Georgia-Blue & Hudson (Stoney Creek #5)

Chapter 10

10

Georgia

Thursday night

Hanging out with the girls has always been so much fun. Tonight is no exception. I also love spending time with my new sisters-in-law Skye, Hartley, Eden and Autumn. They’re always up for a laugh. I love how we’re all really close and how well my brothers chose, especially Gray and Gabe this time around. Neither of their ex-wives are anything to write home about. Especially Gray’s ex-wife, who endangered his and Hartley’s lives when she got onto the property and set one of the cottages on fire while they were in it. Crazy bitch.

You definitely have to choose carefully these days, nobody wants to find out they’re married to a lunatic after the fact.

I’m wearing black pleather pants — which I know I will have to peel off my legs later because they’re so tight — and a figure hugging, black sleeveless bodysuit with a shimmer of silver glitter running through it. I threw on some heels for good measure because any added height via the way of my shoes is a good thing.

I sling an arm around my cousin Trudy as we wait for the next round of drinks at the bar. They will be starting the ridiculous, but fully entertaining, moose riding challenge soon. I know Easton is around looking to try and snatch the lead, but I’ve seen no sign of Hudson. He only seems to come out when he really feels as if his precious record is under threat for staying on the moose the longest. Eye roll of the century.

I also haven’t seen him since the day over at Brook and E’s place.

“How are things over at Horse Shoe Ranch?” I ask Trudy, as I lean an elbow on the edge of the bar. My cousin is almost as small as I am. She's a sporty girl with a tan from working outdoors and gorgeous honey-blonde hair.

“Things are just peachy,” she says. “Better than ever, actually.”

“Those boys still treating you right?”

She bites her lip; it’s quick but enough for me to quirk an eyebrow.

“Trin?”

She waves me off. “They’re treating me just fine, of course.”

My hand moves to my hip as I zone in on my sweet little cousin. She really is such a darling and does so much over at Horse Shoe Ranch. It’s good to see her out and about as she doesn’t get out much.

Her eyes momentarily divert across the bar and then flick down as a flush crosses her cheeks. She’s enjoying something, and it certainly isn’t me.

I follow her gaze and a second later, I’m surprisingly met with the all too knowing grin of Easton, smiling on over at her with his blonde shaggy hair in his eyes. He salutes me with his beer when he sees me look over there too.

Do not tell me…

Looking away, I tug Trudy’s elbow as she presses her lips together and looks down at the bar.

“Trudes, don’t even say it?—”

“What?” I can’t tell if her azure eyes are feigning innocence or not. It’s hard to tell because she is actually pretty innocent when it comes to guys. I narrow mine and hone in again. She was definitely smiling over at Easton… and as her employer, he should not be looking at her like that. I may have been out of the game a while, but when a guy is making eyes at your friend, or in this case, your innocent little cousin, you know it.

“Don’t give me that. Are you and Easton—?” I raise my eyebrows suggestively.

“What?” she cries, her hands flying up to her face. Her voice sounds like she has no idea what I’m suggesting but her body language is telling me otherwise.

I look back at Easton but he’s turned around and talking to Beau and Callan who have now joined him. I noticed his friend, Takoda, is nowhere in sight. Maybe he went back to Montana.

“You can feign innocence all you want, missy, but you and Easton looked like you were having a moment.”

“No way. It’s not like that, but he’s nice.”

I place my hand on her shoulder and give it a squeeze, then I give her a little shake.

“Don’t even go there. Easton is great and all, I mean, he’s Cece’s brother and he’s very cute, but he’s a wild card, little cuz. Seriously.” I know the guy has had more women than I’ve had hot dinners. Seeing Trudy being led up the garden path isn’t exactly something any of us want to see. I don’t think Easton is anywhere near being past sowing his wild oats. He got snapped up by one of Dolly Simpson’s posse at the charity auction last year but I’m not sure what happened after that. That’s when Eden kicked things off by winning her husband back, then Autumn bid on Beau to help him out from being lynched, this was all before they got hitched.

