Cardwell Ranch Trespasser - By B. J. Daniels Page 0,11

Hilde. The truth had a way of coming out sometimes, didn’t it? She would have to be more careful about that around both women.

“There isn’t much more to tell.” Only because the real Dee Anna Justice hadn’t been forthcoming about her family. There had definitely been something in her background she hadn’t wanted to talk about. But it could have just been that some wealthy people didn’t like talking about themselves or their wealthy families.

So now Dee had to wing it, hoping to give Dana enough to make her feel even more sorry for her. “As I told you last night, when I wasn’t away at school, my parents were never around. My father traveled a lot. My mother was involved in a lot of charity and social events. I grew up feeling alone and unloved, yearning for what everyone else had.” At least the last part was true.

“I’m sorry, Dee. I wish I had known about you. Maybe you wouldn’t have felt so alone,” Dana said, as she parked in front of the house. “I would have shared the ranch with you.”

Dee watched Hud come out onto the porch and thought about Dana’s generous offer to share what she had. “Hud mentioned some high country back behind the ranch that has a great view. I’d love to see it. But this is probably a bad time.”

As Dana got out, she suggested it to Hud, who said the kids were napping and he’d be happy to take her if that was what she wanted to do.

“You sure it’s not an inconvenience,” Dee said.

“Not at all,” he said.

She watched as he gave his wife a kiss and felt that small ache in her stomach at the sight.

“I’ll help with dinner when I get back,” he said to Dana.

“I’ll help, too,” Dee said, even though she’d never cooked in her life. In New York City it was too easy to get takeout.

She followed Hud to the four-wheeler parked by the barn and climbed on behind him, putting her arms around his waist. He started the motor and they were off. It didn’t take long before the house disappeared behind them and they were completely alone.

Dee watched dark pines blur past. The air got cooler as they climbed, the road twisting and turning as it wound farther and farther back into the mountains. She laid her cheek against the soft fabric of his jean jacket and breathed in the scent of him and the mountains.

There were few times in her life that she’d ever felt safe. It surprised her that now was one of them. Hud was the kind of man she’d always dreamed would come along and sweep her off her feet. How could she still believe in happy ever after after what she’d lived through?

Her parents had hated each other to the point where they’d tried to kill each other. Her father... She didn’t even want to think about the role model he’d been to his daughter.

And the men she’d met since then? She let out a choked laugh, muffling it against Hud’s jacket. They’d hurt her in ways she’d thought she could never be hurt.

She’d been waiting her whole life for a hero to come along. When she’d seen Hud Savage come riding up, her heart had filled with helium at the sight of him. He looked bigger than life, strong, brave, the first real man she’d ever known.

She held on a little tighter, wishing Hud was hers.

When they reached the summit, Hud stopped the four-wheeler and shut off the engine.

Dee let go of his waist, stretched and climbed off to look out across the tops of the mountains. “This is amazing,” she said, actually meaning it. “You can see forever.”

“It is pretty spectacular up here, isn’t it?”

She tried to imagine living in country like this. It seemed so far away from the noise and filth of the big cities she’d wandered through so far in her life. What must it be like to wake up to this every morning?

Hud began to point out the mountain peaks, calling each by name with an intimacy that plucked at her heartstrings. She could hear his love for this land in his voice. There was nothing sexier than a man who loved something with such passion.

It took all her self-control not to touch him.

“So what are those mountains over there?” she asked, wanting this moment to last forever. She didn’t listen to his answer. She just liked the sound of his deep and