Page 18 of Some Cowgirls are Worth Protecting

Besides keeping an eye on the work crews, Hudson made sure to make his runs every five hours after dark. It made for some very sleepless nights, but from the sound of it, Rachel was dealing with her own insomnia. Whenever he came back from making a run, he could see the light on in her window glowing softly. It spread out from beneath her bedroom door, too.

But the second he locked the front door, she’d turn it out.

He’d been meaning to ask her if he was being too loud when he came and went, but each morning this week she’d been gone before he had a chance to speak to her. In the evenings, she came home late, or she was on her phone with clients. He hadn’t realized just how busy her work schedule was.

Her comings and goings shouldn’t really matter to him. He was getting paid, and he was able to do something he believed in. Hudson wasn’t going to rock the boat, and if he really was keeping her up, then she would have said something about it.

At least he hoped that was how it would play out.

Today, he was determined to corner her and ask for updates on the security system. She’d mentioned putting up cameras, and that would cut down on his perimeter checks. There hadn’t been any new signs of vandalism since he’d shown up, and he was starting to get antsy.

Everything he knew about people said that they wouldn’t just sit by and let Rachel have her win. If they were bold enough to do damage, they would do it again and again until they got what they wanted.

There was only one problem. This wasn’t a kidnapping for ransom. How was Rachel going to find out what to do? Not that Hudson would support it. He refused to let her succumb to people who got what they wanted by scaring others. He fully intended on finding out who these people were and giving them a little taste of their own medicine.

As benign as the workers that had come in to build the shelters were, Hudson knew there was a chance one of them could know what had happened here. It would have been nice if he could get each of them alone for even a minute so he could ask them a few questions—except that would mean that he would need to actually have a conversation with them.

The price he would have to pay to get that information was a little too steep—especially since he had no proof that any of them did know.

He straightened from his relaxed pose as a familiar car came up the side road parallel to the property line. A woman exited the vehicle. She was far enough away that he wouldn’t be able to see her expression, but she was close enough for him to appreciate her figure in those slacks and blouse.

Nope.

Hudson shook his head. He wasn’t going to go there.

He wasn’t here to make friends or to find a woman. He was here to save a piece of land that would eventually help him save Copper Creek. And he was here to find out who the jerks were who thought they could strong-arm such a nice woman.

Hudson groaned. When had she started to become the nice woman rather than the stranger?

The answer was already clear. It had been that night she’d saved him from eating that old can of chili. Rachel hadn’t done it because she liked him. She’d done it because she was a good person. He was seeing that more and more as he observed her do her thing around here.

Like now.

He scowled, watching as, one by one, the men put down their tools and wandered toward Rachel. She came through one of the few gates there were on this side of the land. In her hands she held two plastic sacks. He could only imagine what she’d brought the men who were working for her. Probably doughnuts or something equally sweet.

His stomach growled, reminding him that he’d skipped lunch today. Supper would be in a couple hours, and if the last few days were evidence enough, Rachel would end up cooking him something.

It was time he did something for her. Since he’d arrived, she’d made sure he had food and hot water. She’d also insisted on paying him; he just hadn’t seen his first paycheck yet. While Hudson wasn’t the best cook, preparing a meal was entirely feasible. That would be enough to show her that he appreciated what she’d done for him—especially seeing as he was the one who had pushed his way into her life.

All he had to do was make sure he got back to the house before she did. By the looks of it, she wasn’t done with her work today. If he left early from this work site, he’d have just enough time to come up with something.

Rachel glanced in his direction, and her eyes locked with his long enough he felt each one of his bones freeze. There was actually a chill in the air that made him wonder if she’d acquired some form of device that could do such a thing.

But then she returned her attention to the men, who were utterly captivated by her. Rachel laughed, and something strange happened within Hudson. The area from his stomach all the way up to his shoulders tightened with discomfort. His face heated until he felt like he’d been scorched from the inside out.

He couldn’t remember a time when he’d felt this tense. He was coiled like a spring, ready to burst, and he didn’t even know why. Was this some form of alert system in his head that was trying to tell him he needed to do something? Was Rachel in trouble?

Hudson took a step forward, then stopped. There was something in the way Rachel was speaking to one of the guys that had Hudson unsure of what to do next. It was in her smile. It was so genuine, like she honestly enjoyed speaking to the man.

Stomach knotting, Hudson took a step back and tried to make sense of this feeling. He wasn’t jealous. That wasn’t what this was. He refused to acknowledge that was even a possibility. A relationship with Rachel was the furthest thing from his mind.

And yet…

His eyes flitted back to Rachel for a brief moment before he turned his back to the group and stomped over to his truck. He didn’t want anything to do with her. They were essentially employees of the same person. They both wanted this project to get off the ground. That was the only thing they had in common.

Well, that and their siblings were getting married to each other.

Hudson climbed behind the wheel. The crew would be cleaning up here soon, anyway. There was no reason for him to stay when Rachel had things covered. Besides, with her distracted by all these men who were building the shelters, Hudson would have a chance to get back to the house early and start something for dinner.

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