by Liz Isaacson
Her phone chimed, and she glanced at it on the porch beside her. Hudson’s name flashed there, as did the first few words of his message. She couldn’t read it fast enough before the screen darkened again, and she took a few seconds to simply think about him as the sun breathed new life into this day.
He made butterflies appear in her stomach with a simple text. A thought about him. A memory of how he cradled her face in both hands while he kissed her. How he held her close to him while the sun dipped low in the sky and they talked about the horses, or the goat yoga class they’d both gone to, or one of Adele’s recipes.
Scarlett hadn’t been so comfortable with a man in many years, and she marveled that Hudson made her feel so safe and so cherished through such simple actions.
She set down her mug and picked up her phone. Hudson’s text read, Down at the mailbox. Prime will be done in time, I promise.
He’d messaged again while she’d been thinking about him, and his second message said, Want to come keep me company?
Of course she did, and Scarlett left her coffee cup on the porch and headed for her car. After the quick drive down the road, she found Hudson kneeling in front of the robot mailbox, a welding mask over his face.
Sparks flew, and he continued working while she parked next to his truck, which had the tailgate open and all his tools lying there.
“Hey,” she said once he stopped working.
“Morning,” he said, standing, flipping his mask back, and coming toward her. He leaned down and kissed her, even his fast hello kisses sensual and complete. “How does he look?” He stepped out of the way so she could see the beloved robot from her childhood.
Prime had gotten two new legs, both with twisty pieces that added fresh character to his personality. The bottom of the mailbox had been replaced, which meant Last Chance Ranch could now get mail without it being left on the ground. And the glass in the chest cavity had been replaced and gleamed in the brightening sun.
“He looks so great.” She wrapped both arms around Hudson. “Thank you so much for working on this.”
“Is the car down at the bottom of the road okay?” he asked. “Or should I move it up to the parking lot?”
“I think it’s okay there,” she said. “You really are a miracle worker.” She beamed up at him, wondering what she’d done to get a man like him in her life. On her ranch. Had God really let Scooby out to bring Hudson in her life? Did He care about small details like that?
Pastor Williams would say that yes, He did. That God concerned Himself with the details of our lives, all the small details. Scarlett wanted to ask why during that sermon, but the preacher had answered that too.
Because He loves you.
“I fixed a few cars,” Hudson said.
“And made a bunch of signs, and sold the cars, and fixed my robot.”
“Well, the robot’s not done yet. He still needs a fresh coat of paint.” He glanced at his watch. “And I have just enough time to get it done, if you’ll stop distracting me.”
“I’m not distracting you. You asked me—” She had to stop talking when he kissed her, and she playfully shoved him away. “Hey, who’s distracting who?”
He chuckled and pulled his welding mask off his head. He tossed it in the back of his truck and reached for the painting supplies. Whistling, he swiped the paint onto the metal, and Scarlett had never found a man sexier than she did in that moment, watching Hudson.
The details got added with accent colors of red, yellow, and blue, and Hudson stood back and said, “There. He’s done.”
“Good, she’s going to be here any minute.” She helped him pack up the brushes and cans, and he’d just closed the tailgate of his truck when the rumbling of an engine filled the air.
A big engine.
Scarlett turned to face the road to see a brigade of three black SUVs coming toward them. They stopped, their mirrored windows more intimidating than anything else.
“Here we go,” Scarlett said, drawing in a deep breath. “You’re with me, right?”
Chapter 14
Hudson wished he’d had time to return to his cabin and wash his hands. But Jewel and her team were here, and all he could say to Scarlett was, “Right here with you.”
The driver’s door of the first SUV opened, and an older woman slid to the ground. She had white hair that fell to her shoulders, and she seemed to wear a perpetual smile the way Hound did. She wore a gray T-shirt that said Forever Friends on the front of it in bright orange letters, the O shaped like a paw print.
“You must be Scarlett,” she said, moving forward. “I’m Jewel.”
Scarlett held very still, and Hudson nudged her. She lunged forward and said, “I am Scarlett. Good to meet you.” She extended her hand, but Jewel drew her right into a hug. If Scarlett minded, she didn’t say anything.
“This is my partner, Hudson Flannigan.” Scarlett cleared her throat, their eyes meeting for just a moment, before she turned back to Jewel.
“Nice to meet you,” Hudson said, his mind screaming partner? What did that mean? Partner on the ranch? Life partner? Sure, he liked Scarlett. Really liked Scarlett. But he also really wanted a definition for the word partner. Her definition.
“Oh, look at this pup.” Jewel crouched down and gave Hound the rub down of his life. He grinned up at her, his tail thwapping the ground in bliss. “We just got a cute pair of dogs at our shelter in the city.” She looked up at Scarlett. “But it’s full.”
“So what will happen to them?” she asked.
Jewel straightened. “Well, we’ve already established Los Angeles as a no-kill city, so we’ll try to find them a home or we’ll send them to another facility.”
“What if there isn’t another facility?” Scarlett asked.
“Well, we’re hoping it’ll be yours,” Jewel said with a smile. “Should we park here and go in?”
