“I’m just heading out to take care of the evening chores and check on a few cows.” Hud pulled open the door and waited for the two men to precede him outside. Drew hopped up, but James waved him back into his seat.
“Enjoy the quiet while you can, Drew. I’m sure Mrs. Cole would be happy to have you join them inside, if you like.”
“Thank you, sir,” Drew said, then appeared to relax as he soaked up the sunshine. The temperature had started to drop as evening approached, but it was still enjoyable out.
Hud motioned toward the lane that would take them to the barn.
“I know you must have a hundred questions for us,” James ventured as they walked along the graveled path. “I get the distinct impression you had no idea we were coming.”
“I didn’t, sir. Would you tell me what your daughter did to get herself exiled to Summer Creek, and how I’m expected to be involved with matters while she’s here?”
James and Henry relayed the story of Emery’s arrest and Henry’s sentencing.
Hud stopped at the barn and stared at the two men. “You mean her mother has no idea what happened?”
“No, and we plan to keep it that way, at least for now.” James gave Hud a pleading look. “I love my wife more than anything, but she has pampered and spoiled our daughter to the point she’s become … ”
“Decorative,” Henry supplied. “Emery is a smart girl, has an MBA and a few other degrees, but she’s squandering her time and her talents. I think she’s bored with life and needs to be challenged.”
“What will your wife do when she finds out you left your daughter here?” Hud asked, checking the water tank outside the barn then turning to look at James.
The man shrugged. “Most likely pitch one of her famous southern belle fits, but don’t worry about it. She won’t be back from Georgia for almost a month. By then, I hope Emery is settled into life here. We truly do appreciate your allowing her to stay at Summer Creek Ranch. I’d like to promise she won’t be any trouble, but I’m not sure I can.”
“At least you’re honest, sir.” Hud wondered what his grandmother was thinking to agree to take a troubled young woman into their home. According to what James and Henry shared, Grammy had offered Emery a job as Cricket’s nanny. Not that he couldn’t use someone to keep an eye on his daughter while he and his grandmother took care of ranch work, but Hud wasn’t sure he wanted to entrust his child into the care of a woman who planned to steal a police officer’s horse. What other questionable behaviors did she have? What if she corrupted Cricket? Then again, perhaps she was merely spoiled and clueless.
A sigh of resignation escaped before he could suck it back in. “What do you need me to do?”
“I’ve cut off Emery’s funding, so she’ll be required to work for any money she receives.” James gave Hud a long glance. “I will happily provide whatever you think is fair, but I do want to pay for her room and board, and leave enough extra to cover a minimum wage job, whether that’s here on the ranch or somewhere in town. I don’t expect anyone to come up with the funds to employ her.”
“You don’t need to pay me, sir. She’ll be our guest. I can hire her to do some things on the ranch.”
“No. I insist on paying for her keep and her wage. And if any incidentals arise, you’ve only to let me know, and I’ll take care of the expense.” James held up his hand when Hud started to protest. “My daughter is stubborn, opinionated, and sometimes downright challenging. I can’t, in good conscience, leave her here and not at least offer something for the inconvenience this will be to you and your family.”
Taken aback by the man’s blunt assessment of his daughter, Hud didn’t know what to say.
James placed a hand on his shoulder. “Just take the money, Hud. You could use it for Cricket’s college fund, or something along those lines.”
Henry smirked at him. “Yes, think of it as bonus money for Cricket’s future.”
The Brighton brothers sure knew how to be coercive. Hud would do anything for Cricket and money to put in the savings account he’d started for her college fund was too important to refuse.
“Okay, you talked me into it, but I’ll only accept a fair amount for room and board and Emery’s wage. How many hours do you want her to work and how many community service hours does she need to put in?”
“She ought to work at least thirty hours a week for her wage and room and board. I’d prefer she not know I’m paying for it, by the way,” James said.
Hud nodded. “I gathered that much. Is there a specific type of community service she needs to complete?”
