Drawn In

by Sean Ashcroft

  “Who is it?” she asked, not commenting on whether or not Owen was allowed to be happy.

  “Jude. Jude Howell. I think you know him.”

  Owen knew for sure that she knew Jude, but he wasn’t sure when she’d last spoken to him, or if she’d remember who he was. From what he’d pieced together so far, Jude had crawled into his shell after Owen had left.

  Brenda snorted. “You should have married Jude in the first place,” she said.

  Owen had no idea to respond to that, either. He didn’t understand it at all.

  At least Jude hadn’t been totally forgotten.

  “Well, uh. You’re welcome to come, if you want. I’ll get you an invitation as soon as I’ve got them.”

  “Keep it.”

  That wasn’t entirely unexpected.

  Owen wished he could bring her daughter back. He would have done anything, traded anything, if that was an option. He knew she blamed him, and a lot of the time, it felt like she was right. He didn’t really blame her for resenting him.

  “I’m sorry,” Owen said, though he wasn’t entirely sure what he was sorry for.

  He was always generally sorry about everything these days. It had become part of who he was, like the color of his eyes or the tiny birthmark on the inside of his right index finger.

  “Not nearly as sorry as I am,” Brenda growled, backing away to head for the kitchen.

  That had gone about as well as he’d thought it would. It was important to him that Lisa’s parents didn’t hear from anyone else. Just because they weren’t playing fair, didn’t mean he wouldn’t.

  Fairness was the thing Owen valued above all else. He knew that life wasn’t fair, but that didn’t mean people couldn’t be.

  Owen took a few deep breaths and mounted the stairs, heading for the nursery.

  He’d thanked Brenda and Alan for looking after Kayla when they’d first taken her, because he still hadn’t known about the stunt they were about to pull.

  The moment he set eyes on Kayla, all of his conversation with Lisa’s mom was forgotten. Whatever mistakes he’d made, she wasn’t one of them.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he said, reaching into her cot to pick her up, prying her away from the bars she was hanging onto for support. “Look at you, standing up already. You’re such a big girl now.”

  Owen held her close, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, letting the weight and scent of his daughter soothe him. She made a soft noise, resting easy against his chest, her tiny body warm and comforting.

  This was worth everything. If he never did anything else with his life, Owen was convinced that he’d done enough good already. If Kayla was all he left behind, then he’d given the world something wonderful.

  “Guess what?” he murmured, kissing her head. “You’re getting a step dad. I promise he’s not evil, though. I think you’ll like him.”

  He really hoped Jude liked Kayla. They’d been too young to think about kids the last time they’d really been close, so Owen had no idea how Jude felt about them.

  He wouldn’t have accepted the offer if he hated kids, Owen reasoned. Maybe it’d take a little adjusting, but that was to be expected. Jude was a sweetheart. Owen would have trusted him with his own life, and he’d trust him with his daughter’s, too.

  “I think he’ll like you, too,” Owen said, reassuring himself rather than Kayla. He couldn’t imagine anyone not liking her. She was easily the best person on the planet.

  “We’re gonna go for a walk,” Owen explained. He told himself that Kayla liked the sound of his voice, but really, he just wanted to make sure she’d recognize it. He couldn’t handle not seeing her. It broke his heart.

  Whatever it took to see her more often, Owen was prepared to go through with it. If all that involved was marrying his childhood best friend, he was getting off lightly.

  Chapter Six

  “I look ridiculous,” Jude said, trying and failing to straighten his tie in the bedroom mirror.

  Behind him, Charlie snorted. “I think you look very handsome,” he said, turning Jude around by the shoulders and undoing the tie, nimble fingers working on it until there was a firm, straight knot.

  “Thanks, but you have to say that.” Jude turned back to look at himself. He wasn’t really a suit-wearing kind of person. Weddings and funerals only.

  And now, his own wedding.

  Not quite the fairytale wedding he’d imagined, but he liked being surrounded by people who cared about him.

  “The purple brings out your eyes,” Charlie offered, pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose.