“No,” Scarlett said. “No, we have a parking lot at the Goat Grounds, where our goat yoga classes are held. Let’s go up there.”
Jewel nodded, and Scarlett dug in her pocket for her keys. “You can follow us,” she said, and Hudson got the unspoken message that he’d be leaving his truck right where it was. So he got in the passenger seat with Scarlett behind the wheel and all of her nerves between them.
“It’s going to be okay,” he said.
“I know that,” she said, a definite snap to her voice. “I don’t need you to tell me that.”
Hudson blinked. “Sorry.”
She sighed, and Hudson didn’t even really dare to look at her. “No, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m just so nervous.”
“The ranch is amazing,” he said. “We’ve done everything we can to make it presentable.” He’d been on the ranch for almost three weeks, and even he was impressed with how much it had changed.
Everything was neat and trimmed now, even all the weeds along the road leading in. The fences had been fixed, and the animals were healthy.
“Shoot,” Scarlett said as she turned into the parking lot. “Maybe having a goat yoga class while Jewel was here was a bad idea. The lot’s full.”
“There’s room on the street,” he said, trying to be calm without being condescending. He didn’t want to get snapped at again. He pushed aside his hurt feelings. After all, he’d had bad days too. Said things he wished he hadn’t. And she’d apologized immediately.
She pulled back onto the road and parked facing the fence, Jewel and her team following her. Everyone got out of the cars, and Hudson shook hands with eleven other people. Eleven. His nerves zipped around in his body, and he didn’t really have anything at stake here.
Of course you do, he said, his gaze flickering to Scarlett for a moment. She was absolutely on fire, smiling and nodding and asking questions. He liked her, and this was important to her, and he really wanted the tour to go well.
“So this is our goat facility,” Scarlett said. “We do goat yoga here with our baby Norwegian goats, and there’s a class in session right now.” S
he stepped over to the area that had been fenced for the class, and it was dirt ground with lots of straw on it. There were thirty people in the class, and Adele up front, leading them in a clear, loud voice.
Carson moved through the exercisers, something in his hands as he moved the goats through the crowd so everyone got an experience with a goat jumping on them while they did their yoga poses.
Hudson smiled at the cute little animals, and Scarlett answered all the questions anyone had before moving them over to the pens where they kept all of the goats. “Adults don’t do the yoga,” she said, indicating the several out in the pasture. “And they share their facilities with the few cattle we have here on the ranch.”
“How many people do you have working in this area?” Jewel asked.
“Just two right now,” Scarlett said. “Adele, the instructor, and her partner Carson. I have a third man, Sawyer, who takes care of the cattle.” She swallowed, and Hudson had the urge to slip his hand into hers. But he didn’t.
They walked along the pens and crossed the street to the Canine Club, the bright orange letters making him smile. In fact, Jewel and her team crowded around the sign and had Scarlett take their picture.
“We have twenty-six dogs here right now,” Scarlett said. “My grandfather manages their care, and we have a few volunteers each day to help with meals and walks.” She pushed through the gate, and Hudson held it for everyone.
“The enclosures are temperature regulated,” he said, bringing up the rear. “But most of the dogs like hanging around outside.”
“We let them go in and out as they please,” Scarlett said, the perfect tag-team. “Except if they’re sick or hurt. We have separate accommodations for them.”
Jewel and her team looked through everything, and the man closest to Hudson, whose name was Thomas Disher, said, “This is a great place. I’m surprised it’s not a Forever Friends affiliate already.”
“It used to be,” Jewel said, that smile on her face.
“What?” Scarlett asked, stepping next to Hudson. “It was?”
“A long time ago,” she said, nodding to her left. “I remember when we poured the foundation for that building.”
Hudson turned to see her looking at the buildings on the other side of Canine Club, that he and Scarlett had cleaned, dusted, painted, and furnished.
“It was my first year working for the organization,” she said. “So when was that?” She exhaled and looked at another woman.
They said, “Twenty-four years,” together, Jewel’s more of a question than a statement.
“I can’t believe that,” Scarlett said. “My grandfather didn’t say anything.”
“Oh, it was your grandmother who worked with us,” Jewel said. “Janice, right?”
“Yes,” Scarlett said, slipping into that freeze-mode again.
“Let’s go see how those buildings have fared,” Jewel said. “I think they stopped working with us about a decade ago.” She walked beside Scarlett now, tapping the tops of the fence posts as they walked toward the parking lot that separated the cat facility from the administration buildings. “Your grandmother got sick, and it just became too much for her.”
“Yes,” Scarlett said, though Hudson had the distinct impression she didn’t know about her grandmother’s illness. “Well, I’m running the ranch now, and I’d love to partner up with you again.”
They went through the buildings, the Feline Frenzy facilities, and moved over to the larger animal areas. Hudson spoke about the horses, and Sawyer came out and talked about the pigs and llamas, and they looped back around by the homestead.
“Well, this place is still in great shape,” Jewel said. “Natalie, what do you think?”
“I think they can take on at least two dozen more horses and feed them off the land,” she said. “And Utah’s full right now.”
“Jerry?”
“Our cat needs aren’t pressing right now, but she’s got room here if we need it.”
