Page 38 of Some Cowgirls are Worth Protecting

The corners of his mouth twitched. “That’s not a question.”

Heat returned to her face, and she looked away. “What I meant to say is that your brothers—your family—they’re all more or less… social.”

“Still not a question.”

Rachel shifted in her seat. “You know what I’m trying to ask. Why do you think you’re a little different?”

“I’m not, really.”

She lifted her gaze to meet his and gave him a pointed look.

Hudson shrugged. “I mean, okay, I’m a little slower to warm up?—”

“A little?” She laughed quietly, then shook her head. “You’ve been the hardest one to crack since I got here. No one can give a cold shoulder like you. Even Daniel, who’s the biggest, most foreboding brother—maybe even the quietest—warms up eventually. And then there’s you…”

“Yeah…” he said. “There’s me.”

She worried her lower lip, rolling it back and forth between her teeth. He’d dropped his attention to the menu, but even she could tell he wasn’t paying attention to the words. His brows pulled together, deepening the crease between them. Then his eyes flitted up to meet hers. “Daniel is shy.”

“Yeah… we covered that.”

He swallowed visibly. “Honestly, we’re all a little hard to get to know, depending on who you ask. The only two I’ve never seen have a problem with meeting new people are Lucas and Liam. Lucas has always been a ladies’ man—until he fell in love with Ella. Liam is the town favorite. No one hates him—not even the fathers of the girls he’s dated and broken up with. He’s like the male version of America’s sweetheart. It’s honestly really annoying.”

She stifled a laugh. “Okay, but I wasn’t asking about your brothers. I was wondering why you fall on the far end of the being-social scale. You don’t seem to like to spend time with people. You hated being at the country club for the engagement party. You’d literally rather stay in a tent on my property than sleep in a comfortable bed.” She lifted a brow and leaned forward with a conspiratorial whisper. “Athena told me how much of a fight you put up when she took the room you wanted.”

Hudson’s scowl was more comical than anything else. “In my defense, I wanted that room so I could be alone.”

“Then that proves my point. You prefer to be alone despite being born into a family with several siblings.”

“I still don’t know what you’re trying to ask.”

She didn’t either. Rachel shrugged. “It’s like you said. You are a private person. Usually, people who are private are that way for a certain reason. I guess I’m wondering what it is about you that makes you that way.”

He lifted a brow. “You think I’m private because something happened to me?” There was a slight edge in his voice, and she thought for sure she’d ruined their night. But then he sighed as his eyes shifted to where he held her hand. “I told you about my parents abandoning us.”

“Yes,” she said.

“It just hit me harder than the others. I don’t know how any of them were able to come to terms with it and have normal relationships. But I also don’t wish that I was any different. It’s safer this way.”

She nodded. “I can totally get that. It’s easier to keep people at a distance when you don’t know if you can trust them. I’m so glad Athena found Henry. He’s been good for her.”

He glanced at her once more. “Honestly, a few months ago I didn’t think they should have ended up together.”

Rachel stiffened, pulling her hand from his. “What? Why?”

The way he fidgeted beneath her stare was enough for her to wonder if he still harbored poor opinions about where she came from. If he didn’t think Athena was good enough for Henry, then what would stop him from thinking she wasn’t good enough. Hudson pressed his lips together firmly. “It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does. If this is about the fact that she was homeless?—”

“What? Of course not,” he interrupted. “She abandoned him.”

Rachel couldn’t move. She didn’t know what to say. This date was not going the way she wanted it to at all.

He dragged a hand down his face. “When she took off, it triggered something. It felt like she was running. When things get hard, that’s what people do. That’s what my parents did. I didn’t think Henry deserved to have to deal with that.”

“But she came back,” she said in a strained voice. “Athena came back because she loved him.”

“You’re right,” he said. “She did come back. And clearly, he makes her happy.” The pain in his eyes remained even though his tone returned to normal. “They’re a good fit. I can see that now. Athena’s great. Henry is lucky he found love.”

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