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“Liam,” she began.
“I just wanted you to know that I wouldn’t care if he was your boyfriend.”
Just then, Hudson rounded the corner, ladder in one hand, a hammer in the other. He hadn’t bothered to shave, and the old ripped jeans and faded black T-shirt only made him that much more masculine. She scowled. As if Hudson Blackwell needed any help when it came to that.
“But if you don’t like him, Zach told me his dad thinks you’re hot. You could go out with him if you want.”
Wait. What?
“Liam.” She leaned across the car and dropped a kiss to his cheek. She supposed there would come a day when he wouldn’t like such displays of affection, but right now he did, and she’d take it.
“I want you to know that I’m perfectly, amazingly, one hundred percent…” She shook her head. “No. I’m one hundred and fifty percent happy with our life here. With just the two of us. You’re all I need right now, got that?”
Even as she said the words and smiled at her son, there was an emptiness that rocked her to her core. She was happy. She’d finally moved in the right direction, gotten away from an unhealthy situation. She loved her home. Her job. Her friends and her family.
But she was lonely.
Liam climbed out of the car, and she looked up to find Hudson’s gaze on her. As always, her body reacted on an organic, basic level. Her heart sped up. She felt the heat flush her cheeks.
He didn’t take his eyes from her until Liam walked up to him. It was then that she got it. Really got it.
There would be no one else for her. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not ten or twenty years from now. He still had her heart and soul. Still owned every piece of her, even the ones she kept hidden.
It was a depressing thought—knowing she would never have that kind of love again—and it meant a lifetime of b
eing alone. Because she would never settle again. Not for anything less than what she’d had. And what she’d had wasn’t sticking around Crystal Lake.
She grabbed her bags and slid from the car, feeling the weight of her future settle on her shoulders. As she approached Hudson and her son, she heard Liam excitedly replay one of his assists. Her boy had Hudson’s full attention and she was able to watch the two of them unnoticed.
That is until Hudson glanced up, and she almost stumbled over her feet. She collected herself, straightened her shoulders, and tried to keep an even keel. She took the last few steps until she reached them and ran her hand through Liam’s tousled blond locks.
“You’re still here,” she said after a few seconds.
“I am.” He set the ladder down and nodded toward the house. “I got your eaves done and raked the backyard for you. The old oak tree, the one close to the house, needs to be trimmed. There’s a couple of limbs that will land on the roof if a good wind takes hold.”
Damn. Something else she’d noticed but had done nothing about.
“I was on my way to Nash’s to grab his chain saw. That’s if you don’t mind.”
Rebecca was silent for a few moments. This was her chance. She could turn him away. Thank him for all the work he’d done. Tell him she was good with everything else and she’d like him to leave. A smart woman bent on self-preservation would do that. Hell, that woman wouldn’t even think twice.
But thing of it was, as she stood there looking up at a face she’d never forgotten, she wasn’t so smart. She knew it was all kinds of wrong to play this friend game with Hudson. Who the hell were they kidding? They could never just be friends.
No way in hell would that work.
So the fact she was contemplating what it was she was contemplating told her just how far left she’d strayed. No longer was she on the road called self-preservation. She’d hopped the median and was headed in the other direction.
“I don’t mind,” she replied softly. “That would be great.”
She headed into the house, very aware that he followed her movements until she disappeared inside.
“I’m going to regret this,” she whispered to herself, trudging down to the kitchen. Her chilli was just starting to bubble in the Crock-Pot. She set the buns aside and changed into her work clothes. Mackenzie had put up the drywall in her front room and she’d done a damn good job mudding the seams. She had the afternoon to sand them and get cleaned up before Violet and Adam came for dinner and a movie.
Exciting times for Rebecca.
Liam headed outside to play road hockey while she changed into a pair of old jeans and a U2 T-shirt that had seen better days. She grabbed her earbuds, set her phone on the pile of leftover drywall, and got to work.
For a girl who’d grown up working at the local Dairy Queen, it was a surprise for Rebecca to find out how much she enjoyed working with her hands. She loved doing renovations, and as she got into a groove, she began to relax and enjoy the physicality of it.
