by Barbara Gee
JP handed me the promised bottle of water and said he’d take me home whenever I was ready. He’d been cleared to drive a few days ago, and thankfully his new truck was roomy enough to easily accommodate his cast.
“She’ll be ready soon,” Jude said. I started to protest, but he squeezed my hand. “You need to get some sleep,” he said softly, “and I’m going to do the same. You can come back first thing in the morning to take me home.”
“I’ll give you two a little time alone,” JP said, showing his sweet side again. “I’ll be waiting down the hall, Ava. Come get me when you’re ready.”
“Thanks, bro,” Jude said. He released my hand and ran his fingertips over the dark bruises on my arm, his brows drawing together. “I hate that he hurt you,” he murmured, blue eyes turning stormy. “Here, and your lip. Are there other places?”
I rubbed my head and grimaced. “He pulled my hair a lot, but I’m fine, Jude. Really.”
Then his sharp eyes caught the bruising extending down below my shorts from where Andrew had repeatedly kicked my hip, trying to get me to stand up.
Jude lifted the hem of my shorts, his jaw clenching when he saw the extent of the damage. I knew it looked bad. The doctor who examined me had wanted to do an X-ray, but I’d convinced him it wasn’t necessary. Aside from being tender, everything felt fine. No limited motion or anything.
“I should’ve hit him harder,” Jude said, his voice low and rough as his hand gently covered the red and purple marks.
I swallowed hard, far more aware of his touch than any pain.
“You’re freezing, Ava,” he muttered, shifting his hand to the small of my back and urging me closer. “Lie down beside me for a few minutes. I’m hot. I’ll warm you up.”
I chuckled. “You’re definitely hot, Jude, even when you’re in a hospital bed. The bare chest doesn’t hurt, either.”
He grinned at my teasing. “I refused the gown. It wasn’t my color.”
I sat down beside him, on his uninjured side, then drew up my legs and reclined, snuggling into him. His arm came around me, tight and reassuring, and exactly what I needed.
I couldn’t hold back a soft, appreciative moan. He was as hot as he’d promised, and my cold body immediately responded. I felt warm for the first time since I’d arrived at the hospital.
“I want you to come home with me, Jude,” I told him a moment later. “Tomorrow, I mean. When you’re released.”
My ear was against his chest, and his voice vibrated pleasantly through me. “It’s just a flesh wound, Ava. I’ll be able to take care of myself.”
“I know. I also know you’ll probably be back to work in a matter of days, but I want to fuss over you for a little while.” I put my hand on his chest, rubbing slowly across the hard muscle. “You saved Donna’s life, and probably mine too, and I want to give back.”
I propped myself up on my elbow and looked down at his face. The beautiful face of the man I loved. “Just for a couple days,” I said wistfully. “If I have you around and can see you’re okay, maybe I’ll stop hearing that gun going off.”
His gaze grew reflective, and I knew he was remembering, too. “Thank God I got there in time.”
I swallowed back my emotion, determined not to cry again. “How did you, though? I didn’t think you were getting back to town until late.”
“We got back from the campus visit early,” he said, “so I decided to surprise you. I was driving down your street when Donna and Rosie were getting out of their car. I stopped to say hi, and they said they were meeting up with you behind your house to walk. I told them that was fine, I’d just wait on your front porch until you got back.”
He went quiet, and I lay down again, my cheek against his shoulder.
“I was only there a few minutes when I heard someone calling me. I walked out into the yard and saw Rosie running toward me. She was moving faster than an old lady should and waving and yelling. I went to meet her and the poor thing was breathing so hard I could barely understand her. She said they heard you yelling about a gun, and a man’s voice telling you to shut up. She’d already called 911, but she said I had to get there fast because Donna was probably going to do something crazy and get you both killed.”
When I pictured Donna’s “crazy,” I smiled and shuddered at the same time. “Did you see what she did?” I asked.
“No, I heard her though. The battle-cry led me right to you, but you were all already on the ground by the time I actually saw you.”
