A SWEETHEART FOR JUDE FORTUNE

by Cindy Kirk

  Regardless, he was determined to get it back on track and make Gabi realize what was really important in life and all she’d be leaving behind.

  Jude pulled into the driveway of her dad’s home and cut the engine. Across the street, he caught sight of Alma standing in her yard pretending to inspect the branches of a bush that hadn’t yet budded out. “Having you here matters to your father. Having you care enough to drop whatever else you were doing and come and be with him when he needed you, matters.”

  “I had to come.” A look Jude couldn’t quite decipher crossed her face. “He was there for me through my surgery and recovery. He’s always been there for me. I wanted to be here for him.”

  Finally, Jude thought, the discussion was firmly back on track. Now all he had to do was get Gabi to realize that the connection with him also mattered. And, more importantly, to realize that he was someone she simply couldn’t live without.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The next week passed quickly with Orlando gaining strength and Gabi drawing closer to her favorite cowboy. Jude told her about neighbor Alma Peatry’s eagle eyes. That put an end to the sleepovers. Though Gabi no longer spent the night, she and Jude found late afternoon with sunlight streaming through partially drawn shades was a perfect time to make love.

  The increasing closeness they shared wasn’t only in the bedroom. Every evening they took Chico for a walk, holding hands as they strolled down the sidewalk. One night they went to a renovated movie theater in Lubbock and sat in the back row. Gabi discovered the fun of eating popcorn and kissing a guy you were crazy about in a darkened theater.

  During these long walks and times together, Jude told her about his childhood—amusing little anecdotes about his parents and brothers and sisters. Stories that helped her understand how he’d grown into the fine man he was today.

  She did her own sharing, regaling him with stories about how during her father’s deployments, her mother had kept the family’s spirits up by playing practical jokes on her children. Though Gabi had gotten good at spotting the pranks and preempting them, her brothers had continued to be snookered each and every time.

  She and Jude talked about how hard it had been to leave family and go off to college. As they spoke of those years away from home, Gabi found herself tempted to tell Jude about her transplant.

  The fact that he was so honest with her only compounded her guilt over withholding the information from him.

  In the end, it was fear that kept her lips sealed. Fear if she told him about her new heart, he wouldn’t walk away. He’d stick.

  The love she felt for him refused to let him make such a sacrifice. She wanted him happy. He’d get over her, she told herself, find someone to marry—

  The mere thought of another woman with him was a dagger to her heart.

  “Maybe I could stay,” she told Chico, as she sat on the porch brushing his wiry hair.

  She’d risen early, too restless to sleep, and decided to give the dorkie a bath and a good brushing before heading to Lubbock.

  The dog looked up from his position on the step. She swore she saw the question in his eyes.

  “Wherever I am, you’ll be with me,” she assured him. Gabi wasn’t sure what her landlord would say. But her lease was up, so if she needed to move, this would be the time to do it. “But, darn it, Chico, I like it here. I think you feel the same.”

  The dog appeared to nod, although it may have been simply the pull of the brush against the top of his head.

  “Jude is wonderful.” Just saying his name made her heart stutter. “I’ve never known anyone like him. I’ll never love anyone else.”

  A lump clogged her throat and tears filled her eyes. “I don’t know how I can do without him, Chico.”

  At the sound of his name, the dog licked her hand, thumped his tail.

  “You love him, too, don’t you?”

  A tear dribbled down her cheek. She hurriedly swiped it away. Alma continued to be a one-woman neighborhood watch. Gabi had no doubt she could spot reddened eyes from fifty yards.

  “The thing is—” though there was no one but Chico around to hear, Gabi dropped her voice to a whisper “—I know he loves me, too.”

  While Jude may not have said the words, she saw the emotion each time she gazed into those oh-so-blue eyes.

  “I was a fool,” she told the dog, “to think I could have a simple fling with him.”

  She continued to brush the wiry coat while her mind replayed that first meeting with Jude. From the first instant, he’d charmed her. But it was the man beneath that charming exterior who’d captured her heart.

  “The core problem remains.” She expelled a heavy sigh. “I can’t give him children. I can’t guarantee I’ll be around in another ten years.”

  Gabi knew the stats. Knew that less than 40 percent of heart transplant patients were alive twenty years posttransplant. Still, she’d been young and healthy when she’d gotten her heart and had already made it this far with no rejection. But then she thought of her friends and knew that was no guarantee.

  Gabi could already envision what would happen if she attempted to sit down and explain why she couldn’t be with him. He’d call her a worrywart. And, because he was the optimistic sort, he’d try to convince her she was overreacting, making a major decision about their future because of fear over something that might never occur.

  He’d look up the statistics and quote them to illustrate he was correct in his optimism. Gabi knew those stats as well as she knew her own name.

  The numbers could be considered encouraging. It was also true some transplant patients fared better than others. Several points in her favor were she’d made it seven years without a setback and took excellent care of her body.