  “Is that why you bullied Owen into it?”

  “He wore a navy-blue tie with a black suit to his first wedding. His taste isn’t to be trusted.”

  Jude remembered it well. He was thankful that Riley had stepped in to be Owen’s best man, because he wasn’t sure he could have handled it. The whole day was burned into his memory.

  It was strange to be replaying it with himself in Lisa’s place. Especially with her gone.

  “That’s mean.”

  “That’s what little brothers are for.” Charlie shrugged. “I had a bad feeling about the last wedding. I know that’s easy to say in hindsight, but…”

  “I understand,” Jude said. He still wasn’t sure he could separate feeling like he’d lost Owen from any other feelings he might have had. He hated to think of himself as jealous of Lisa, especially now, but he had been.

  Dwelling on it wouldn’t do anyone any good, though. He was still adjusting to the news of her death, but he hadn’t spoken to her since she left town with Owen. Any grieving he needed to do, he’d already done.

  “Owen rushed into it last time. He was… running away.”

  “And he’s not rushing into it this time?” Jude raised an eyebrow. “Because I feel as though we’re actually headed for disaster right now.”

  “I don’t think so. I think…” Charlie glanced out the window, to where his mom was setting up in the yard. “Well, doesn’t matter what I think. I guess we’ll see.”

  Jude hummed, going over to the window to look out at the rows of white, hastily-hired fold-up chairs. Everything felt like it was moving so fast, but he couldn’t stop any of it now. The snowball his life had become was rolling too quickly to catch it.

  Not that he wanted to. Owen was offering him security he’d never had before. He would have had to be an idiot not to grab it with both hands.

  “You know, I had a helluva crush on you when I was a kid,” Charlie said. Jude turned around to look at him, surprised.

  “I’m over it now,” Charlie added, shrugging. “But I still remember making a list of all the things I thought were great about you. I’m really glad no one found it back then.”

  Jude laughed softly. “I take it your point is that I’m not the actual worst person to get married to?”

  “That is the general point, yeah.” Charlie nodded.

  “Well, thanks. You’re a good best man so far,” Jude said.

  He appreciated that Charlie had offered. Other than Owen, Jude really didn’t have a lot of friends. No one he could ask to do something like this.

  Not that it was important. The whole thing was for show, and the whole Jules family knew it.

  That hadn’t stopped them from making a fuss and inviting half the town. Jude had known what he was getting into when he let Owen convince him to move in here.

  He didn’t hate it. It had been a while since he’d seen so many people happy.

  It had been a while since he’d been happy himself. Worries about the future aside, Jude was happy.

  He wasn’t sure Owen would ever understand what a precious gift that was to him, but he’d always be grateful for it.

  “And you’re a good brother-in-law,” Charlie said. “But you’ve kinda always been part of the family. I asked if you were moving in once after you stayed for the weekend when we were kids. I was so disappointed when mom said no.”

  Jude laughed a
t that. Now that he had Owen’s family back in his life, he could hardly remember how he’d lived without them. This had been his second home as a child.

  “I think most of my happiest memories happened in this house,” Jude said.

  Charlie made a soft sound in the back of his throat and darted forward, wrapping Jude in a tight hug.

  “Welcome to the family,” he said, squeezing Jude so hard he couldn’t breathe for a moment.

  Despite the force of the hug, Jude leaned in to it. He was glad Charlie wasn’t upset about this.

  He was glad that the whole Jules family seemed to want him around.

  “Thank you,” Jude said softly. “You think we’ve kept Owen waiting long enough?”

  Charlie glanced out of the window again. Jude moved beside him, looking down to see the whole yard set up and Owen standing in the middle of it.

  He looked as nervous as Jude felt, fiddling with his cufflinks and pacing up and down.

  Just as Jude was about to step away from the window, Owen turned his head to look up.

  The moment he saw Jude, he smiled. His whole face was suddenly ten years younger, all the stress and worry that hung over him these days falling away. Back to the sweet, quiet boy Jude had first fallen in love with.

