Chapter 8
8
Rachel
R achel still couldn’t understand why Hudson was being so stubborn. When she’d asked Henry about it, he was just as confused. Then she’d heard that he’d been gone since Monday. That was when she knew he wasn’t going to back down. The guy was more stubborn than she was—and that was saying something.
Legs curled up beneath her, she sat in an overstuffed chair in the living room while sipping her tea. He’d be down shortly. She’d already heard the bathroom door open, then shut again. It was a good thing he wasn’t downstairs because he would have noticed her gleeful smile.
He’d get paid. Probably better than he would have ever expected. At this moment she was prepared to pay him a decent salary that would cover him for a quarter of a year, just so he would stick around for the month.
Hudson was right about one thing. He was interested, and that made him an asset. If he was so willing to do what was necessary without being asked, he’d be the perfect choice.
His footsteps padded down the stairs, stopping when he noticed her sitting in the living room. Hudson didn’t look nearly as grumpy as he had when she’d insisted he shower. But he also didn’t appear to be pleased with the fact that she’d given him a set of clothes. He filled them out nicely. Hopefully, he wouldn’t ask where they came from because he wouldn’t like the fact that she’d found them in a box in the attic. They’d been there with a few other things, and she’d sent the clothes through the wash before getting ready to donate them.
Thankfully, she’d held off.
“Supper is on the table. If it’s not warm enough, you can use the microwave.”
He glanced toward the kitchen. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
She shook her head.
He frowned then, and his accusatory gaze rocketed into her. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those girls who doesn’t eat.”
“I beg your pardon?” She lowered her mug. How dare he make such a statement. “Did you not see me inhale a piece of pie that day you accosted me in the diner? I have no issues with food.”
“Then why aren’t you eating?”
She shook her head. “I don’t see how that is any of your business. But if you must know, I had an early dinner with my project manager.” Rachel couldn’t tell what he was thinking then. A mask fell over his features, hiding any indication of how he felt. “That being said, I have nothing against visiting with you while you eat if you’d prefer company.”
He grunted and then shuffled off to the kitchen. Rachel watched him go. It was harder than she’d expected to remain seated where she was and leave him be. Athena had said that Hudson was a loner—someone who didn’t care for company. Her sister had insisted that Hudson would turn down the opportunity to stay at the house and that Rachel was better off just leaving him be.
But that wasn’t who Rachel was. The least she could do was let him have his space while they were under the same roof.
She brought her mug to her lips once more and took a sip of the steaming liquid. The peppermint and honey flavor slipped down her throat and warmed her from the inside out. She closed her eyes and let the steam drift in and out of her senses. For the last week, she’d been preparing this house for living. And each night, she’d barely slept.
Living in the country was nice when there was a town with cars driving by every half hour. But living out in the middle of nowhere was different—eerie even. She couldn’t sleep when it was so quiet. And the darkness had a way of swallowing her whole.
“Thanks for the clothes.”
She jerked, nearly sloshing her tea from the mug she held, and her eyes opened wide to find Hudson seated across from her on the loveseat. He put his plate on the coffee table along with his cup. “I’m not sure where they came from, but I appreciate them.”
“Don’t mention it,” Rachel murmured. She eyed him as he picked up his fork and dug into the meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes she’d prepared. Yes, it was strange that she’d fixed a meal for him when she didn’t intend on eating it. But there would be leftovers she could have for lunch tomorrow.
The weirder thing was that he’d chosen to eat in the same room as she was.
Hudson stabbed at the potatoes and took a bite. Then another. He ate in silence while her thoughts started cycling again. He preferred to be out here in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by fields, trees, and the stars. It didn’t seem to bother him that the world felt that much bigger. He was built for this kind of living.
Maybe the person who was sabotaging her was trying to send a message that she didn’t belong. Even if it wasn’t Hudson doing the damage, she wouldn’t be surprised if someone like him had heard about the purchase by an outsider.
Even if they didn’t know it was her specifically, they knew where to find her. They knew they could access the property and do some damage. What was stopping them from coming back?
“Everything okay?” Hudson grunted.
Rachel jumped again and stared at him with wide eyes. “Hmm?”
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Oh,” she said. “I haven’t really been sleeping well.”
Hudson peered at her for a moment. She thought he might actually say something, but then he nodded and turned back to his food.
“Can I ask you something?” she said.
He lifted a shoulder while still chewing on the bite he’d just taken.
“Have you seen anything out there? Any evidence, I mean? I know they haven’t been back, but did they leave anything behind that might indicate who they are or what they want?”
