Page 12 of Engaging with Her Enemy

“I need to make up for the past week or so.” And make sure he had a clear head for his non-date with Becky tonight. Get some of his nervous energy out. “You can head out.”

“No. I'll stick it out with you.”

“I thought you ran like miles and miles? This should be nothing.”

Cameron picked up his medicine ball, sitting down and then throwing it in the air when he stood. “I do.” He took a breath and repeated the exercise. “But that's not throwing forty pounds over my head over and over.”

“We can be done after this set. I need to get back anyway and get cleaned up.”

“Hot date with Becky?”

Hudson grunted and set the ball back on the rack. “Can't date a friend, and we are trying to be friends.”

“C'mon. We saw how you checked Becky out the entire time at Rhonda’s. You like her.”

“It doesn’t matter what I like.” But he'd need to keep that in check. “She's spent almost fifteen years hating me. That's a lot to overcome. We’ve had three short, nice conversations. I’m not going to mess that up.”

“I think you two would be good together.” Cameron started stretching his arms. “You'd even her out. Make her chill a little. Maybe get her to bake us free cookies more often.”

Hudson laughed. “I tried her cake at the diner last week. It was as amazing as I'd remembered it.”

“She only bakes for the diner and Nash's store. Makes the rest of us pay for her creations. Except for Juliana and Eliza's dad. Uncle Hugh can have anything he wants from Becky. She dotes on him as much as Ms. Iris does.”

“I won’t lie. Mr. Hugh scared me some as a kid.”

Cameron shrugged. “Having a grandchild around mellowed him out a bunch, and Ms. Iris keeps him in check.” He grabbed a towel and waited for Hudson before flipping off the lights and locking the gym. “I'm headed out.”

“See ya.” Hudson walked back toward the bed and breakfast aware of a few people on the sidewalk eying his leg, fully visible in his gym shorts. He could handle the double-take or the smiles of sympathy. But the pity. They could keep it.

Lucky for him, the diner sat right across the street. He'd already happened to see Becky come and go twice that day. But now, one of the employees on his construction crew stood on the sidewalk in front of the diner and gesturing his arms in the air, pointing and shouting about something to another man.

Hudson slowed down. Most of the men were decent, hardworking guys, many of them away from their families, but there were always two or three that were questionable. The few that spent their money as quickly as they earned it. If he didn't need the manpower, he wouldn't hire them. Ever.

He jogged across the street, his leg’s instability always in the back of his mind. The memory of tripping and falling so many times during rehab a constant reminder to take things a little slower.

Hudson ignored the ice-cold wind that whipped down the road and sliced through his short- sleeve compression shirt and shorts.

“Barry, what's the issue?” Hudson glanced into the diner, Becky chewing out another employee. “Oh. You didn't get the message from the other night and had to say something stupid, didn’t you? The women in this town, especially that one, won’t put up with your crap.” And Hudson was glad for it.

Barry, a short, stocky guy that always looked like he needed a shower, shook his greasy, thinning hair the color of motor oil. “My crap? That woman—” he shook his head and barked out a sharp laugh “—I'm telling you. She just needs to get laid to improve her mood. Obviously, it's been a while.”

Hudson held down his gut reaction to deck the guy. “That's enough.” The lethal tone of voice made the other man standing beside him, David, take a step back. But Barry didn't get the same message.

Barry grabbed his crotch and shouted at the open door of the diner. “One time with this in you, baby—”

Hudson cut off his statement when he slammed Barry against the window of the diner, his forearm across Barry's throat, suspending his feet an inch off the ground. If he pushed hard enough, he could destroy the man's windpipe for subjecting Becky to that disgusting behavior.

Barry scratched at Hudson's arm, but he didn't feel the pain, even with the small lines of blood that formed. Barry kicked him in the shin of his prosthetic. But Hudson simply leaned his weight onto Barry harder to keep his balance secure.

“Boss!” David shouted, tugging on his shoulder.

“Hudson?” Becky's questionably calm voice came from behind him. Her hand rubbed up and down his back before pulling lightly on his shoulder that held Barry.

He dropped Barry, who fell to the ground, coughing and wheezing.

“You're fired,” Hudson said, the haze of adrenaline making the conversation and sound around him dull and hollow.

Barry’s mouth moved, his lips fading from bluish back to pink.

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