Hudson (Anderson Billionaires #4) - Melody Anne Page 0,52
wasn’t sure what to think, so she followed. He moved away from the trailer and looked over the land she’d grown up on.
“It’s beautiful isn’t it?” she asked. It didn’t get old looking out at the grounds, the trees, the grass, and the flowers. She loved listening to the frogs and crickets, the birds and other creatures that moved around day and night. “I’ve always loved Washington. I’m not a big fan of the city, but the rest of the state is paradise.”
“I agree with you. I love what the city has to offer, but I’ll take a night in the middle of nowhere with a tent, a fishing pole, and a fire any day of the week over five-o’clock traffic.”
“We didn’t really need to camp, living on this land. But we had many, many fires. And I grew up with a fishing pole in my hand. I remember the first trout I caught. I was beyond excited but a bit horrified when gramps cut it up and fried it. That had been my first lesson in where my food came from. At first I thought he was a monster for killing something that had been alive. But he explained the circle of life to me and how we all work together to survive. I still have a hard time with it sometimes, and that’s why I try to waste as little as possible, but at the same time, I appreciate how it all works so that humans and animals can both thrive.”
“I had those same lessons from my mother while growing up. I think all kids should hear them,” Hudson told her.
“Will you at least give me a chance to buy the land back? Can you wait to start building?”
He didn’t look at her as he stared out across the fields. She wasn’t sure if that was a good or bad thing. But she was a patient woman. She’d spent years interviewing those who didn’t want to talk, and she knew sometimes the best thing a journalist could do was wait for the other person to speak. So even though it killed her to not keep arguing her point, she waited.
“Maybe we can come up with a compromise,” he finally said after a couple of minutes had passed.
She was suspicious of what his idea of compromise was, but he definitely had the upper hand in this situation. This could come back and bite her in the butt, however she was left with little choice but to work with whatever he was willing to offer. She didn’t have legal ties to this land. He wasn’t obligated to humor her. Maybe he was simply saying what she wanted to hear in order to wait her out until she gave up. But she had to hear what he had to say.
“What kind of compromise are you thinking of?” she asked. She refused to look at him while she spoke. She didn’t want him to see her desperation and it was dang hard for her to look at him without thinking of their passionate night together.
She had a feeling if she spent too much time around Hudson Anderson she might be willing to agree to anything he wanted . . . again and again and again. That wasn’t a good situation — not at all. She had to keep her eyes on the prize — the land.
“I think what I’m doing is great. That doesn’t mean I couldn’t make some changes. But you think it’s a corporate sell out. So maybe we can try to meet in the middle,” he told her.
“How can we meet in the middle?” she asked. “I have no idea what that means.”
He turned and she had no choice but to lift her eyes to his. The impact of his gaze took her breath away as she’d known it would. Dang it, this man had charisma. She knew what that word meant, but she’d never fully understood it until being in Hudson’s presence.
“We try to convince each other that our way is the right way,” he said with a confident smile.
With that smile her shoulders stiffened. He really thought he was so charming he’d get his way. He truly believed that if he set his mind to it, he’d have her eating out of his hand. She was sure he’d never been turned down for something he truly wanted.
“And if we can’t meet in the middle?” she asked.
“If I can’t change your mind, I’ll sell it to you.”