“No. It can be anything as long as it is helpful, and she isn’t getting any benefit from it beyond building her character,” Henry said.
“I’ll figure out something.” Hud wished he’d stayed out with the cows that afternoon instead of coming home to this disastrous state of affairs.
Later, after their guests had retired to the guest rooms upstairs for the night, Hud cornered his grandmother in the kitchen as she prepared overnight oatmeal to serve for breakfast.
“What in the world were you thinking, Grammy? Bringing that drunken ninny here?” he asked, helping himself to a slice of chocolate cake left from dinner. He took a bite as Nell added ingredients to the oatmeal concoction she layered in a slow cooker. “Have you lost your mind? She can’t stay, Grammy.”
“I promised her father and Henry we’d keep an eye on her, Hudson. You’ve got to do this. She’s a young lady in need of our help.”
“I don’t have to do anything. I wasn’t the one making promises when I had no business doing it.” Hud sighed, thinking about the way Miss Emery Brighton had turned up her nose in disgust earlier when the ranch dogs wandered over and sniffed her legs. “From what I’ve seen, she is no lady, and the only help I foresee giving her is a swift kick to her designer-covered backside. What kind of influence do you think she’ll be over Cricket?”
“A good one, I hope,” Nell said, glancing at Hud as she set the lid on the slow cooker and adjusted the cooking time. “Just give her a chance. I think you’ll find she’s not nearly as horrible as you expect.”
“Come on, Grammy. Who are you trying to kid? She got drunk at breakfast, tried to steal a horse, and attempted to bribe a police officer before threatening him. I don’t want her around my daughter.”
“Well, she’s staying whether you like it or not, so you better get used to the idea. Henry and James have been good friends for years and years. I won’t disappoint them.” Nell wiped her hands on a dish towel then gave Hud a look he knew all too well. One that sized him up and found him lacking. “If you’d stop comparing that girl to your former wife, you might notice she’s lovely and sweet. She and Cricket are already getting along famously.”
“That’s exactly my point, Grammy. I don’t want her around Cricket. There’s no telling what kind of foolishness Emery will plant in her impressionable young mind.” Hud took a last bite of the rich cake, then pointed the fork at his grandmother. “You could have mentioned earlier that Henry called last night.”
“I could have,” his grandmother said with a sassy grin. “But you would have refused to let Emery come, and there’s not a good reason for it, except when you look at her you see Bethany.”
Hud scowled and set his empty dish in the dishwasher. “I thought we agreed to never mention that name again.”
“You agreed; I didn’t. Besides, the day will arrive when your daughter will want to know more about the woman who gave birth to her even if Bethany never acted like a mother.” Nell filled a thermos with coffee and set it on the counter next to him. “Will you please just try to go into this situation with an open mind, rather than deciding you dislike Emery based on your experiences with your wife?”
“I’ll try, but I don’t have time to babysit her, not in the middle of calving season. Until we get a better idea about the kind of person she really is, please keep her away from Cricket. Henry mentioned a video circulating online of what she did.
Did he say anything to you?”
“He emailed a link, but you know half the time our Wi-Fi signal is too weak to connect. The first time I get into town, I’ll see what he sent. For now, though,” Nell pointed toward the back door, “you’ve got a date with half a dozen expectant mamas. Want me to sit up with you?”
“No need for both of us to lose sleep tonight. The way things were moving along when I checked an hour ago, it shouldn’t be too much longer before they get down to the business of birthing calves.”
“You’re a good man, Hudson Cole.” Nell patted his cheek with affection. “I don’t know what I would have done without you and your sister all these years.”
He kissed her cheek, then pulled on his coat. “I’m glad we had you, too. Now get to bed, you troublemaker.”
Nell grinned at him as he took the thermos of coffee and stepped outside into the chilly night air. He hoped her decision to welcome Emery Brighton into their home wasn’t one they’d all come to regret.
Chapter Four
Emery awoke with a start. The most horrible dream, one in which she’d been arrested then given the ultimatum of going to jail or being sent to work in the middle of nowhere, had jerked her right out of what had been a peaceful sleep.
