26
Charlie
Charlie’s Revelation (and Lament):
Of course Darci is a good person. Why else would Hudson have chosen her?
Meeting Darci had been a shock, but I had to admit the woman was a sweetheart. Of course she was; it would be way too easy if she was a villain I could love to hate.
But she wasn’t. And after a miserable Thursday at work with no Hudson to sneak glances at, I had the opportunity to spend more time with her. As soon as I finished running Mama through some exercises in one of the fields behind the barn, I made my way into the stalls to visit Kojack. It was silly, and I wouldn’t dare admit it out loud to anyone, but part of me felt like being close to that dumb horse was a bit like being close to his owner.
“Your man’s in the city tonight, big guy. Ask me how I know. Spent the whole day feeling sorry for myself,” I murmured into his neck. “No pretty eyes to gaze at. No cute bum to admire. Poor me.”
I whispered more silly words to him and stroked his nose for a bit before hearing a sound from the direction of the barn door. Hoping it was Hudson, himself, I was utterly disappointed to see it was Darci instead.
“Oh, hiya,” I said, willing my fair skin to keep its blush to itself.
She jumped in surprise when she saw me but then smiled. Her smile was genuine and friendly which galled me. I didn’t want her to be nice.
“Hi Charlie.”
She was dressed in pink patterned nursing scrubs and I was struck by how tall and beautiful she was. Despite her lovely looks, however, her eyes shone with the same natural openness that made me feel as though I could tell her anything. I could definitely see why Hudson had been attracted to her and why she most likely made a good nurse.
“Sorry about Mama,” I added, gesturing to the gray ball of fluff whimpering at her feet. “She’s a bit affectionate.”
“What a sweet girl you are,” Darci cooed at her, crouching down to scratch under her chin. “Are you daddy’s girl, hmm? Such a good girl.”
And she’s nice to dogs. Fuck me.
“Do you ride?” I asked, nodding my head toward the curious equine faces peering out of the stalls around us.
“A little. I took lessons as a child, but I never seem to find the time these days.” As she spoke, she straightened back up until the light from a nearby fixture illuminated traces of a yellowing bruise on her chin I hadn’t noticed the night before. I couldn’t help but gasp.
“What happened?”
She reached for her chin and touched it gently, wincing a bit. “Oh crap, can you see it?”
I wasn’t quite sure whether or not I should lie. “Um…”
“My makeup must have rubbed off. It was one of those days at work,” she said with a soft chuckle. “Hudson didn’t tell you about what happened to me?”
I thought of the cold shoulder I’d been giving him at work until that afternoon. “No. We haven’t talked much lately about personal stuff.”
“He’s kind of shy and quiet anyway,” she said.
I thought about the man who’d babbled all night across the bar the first time we’d met and wondered if we were talking about the same man.
Darci continued. “I had this terrible date with a guy I’d been seeing. After we broke things off, I trudged my sorry ass home to my apartment, only to be laid flat by some jerk running out of the downstairs apartment.”
“You’re kidding? You poor thing,” I said. I wondered if I was more surprised she’d been dating someone or more upset she was no longer seeing him? Either way, I was a selfish prick.
“Yeah, I kind of landed on my face. Anyway, I filed a report with the sheriff’s deputy and found out the people who live there are drug dealers. After that, I was kind of scared to go home, you know? Hudson came and got me and let me stay at his place. He’s an angel.”
The fact he’d rushed in to rescue her didn’t surprise me at all. Hudson Wilde was that sort of man. The good sort.
“Christ, Darci. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
She smiled and nodded. “It could have been worse, I guess. But I have to admit to feeling better being here at the ranch than living above people who might be up to no good. Plus, with Hudson around all the time, I feel safe. Well, all of you, really.”
“For what it’s worth, I’m not sure I could stand up against someone like that in a stiff wind, but I could at least tell Mama to bite the man’s arse,” I admitted.
Darci chuckled. “Hudson told me you have a sister. I’m sure you’re protective of her the way Hudson is with his siblings, right?”