Hudson
I grinned to myself, wishing I could have seen Lucy’s expression when Greta handed her the brownie. I marveled at my restraint in walking away. The woman had an effect on me I’d never known the likes of.
I’d scared her off the night before, and I clearly needed to go easy if I wanted her to say more than a few words to me.
And I wanted a hell of a lot more than that.
Christ, but the woman was beautiful with her long blonde hair, soft-as-hell looking mouth, and that cute button nose.
But it was her butterscotch-colored eyes framed with dark lashes that slayed me.
I’d never seen a more beautiful color, and when she looked at me with such openness mixed with an inner fire that shined from the inside out, the whole combination that was Lucy Kincaid hit me straight in the gut.
It hadn’t been hard to find out who she was—it was a small town after all. But all I knew were the details you could find on paper. I wanted to know so much more than that. I found myself wanting to know everything.
This desire that bordered on obsession was new, and frankly, it was a relief to discover that I had it at all.
All these years of females throwing themselves at me, I’d taken what was easy—especially early in my career.
Now, I was fucking bored with easy. And tired of being a conquest. The last time I’d fooled around with a woman, I’d caught her trying to record it, no doubt with the intention of sharing it on socials. That had been it for me.
My phone rang, my brother Riley’s number flashing on the screen. “Yeah,” I greeted as I navigated away from town toward Carter Construction headquarters.
“You comin’ or what?” he demanded by way of greeting.
One thing was for sure, if I ever came close to getting an ego about my fame, my family would bring me right back down to earth.
I loved the hell out of all of them.
“Yeah, Ri, you’re the one who wanted the girly-ass coffee. Took me longer than normal.”
“Fuck you,” he grumbled without malice. “Just meet me at the jobsite. I’m headed there now.”
“All right, see you in ten,” I replied, taking a left toward the development my brother and his crew had been working on for the last year.
From as early as I could remember, Riley had been passionate about the family business. We’d all worked for my dad through high school, but Riley did it willingly—enthusiastically even. It had always been clear which of us would take over when the time came, and it had never been an issue for us.
My youngest sibling, Haley, had her sights set on veterinary medicine. Griffin had always wanted to be a cop. And I’d had a guitar in my hand since I could walk.
But Riley had done more than just take over the business; he’d expanded it. I was damn proud of him. We all were.
I pulled onto the jobsite, unsurprised to find it a blur of carefully crafted chaos with heavy machinery booming and men hollering to each other.
I found my brother pouring over plans laid out across the hood of his work truck. He looked up when he saw me, accepting the coffee I handed him.
“Thanks, Hud.”
“You bet,” I replied, surveying the scene in front of me. “It’s coming along.”
“Not fast enough,” he grumbled.
“You always say that.” I chuckled.
“It’s always true.” He shrugged. “You coming to family dinner tonight?”
We all tried to get together at least once a month for dinner, though we saw each other a lot more often than that. My mom always made enough to serve an army, and we pretty much ate as much as one.
“I’ll try. I’ve got to spend some time in the studio. I’m behind.” I winced. I could do most of my work from the home studio I’d paid a shit ton to have built. But I’d likely need to head to Nashville for a bit at some point to put the finishing touches on the album.
The thought no longer held the same appeal.
I found myself increasingly reluctant to leave Green River.
I loved the town where I’d been born and raised and appreciated that, with the exception of some tourists and the occasional local, I could just be myself—not the country star the rest of the world saw me as.
Ri raised a brow. “You writing again?”
I grimaced. “No.” Words weren’t coming as easily as they used to, at least not lately.
He clapped me on the back. “It’ll come. It always does. Want to give me a hand for a bit? You never know, it might knock something loose.”
I chuckled. “Doubt it, but I welcome the distraction. Put me to work.”
Early that evening, I found myself driving up the long dirt road toward my parents’ property. After a longer day than I’d intended on the jobsite, I couldn’t turn down my mom’s lasagna.
I parked in front of the expansive mountain home my dad had built for my mother ten years ago—expanding on the home we’d been raised in.
He’d intended to do it sooner, but the joke that the contractor’s homes came last apparently rang true.
I parked alongside Griffin’s truck with Riley pulling in behind me as my parents’ two collies bolted to our trucks to greet us.
I greeted them both affectionately, thinking I should have brought Ranger, my lab mix I’d adopted a few years back.
“Well, three outta four kids showing up ain’t bad,” my dad said, grinning from the front porch.
“Two of your favorite sons are here at least.” Riley grabbed Griffin in a choke hold as I punched his arm.
“Boys, Jesus, can we not have broken bones today?” my mother hollered, the same plea she’d had for the last thirty years.
“Sorry, Ma.” Riley chuckled as we crested the porch steps and greeted them both.
“Hales couldn’t make it?” Griff asked, referring to our sister.
“Not this time. She has a big exam she’s studying for,” my mom replied as we stepped into the foyer, heading for the kitchen where the majority of any activity in the Carter household took place.
My stomach rumbled as the scent of lasagna and garlic bread hit me, and I realized I’d skipped lunch.
I snagged four beers from the fridge, handing them out to my dad and brothers.
“So, what’s going on with my boys?” my mom asked as she leaned on the counter, assessing us.
“Well, Hudson has a crush on a cute little blonde that rolled into town recently,” Riley shared.
I reached over to smack the back of his head. He’d been with me when I’d seen Lucy at Goodie’s and hadn’t stopped giving me shit since.
“Oh?” My mom raised a far-too-enthusiastic brow.
“You should have seen it. She ran outta the place as though Hud had some infectious disease.” Riley chortled. “Might be the first one allergic to his charms.”
“You’re not used to having to work for it,” Griffin observed. Out of all of us, he was the most reserved, only speaking when he had something to say.
“No,” I admitted. “But I’m looking forward to it. Now, can we please talk about something else? Maybe how Lucy’s cousin is Daphne Miller, Ri’s high school crush?” I raised a brow.
He snorted. “There’s nothing to talk about. That ship sailed.”
“Such a shame about Mack.” My mother shook her head, referring to Daphne’s father. “He was a good man. And then that loser ex of hers. Raising that baby alone can’t be easy.”
I didn’t imagine Ri’s fists clench.
My father turned his eyes to Griffin. “Everything good?” he asked as we got situated around the table, piling our plates high. Knowing Griff rarely volunteered information, we all made an effort to extract it out of him.
“Been quiet for the most part. Just the standard. Theft’s up a bit though.” He turned to Ri. “You got cameras at the jobsite?”
“Yeah,” Ri confirmed. “But I can check in with the guys, make sure they keep their eyes open.”
Griff nodded, appeased as we all dug into our food, falling into our easy banter. Although I hadn’t gotten anything done on my album, there was no place else I’d rather be.