I told Jude about the long tree branch with all the twigs and dried leaves still attached, which Donna had used as a weapon when she charged Andrew.
“She startled him so bad she actually took him down with that branch. He pulled the gun, but Donna didn’t see it right away. I was trying to shield her, but she was yelling for me to let her up because she was sure the two of us could overpower him. Then she saw the gun and started praying.” I stopped the story and exhaled slowly. “You know the rest.”
Jude planted a kiss on the top of my head. “Yeah. I finally got close enough to see he was holding a gun, but I couldn’t tell at first who he was aiming at.”
His voice was strained and all the images came back to me in full color, making me shiver even though he’d warmed me up. I hated reliving it, but I was glad we were talking about it. We needed to, and it didn’t seem quite so bad when I was lying against Jude’s warm, already healing body.
“He would’ve shot her,” I said quietly. “I’d been stalling for time by pretending to be out of my mind hysterical. He was trying so hard to get me to go with him quietly, but I kept falling down, and then I’d pretend to be almost paralyzed by fear, so it would take him a long time to get me up again. That’s why he kicked me. He finally dragged me into the trees to wait until it was dark, because he was so afraid we’d meet someone on the trail. He knew I was too crazy for anyone to believe that we were just out for a walk.”
“That’s my girl,” Jude said proudly. “That was some quick thinking.”
His praise felt good, but I wasn’t sure I deserved it considering my failure to predict Abigail’s desperate measures in the first place.
“Stalling was all I knew to do,” I continued after a pause, “and it was working pretty well, until Donna came charging in. I was so worried about him hurting her that I completely forgot I wasn’t supposed to be lucid. He noticed right away and accused me of playing him for a fool. He was going to punish me by shooting Donna.”
“But he didn’t.”
I propped up on my elbow again so I could see his face. “He didn’t because of you. But you had to risk your life to stop him and—”
Jude put a finger to my lips. “Don’t, Ava, don’t keep beating yourself up. It’s over.”
I wrapped my hand around his. “I have to apologize to you.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do, Jude. At least once. I need you to know how sorry I am that I brushed off your concerns about Abigail. You tried to tell me she was a danger to me—beyond what she could do with her computer—and I didn’t listen. I was so sure I knew her limits.” I pressed his hand to my cheek. “My feud with her almost got you killed and I’m so, so sorry.”
He smiled gently. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Ava. This is on Abigail. No one else.”
“I don’t know how I could live with it if you’d been hurt any worse,” I whispered.
“You don’t have to, sweetheart. The good Lord kept us all safe and mostly sound, and that’s what matters. Now we just need to pray that the good guys find Abigail so we can wrap things up and move on.”
“Believe me, I’ve been praying.”
I let my gaze roam his face. I could tell he was tired and in pain, but he was trying to hide it. For me. Because he didn’t want me to feel so bad about everything.
My throat ached with emotion. There was just so much there. Fear. Regret. Love. Relief. Hope.
More love.
I reluctantly let go of his hand because he needed pain m
eds and rest and he wouldn’t agree to either as long as I was there.
“I’d better go. JP’s going to get tired of waiting. I’ll be back at nine tomorrow morning. The nurse said that’s the soonest you’ll get released.”
He nodded, then pulled my head in for a kiss, careful and soft because of my swollen lip. “I’ll be here. Sleep well, Ava.”
I hugged him, then stood up. “You too. See you soon.” I made it to the door, then stopped and looked back over my shoulder. “Remember, you’re coming to my place for a couple days.”
He grinned and settled his head back against the pillow. “Whatever you say, babe.”
I gave a satisfied nod and went to find JP.
Chapter 30
Igot up early the next morning so I’d have time to call my parents and fill them in before Dad went to work. I tried to spare them most of the gory details, but they were appalled nonetheless, especially when Mom realized Abigail was the person she’d let into my condo. For a moment I thought she was going to jump in the car to come make sure I was okay, but I told her in no uncertain terms I was fine and didn’t have time for visitors. My focus was Jude right now, and them being here would only stress me out.