“It’s the dog space we need,” Thomas said. “And she’s got that too.
“With room to grow,” Jewel said, turning back to Scarlett. “We’d love to partner with you, with specific needs for dogs and horses. Would you be willing to construct more buildings for more dogs?”
She looked at Hudson, as if he’d be able to give her the go-ahead. He nodded once before she turned back to Jewel and said, “I don’t see why not. The ranch you toured today is only about a third of the land at Last Chance Ranch.”
“And isn’t the name perfect?” Jewel laughed and surveyed her crew. “And I don’t know about you, but I love that this is a working ranch, a rescue ranch, and an interactive ranch. Goat yoga? Genius.” She shook her head, that grin perfectly in place.
“So I’ll get the papers out of the truck,” a woman named Adrian said.
“Papers?” Scarlett practically screeched the words, and Hudson stepped over to her and slipped his fingers into hers.
“We’re ready to sign if you are,” Jewel said, looking at Scarlett now. “I mean, I can see you care about this place, and its in better shape than when the ranch was partnered with us before.”
Hudson had a hard time believing that, but he kept his mouth shut. Adrian returned to the SUV and came back with papers, which Scarlett started signing as Jewel explained when the funding would come, and how, and what reports would need to be turned in, and when.
Hudson tapped out some notes on his phone, because Scarlett was overwhelmed and simply kept nodding and signing, signing and nodding.
When the dust from the tires of the three SUVs finally settled, Hudson felt like he needed a nap.
“Wow,” he said. “That was the most intense hour of my life.”
“I can’t believe they brought papers with them.” She turned toward him, her smile spreading across her beautiful face. She leapt into his arms, and Hudson grinned as he caught her around the waist.
“They brought papers with them,” she said, laughing now.
“And you were worried,” he said, chuckling with her. He set her on her feet and grinned down at her. “You were amazing, by the way. Everything you said sounded professional and true and…just amazing.” He leaned down and kissed her, his desire for her reaching epic proportions.
Every kiss felt like the first one, and he kneaded her closer, and then closer still. If he rounded up his age, he’d be fifty, but she made him feel like a sixteen-year-old experiencing his first female touch.
He growled softly in the back of his throat and pressed her into the front door behind her, placing his feet between hers. “Scarlett,” he murmured, not sure what else he wanted to say. He didn’t want to say anything. He just wanted to kiss her. So he kept doing that.
Chapter 15
Scarlett hummed as she chopped watermelon into cubes. Adele had planned a big Fourth of July celebration for the humans at Last Chance Ranch, and that number had swelled to eight over the course of the last few weeks.
All volunteers had been invited to the picnic too, and Hudson was currently standing in the back yard with David Merrill, who’d been hired to roam from place to place and take care of outbuildings, fences, facilities, and more. If the air conditioning went out in a dog enclosure, David took care of it. If a fence rung got broken, David fixed it. If the pigs got a little too excited in their play and knocked over a trough, David fixed it.
Sawyer was helping them put up a huge tent, and Carson worked with another new addition, Cache Bryant, who Scarlett had hired to work with their herd of cattle. Not only that, but he’d brought in a hundred head of dairy cows from his family’s farm in Nevada when they’d lost a land rights battle in court, and there’d been talk of doing some cow cuddling classes.
Cache still wasn’t fully on-board, and Scarlett was still trying to wrap her head around why someone would want to lay down in a poopy field with a huge dairy cow. But whatever. The need to bring income into the ranch still remained a top priority—but no one would know it from the huge barbeque
about to take place.
Adele had said she could make hamburgers and hot dogs gourmet, but she wouldn’t reveal any of her plans to do such a thing. She’d asked Scarlett to provide the watermelon, and Jeri, the carpenter that had been hired to design and build the new dog enclosures, to bring a salad of some kind.
Jeri, Cache, and David all lived in the Community, and Scarlett’s next hire was going to be an accountant. It was. It had to be. Scarlett couldn’t keep up with the construction and the feeding schedule and Gramps’s medical needs and maintain all the finances.
But for now, she cut watermelon and put the cubes in a bowl. The Internet radio station she had playing in the homestead changed to a new song—one Scarlett knew by heart. She started belting out the lyrics, though her singing voice wasn’t going to win any awards.
Slice by slice and line by line, the watermelon got cut. She put a lid on the bowl and sashayed her way over to the fridge to put the fruit away.
She yelled the last line of the song and pumped her fist high into the air. In the pause between songs, she heard laughter and then applause. Humiliation dove through her and she looked out the window to the back yard, where all the men were setting up for the picnic.
The open window.
They all stood there applauding, and rather than be worried about what any of them thought about her, Scarlett grinned and did a deep bow, the next song coming on the radio and drowning out their chuckles.
She laughed at herself as she started cleaning up the cutting board. She realized that she was definitely a different person standing in this kitchen than she’d been in the one in her small apartment in LA.
That woman would’ve never laughed at herself after an embarrassing incident. She wouldn’t have bowed to those teasing her. She probably wouldn’t have even been singing along and jamming out to a teenage pop song.
Scarlett liked this version of herself better, and a warm glow started down in her toes and rose through her bloodstream.
