“Morning, Hudson. Everything all right?”
He stopped a few feet away, removing his hat and wiping the sweat from his brow. “Not exactly, I’m afraid. I need to talk to you about something personal.”
I leaned against the truck. “Sure, what’s up?”
“It’s about my little girl, Ivy.” He scratched the back of his head and wouldn’t meet my gaze. “My wife, well, she packed up and left us yesterday.”
“Jesus. I’m sorry to hear that.” But it wasn’t much of a surprise. In fact, it was a miracle their marriage lasted for this long. Before Hudson knocked her up, Heather had been hell-bent on leaving town. They got married at the courthouse, but everyone knew she’d gone home with another man on the same night. Because I’d stayed with my wife for my kids’ sake, I understood too well that he’d stuck around for that sweet little girl of his.
He gave a bitter laugh. “Everyone knew it would happen someday. She stayed longer than I thought she would.”
“Doesn’t make it any easier. Is there anything I can do?”
“I’m going to need to take a few days off, starting tomorrow, to figure out arrangements for Ivy.”
“Of course. Take all the time you need. But why don’t you drop Ivy off here? I’ll ask, but I’m sure Gertie won’t mind keeping an eye on her for you.”
“Gertie has her hands full taking care of the meals. Wouldn’t feel right putting that kind of responsibility on her.”
“Well, the offer is there if you don’t find another solution, and don’t worry about me docking your pay. You help your little girl to adjust as best as possible.”
Hudson blinked several times. “Thanks. I appreciate it. With it being just me, I’ll need every dollar I can earn. I don’t want her to lack anything.”
“I get it.” And why should he be punished for being a damn good father? “Listen, Clayton and I were supposed to work on the fencing along the north pasture, but he ain’t here yet. Why don’t you join me? We’ll get the job done faster with the two of us. I need an early day today.”
“Sure. I can do that.”
“Good. Let’s get to it, then.”
21
OZZIE
“I’m sorry I can’t stick around, Gertie.” I handed her the apron I’d been using, feeling a little guilty at my fib. I wasn’t sorry at all. While I didn’t mind helping in the kitchen—and I’d been the one to suggest it—I had a date with Gray in about an hour. A date! The concept wasn’t new, but Gray was, and he made dates special the way they were supposed to.
“Don’t apologize.” Gertie patted my hand. “You’ve been a big help to me since you’ve been here. I should be the one to apologize for manipulating all your time, which you need to prepare for your wedding.”
My stomach dropped. A wedding that wasn’t happening. I giggled sheepishly. This was the part of dating Gray that I didn’t like. Carter wasn’t around, so I couldn’t tell him the wedding was off and that I was seeing his father. Breaking the two pieces of news to him at the same time might not be best, but I was too happy with Gray to pretend any longer. It was better to get everything out in the open.
Being with him made my chest light. I’d forgotten what it felt like to glow from the inside out. But…we owed Carter the truth.
I’ll talk to Gray about it after our date.
I didn’t want to ruin our outing.
“I don’t mind helping.” I pushed back a lock of damp hair from my forehead. The heat was unbearable. “Giving me something to do has filled my days. And I like your stories about the town folk. I feel as if I’m friends with everybody.”
Gertie laughed, folded the apron, and placed it neatly on the counter. “You’re sweeter than a jar of honey. How’s the wedding preparation going? Your folks gonna be down soon?”
“My moms are on vacation right now.” Since I left the house, they’d grown closer and were so head over heels in love with each other they sometimes forgot Earth’s population wasn’t a grand total of two. “They’re coming down the weekend before the wedding.”
“Just two weeks away.” She clicked her tongue. “Aye, that’s such a short time, and I haven’t seen you do much yet. Is it Gray?”
She knew about my affair with Gray? My mouth fell open, and I got light-headed as if all the blood had drained out of my head. “What-what do you mean?”
“Well, it’s obvious what’s going on. Don’t look so shocked. This isn’t on you, sugar pie. Gray should be ashamed of himself. Do you want me to talk to him for you?”
I shook my head, gaping like a fish. “I, uh, no, I—” I swallowed and tried again, “You can’t blame Gray. It’s not his fault. Truly. He tried his best. We both did, but we didn’t expect to have these powerful feelings for each other. And I know it’s wrong because I’m engaged to Carter, but I’m going to call off the wedding. I just can’t do it over the phone, so I have to wait for him to…” Gertie’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline, and her mouth formed a perfectO. “Oh dear god, you weren’t talking about Gray and me sleeping together, were you?”