“I’m not, I wouldn’t!”

“You wouldn’t what?” says a voice behind us just as our drinks are being delivered.

We both whirl around to see Easton now standing right in front of us. Damn, that guy moves fast.

“Oh, hey, East.” Trudy smiles up at his large frame.

Yep, Trudy definitely has a thing for him. Even in the dim-lit light of the bar, I can see her blushing, and he makes a royal show of lapping it up and slinging an arm around her shoulder casually. “Hey, Trudes. What are you girls up to over here with so many drinks?”

The bartender has set all the glasses on a tray so I can carefully carry them over to the awaiting table where my girls are waiting.

“They aren’t all for us,” Trudy giggles.

I resist the urge to roll my eyes as I try to tug her away and back to the safely awaiting table, but she’s having none of it.

“Dance floor has just opened,” he says, giving her a waggle of his eyebrows. He’s too cool for school, no doubt about it. And I could see how Trudy could get a little caught up in the wild side of Easton. I’m about to step in when Celeste comes up behind us.

“Need a hand?” she asks.

“Sure, but I was telling Trudy here?—”

In two seconds flat, he’s grabbed her wrist and is coaxing her out to the dance floor over by the famous moose that’s about to be fired up. She’s laughing her head off and not one bit concerned about any of the warnings I just gave her.

I frown at Celeste. “I think your brother is getting fresh with Trudes.”

Cece follows my gaze to their retreating backs toward the dance floor. “What? No way.”

“Yes way. She couldn’t stop blushing and I’m fairly sure he was just making eyes at her across the bar.”

She holds a hand to her chest. My thoughts exactly. “Do you really think so?”

We continue to watch them as they work their way through the crowd.

God, I don’t even want to think about what Callan would have to say. He loves his soon to be brother-in-law but I don’t think that extends to Easton showing his baby sister a wild time. And from what I gather, that’s certainly something Easton knows how to do.

“I’m just sensing trouble, is all I’m saying.”

“He better not be corrupting her. Shit, I’d better not tell Callan. He’ll hit the roof, you know how protective he is over her.”

“My thoughts exactly.” I lift the tray as Celeste carries the jug of iced water back to the booth.

“Everything okay?” Hartley asks, beaming up at us as we approach. I know two of my brothers are here somewhere, and while most people probably wouldn’t want to hang out in the same bar as their brothers, I don’t really mind. I guess I’m kinda used to it by now and it’s the way it is in a small town.

“Everything is fine,” I say as I slide the tray onto the table and distribute the drinks around. Hart and Celeste aren’t drinking alcohol, of course, but that doesn’t stop me, Skye, Autumn, Eden or Carrie from a cocktail or two.

“Bottoms up.” Carrie raises her glass as we all clink in the middle. Her husband, Tom, is playing darts over on the other side of the bar with Skye’s brother, Travis, the new local sheriff.

“Yee-haw!” Skye giggles as we all clink in the middle and I slide back into the booth next to Autumn. I keep the Trudy business on the downlow for now, only because I don’t want to embarrass her when she’s having fun, or insinuate something that may not be happening. But it’s obvious she likes him. I can see him now, whirling her around on the dance floor like they have no cares in the world.

And maybe they don’t, but I vow to keep my eye on the pair of them.

“Are you riding the moose tonight?” Autumn nudges me. I’ve been known here and there to have a go on the moose, though I don’t do it very often. Despite that, I have been saying for forever and a day that I will knock Hudson Grumpy Pants Nash off his self-proclaimed perch one day.

I’ll make it my mission in life if I have to.

“Not a chance,” I say, knowing it’s contradictory to my thoughts.

“Where’s your sense of adventure?” Eden casts me a wink over the table, sipping her cocktail. Brook is at home tonight with Blake. Gabe and Trin were going over there so their dogs could have a playdate and they could all have dinner. They often do that so their lady-loves can have some girl time.

“I’m adventurous, just not when it comes to being in competition with Hudson and his stupid trophy.”