Once the shock had passed a bit, I think Mom was glad I hadn’t let her follow through with her impulsive plan, as it would’ve wreaked havoc with her tight schedule. They settled for assuring me they were there if I needed anything, and I hung up soon after, relieved to have that call out of the way.
I got to the hospital at nine sharp and was delighted to be wheeling Jude out of his room by ten. His doctor had discharged him with prescriptions for antibiotics and pain medication and an order to “listen to his body.” In other words, don’t do too much too soon.
Thankfully JP had had the presence of mind to bring his brother a change of clothes yesterday, so I threw the bloody shirt and jeans away. I had no desire to launder them. No desire to see his blood ever again.
Jude wasn’t at all happy about his forced wheelchair exit, but it was hospital policy and the nurse refused to let him leave his room without being in it. When we got to the front door, I left him with an attendant while I went and brought my SUV up, shaking my head when he hopped out of the chair before I was even stopped.
I hurried around to help him, but he was already in the car and fastening the seat belt before I got there.
“I’m not an invalid,” he grumbled.
“Maybe not, but I plan to fuss over you anyway.” I leaned into the car to kiss his cheek, then put my hand lightly over his front bandage. “You okay? Need the seat reclined or anything?”
“I’m fine. Just get me outta here.”
I concentrated hard on my driving, careful not to swerve or stop abruptly. Jude teased me about driving like one of my old-lady friends, but I refused to speed up. I didn’t want to cause him anymore pain.
We made it to my house without incident. I tried to get him to lean on me for the walk inside, but he just gave me a warning look and headed for the porch.
I held up my hands, palms out. “Sorry. I’m just really glad to have you here. And I can’t help but want to take care of you at least a little bit.”
He surprised me with a slow, shiver-inducing smile. “Maybe you can show me how glad you are a little later on,” he suggested.
I closed the front door behind us, anticipation sliding up my spine. I was about to ask him how much later when the doorbell rang. I jumped at the sound, because I’d been staring dazedly into his baby blues and the world had gone away for a moment.
When I realized it was the doorbell that had brought me back to my senses, I reached around and opened the door back up.
Hannah and Chase stood there, both of their gazes going immediately to Jude. I motioned them in and Hannah hurried over to him.
“Where are you hurt?” she asked. “I want to hug you but I don’t want to hurt you.”
Jude chuckled. “Here,” he said, putting his left hand over the bandage and holding out his right arm. “You can hug me from this side.”
“Oh my word, Jude, we were so shocked when JP called. You got shot!” Hannah’s expression showed her disbelief. “No one gets shot around here. The whole town is in an uproar. You’re quite the local sensation.”
Jude grimaced. “Let’s hope they forget about it quickly. I have zero desire to be a sensation.”
Chase took his turn with a side hug, laughing at his buddy’s lament. “You don’t have a choice. The elderly gal who was involved was holding court at the Coffee Club when I stopped in this morning. She had at least a dozen people hanging on her every word. To hear her tell it, you’re a hero. Next thing you know, you’ll be staging meet-and-greets and selling your autograph for charity.”
“Not in this lifetime,” Jude growled.
“I’ll talk to Donna,” I promised, “but you need to sit down, Jude. Come on in the living room, you two,” I told Hannah and Chase. “You can keep him company while I get a pot of coffee going.”
The doorbell sounded again just as I finished grinding the coffee beans. I quickly dumped them into the coffee maker and pushed the start button before hurrying back to the front door.
This time it was none other than Priscilla and Evvie. I had no idea how they knew Jude was here, but I wasn’t surprised that they did. Priscilla handed me a big jar of soup, gave me a perfunctory hug, then marched straight into the living room.
Evvie hung back and whispered that Priscilla was highly irritated that Donna and Rosie had been part of the most exciting thing to happen to Hidden Creek in decades, while she herself had been in no way involved.
