But Hud wasn’t giving an inch here. He needed an inch, dammit.
Ever think that maybe you’re projecting?
On that thought, he picked up his phone again and called the guy who’d leased him the cabin.
“When I first contacted you about renting this cabin, you asked if I was interested in buying,” he said. “I wasn’t ready then, but I’m ready now.”
Sophie’s visit to Dallas went predictably. It’d been great to see her sister. Good to see her parents. And bad for her mental health.
Par for the course.
As she got back to Cedar Ridge, she felt…like she’d come home.
The boat itself, not so much.
She got back just in time to take an afternoon shift at the assisted-living center attached to the hospital. A flu had knocked out the girls at the front desk. Sophie sanitized the entire place and then got them all caught up on paperwork.
While on break, she wandered down to the residents’ social room to see if she was needed. It was here that the residents watched TV, played games, or just sat around and talked.
Her gaze was immediately drawn to the chess table, where Carrie was currently in the middle of a game.
With Jacob.
She’d missed him.
Carrie made a move, beamed, and then rose to her feet. Leaning over the table, she cupped Jacob’s face and kissed him on the top of his head.
Sophie froze for a beat, torn between not wanting to intrude on what was clearly a private moment and melting into a pile of goo at the sweetness between Jacob and his mom.
But then Jacob’s gaze slid to hers and he, too, rose to his feet.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to—oh,” she breathed when he smiled and she realized her mistake.
Not Jacob, but Hudson. He’d cut his hair, and she hadn’t immediately seen the difference in his eyes and smile—which were friendly and warm but not…Well, she wasn’t sure she could accurately describe the way Jacob looked and smiled at her. Mostly it was with the heated, personal knowledge that came from having been as intimate with her as a man could get.
“I’m sorry,” she said again. “You two look so much alike…”
He smiled. “Twins.”
“Maybe.” She laughed a little self-consciously. “It’s hard to get used to.”
“I know. But maybe as the woman helping us keep Jacob in Cedar Ridge, you’ll get used to it?”
She stared at him. “Oh, I’m not—we’re not—” She shook her head. “I think you’ve overestimated what Jacob and I are to each other.”
“Oh,” Carrie marveled, coming closer. “You’re the one my Jacob’s seeing, aren’t you?” She took Sophie’s hand, her smile bright. “Look at you. I just knew you’d be pretty. He always did like the pretty ones.”
Hud grimaced. “Mom—”
“Oh, I know, he’ll kill us, blah, blah. Might as well make it worthwhile, yes?” She smiled at Sophie. “Where did you two kids meet? School? A football game? Oh, I know! You’re his English tutor?” She shifted in close and spoke in a stage whisper. “Listen, honey, I read his essay and I know you must have written it for him. No way did he read enough Shakespeare to write that on his own. I realize he’s charming as all get-out, but you’ve got to encourage him to do his own work, okay?”
Sophie glanced over at Hud, who stood there at his mom’s side, tall and broad like Jacob, eyes still warm but also something else now. Challenging? Waiting for her to react to his mom’s jumbled ramblings?
Well, what he didn’t know was that Sophie had been judged before and found wanting, and she no longer did anything for approval. Turning her back on him, she smiled at Carrie and squeezed her fingers gently. “I’ll do better next time. I promise,” she said. “And are you done kicking your son’s butt in chess? Because I’d love a game.”
Carrie clapped in glee and gave Hud the brush-off with a wave of her hand.
He started to object. “Mom—”
“Baby, it’s okay. I know you only came by because you’re feeling guilty over how busy you are lately, but as you can see, I’m busy too. Run along now. Mama’s gotta kick your twin’s very pretty girlfriend’s tush in chess.”
Hud shook his head but pulled Carrie in for a hug. This time when he turned to Sophie, the warmth was back in his eyes, along with a grudging respect. “She cheats,” he warned her.
“What?” Carrie said, hand to her heart. “Well, my goodness, I do no such thing, Hudson.”
“Hand to heaven,” Hud said to Sophie, and to her shock he gave her a good-bye hug as well.
“What was that for?” she asked when he pulled free.
“For giving him a challenge close to home, for putting a smile on his face.”
“And how do you know that was me?” she asked, a little flustered with the praise she wasn’t sure she deserved.
“A twin knows.”
She wondered what else he knew and felt her face heat.
He chuckled, for a minute the sound so much like Jacob that she blinked. And then he was gone.
Chapter 20