve and Jamie was fifteen. We always had to rely on each other.ā
No wonder she didnāt talk about her childhood. Losing parents had to be traumatic. āIāll bet you did rely on each other. Who took you in?ā
āOur maternal grandparents took us ināthe Stockton grandparents had both died. But Agnes and Matthew Baldwin didnāt really want that responsibility.ā
āHow can you know that, Bella? What starts that way sometimes can turn into something elseāa real family.ā
Looking troubled now, Bella shook her head. āWhen our grandmother died of a heart attack, I was fifteen. Jamie was eighteen. Our grandfather blamed us.ā
āYou canāt be serious.ā Hudson was outraged for her. How could her grandfather have even given that impression? But then he thought about his own parents and how cold his mother seemed.
āYou donāt know the situation,ā Bella said gently. āJamie and I werenāt the easiest kids to raise, and our grandfather was probably right.ā
Hudson was horrified that Bella actually believed that. She was one of the sweetest women heād ever met. āYou canāt blame yourself for what fate hands out.ā But he could see she did.
Bella had torn apart her ribs at that point, and instead of trying to eat them with a fork as some women might, she nibbled the meat off the bone. Her fingers were sticky, and so were her lips. Hudson couldnāt stop looking at her lips. She was in midchew when she realized he was staring. She stared back.
All eating stopped as they gazed at each other, and it was quite possible there was even a hum in the air. He wondered if she was just a little bit attracted to him.
But he never got to ask because one of the teachers popped her head into the break room.
āGot enough for me?ā she asked.
That broke Hudson out of his trance. āSure do, Sarah. Come on in and join us.ā
As the boss, he knew that was the right thing to do. But as a man, what he really wanted was to be alone with Bella. To find out more about her. To get to know her.
To kiss her.
* * *
Hudson let himself into the ranch house on the Lazy B, thinking that living in Rust Creek Falls for a while wasnāt a chore. He tremendously liked where he was staying. Heād met Brooks Smith, the townās veterinarian, on one of his first trips to Rust Creek Falls. He knew the town vet could always recommend the best place to ride or rent out a horse. Brooks had done better than that. Heād suggested Hudson rent Clive Bicklerās ranch.
Clive, an eccentric wealthy man whoād bought the property after the big flood several years ago, traveled a lot. Besides the main ranch house there was a smaller log home on the acreage where an older couple lived. Theyād 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 didnāt bother him because he knew who was thereāGreta Marsden. She wasnāt 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 didnāt 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. āDo you need supper?ā
āNo, I had ribs. Not that they could stand up to anything you make.ā
She closed the refrigerator door, blushing a little. āYou sure do know how to charm a woman, but save that for the ladies your age. Iām beyond it.ā
Hudson laughed. āYouāre not.ā
She waved his comment away. āWhen kids are grown, companionship and affection mean more than anything else. Iām relieved I donāt need to look hot for anyone.ā
So that was what marriage developed intoācompanionship and affection. He wasnāt sure his parents had that.
On the drive here, heād thought about everything Bella had told him about her family. In fact he hadnāt 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. āOatmeal raisin cookies. These cold nights theyāll go good with hot chocolate before you turn in.ā
āSo you think Iām still a growing boy.ā
She laughed. āNo, just a hardworking man with a big appetite.ā
Hudson wasnāt sure about the hardworking part. Heād 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 ranchābuying horses, choosing computer programs to manage the place efficiently. Over the years heād 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. āEdmond needed me to do bookwork today, so I didnāt clean up here,ā she explained. āIāll be back to do that in the morning.ā
Hudson wasnāt concerned about collecting a few dust bunnies. āNo problem.ā
As he remembered Bella saying Our grandfather blamed us when Grandma died, he considered Gretaās comments about marriage.
āDo you mind if I ask you something personal?ā
Greta shrugged. āI suppose not.ā
āHow would you feel if you suddenly had teenage grandchildren to raise? What if it happened overnight? What would you do?ā
Greta didnāt even hesitate. āEdmond and I would try our best to love them to bits. The people who come in and out of our lives are gifts.ā
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 sheād been raised?
Apparently her grandparents hadnāt 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 hadnāt 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 wouldnāt 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 didnāt act like a beautiful young woman of the millennia. It wasnāt that she lacked self-confidence, because she didnāt. 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, heād never been around children much. Several times a day heād 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 didnāt 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 wasnāt an easy job, and he knew it. Heād 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, thoughāsomething that both unsettled and intrigued him.
Heād never been seriously involved with a woman. Heād never wanted to settle down because heād seen the coldness in his parentsā marriage. When he had dated, heād seen that women wanted to tie him to one place. Moving from place to place gave his life the excitement romance couldnāt. 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 sheād 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 Bellaās desk and asked, āCan I see you in my office?ā
She looked up at him with startled eyes. But then she asked, āDo I need my tablet to take notes?ā
He shook his head. āNot about this.ā
That brought a frown to her pretty face. But she followed him into his office, and this time he closed the door. He didnāt claim to be a human resources expert. Yes, he could spin a good story. However, this moment called for some honesty.