“It kills her to have everyone flocking to Donna,” Evvie said. “And, of course, Donna is eating it up.”
“I have to say, Donna was a superstar,” I replied. I understood Priscilla’s envy, but I wasn’t going to take away from Donna’s brave attempt to save me from Andrew—or from Rosie’s sprint to find Jude, for that matter—just to appease a jealous friend.
“Well, I’ll just warn you, Priscilla wants to hear your side of things. Says she wants to make sure Donna isn’t exaggerating.”
And so the day went. Next to come were Jude’s parents, followed by Pastor Dan and Alicia, then JP, then Jude’s own pastor, then Donna and Rosie themselves. I got emotional when I saw the two ladies, and the three of us shed a few tears right there by the front door. I thanked them for what they had done, but they brushed it off and said anyone else would have done the same thing. Which wasn’t true, but I didn’t push it. Then they were off to the living room to see their hero.
Jude took it in stride as people came and went, but by early afternoon I could tell he was tired and hurting. Plus, we hadn’t had a chance to eat lunch.
When there was a lull in the parade of well-wishers, I quickly made a sign and stuck it on the front door to inform anyone else who dropped by that Jude was resting, and to please check in later to see if he was up to having visitors.
With the notice posted, I went to the kitchen and heated Priscilla’s famous chicken noodle soup. While it simmered, I made a grocery list, hoping I could make a quick run to the store while Jude was taking a nap after his late lunch.
He wandered into the kitchen as I was dishing up the soup.
“Your pain pills are in the bottle on the window sill,” I told him, “and don’t even try to tell me you’re not in pain, because I can tell you are.”
“I am, but I’m not taking those pills. Do you have any ibuprofen?”
I got him some and didn’t hound him about not wanting to take anything stronger. It was his choice, and I’d promised myself I wouldn’t baby him.
After lunch, he sprawled out on the couch and went to sleep almost instantly. I’d told him I was going to go to the store, but didn’t admit I was a little worried I might find myself surrounded by curious townsfolk who wanted to hear the story all over again.
As it turned out, the only person in the store with me was Marlene, the friend from church wh
o had warned me about Devon my first Sunday there. She gave me a warm hug and told me she was glad everyone was okay, and if there was anything she could do to help to please let her know.
Fifteen minutes later I was on my way back home with a load of groceries that would keep my handsome houseguest from starving. The trip had been quick and painless—far better than I’d expected.
***
Jude had more visitors after his nap—a few people from his church and also one of his co-workers who lived in Hidden Creek. I left him to visit with them while I made a casserole for dinner. Chase and Hannah came back over later on, and I invited them to eat with us. They jumped at the chance and Chase ran home to get Lulu. The little dog was overjoyed to see Jude and gave us plenty of laughs while we ate. It was just what I needed.
By the time we finished eating and had the kitchen cleaned up, Jude and I were both yawning almost continuously. His afternoon nap hadn’t made up for his almost sleepless night, and the five hours I’d managed to get last night had long since worn off.
Chase and Hannah left, and even though it wasn’t even eight o’clock, Jude and I decided to call it a day. I shut off the lights and locked the doors, and we walked upstairs together. I tried once again to get him to lean on me for support, because he was exhausted and we had to get up a whole staircase, but he said he was fine with the handrail.
I shook my head at his stubbornness, although I secretly loved the tough guy in him.
I like to think of myself as tough, too, but I had to admit it was a relief to have Jude at the house with me. Last night I’d left a light on in the hall because I was a little freaked out knowing Abigail was still on the loose. Tonight I felt safe and protected, even with Jude being injured.
I was disappointed not to have heard anything from the sheriff about either Andrew or Abigail, but I was hopeful it wouldn’t be much longer before little brother started to talk.
Jude wanted to take a shower before settling in for the night, so I gave him a towel and set him up in the guest bath. While he was in there, I went and turned down his bed, which I’d made up that morning. I also laid out everything I would need to change the dressings on his wounds.