  But statistics didn’t tell the whole story. Gabi thought of Kate and Mary, a couple of women she’d met online after her surgery. They’d had heart transplants around the same time as her and had appeared to do everything right. But Kate’s heart had showed signs of rejection on a recent cardiac biopsy, and Mary had passed away shortly before Gabi arrived in Horseback Hollow.

  “I saw the pain my father went through when he lost my mother.” At the words, Chico merely thumped his tail and gave her another lick. “How can I knowingly put Jude in a position of having to face something like that?”

  She glanced around the neighborhood. At the trees with tiny buds that would soon become leaves, at the bold green tips of flowers she couldn’t even identify peeking their way through the rich soil, and desperately wished things could be different.

  Perhaps she could simply stay in Horseback Hollow. She loved it here. It already felt like home to her.

  She and Jude could continue to date. They didn’t have to get serious....

  The second the thought entered her mind, she rejected it. Though she’d like to believe keeping the relationship casual was possible, things were already serious.

  Perhaps, she thought, grasping at straws, having kids wasn’t a big deal to him. If she kept herself in good physical shape, she could keep the odds in her favor. Perhaps...

  Her phone dinged. Gabi glanced at the fourth text she’d received from her father just that morning.

  “Apparently the doctor is coming at two to discuss discharge plans,” she told the dog. “I have to be there.”

  After texting her father she’d join him for lunch and stay until the doctor arrived, Gabi laid down the brush and picked up the small dog, hugging him until he squirmed. Though she’d learned long ago that wishing for something didn’t make it so, those days preceding her transplant had also shown her the importance of hope.

  This afternoon, she’d focus on her father. Then she’d decide what to do about Jude.

  The tight set to her father’s mouth when she walked into the dining area a little over an hour later
told her today hadn’t been any better for him than yesterday. Ever since the doctor had started talking discharge plans, his therapy had kicked into high gear.

  When she’d visited yesterday, her father had been in a funk. He told her the therapists and nurses had no idea how hard he was working and certainly had little sympathy for his pain.

  Though Gabi understood these past few days had been trying, by the time she’d headed back to Horseback Hollow last night, she had a pounding headache and her sympathies were firmly with the staff.

  “Your food is probably cold by now,” Orlando said in lieu of a greeting, pointing to a plate covered by a silver dome. “It’s been sitting there for almost a half hour.”

  The nurse in the hall who Gabi had passed on her way to the dining room had told her she’d just brought in the guest tray, so it should be good and hot.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t here sooner.” Gabi brushed a quick kiss on her father’s cheek then settled into the chair opposite him. “I gave Chico a bath and was brushing him when you called. I lost track of the time.”

  “I don’t understand why you got a dog.” Her father forked off a bite of meat loaf, scowled. “You know your landlord won’t let you keep him.”

  “My lease is up.” Gabi held on to her rising temper with both hands. She removed the silver topper from her food and separated the paper napkin from the utensils. “If I have to, I’ll find a new place to live.”

  “You’re going back, then.”

  Gabi looked at him in surprise. Ever since she’d arrived in Horseback Hollow, her father had been telling her she needed to get back to Florida. To her job. To her life there. Not going back had never been on the table.

  Now he acted as if her staying was a possibility she’d been considering all along.

  “My job is there.” She forced a little laugh. “If I want to eat, I have to work.”

  “I heard Steve Watkins has an opening for a bank manager.” For the first time since she’d walked into the dining room, the lines around his mouth relaxed. “It’d be nice to have you close. If you want to stay, that is. You know me. I don’t interfere in my children’s lives.”

  Since when? Gabi wanted to ask, but pressed her lips together until the impulse passed. “How did you hear about the bank job in Vicker’s Corners?”

  “I’ve got my sources.” Orlando stabbed a green bean. “By the way, your boyfriend stopped by earlier.”

  Gabi’s fingers froze on the napkin she’d been placing on her lap. “Jude?”

  Her father’s brow lifted. “You have more than one boyfriend?”

  “No. But I thought Jude was busy moving cattle today.” Gabi flushed. “And to clarify, Jude Fortune Jones and I are just friends.”

  “Look at these lines.” Orlando pointed with his fork to his handsome, weathered face. “I wasn’t born yesterday.”

  Her father’s voice suddenly sounded almost jovial. The scowl he’d greeted her with only moments earlier had vanished.

  Gabi took a bite of meat loaf, put it in her mouth and chewed for a moment. Orlando’s change in mood appeared tied to the possibility of her remaining in Horseback Hollow permanently. Had it been Jude who’d planted that seed?

  “Did Jude make a special trip to Lubbock to see you?” Though she tried to keep her tone nonchalant, the question sounded more like she was interrogating her father rather than asking a simple question about an unimportant topic.

  “He may have mentioned something about picking up supplies.” Orlando took another bite of green beans, ignoring the pile of carrots on his plate.

  Gabi sensed he was waiting for her to pepper him with questions. Instead she brought a couple of steamed baby carrots to her mouth then followed it with a sip of skim milk.

  “He came up during my therapy,” Orlando offered when she remained silent.

  Gabi expelled the breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. Between her father’s therapy and Jude’s errands, it appeared there had been little time for the two men to do much more than exchange brief pleasantries.