  The only boy Jude had ever fallen in love with. No one else had compared to him.

  “He looks excited to see you,” Charlie said. “Did you make wedding night promises, or what?”

  Jude snorted. He would have let Owen hang him upside down from the ceiling if he thought that might get him interested, but he knew for a fact that it wouldn’t.

  He expected to crawl into bed exhausted tonight, but not beside Owen. Riley’s old room had been his sanctuary for the last few weeks, and he had no reason to think that was going to change any time soon.

  “Owen is straight,” Jude said.

  “If you say so,” Charlie responded.

  Jude wanted to ask what he meant by that, but a knock on the door interrupted him before he’d finished forming the thought.

  “You’re pushing the boundaries of fashionably late,” Mrs. Jules called through the door.

  “We’ll be down in one second,” Jude called out, grabbing his suit jacket from where it hung over the foot of the bed and throwing it on.

  “Do I look okay?” he asked, suddenly needing reassurance.

  “I’d marry you.” Charlie grinned.

  “Thanks.” Jude smiled wryly in response, not quite confident enough to return Charlie’s grin. “As long as Owen does.”

  “He will,” Charlie said, holding the bedroom door open for Jude to go through. “Or mom will kill him.”

  Jude chuckled darkly, but he wouldn’t have been surprised if Mrs. Jules did kill Owen for backing out at the last minute. She’d gone to a lot of effort for this wedding, and at short notice.

  “Oh, uh…” Charlie paused at the top of the stairs, patting down his jacket before extracting something from one of the pockets.

  It turned out to be a blue toy car, the enamel chipped off in a few places, exposing the metal underneath. It must have been one of Charlie’s childhood toys. “This is both old and blue. It’s all I could find so quickly, but… it’s the thought that counts, right?”

  “It’s definitely the thought that counts,” Jude said, accepting the car and tucking it into his inside pocket. “Thank you, Charlie.”

  “No problem.” Charlie smiled at him. “If I have to have another older brother, I’m glad it’s you.”

  “Don’t tell Riley, but you’re my favorite new brother.” Jude winked.

  Charlie rolled his eyes, but a faint blush colored his cheeks at the same time. “Come on. You’re late to your own wedding.”

  He bounded down the stairs, leaving Jude no choice but to follow him down and out into the garden.

  As little brothers went, Jude thought he’d gotten pretty lucky.

  Owen was waiting at the front of the rows of chairs, where there was a little lattice archway set up. The celebrant was standing under it, waiting for the two of them to get their act together.

  Jude strode to Owen’s side, nodding to Riley as he took his place. It was a surprise to see the eldest Jules brother, since he rarely stayed in one place for long. But then again, this was a family wedding.

  Riley hadn’t left home the way Owen had. He came back for Thanksgiving and Christmas most years, and Jude had seen his RV in town at other times, too. As far as Jude knew, Owen never had after he left.

  Their father’s death had hit them all differently. As the middle child, Owen had taken it hardest. He’d always been unsure of his place, and losing his dad had only made it worse. They’d been close.

  “Last chance to back out,” Owen said softly. He was trying to make it sound like a joke, but Jude could hear the nervousness in his voice.

  “Nope.” Charlie reached out to take Owen’s hand. “You’re stuck with me.”

  “I’m okay with that,” Owen said, squeezing Jude’s hand.

  Jude was glad this was all going too fast for anyone to expect them to write their own vows. Even as he repeated after the celebrant, he couldn’t help but feel he was giving himself away, letting everyone present know how much he wanted this.

  Or rather, how much he would have wanted this if he thought Owen did, too. It was convenient, and it would make both of their lives easier, but there was a tiny twinge, deep in Jude’s gut. Something between nerves and disappointment.

  “I do,” Jude finished, looking up at Owen again.

  Owen’s hand felt so warm, his fingertips light and gentle against Jude’s skin.

  Jude watched his lips as he recited the same words, suddenly hyper-aware that people were expecting a kiss after this. What if he put too much into it? What if Owen realized at the last moment that he was marrying someone who really did have feelings for him, feelings that had never really gone away?

