Page 97 of Roughing It

The Jeep jerks, the tires losing traction in the rusty dirt, making me scream louder.

“What?” Hudson barks.

“Did we kill it?”

“What?” Hudson repeats as he eases the car close to the side.

“The little furry thing that ran out, did we squish it?”

Large, warm hands settle over mine, pulling them away from my eyes. With a grimace, I meet Hudson’s amused smirk. “No, we didn’t kill it.”

“How do you know?”

“For one, there was no bump. Two, there’s nothing dead behind us, and three, he ran into the trees before you scared the crap out of me.”

“You saw it?”

Hudson’s chuckle lessens the tension in my chest and shoulders. “Yeah, baby, I saw it. Long tail weasel. They’re quick little shits.”

My head flops against the headrest and I exhale.

The steady purr of the Jeep’s engine starts up. “You good?”

“Yeah, sorry.” Heat rushes to my cheeks. I may have overreacted a little. Opening up to him about Hawthorne yesterday left me raw and exposed. My freaking mother is back on mychessboard. We’re headed into his tiny hometown full of small-town people, and I screamed at him.

There’s an awkward silence, Hudson staring straight ahead, me staring at him. Then a familiar weight rests on my thigh.

“Trail Creek has a great bookstore. You read?”

Bless this remarkable man. Hudson Brooks is making small talk because I need it. Nineteen days, and he knows me better than anyone in my life ever has.

After a solid hour in the adorable purple bookstore, Up a Creek Without a Book—seriously, this whole town is an influencer’s dream—Hudson drives us to a tiny restaurant.

He frowns at the overflowing parking lot. “Ava’s is the best.” But he makes no move to get out.

“The best is a good thing, right?”

He nods but still doesn’t move.

“So are we going in or…”

A heavy puff of air from his nose is my answer. I press my lips together to hide my grin. I adore his grumpy ass.

“Come on, Bear. You promised me the full Trail Creek experience.”

We step into the crowded entry, and I immediately regret coming to town. Two things I did not think through: one, Hudson is a local, so everyone knows him. Two, because he’s a local, everyone in town is following me to keep up with him.

The buzzy din drops to a dull roar and the weight of eyes burn doubts into my chest.Danger! Danger!I step back andinto the firm wall that is Hudson. The sensation of his lips brushing over my ear drives the rising panic away.

“Give it a sec. They’ll go back to their business. They’ve never seen a celebrity before.”

I can’t help my snort. “I’m hardly a celebrity.”

He shrugs. “Close enough around here.”

A tiny woman with silver hair cuts through the busy tables. She stops now and then to scold someone, telling them tomind their own selves.When she gets to us, she wraps Hudson in a crushing hug, and despite his stiff demeanor, he seems genuinely happy to see her.

“Ava, you got a table for two?”

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