Her Summer Cowboy by Katherine Garbera - Her Summer Cowboy Page A

hours earlier.
    “Do you know where he is?” she asked.
    “Sleeping I’d guess.”
    Emma went back to the table, glancing at the curtain that closed off Hudson’s sleeping quarters. She’d seen him toss his duffle bag in there when they’d left Tennessee but she had no idea what he’d brought with him.
    She wanted to talk to him alone. To find out if that kiss had changed things for him the way it had for her. Summer affair was no longer an option for her. She liked him and she wanted to just get to know the man. Not be worried about figuring out the future before it had a chance to unfold.
    She took a moment to look at the lyrics she’d been working on. At first she thought her song was about Gramps. An old troubadour who was nearing the end of the road. But instead the more she wrote, the more the image was changing in her mind to be this young guy. Traveling because he didn’t want life to catch up with him.
    She played the lyrics and remembered what Hudson had said the night before about thinking his brother was gone. Lost. Death had been a major influence on her, and she knew no matter how far or fast she ran she could never leave that fallout behind. It was with her always. Some days it was the sweet memory of fishing with her parents—her mom accidently hooking her dad in the butt. Others it was the anger of watching daddy drink and swear he wouldn’t again. That this time he’d quit.
    There were so many things that couldn’t be outrun simply because she decided she wanted to shove them in the past. She’d told herself that in Georgia teaching school she was in a safe place but she realized she’d been hiding. Doing the same running thing that Hudson had done by traveling and roaming all over the country.
    But his way seemed a little more honest, she thought. He wasn’t pretending he was normal and had adjusted to life. He’d taken to the road and tried to outrun it.
    She got the feeling he hadn’t succeeded much more than she had.
    She’d been existing but hadn’t realized it until last night when she’d stood next to that cowboy, flirting with him and he’d completely shamed her with his honesty. She’d been hiding in plain sight for too long. Hiding from Gramps and the past but mostly hiding from herself.
    Not for any reason other than she’d been afraid. Afraid of letting her hair down and maybe losing the control she’d always prided herself on. She shook her head and jotted that down on her notepad. These words were a jumble and a mess. They were still in her head; the feeling, the thoughts seemed to make sense in there but when she put them down, she felt foolish.
    Why did she keep trying to pursue this dream?
    Why not? She’d failed once but that didn’t mean she couldn’t get better. She got up and made herself a second cup of coffee. It was time to relax her control. Just like it was time for her to start being a lot more honest about how she felt.
    She wanted Hudson in her bed, beyond that she had no idea. She’d felt brazen when she’d told him that the first time. Last night, though, she’d seen herself for the coward she was. Running from the truth and running from herself.
    “Morning, girl,” Gramps said, coming up the hallway. “Thought I smelled coffee. Are we allowed to drink that instead of carrot juice?”
    He came over and gave her a kiss on her forehead.
    “You should know we are since you got me addicted to it.”
    “I did, didn’t I?” he asked, making himself a cup. “You used to scurry out of bed as soon as you heard the coffee pot start.”
    She smiled at the memory. She used to try to wake up early so she’d get to share a cup of coffee with Gramps before everyone else was awake. He’d make her a demi-tasse that was filled with sweet milk and a splash of coffee.
    He carried his cup over and sat down next to her. Glanced at her notepad and then back at her. “You writing again?”
    “Not really. Just keep having ideas,” she said. “I’m putting