Leisurely stretching in bed, she drew in a deep breath and inhaled the scents of coffee, cinnamon, and bacon.
Bacon?
Breakfast meat was an indulgence rarely served at her health-conscious home. And cinnamon meant something sweet, also a treat.
Emery opened her eyes and glanced around an unfamiliar room illuminated by the watery light trickling in the window. She’d been too tired to close the curtains before climbing into bed last night. Besides, who was going to peep in a second-story window a zillion miles from the city?
“Nightmare is real,” she muttered to herself as she sat up in bed. Although the sheets weren’t as luxurious as she was accustomed to, they were soft and held a pleasant fragrance. The mattress had also been comfortable. Truthfully, she’d fallen asleep five seconds after her head hit the pillow, exhausted from the trauma of being arrested and arraigned.
Unconvinced her father and uncle would leave her with strangers, she hadn’t bothered to unpack her luggage. The overnight bag her aunt had packed held her favorite pair of silk pajamas, along with everything she’d needed to get ready for bed.
She surveyed the room again, noticing the beautiful antique bedroom set. If she wasn’t mistaken, it was early twentieth century, made of maple. It had been well cared for, with hardly a dent or scratch marring the lovely carved wood. Either that, or someone was talented at restoring furniture.
The mirror above the chest of drawers angled toward the bed, giving her a view of her mussed hair and the pillowcase crease across her right cheek.
“Shower first, then I’ll face the rest of the day,” she said, getting out of bed and admiring the hardwood floor covered with a blue and cream vintage area rug. Although she was accustomed to everything being new and of the latest design, she loved the charm found in antique pieces. As she walked into the adjoining bathroom, she couldn’t help but wonder if the furnishings in the room had been in the Cole family for multiple generations.
Emery didn’t linger long in the shower. The water was closer to warm than hot and the shower stall seemed cramped, at least compared to her spacious shower at home. Besides, she was anxious to speak with her father to see if he’d changed his mind about abandoning her. If her mother had been home, the two men wouldn’t have gotten her any further than the front door before Lisa Brighton put a stop to their plans.
She was willing, albeit begrudgingly, to make restitution for what her father and uncle viewed as her foibles, but Emery preferred to do it somewhere closer to Starbucks and home. Surely her father and Uncle Henry only intended to scare her. That must be why they’d had Drew drive them out here to Summer Creek, to instill in her a little fear and set her feet back on a straight and narrow path, not that she thought she’d veered far from it in the first place. One mimosa, one incident with a horse, one tiny little attempted bribe, and they acted like she’d committed a heinous crime.
Encouraged she’d be heading back home before the day was through, Emery stepped out of the bathroom and hefted a suitcase onto the bed. She opened it then glared in dismay at the contents. Nothing in it belonged to her. The clothes were … were … cheap. She would have thought rummaged from a thrift store, but they still had sales tags on them.
“Seriously, Aunt Jenny?” Emery questioned aloud, frantically riffling through the blouses, jeans, and T-shirts that bore tags from a big box store. She had no idea her aunt even knew such a place existed let alone where one was located to go shopping there.
Maybe the clothes were a joke. A bad joke, but a joke.
Emery tossed a second suitcase on the bed and wanted to scream when she opened it. Pajamas, socks, and undergarments filled it, all of low-quality material. She felt hives breaking out on her skin just looking at the clothes.
Angry, Emery snatched a pair of underwear out of the suitcase and held them up. “Granny underpants, Aunt Jenny? Really?” She supposed they were the result of her friends posting the video of her exposed backside on the horse. The lacy undies she’d had on then probably cost more than everything in the suitcase that she gave a disgusted shove across the bed.
With no other options readily available, she yanked on the granny underpants then opened the third suitcase. It held sweaters, jackets, a warm coat that looked like something a farmer would wear, a few simple dresses, and three skirts in neutral hues.
