Page 45 of Tough Love

“Is he—Did he, I mean. Hit on you?”

She huffs a strained laugh.

That fucking asshole.

“Not directly, I guess.”

My grip around the beer tightens. “Addy, you tell me if that little shit bothers you.”

“I don’t need you to ride in and save the day, Rawlins.”

“No?”

“No, but you could send Harry?” She loses her shit, doubling over laughing, and I pluck a piece of cheese and toss it at her. She squeals and grabs a carrot stick and pegs it at my head. It bounces off my forehead and she is crippled by laughter.

It’s the most amazing thing I have ever heard.

When Addy has finally recovered from her own joke, she clears her throat and sips her wine. “On a more serious note, tell me more about this roundup. About you. About everything I missed the past thirty-four years.”

“Which part do you want first?”

“You, definitely you.”

“Alright . . .”

She holds a hand up. “Actually, start when you graduated high school.”

“This is gonna take a while, Howard. We should make ourselves comfortable.”

“Agreed.” She shifts the food, and I pack up the drinks. Supper can wait. When we have space on the blanket, I lay back, folding my hands under my head, and she lies beside me. Her hair fans out around her head and shoulders as she scans the sky. The first stars pop through the hazy grey of the sky.

“After high school, Ma insisted I do a trade. I’m not really one for career paths, but I had always loved building things with my hands, so I signed up for a carpentry apprenticeship. That took four years. Then I worked for a company building houses for around eight years. I enjoyed it but living out here and traveling every day got old, so I eventually quit and worked the ranch full time. Started breeding quarter horses about a year later, when I was desperate for something a little less Harry-intensive, you know. Horses, as much as he works with them and likes the extra income they make, were never his thing. So, I sunk my sparetime into getting my herd started.” I hesitate on the next part. “Then, I started building the house.”

“Why?”

I guess there is no getting around it. “I needed something to occupy my mind. I told you that part.”

“You did, but why, Hudson?” She pops up onto one elbow, her face resting on her palm.

“Jemma and I met when I was with the building company. She was one of the clients’ daughters. Was my first real girlfriend. We were together for almost three years when she left for the city.”

Addy’s gaze drops to my chest, and she swallows.

“I was pretty broke up after that, after her.”

Even now, the sentiment still hurts even though I got over the girl. And now, with my heart bleeding all over my sleeve, I roll on my side and prop my head on my palm, imitating Addy. “What about you, Addy?”

Her finger traces the pattern on the blanket between us.

“Adam.”

“The guy who still texts you?” My brows lower, and my gut flips, like it has fucking permission.

“Yeah, that Adam. We were together during the last half of our internship. But he was always doing stuff like going out with other girls, telling me they were friends hanging out and stuff, but Ruby, she saw them. They were definitely not his friends. I tried to break up with him a few times. A few times, he convinced me I was being paranoid. And then when my time was up at the internship, I decided to move. That would be the best way to make my decision about everything. And I was hoping that he would take the hint, you know. Like moving hundreds of miles away from someone would be the breaking-off point. But he still texts. I don’t want any part of whatever it was that we had. Being strung along while he did whatever...”

“Shit. I’m sorry, Howard.”

It takes her a while to look at me. “I’m not, Hudson. It led me here.”

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