“Hud…” I said hoarsely.
Before I had a chance to form a coherent thought, the small black radio that was clipped to his shoulder crackled and a voice came over it.
In spite of the static I was able to make out some numbers, but out of context I couldn’t understand their meaning. Then, I heard key words and sentences that were pretty self-explanatory. Break in. Parrish Creek Animal Shelter. Female suspect. Brown hair. Approximately five-foot-four. Black Labrador retriever. Suspect driving two-door Mazda 3. Red. Partial license plate Bravo. Tango. Four.
Shit.
Without breaking his piercing stare or looking particularly surprised at the information he’d just received, Hud reached across his chest and touched the radio. “Copy that.”
We remained locked in a staring contest as he lowered his sculpted arm and rested his hand on my door. I was almost positive that he was waiting for me to speak, but that wasn’t going to happen until I had some idea of what to say. Tapping the back of his cruiser was one thing. Breaking and entering to kidnap a canine may not be as easy for him to overlook.
“Dog sitting, huh?”
“It’s not what you think.” I pasted on my most innocent smile as I widened my eyes in what I hoped read angelic, while Romeo sat beside me barking excitedly. “I can explain.”
“Oh, I’m sure you can.”
For the second time during our interaction, the corners of Hud’s mouth twitched, and in that moment I’d never been so happy that my prayers had not been answered. Rear-ending Hud’s cruiser and not some random sheriff’s might just be my actual get-out-of-jail-free card.
Not to mention, regardless of what the outcome was from this debacle, I would be addressing the moment we’d just had. I might have to wait until someone posted bail for me, but there was no way a little incarceration was going to side-line me from following up on the first sliver of hope I might be able to get the one thing that I’d wanted since I hit puberty.
A no-holds-barred, wild night with Hudson Reed.
Chapter 2
Hudson
“The trouble with trouble is it starts out as fun.”
~ Loretta Reed
Never a dull moment. Not when Harmony Briggs was around. I watched the wheels turning behind her gorgeous emerald eyes as she worked to come up with her next move. She’d landed in it and she knew it.
A smile was trying to spread on my face, but I fought to maintain a stoic expression. The only way I was going to get through this with my dignity intact was to hide the fact that I found her so damn entertaining—just like I needed to hide the fact that I found her smart, funny, beautiful, sexy, and tempting as hell.
For longer than I cared to think about, I’d had to conceal, ignore, and suppress how I felt about the auburn-haired, green-eyed beauty that was busy scheming her way out of this situation that God only knew how she’d gotten in.
I’d buried my feelings deep. So deep, in fact, that for a while, I thought I might’ve actually gotten over them. Maybe the intense emotions she inspired in me were just a blazing flame that had burned out—a passing phase. But lately it seemed that every time I turned around, Harmony was there, and every time I laid eyes on her, those feelings rose to the surface hotter than ever.
Just this week, I’d seen her twice at the Spoon, which wasn’t so unusual since it was the only diner in town. Then there’d been three sightings at the Pit Stop gas station. Monday, I ran into her at Sugar Rush, the bakery owned by her best friend and very pregnant sister-in-law, Destiny. Wednesday she’d been at The Flower Pot when I’d accompanied my mom to pick out flowers for my parents’ thirtieth anniversary party, which was coming up in a few weeks. I hadn’t been much help, but Harmony being Harmony had no problem butting in and giving her opinion. Loretta Reed was a lot of things, but crafty was not one of them—hence bringing her son to help her pick out flowers. She’d had no problem accepting Harmony’s help though, and appreciating it.
And last night I hadn’t been able to take my eyes off of her as she’d two-stepped with Brady Calhoun all night at the Tipsy Cow. Again, it was the only bar in Wishing Well and it was a Friday night. Still.