the children began arriving. He was sure something was wrong midmorning when Bella dropped time sheets on his desk without even looking at him.
She didn’t act like a beautiful young woman of the millennia. It wasn’t that she lacked self-confidence, because she didn’t. With the staff, with the kids, with every aspect of organization, she was confident in her abilities. But not around him.
He had to get to the bottom of it.
Hudson had found he enjoyed being with the kids. It was odd, really. As an adult, he’d never been around children much. Several times a day he’d wander through the sections of children in different age groups. He knew many of the children by name, and they knew his name. He often stopped to help with an art project or just to converse with a curious four-year-old. They came up with the darnedest questions. He pretty much stayed away from the babies, watching over them from afar. The teachers didn’t seem to mind him wandering through. They often gave him a thumbs-up, and he praised them for the way they handled the kids. It wasn’t an easy job, and he knew it. He’d handled two-year-old horses, and that task had seemed easier.
Throughout the day he often glanced at Bella and wondered why he was so interested in her. Her beauty, for sure, that pretty face, that pixie hairdo, that slender figure. There was something else, too, though—something that both unsettled and intrigued him.
He’d never been seriously involved with a woman. He’d never wanted to settle down because he’d seen the coldness in his parents’ marriage. When he had dated, he’d seen that women wanted to tie him to one place. Moving from place to place gave his life the excitement romance couldn’t. No woman had ever meant as much to him as not being tied down.
However, something about Bella Stockton made him want to get to know her a little better. He wanted to know why she’d gone all shy on him.
Late in the day, when only a few stragglers remained to be picked up, he had his chance.
He went to Bella’s desk and asked, “Can I see you in my office?”
She looked up at him with startled eyes. But then she asked, “Do I need my tablet to take notes?”
He shook his head. “Not about this.”
That brought a frown to her pretty face. But she followed him into his office, and this time he closed the door. He didn’t claim to be a human resources expert. Yes, he could spin a good story. However, this moment called for some honesty.
“I suspect you’re not happy that I’m here to oversee Just Us Kids. But I want to reassure you I know you do a good job. My being here is just necessary in the wake of everything that happened.”
“I know that,” she murmured.
“Do you?” He looked at her directly, making eye contact, not letting her look away.
“It’s not just you,” she said. “It’s me. I don’t want to make a mistake. I don’t want anything to jeopardize Just Us Kids.”
“I understand that. Up until yesterday, I thought we got along just fine. At least we could have a simple conversation.”
She didn’t say anything to that.
He went on. “And yesterday, I thought we were finally getting to know each other a little better. I’m glad you told me a bit about your childhood.”
“I shouldn’t have,” she quickly said.
“Why not?”
“Because Jamie and I don’t like to talk about it. We don’t like to think about it. Those were hard times for both of us, and we don’t want anyone to feel sorry for us.”
“And you think I feel sorry for you?”
“Possibly.”
Hudson shook his head. “I’m sorry you and your brother went through that. I’m sorry your grandparents didn’t treat you as the gifts you must have been.” He found Greta’s conclusion absolutely fit the situation.
At his words, Bella looked surprised.
They were standing near his desk, she at one corner and he at the other. But now he took a few steps closer to her. He could smell the light flowery perfume she wore. He could see the tiny line across her nose because it wrinkled there whenever she laughed or smiled. She didn’t wear much makeup, but what she did wear was perfect—just a bit of lipstick and a little mascara from what he could tell. Simply looking at her caused heat to build inside him. He tried to throw a dash of cold water on it with logic, but it was hard to douse the kind of attraction he hadn’t felt for a very long time.
However, he kept his voice even when he said, “It’s a good thing when people who work together share bits of their personal life. They have a better understanding of what the other person has gone through. Do you know what I mean?”
She considered that. “I guess the way I grew up taught me that children should all be treated with respect and kindness and love.”
“I can see that.”
“And why do you treat them as if you’re one of them?” she asked as if she really wanted to know.
“Because I never grew up.” He was half joking and half serious.
Bella finally broke a smile. She looked him up and down, from his wavy brown hair, to the razor stubble on his jaw, to the open collar of his snap-button shirt, to his wide leather belt, jeans and boots. Then she said, “That’s easy to believe when I see you with the kids. But it’s hard to believe when I look at you as the supervisor of this place. You wear the role very well.”
“It is a role, Bella, believe me. I’m only here until we’re sure Just Us Kids has its reputation back, then I’ll be off again somewhere else. That’s what I do. That’s what I mean about never growing up.”
She shook her head as if she didn’t understand. “But what’s your purpose?”
“My purpose?”
“Before this job, what made you want to get up every morning and face a new day?”
“A new adventure. I went looking for it, whether it was gathering wild mustangs in Wyoming or managing the books of a friend’s ranch during start-up. I have skills, and I have purpose, but that purpose isn’t always the same. I find a purpose in the places I travel.”
“With no commitment or responsibilities?”
“No commitment and no personal responsibilities. It’s an easy, uncomplicated way to live.”
“My life is full of complications,” she responded with a little shrug. “I guess I wouldn’t know what to do without them. But my commitment to Jamie and the triplets, and eventually finding my own future, gives me purpose each morning. It’s a continuing purpose. Do you know what I mean? It’s going to take me into the years to come. Yours seems like it could fall apart easily and leave you adrift.”
Oh, he’d been adrift. He’d been adrift in between jobs, and he’d been adrift when he’d just enjoyed the scenery. But Bella seemed to think adrift was a bad thing. He didn’t.
They