  Owen had spent the last few weeks reminding Jude of all the reasons he loved him. Now, Jude could barely think of anything else when he was in Owen’s presence.

  “I do,” Owen finished, snapping Jude back to reality. He smiled a soft, nervous smile, taking a deep breath as they were instructed to kiss.

  Jude swallowed. He probably looked terrified right now, which wasn’t what he wanted Owen to see, either.

  Owen darted in before he could make a move.

  Where Jude had expected a peck on the lips, the minimum required to show that they’d kissed, he got something completely different. Owen’s lips were soft against his, just barely parted.

  Before Jude knew what was happening, they were kissing the way lovers kissed. Not the open-mouthed, hungry kissing of lust, but something so gentle, so sweet that Jude’s heart clenched as Owen made a soft, satisfied noise and then backed away.

  His head spun, the low burn of arousal and the way Owen had knocked the air out of his lungs making him dizzy. His lips tingled all over, the ghost of Owen’s lips against them still lingering.

  If that was Owen’s idea of a fake kiss, Jude really, really wanted to be on the receiving end of a real one.

  Owen was blushing, but Jude was fairly sure his own face was glowing red.

  Thankfully, the crowd was too busy cheering to notice him.

  All except for Charlie, who nudged him in the ribs, and then winked when Jude looked at him.

  Charlie knew. Of course. How could he not know? He’d known Jude almost as long as Owen had, and he understood in a way no one else did.

  “Time to sign your life away,” Owen joked beside him, still holding firmly onto his hand.

  “Signing my life away to a fairytale prince was actually my greatest ambition,” Jude said.

  “Sorry it’s me, then.” Owen laughed.

  “I’m not,” Jude responded, squeezing Owen’s hand. He was a fairytale prince.

  Chapter Seven

  Having escaped the post-wedding festivities and managed to make his way to the kitchen, Owen reached out to swipe some
icing off a single, perfect cupcake that was sitting by itself in the middle of the counter, only to have the back of his hand slapped by his mother, who seemed to appear out of nowhere.

  “That’s for Jude,” she said. “Since he can’t have the regular wedding cake.”

  Owen smiled and left the cupcake alone. His mom had always been good about cooking for Jude. When he’d been little, she used to borrow books on diabetic cooking from the library so she could make something Jude could eat when he came over for dinner.

  He hadn’t thought much about it at the time, but he realized now how much effort she’d gone to in making Jude feel welcome in their home. She’d always liked him, and looking back, Owen realized that was because he was the only friend who’d ever really stuck by him.

  When Owen got chicken pox and was off school for three weeks, Jude had been there every day after school, hanging out with him so he wouldn’t feel alone.

  He’d gotten chicken pox, too, and then Owen had returned the favor.

  He was going to have to learn how to cook for him, now. Jude could take care of himself, but it would be nice to eat together. Like old times.

  The internet would probably tell him everything he needed to know. He just wished he’d thought of it sooner.

  “If you wanna make yourself useful, you can bring that tray of sandwiches outside,” his mom added, nodding to a neatly-stacked tray of assorted sandwiches.

  She’d gone to so much effort for this, even knowing that it wasn’t real. Owen had no idea how to thank her.

  “You really didn’t have to do all this,” Owen said, grabbing the tray as instructed.

  “Of course I did. My little boy got married today. What kind of a mother would I be if I didn’t help him celebrate?”

  “Well, yeah, but it’s not… I mean, you know why we’re doing this…”

  “I do.” His mother turned to look at him, hands on her hips. “I knew why you were doing it last time, too, and I gotta say, I’m a lot happier about this wedding than the last one.”

  Owen raised an eyebrow. That didn’t make sense at all.

  “You’re doing this for the right reasons, Owen. You’re doing it out of love for Jude and for your daughter. I know you feel like a fraud, but you’re not. This is what marriage is supposed to be about. You don’t have to want to get into Jude’s pants to have good reason to marry him.”