“Just the way I like you.” His voice was low and soft with affection and a lot more. “Missed you today, babe.”
Their embrace was incredibly intimate, and feeling like she was intruding on a private moment, Bailey let herself out into the night.
She drove into town and a few minutes later knocked on Carrie’s door.
“Two birthday visitors in one night!” Carrie said, happy.
“Birthday?” Bailey asked.
“It’s my birthday,” Carrie said, and beamed.
The first time Bailey had been here, all those weeks ago now, Carrie had told Bailey that her birthday had been just the week before. But not wanting to upset Carrie, she just smiled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t bring you anything. But I will next time.”
“I love presents,” Carrie said. “And cupcakes. Hud’s here too. He’s chatting with the gals in the front office. Said he had some paperwork.”
Paperwork could mean anything, but not for the first time it occurred to Bailey that Carrie’s stay here had to be expensive for Hud and Jacob, very expensive.
“It’s a Monday,” Carrie said. “Not that I’m not thrilled to see you, but what are you doing here tonight?”
Not wanting to admit that she’d accidentally read her private text to her son, she smiled. “Just wanted to check in on things. How are you?”
“I’ve got one of my boys here tonight,” Carrie said simply, “so I couldn’t be better. Now you.”
“I’m good.”
Carrie smiled. “Because you’re here visiting my boy?”
Bailey laughed. “Are you matchmaking?”
“If you have to ask, I’m not doing it right,” Carrie said. Her smile turned sly. “Just seems like there’s a little something there, don’t you think?”
Bailey had been thinking of nothing but that very fact. Whether she admitted it out loud or not, there was more than a “little something there” between her and Hud. And it only strengthened with time. She could close her eyes and see his slow, lazy smile, hear his sexy voice… feel him buried inside her.
“You look happy, you know,” Carrie said. “He’s made you happy, hasn’t he?”
Bailey opened her mouth and then closed it, making Carrie laugh. “Oh, ignore me,” Hud’s mom said. “I like to butt in where I’m not welcome. Lifelong habit.”
“It’s not that you’re not welcome,” Bailey assured her. “It’s more that it’s been so long since I could just enjoy myself that suddenly I’m not sure what to do with all the emotions.”
“You could just let them come,” Carrie suggested with brilliant simplicity. “Let things happen.”
“I’m not all that good at that,” Bailey admitted.
Carrie tilted her head to the side. “That’s okay. You might’ve noticed my son isn’t very good with it either.”
“No,” Bailey said on a short laugh. “He’s not.”
“It’s because he has so much on his plate all the time and he always has. It’s a heavy weight, all that responsibility, although he’s pretty comfortable wearing it. He ever tell you about the well?”
Bailey shook her head.
Carrie sighed. “He and Jacob were born feral. Wild to the core. I couldn’t corral them. Hell, I don’t know if anyone could have. They needed a father, but that wasn’t going to happen. They were ten years old when they were playing with a friend on an abandoned property near where we lived. Stevie fell into the well and couldn’t get back up on his own. The water was deep enough that he had to tread water to keep his head free. The twins knew he wasn’t going to be able to keep that up for more than a few minutes in the cold water so Jacob went for help while Hud found a rope and lowered it down the well. But he wasn’t strong enough to pull Stevie up. He had to hold on and wait for Jacob to come back with help.”
“Oh, my God,” Bailey breathed. “How long did that take?”
“They were four miles away from the road and then Jacob had to hitchhike back into town. Took him two hours to get back to the well. Hudson waited two full hours holding on to the rope the whole time, promising Stevie he wouldn’t let him go.”
Bailey could see the boy Hudson had been, bent over the well to keep eye contact with his friend and uttering assurance for as long as it took.
“He still has the scars on his palms,” Carrie said. “All his life, everyone has always talked about good ol’ dependable Hud. Couldn’t find a more steady, responsible man if you tried. Some of which he took to heart, of course.”
“I don’t see how he couldn’t,” Bailey murmured.
Carrie nodded. “Although to be honest, he’s used it to his advantage. He lets responsibility always win out over a personal life. It’s easier, you see. Safer.”
“Safer than what?”
“Putting his heart out there, of course,” Carrie said. “It’s prevented him from letting go of any responsibility in favor of a life. Instead he holds on to his responsibilities with the same grip he held on to Stevie—at the expense of his own happiness.” She paused and met Bailey’s gaze. “You know what I’m saying?”
“Yes,” Bailey said. “I believe I do.” Hud had made it about her, that she’d set the one-day-at-a-time rule, that it was she who didn’t want a real relationship.