And she was just a small-town girl who couldn’t have kids.
* * *
Late Monday morning Hudson sat in his office much too aware of Bella at her desk in the reception area beyond. She really was an expert at handling the children. This morning he’d noticed the way she put her hand on a child’s shoulder, or gave him a hug. Her smile when she was with the kids was absolutely radiant. Yes, it was safe to say there was a lot about the woman that intrigued him.
As if his thoughts had beckoned her, she stood and approached his office. He invited her inside.
“I set up a meeting for you with the holiday pageant director, Eileen Bennet, next Wednesday afternoon,” she told him.
Every year the local elementary school put on a Christmas pageant, and this year they wanted the day care babies to get involved. “The pageant isn’t that far off. I hope she doesn’t have anything too complicated in mind.”
“If she knows babies, she won’t,” Bella said with a smile. She filled him in on what she knew, then turned to go. She’d almost reached the door of his office when he asked, “What did you do before you managed the day care center?”
He’d heard the gossip that she’d quit college to help her brother, but he didn’t know that for a fact.
“I was in college—my second year.”
He must have looked puzzled because she added, “I worked after I graduated from high school to save money for college.”
“What did you do?”
“Mostly I waitressed. Lots of long shifts so I could sock the tips away. Four years of that, and I applied for and received a grant from a women’s foundation. I enrolled at Montana State University.”
“What was your major?”
“Business administration. I eventually wanted to focus on public affairs and learn strategies for helping small towns survive. Maybe that’s a pipe dream, but if someone doesn’t inject life into a place like Rust Creek Falls, it could become a ghost town. That was especially true after the flood.”
“So your college courses gave you managerial skills that come into play here.”
“I guess you could say that. I don’t know when I’ll be able to complete my degree. Working here will help me save the money to do it. But I plan to stick around Rust Creek Falls as long as Jamie needs me.”
Bella’s eyes sparkled with her dedication to her brother, as well as with the dreams that she still envisioned. More than anything, Hudson wanted to stand up and go over to her. He longed to brush her bangs across her forehead. Even more than that, he ached to tip her chin up, to bend his head, to put his lips on hers.
And that’s why he stayed sitting. Yeah, he longed to kiss her, but they were in their workplace. Besides that, he wasn’t looking for a long-term commitment, and Bella was the type of woman who deserved one.
This time when she moved to leave his office, he let her.
For the rest of the morning, Hudson felt unsettled. Finally he pushed away from his computer, stood and stretched. Truth be told, he wasn’t used to sitting at a desk for most of the day. If he had to choose a job he liked best, it would be one training horses, cutting calves or walking through a field or pasture checking fence. He liked being a cowboy. Even now he rode whenever he could at the Lazy B, but it wasn’t the same thing as being on a horse most of the day.
Leaving his office, he spotted Bella. Instead of at her desk, she was on a ladder at the bulletin board in the reception area. Instinctively, he crossed to her, fearful she was going to fall off.
As he stood a few feet from her, he could see that she was putting up photos of the babies who came to Just Us Kids. There had been an explosion of pregnancies after a wedding reception that most of the town had taken part in two summers ago. Rumor had it that old man Homer Gilmore had put something potent in the punch. The result: nine months later, nurseries had been full of babies. Many of those babies were enrolled at Just Us Kids.
He moved a little closer to study the photos, and Bella took notice of him.
“These pictures are good. Who took them?”
“I did,” Bella said proudly.
She was still on the ladder, and he stood close to her, his shoulder at her waist. “You just didn’t snap quick photos. These are well thought out, artistic even. Look at the eyes on this little guy. They absolutely sparkle.” He pointed to another one. “And this expression is priceless. You have a real artist’s eye and good timing. Kids move and change minute to minute, and you’ve caught some of their best expressions.”
She glanced down at him, and their gazes met. “Thank you,” she murmured.
Clearing his throat, he said offhandedly, “You’d probably enjoy looking at the paintings at my ranch house.”
Bella seemed to almost lose her balance. She toddled, and he put his arm around her to support her. They stood frozen, staring at each other, her face above his but not so far away. Why had she lost her balance? Had she thought he wanted her to come back to his ranch house for other reasons?
Maybe he did.
“You have to careful,” he mumbled.
She nodded slowly. “Yes, I do.” Then she pushed away from him and made her way down the ladder.
Once she was on the ground, he asked, “Do you have other photos you’ve taken? Not of babies?”
“I do. I carry my camera with me almost everywhere I go.”
“Get it,” he said impulsively. “I’d like to see them.”
“Now?”
“You’re due for a lunch break and so am I, right?”
Bella didn’t know what to think of Hudson’s suggestion. Did he really want to see her photos? Why? And just what had he meant by that comment about going to his ranch? Did he really want her to see the paintings? Or did he have something else in mind?
Did she?
She felt her cheeks beginning to flush. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. For years now she hadn’t dated. She’d kept to herself. She’d been determined not to get into any more trouble, not to do something foolish or reckless. But in a way, her heart had been frozen during those years. She’d rebelled as a teenager, and that had gotten her into so much trouble. No, she hadn’t loved the father of her baby. Yes, she’d been looking for love, and somehow she’d mistakenly thought that sex could give her love. But she knew better than that now. She knew better about a lot of things.
But having Hudson’s arm around her when she’d almost fallen, catching the scent of his aftershave, looking into his blue eyes, foolish and reckless and impulsive had all seemed like good ideas.
No, no, no, she told herself firmly. Hudson Jones is nothing but trouble for you.
Knowing all that, she still said, “My camera’s in my bag. I’ll get it.”
Going around her desk, she opened the bottom drawer. Inside her hobo bag she found her point-and-shoot camera. It wasn’t anything special, but it worked for her.
Taking the small white camera to Hudson, she turned it on. Then she hit the button that brought up the display and the photo review. “My SD card is almost full,” she admitted, handing him the camera so he could look for himself. She pointed to an arrow button. “Just press that to go backward or forward.”
He was silent for a long time as he seemed to spend forever on each photo. When she glanced over his arm, she saw he was studying