  Besides, even if they’d had more time, it wasn’t as if Jude would have mentioned they were sleeping together. “Too bad he came when you were busy.”

  “He stayed and watched.” Orlando’s lips curved in a slight smile. “After observing the session, Jude agrees my therapist is a sadist.”

  It took a moment for the words to register. Gabi dropped her fork. “He did not say that.”

  Orlando shrugged. “He thought it. Know what else?”

  Gabi was afraid to ask, but the way the conversation was going, she had the feeling her father would tell her anyway. She lifted her glass of milk. “What else?”

  “The boy is in love with you, Gabriella.”

  The milk Gabi had been swallowing took a detour. She coughed, gasped, fought for breath. After a few seconds, she regained her composure. “Let me get this straight. He told you he loved me?”

  “I have eyes,” her father responded. “It’d be obvious to a blind man.”

  “Just like it was obvious he thinks your therapist is a sadist?”

  “That’s right.”

  “You’re mistaken.” Gabi could have cheered when this time her voice came out casual and offhand, just as she’d intended. “It’s true we’ve become good friends, but nothing more.”

  A shiver of disloyalty rippled through her at the lie. Why did she feel as if she’d let Jude down by her response?

  “Ah, mija.” Her father expelled a heavy sigh. “Do you think I can’t see what’s in your eyes? On your face? It’s clear what you feel for him.”

  Heat dotted Gabi’s cheeks. Was she that transparent? Putting down her fork, she abandoned the pretense of eating. “If there is something between Jude and me—and I’m not saying there is—are you telling me you approve?”

  “It depends.” Orlando stabbed another bean, looked up. This time his gaze was serious, his lips unsmiling.

  “On what?”

  “On whether you’re willing to be completely honest with him.”

  Gabi licked her lips. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “You haven’t told him about your transplant.”

  Something in her father’s voice sent a shuddering chill through Gabi. “You didn’t tell him.” She grabbed her father’s arm, her gaze riveted to his. “Tell me you didn’t do that.”

  “He needs to hear it from you,” Orlando said mildly, lifting her fingers from his sleeve. “So, no, I didn’t mention it.”

  Releasing a breath, Gabi sagged back in her chair.

  “I’ve never known you to be a coward, Gabriella. I have to say I’m disappointed.” Her father’s expression might be impassive, but his words held the force of a hard slap.

  “I’m not a coward.” She lifted her chin. “Jude knows I’ve had heart surgery. I just haven’t decided the best way to tell him what kind.”

  “Your prognosis is excellent. There’s no reason to be afraid.” Her father’s eyes softened and he reached out to grip her hand. “The man is in love with you. He has a right to know something that’s such an important part of your life. Not telling him is tantamount to lying.”

  “I—” Gabi hesitated.

  “Tell him.” Her father’s tone brooked no argument. “Or I will.”

  * * *

  Jude jumped out of his truck in front of Gabi’s house, a bouquet of flowers in one hand, a package of steaks in the other and hope in his heart. When he’d visited Orlando earlier today, it sounded as if the man would be released any day. Which meant Jude had to step up his game.

  Not that securing Gabi’s love was a game. It was more of a mission. He loved her so much he couldn’t imagine not having her in his life. He didn’t want her for a day, or a week or a year. He wanted her to be his wife, to be the
mother of his children, to be the woman he grew old with and loved for eternity.

  One hurdle had been jumped when Jude had sat down with Orlando after his therapy session. Jude told him he loved Gabi and wanted to marry her. Because Jude suspected Gabi’s father was a traditionalist, he’d asked for his blessing.

  The older man had gazed into his eyes for a long moment, as if he could see all the way into Jude’s soul. Jude had held steady and let him look. He had nothing to hide. His feelings for Gabi were strong and sincere.

  In the end, Orlando had said marrying him would be up to his daughter. But if Gabi said yes, they would have his blessing. Jude had ridden a high the rest of the day.

  Tonight, he and Gabi planned to grill steaks then take Chico for a long walk. Jude liked it that they didn’t have to do something special to have a good time. Some of his favorite moments with her were when they simply sat on the living room sofa in front of a fire and talked. Or strolled hand in hand in the cool night air with a thousand stars twinkling overhead.

  He loved it when she placed her hand in his as if trusting him to look out for her. She was his woman, and he would do everything he could to protect her. To make her happy. And he would love her with each breath until the day he died.

  “Jude. Wait up.”

  He turned to see Alma Peatry striding down the sidewalk toward him, her perfectly groomed standard-size white poodle trotting beside her.

  As the gray-haired woman drew close, Jude saw her pale blue eyes snap with undisguised interest. “Flowers and candy. You went all out tonight.”

  “Actually—” Jude shifted from one boot to the other and lifted the package wrapped in butcher’s paper “—these are steaks, not candy.”

  Her wrinkled face brightened. “T-bones?”

  “What else?”

  “You devil.” Alma’s hot-pink painted lips widened. “You’ll have the girl eating out of your hands.”