Page 16 of Some Cowgirls are Worth Protecting

She shook her head. “I don’t see how that is any of your business. But if you must know, I had an early dinner with my project manager.” Rachel couldn’t tell what he was thinking then. A mask fell over his features, hiding any indication of how he felt. “That being said, I have nothing against visiting with you while you eat if you’d prefer company.”

He grunted and then shuffled off to the kitchen. Rachel watched him go. It was harder than she’d expected to remain seated where she was and leave him be. Athena had said that Hudson was a loner—someone who didn’t care for company. Her sister had insisted that Hudson would turn down the opportunity to stay at the house and that Rachel was better off just leaving him be.

But that wasn’t who Rachel was. The least she could do was let him have his space while they were under the same roof.

She brought her mug to her lips once more and took a sip of the steaming liquid. The peppermint and honey flavor slipped down her throat and warmed her from the inside out. She closed her eyes and let the steam drift in and out of her senses. For the last week, she’d been preparing this house for living. And each night, she’d barely slept.

Living in the country was nice when there was a town with cars driving by every half hour. But living out in the middle of nowhere was different—eerie even. She couldn’t sleep when it was so quiet. And the darkness had a way of swallowing her whole.

“Thanks for the clothes.”

She jerked, nearly sloshing her tea from the mug she held, and her eyes opened wide to find Hudson seated across from her on the loveseat. He put his plate on the coffee table along with his cup. “I’m not sure where they came from, but I appreciate them.”

“Don’t mention it,” Rachel murmured. She eyed him as he picked up his fork and dug into the meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes she’d prepared. Yes, it was strange that she’d fixed a meal for him when she didn’t intend on eating it. But there would be leftovers she could have for lunch tomorrow.

The weirder thing was that he’d chosen to eat in the same room as she was.

Hudson stabbed at the potatoes and took a bite. Then another. He ate in silence while her thoughts started cycling again. He preferred to be out here in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by fields, trees, and the stars. It didn’t seem to bother him that the world felt that much bigger. He was built for this kind of living.

Maybe the person who was sabotaging her was trying to send a message that she didn’t belong. Even if it wasn’t Hudson doing the damage, she wouldn’t be surprised if someone like him had heard about the purchase by an outsider.

Even if they didn’t know it was her specifically, they knew where to find her. They knew they could access the property and do some damage. What was stopping them from coming back?

“Everything okay?” Hudson grunted.

Rachel jumped again and stared at him with wide eyes. “Hmm?”

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Oh,” she said. “I haven’t really been sleeping well.”

Hudson peered at her for a moment. She thought he might actually say something, but then he nodded and turned back to his food.

“Can I ask you something?” she said.

He lifted a shoulder while still chewing on the bite he’d just taken.

“Have you seen anything out there? Any evidence, I mean? I know they haven’t been back, but did they leave anything behind that might indicate who they are or what they want?”

“I think that’s pretty clear,” Hudson said after he swallowed his food. “They want you gone.”

She cocked her head and considered that, then shook her head. “If they wanted me gone, they could have set fire to the whole place. They could have sabotaged much more than the fences and a few trees.”

“Unless they want the property for themselves. Were there other offers on the table?”

“I only know what you know. That developer was the only one we heard whispers about. And even then, that could have been a lie.”

He snorted. “Why would the folks in town lie about that?”

“Depends on who started the lie. They might have been wanting to make the property seem more valuable than it was.” Rachel leaned forward and placed her mug on the coffee table beside his. “Though I suppose that would only make sense if it was the bank who spread those rumors.”

Hudson leaned back in his seat. “I could see something like that happening. But at the same time, the property was sitting vacant for a long time. Why not just sit on it until the right buyer came along?”

“I guess you’re right. There might have been other offers. I didn’t ask. I suppose I could talk to the realtor, but at this point, it doesn’t really matter.”

“Sure, it does.” Hudson leaned forward, his forearms resting on his knees. “If you find out who it is, we can tell the sheriff and they can keep an eye on them.”

“True,” Rachel started, “however, this town is small. The person could have hired people outside of this town—drifters, even. I’m guessing it will be a one-and-done sort of deal. It’s someone who got their tighty-whities in a bunch, and they wanted to make it known that they were upset about it.”

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