Annoyed beyond belief, she slapped the lid shut on the suitcase and turned to see if there were more suitcases. It was then she noticed the box of shoes. Mixed in with her familiar sneakers, an ugly pair of work boots and a pair of cowboy boots she’d never seen stuck out like warts.
“I hope none of it fits,” Emery muttered, sliding on a pair of jeans that fit her perfectly. Too bad she and her aunt were the exact same size, making it easy for Jenny to shop for her. Emery pawed through the blouses until she found one she didn’t absolutely loathe and pulled it on over a matching camisole top.
Concerned she might be late for breakfast, she combed her hair back into a high ponytail, leaving a few tendrils to fall around her face. Since her aunt hadn’t included makeup, Emery dug out the small makeup kit from her handbag and applied mascara and lip gloss, then opened the door in a rush to get downstairs.
She smacked into a wall and would have fallen to the floor if two strong, warm hands hadn’t caught her arms and kept her upright. Unsettled, she looked up and then up some more into the face of Hudson Cole. A very handsome face, she noted, but one that bore an off-putting scowl.
“Grammy sent me up here to see if you want to join us for breakfast,” he said, releasing her and stepping back.
It was then Emery realized that what she’d run into was not a wall, but Hudson’s incredibly solid chest. Under other circumstances she might have contemplated how a man who could have posed as a modern-day Adonis ended up stuck on a ranch in the boondocks.
With the right connections, he could enjoy a lucrative career as a model. In fact, one of the designers she knew would fall all over herself to get a man built like this cowboy to appear in her fashion shows or advertisements. Not only were his shoulders broad and his biceps as big around as her thighs, but his black hair was thick and curly and his eyes a startling, rich shade of blue. The dimple in his chin and a chiseled jawline made a shiver of appreciation glide down Emery’s spine.
Undeniably rugged and masculine, there was also something about Hud that seemed vulnerable and kind. Yesterday, when he’d strolled up to greet them with chaps on, his hat pulled low and shading his eyes, and spurs jangling on his boots, she’d almost dropped her jaw. The closest she’d been to a real-life cowboy was watching an old John Wayne movie with Uncle Henry.
Should Hudson Cole ever take up an interest in modeling, Emery could envision an all-out war among age
nts to sign him first.
However, Emery kept those thoughts to herself, especially when Hud frowned at her. He took another step back, his gaze raking over her before he rolled his eyes and retreated down the back steps.
Uncertain what she’d done to offend her host, Emery quietly followed him down the steps of the narrow staircase, trying not to ogle his form-fitting faded jeans. She glanced at the family photos lining the walls as she descended the stairs then stepped into a room Nell had referred to as the mudroom when she’d given her a tour of the house last night. The wall closest to the exterior door was covered with coats hanging from hooks, a rubber mat loaded with boots, and hats sitting on a high shelf. The washer and dryer, two big freezers, a deep sink, and a built-in ironing board filled the remainder of the room.
From there, Emery walked into a kitchen painted a cheerful shade of buttercup yellow that made her smile. The robin’s egg blue hue of the cupboards and the gleaming golden oak hardwood floor gave the space an inviting appearance. Everything about the room seemed hospitable, even if Hudson’s dark glower hinted at how much he wanted her to leave.
Emery didn’t know any details, but Nell had mentioned Hud’s wife had died when Cricket was a baby. She wanted to pump the older woman for information but refrained. She supposed it wasn’t any of her business anyway.
“Good morning, sunshine.” Nell greeted her with a smile as Emery lingered in the doorway.
“Good morning,” Emery said, glancing around. Her father and Uncle Henry were already seated at the table in the sunny breakfast nook while Hud stood by a chair, obviously waiting, but for whom or what she wasn’t certain.
“Go on and take a seat. Everything is ready,” Nell said, pointing toward the table loaded with food.
“Hi, Emery!” Cricket chirped, hopping off her chair and rushing over to give her an enthusiastic hug. “I’m so glad you’re here!”
Catching the Cowboy: A Small-Town Clean Romance (Summer Creek Book 1) Page 4
