Page 39 of Some Cowgirls are Worth Protecting

Rachel eyed him with uncertainty. “Was that the only reason you didn’t want Athena to date your brother?”

He nodded. “I swear it.”

She couldn’t hold that against him. Hadn’t she done the same thing? The only reason she’d told him about being the real owner of the land was because she’d been targeted. Money wasn’t something she wanted to flaunt. Hudson hadn’t judged her for keeping that secret. Even now, he wasn’t demanding to know why she had kept it from him. The warmth crept back into her face, and she released a sigh. “I’m not any better, I guess.”

“How’s that?”

“I’m private, too—mostly because people only ever want one thing when they figure out who I am. So, I don’t tell them anything—not who I am or where I’m from. I don’t share the details of my social status. But if you were to look me up on the internet, you’d figure out real quick that I have more than most.”

He was silent for an extended moment—longer than she’d expected. She nearly asked him to just say something so she didn’t have to sit there with him watching her. Then he smirked and reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone. “I can’t believe I never thought of that.”

She gasped and lunged over the table, knocking over one of the small tumblers filled with filtered water and garnering the attention of several people nearby. “Hudson, don’t. At least wait until I’m not here.”

Hudson snickered, turning just enough so she couldn’t reach his phone. His eyes widened, then narrowed as he took a closer look. “Is that…?” He shot an incredulous smirk at her. “The alpaca is eating your hair. You want to tell me about that?”

Rachel let out a defeated laugh as she slumped back into her seat and covered her face with her hands. “My parents were part of an event for the local zoo,” she groaned.

He continued grinning as he swiped through his phone, then he stopped, and his expression sobered. Uh-oh. What had he found? She wasn’t aware of anything detrimental online. He might be able to find her net worth based on a Wikipedia page. There were embarrassing photos and the typical shots from the numerous charities. She couldn’t remember, but there might be a family picture out on the internet as well.

She leaned to the side in an attempt to catch a glimpse of what he might be looking at, but then he turned the phone so she got the full view.

It was a picture of her hunched down while speaking to a group of cancer children. She was dressed in a princess gown, and she’d pulled her hair up to make her look like Cinderella. Rachel’s eyes cut to Hudson’s. “That was when I was in high school. We visited a couple different hospitals…” Her words trailed off.

“How old are those kids?”

Rachel took in a deep breath. “Probably only four or five.”

“You look pretty happy.”

A smile touched her lips as she stared at the photograph. “I was.” It was before she’d found out that she had a sister—before she’d become obsessed with finding Athena. “It was one of the best events I got to attend. There’s just something about the innocence of children that…” Once again, she lost her ability to speak as he continued to stare at the picture without saying a word. “Everything okay?” Rachel asked with a small voice.

Hudson nodded and put his phone down. “Of course.” He reached for his menu and flashed her a smile. “Our waitress will probably be back soon. We should pick what we’re going to order so we’re ready.”

She grabbed her menu, her eyes not leaving his face as she lifted it upward. That was weird. The temptation to ask him what had triggered his reaction burned within her. She needed to learn to trust his answers. She didn’t have any reason to believe he was lying to her. Hudson had only ever been honest with her.

While she looked over the menu, she caught Hudson staring at her with a curious sort of expression. He didn’t turn away when she met his gaze. Instead, he smiled. She offered a shy smile in return. There was something that had shifted between them. She didn’t know what it was, but she could feel it—and it wasn’t bad.

Hudson knew more about her. He had looked up her past right in front of her and it didn’t scare him off. She didn’t get the feeling that he was sizing her up for her money, either.

Rachel lowered the menu and stared at him.

“What’s that look for?” he murmured with a grin.

“I don’t really like people knowing my history.”

“Why’s that?”

“Most of the time when people find out about who I am and where I come from, they try to use me...” Even to her, that statement sounded conceited. “…for my money.” Her face flushed deeply.

“Makes sense,” Hudson offered. “People want what they can’t have.”

“And that’s… not you?”

He pushed out his lower lip and tilted his head, then shrugged. “Nope. I’ve lived my life barely getting by. Anything more than what I had as a kid feels like a fortune.”

“Really?” she said in disbelief.

“Really,” he confirmed. “Would I like to have an endless supply of money to do stuff like you’ve been able to do? Sure. Saving a ranch from the hands of developers… helping children who are fighting cancer… you’re like a modern-day superhero.”

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