āI suspect youāre not happy that Iām 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.ā
āI know that,ā she murmured.
āDo you?ā He looked at her directly, making eye contact, not letting her look away.
āItās not just you,ā she said. āItās me. I donāt want to make a mistake. I donāt want anything to jeopardize Just Us Kids.ā
āI understand that. Up until yesterday, I thought we got along just fine. At least we could have a simple conversation.ā
She didnāt say anything to that.
He went on. āAnd yesterday, I thought we were finally getting to know each other a little better. Iām glad you told me a bit about your childhood.ā
āI shouldnāt have,ā she quickly said.
āWhy not?ā
āBecause Jamie and I donāt like to talk about it. We donāt like to think about it. Those were hard times for both of us, and we donāt want anyone to feel sorry for us.ā
āAnd you think I feel sorry for you?ā
āPossibly.ā
Hudson shook his head. āIām sorry you and your brother went through that. Iām sorry your grandparents didnāt treat you as the gifts you must have been.ā He found Gretaās conclusion absolutely fit the situation.
At his words, Bella looked surprised.
They were standing near his desk, she at one corner and he at the other. But now he took a few steps closer to her. He could smell the light flowery perfume she wore. He could see the tiny line across her nose because it wrinkled there whenever she laughed or smiled. She didnāt wear much makeup, but what she did wear was perfectājust a bit of lipstick and a little mascara from what he could tell. Simply looking at her caused heat to build inside him. He tried to throw a dash of cold water on it with logic, but it was hard to douse the kind of attraction he hadnāt felt for a very long time.
However, he kept his voice even when he said, āItās a good thing when people who work together share bits of their personal life. They have a better understanding of what the other person has gone through. Do you know what I mean?ā
She considered that. āI guess the way I grew up taught me that children should all be treated with respect and kindness and love.ā
āI can see that.ā
āAnd why do you treat them as if youāre one of them?ā she asked as if she really wanted to know.
āBecause I never grew up.ā He was half joking and half serious.
Bella finally broke a smile. She looked him up and down, from his wavy brown hair, to the razor stubble on his jaw, to the open collar of his snap-button shirt, to his wide leather belt, jeans and boots. Then she said, āThatās easy to believe when I see you with the kids. But itās hard to believe when I look at you as the supervisor of this place. You wear the role very well.ā
āIt is a role, Bella, believe me. Iām only here until weāre sure Just Us Kids has its reputation back, then Iāll be off again somewhere else. Thatās what I do. Thatās what I mean about never growing up.ā
She shook her head as if she didnāt understand. āBut whatās your purpose?ā
āMy purpose?ā
āBefore this job, what made you want to get up every morning and face a new day?ā
āA new adventure. I went looking for it, whether it was gathering wild mustangs in Wyoming or managing the books of a friendās ranch during start-up. I have skills, and I have purpose, but that purpose isnāt always the same. I find a purpose in the places I travel.ā
āWith no commitment or responsibilities?ā
āNo commitment and no personal responsibilities. Itās an easy, uncomplicated way to live.ā
āMy life is full of complications,ā she responded with a little shrug. āI guess I wouldnāt know what to do without them. But my commitment to Jamie and the triplets, and eventually finding my own future, gives me purpose each morning. Itās a continuing purpose. Do you know what I mean? Itās going to take me into the years to come. Yours seems like it could fall apart easily and leave you adrift.ā
Oh, heād been adrift. Heād been adrift in between jobs, and heād been adrift when heād just enjoyed the scenery. But Bella seemed to think adrift was a bad thing. He didnāt.
They gazed at each other for what seemed like minutes, even though it was only seconds. He found himself wanting to slide his fingers through her hair. He found himself wanting to step even closer. There was a sparkle in her eyes when she looked at him that made him believe that maybe she was attracted to him, too. But he was sort of her boss, and she already thought he was judging everything she did. How stupid would it be to get involved with her? Yet he set the rules here, didnāt he? If he and Bella ever did really connect...
He suddenly cleared his throat. āIād better open the door before anyone gets second thoughts about whatās going on in here. I wouldnāt want there to be any gossip about your reputation.ā
A shadow passed over her face, a definite shadow. Maybe heād learned a little personal information about her, but not nearly enough. Just what was that shadow from?
But she wasnāt going to confide in him any more than she already had. He could see that. She was already stepping away from his desk toward the door.
āBella?ā
She stopped.
āAre we okay?ā
āWeāre fine,ā she said, raising up her chin a bit.
Fine. That was a wishy-washy word that didnāt nearly begin to describe what he felt when he was in the same room with Bella Stockton. But he just nodded because he could see thatās what she wanted him to do. He wasnāt going to push anything...not yet.