Eden smiles at me a little too long. Urghhh. She knows it too. Not that I confessed to Eden about what was going on, but I don’t think it was hard to guess at her place the other day that something was up. The good news is Lily is settling in brilliantly and loving her new friend on their farm. “Looks like he’s here to defend it tonight, it must be under siege.” Eden nods over to where we were just standing at the bar.

I let my eyes wander over, ignoring the kick in my chest and the sudden jolt to my very core. Just seeing Hudson should not have this effect on me.

Sure enough, Hudson is standing at the bar and ordering a drink. He’s looking better than any man this side of Stony Creek has a right to in his dark denim jeans and a dark blue button up shirt. The sleeves are rolled up to his elbows, revealing those tattoos again and the sexy cuffs he wears. I can see the outline of his damned muscles from here… and his butt in those jeans is something else.

I look back to my cocktail and sip a mouthful through the straw for salvation.

Celeste is smiling a little too obviously and I try my best to ignore it but it’s getting harder and harder every time I see him. How the hell am I going to go away with this man? I am finalizing the flights tomorrow and planned to text him the info as he keeps bugging me about it. I guess he’s still intent on traveling with me. The more I keep thinking about this whole wedding weekend that was going to turn into me having a solo mini-break, the more I think it’s a bad idea.

But Celeste might be onto something, suggesting I see how the vibe is when we’re away from here and from prying eyes. The very thought makes me so damned nervous, and I’m not a nervous person by nature.

“Hudson will do anything to defend that stupid title,” I mumble.

Autumn nudges me in the ribs and I glance at her. “He is looking very cute,” she whispers.

“That has nothing to do with it,” I whisper back. “I suggest we all drink up and get out on that dance floor ASAP!”

The girls all agree, except for Hartley who finds my brother on the way out of our seats and can’t resist cozying up to him at the bar. The loved-up pair can’t seem to keep their eyes off each other for five seconds and I know for a fact Gray is going to be the ultimate alpha during her pregnancy. I’m so happy for them; Gray has waited so long to be a father.

The lights dim even further and flash on and off in the countdown for the moose riding to start. I lose myself in the music, dancing back to back with Autumn.

When I spin around to shimmy forwards, I glance over to the bar across from us and see Hudson leaning back on the long counter with his arms folded across his chest. He’s standing next to his friend Owen, the local plumber, who’s saying something in his ear.

Huds doesn’t seem to respond, in fact, he just keeps his eyes fixed on me.

His face is like stone, his eyes unreadable.

I move my hips even more so to the beat of the music, waving my arms over my head.

Celeste is next to me, keeping an eye on her brother and Trudy, who still haven’t come up for air from their dance-a-thon and appear to be having way too much fun.

I lock eyes with Huds because if he thinks he can dish it out, then so can I!

I move my hands down my body, over my tight bodysuit and down my ribs to my hips where I shake my ass to the beat. His eyes never leave me. They might trail down to where I’m shaking my body, but he never looks away. I’m caught up in the moment way more than I care to realize. But in that second, with the lights flashing over his face, the intense stare he’s set upon me, and his rigid stance, there is nothing else.

Nothing else worth noticing anyway. There’s only the heat between us, and I know it’s there and it’s building. He can deny it all he wants. If he didn’t feel anything then why doesn’t he look away? Why is he devouring me with his eyes, even though not one part of his face or his body has moved. I feel wetness pooling in my lace underwear, thinking about if he’s hard watching me. And there’s no way I can tell that from here but if the other night in the truck is anything to go by…

“Huds is staring at you,” Cece giggles, bumping her hip into mine.

It’s only then that I look from him to my best friend. “He’s making serious eyes,” I agree. Because what’s the point denying it?

“What are you going to do?” she asks over the music.

I press my lips together to save myself from laughing over my next statement which is all I have with my mind in such a muddle and my body practically on fire. “I think I’m going to ride that damned moose,” I tell her and I don’t just mean the mechanical one. “If it’s the last thing I do.”