“I think that’s pretty clear,” Hudson said after he swallowed his food. “They want you gone.”
She cocked her head and considered that, then shook her head. “If they wanted me gone, they could have set fire to the whole place. They could have sabotaged much more than the fences and a few trees.”
“Unless they want the property for themselves. Were there other offers on the table?”
“I only know what you know. That developer was the only one we heard whispers about. And even then, that could have been a lie.”
He snorted. “Why would the folks in town lie about that?”
“Depends on who started the lie. They might have been wanting to make the property seem more valuable than it was.” Rachel leaned forward and placed her mug on the coffee table beside his. “Though I suppose that would only make sense if it was the bank who spread those rumors.”
Hudson leaned back in his seat. “I could see something like that happening. But at the same time, the property was sitting vacant for a long time. Why not just sit on it until the right buyer came along?”
“I guess you’re right. There might have been other offers. I didn’t ask. I suppose I could talk to the realtor, but at this point, it doesn’t really matter.”
“Sure, it does.” Hudson leaned forward, his forearms resting on his knees. “If you find out who it is, we can tell the sheriff and they can keep an eye on them.”
“True,” Rachel started, “however, this town is small. The person could have hired people outside of this town—drifters, even. I’m guessing it will be a one-and-done sort of deal. It’s someone who got their tighty-whities in a bunch, and they wanted to make it known that they were upset about it.”
“Suit yourself. But if something else happens, then I’m going to do some poking around.”
There it was again. The way Hudson could so effortlessly throw around how much this place meant to him, even when he didn’t have any ties to it. She squinted at him, wishing she could pin down what made him tick. It couldn’t be as obvious as he was trying to make it seem.
“I’m having my project manager find the best security cameras to set up so we can keep an eye on the perimeter, but they might not get installed until later in the month. So besides you, I guess there’s no one else around to help out.” She looked away, hating how awkward it became to say what she knew she needed to. “I wanted to…” Rachel cleared her throat and shifted in her seat. “Thank you. I appreciate your willingness to help. You don’t even know who bought the place, and you were bound and determined to do something to help.”
“You’re welcome,” he said with a grunt, clearly just as uncomfortable with the conversation.
“I wanted you to know that you will be getting paid. Besides the law, the owner of this property didn’t feel right letting you put in your time and risking your livelihood without compensation.”
He glanced at her but didn’t argue. Good. They had an understanding. And maybe with him staying under her roof, she might actually get some decent sleep.
They sat in that uncomfortable silence for another few minutes until she got up the courage to say her next bit. “I was wondering…”
Hudson lifted his gaze to meet hers. He stared at her with that look of expectation that she was beginning to understand was just part of who he was.
“Would you be willing to take me around the perimeter of the property tomorrow? I haven’t had a chance to take stock of everything that was damaged. I know we have some trees to remove?—”
“You just need a trailer. I cut up most of the wood and it’s been drying. I think I found all the broken fence lines. I wouldn’t be surprised if they come back though, so I would suggest making the rounds a couple times a night.”
“A couple times a night?” Her voice was higher than she’d expected it to be. It came out as more of a squeak than anything else. She shook her head in disbelief. “How are you going to do that?”
“I have a truck,” he said, a slight smirk at one corner of his lips. “We could also get a few of the horses from my ranch and set them up in the barn. If you were serious about getting a dog out here, I know a guy who trains ’em for working with cattle. He lives about an hour away. I could give him a call. They’ve got a sixth sense about things. That would probably be better than cameras anyway.”
She nodded. “That sounds good.”
“What part?”
“All of it.”
He lifted his brows. “You want a couple dogs?”
“What? You don’t think I can handle them?”
Slowly, he straightened, then shook his head. “No offense, but you don’t seem like a dog person to me.”
“So, I’m what? A cat person?”
A smile played at his lips. “Honestly, I thought of you as more of a goldfish person. Maybe beta.”
Rachel didn’t know how to respond. Those fish were beautiful, but by the way he’d said it, she knew it was meant to be a dig. “What’s wrong with beta fish?”
He chuckled. “You can feed ’em and leave them for a week and they’ll be fine. They’re like a cactus for plant-people. Hard to kill, you know?”
Her mouth fell open that time, and she gasped. “That’s so mean!”
Hudson chuckled again as he gathered his plate. “I’ll make a call in the morning. For now, I’m going to head out and check the perimeter. Then on Sunday, we can grab a couple of those horses.” He stood and gave her a short nod. Then he headed for the kitchen.
That wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d thought it would be.