Reunited in the Rockies

by Mindy Obenhaus

  She studied her barely there fingernails. “Why wouldn’t it be?”

  One broad shoulder lifted. “I just wanted to make sure. Sorry, I didn’t get by earlier. It’s been a busy week with work and trying to catch up on my orders.”

  Her cheeks heated as she recalled her little pity party upstairs. She moved across the dark hardwood floor to the window, hoping he wouldn’t notice. Of course he’d been busy. Between helping her with the arbor, the wedding and their drive up to Last Dollar Sunday afternoon, Jude had sacrificed a lot of time last week. Yet she’d thought he was avoiding her. Stupid.

  Even if he was, it shouldn’t matter. Not to her anyway. Lily was her friend, too, and Kayla didn’t get all bent out of shape when she didn’t hear from her.

  “That’s all right. I’ve been kind of busy myself.”

  “Doing what?” He sounded surprised.

  “Researching permits for the hotel.” She faced him again, annoyance at his incredulity jolting her composure back into place. “Today I had a doctor’s appointment and even did a little shopping.”

  “Picking out stuff for the baby?” A smile played at the corners of his mouth.

  “No. Though I suppose I should start thinking about that.”

  “Maybe once you have your own place again you can focus on that.” Hands tucked in the pockets of his jeans, he moved closer. “Baby doing okay?” His seemingly genuine concern for her child never failed to reach past her defenses, softening even the hardest parts of her heart.

  “The doctor says he or she is doing just fine.”

  “Sounds like something worth celebrating to me.” He looked at her with those dark eyes that once had the power to take her breath away. “Do you have any dinner plans?”

  Sort of. But they involved lots of melted mozzarella, not Jude. “Um—”

  “Because I could really go for some pizza.”

  Her gaze jerked to his. “Did you just say pizza?”

  “I did. There’s a new place here in town that I’ve been dying to try. Word has it that they make their dough fresh every day.”

  Her mouth watered. “That does sound good.” And it was exactly what she’d been craving. How could Jude have known that, though?

  Well, at least she now knew where to go for pizza. But dinner with Jude when her emotions had been so off the rails?

  “Besides, you look like you could use a friend.”

  She straightened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Nothing bad. You just look—” he shrugged “—I don’t know, a little overwhelmed.”

  Since when had Jude Stephens turned into a mind reader? First the pizza, now he could tell she was overwhelmed? She really needed to learn to hide her feelings better.

  “You have a habit of looking at your hands when you’re stressed.”

  Still staring at him, she moved her hands behind her back. Maybe he wasn’t a mind reader, but knowing he watched her that closely, analyzed her movements—

  “And before you go getting all offended, remember that I’m a cop. I’m supposed to be able to read people’s body language.”

  That did not reassure her. Now she was going to be aware of every little movement she made, wondering what he might read into it.

  “About that dinner, though.” He stepped away. “I also hear this place has some garlic knots that are pretty amazing.”

  Did the man know how to drive his point home or what?

  “All right, already.” She started for the door. “I’ll get my jacket.”

  * * *

  Jude moved down the front walk of Granger House with Kayla by his side, feeling like a grade-A jerk. She’d finally opened up to him, sharing something deeply painful. And yet he’d waited three days to contact her again. Sure, he’d been busy, but he could have called or texted to see how she was doing.

  But he hadn’t. And from the moment he laid eyes on her in Carly’s kitchen, he knew something was troubling her. Now he could only pray he could get her to open up again and tell him what was wrong.

  What if you’re the problem? Maybe she thinks your silence was because of what she told you.

  Why would she think that?

  You were kind of hard on her.

  No, he wasn’t. Hands tucked in the pockets of his jacket, he eyed the woman walking silently beside him. Okay, maybe a little. But it wasn’t her he was frustrated with. It was that jerk, Shane. She understood that. Didn’t she?

  Approaching his truck, he said, “Would you prefer to walk or ride?”

  “Let’s walk.” She gave a half smile. “That way, I can justify eating an entire pizza by walking some of it off on the way home.”

  He peered down at her. “That’s some weird logic. But since you’re the one who’s pregnant, I’m not going to argue.” Touching her elbow, he guided her down the sidewalk. “Besides, our nice weather may not hold out much longer. I heard talk of snow this weekend.”

  “Snow?” Her chestnut eyes were wide. “Good thing I picked up some new boots today.”

  “Speaking of today, tell me about your doctor appointment.”

  She shrugged. “He said everything’s still on track. Baby’s healthy.”

  “That’s good.”

  She looked up at him. “Were you worried?”

  “With all the stress you’ve been under and then fainting, yeah, I was concerned.”

  She continued to watch him. As though surprised. “In that case, you’ll be happy to know that he even did a sonogram.”

  “Could he tell if it was a boy or a girl?”

  “Probably, but I told him I didn’t want to know.”

  He wanted to ask her why, but it was her decision. No matter how curious he might be. “You never peeked at any of your Christmas presents early, did you?”

  “Of course not.” Her brow puckered. “That would totally ruin the surprise.” The corners of her mouth lifted then. “You did, though. Didn’t you?”

  He couldn’t help grinning and was glad to see Kayla relaxing. “Maybe.”

  She shook her head. “I’ll tell you what I did see in the sonogram.”

  “What’s that?”

  “The baby was sucking its thumb. Had its little fist up to its mouth... Just about the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

  “Won’t be long and you’ll be holding him or her.”

  She blew out a breath, her enthusiasm waning a notch. “I know.”

  Touching her arm, he stopped. “I thought you’d be excited about that.”

  “I am. Sort of. And I’ll be fine, it’s just...” Her shoulder lifted. “Suddenly it’s all becoming so real. I’m going to be a mother. Like, 100 percent responsible for another human being.” Her eyes slowly traveled to his, as though searching for answers. “What if I mess up?”

  “I’m pretty sure just about everyone who’s ever had a baby in the history of the world has asked that same question.”

  “I’m serious, Jude. Babies aren’t like power tools. They don’t come with a user manual.” He could almost feel her angst.

  “Sorry, I was only trying to say that what you’re feeling is normal. And as for the user manual, my grandmother would have said that the Bible was the only guidebook we need, no matter what the circumstance.” He stepped closer, rubbing her upper arms with his hands. “I get that you’re scared, but you’ve got two things going for you that I know will make you the best mother ever.”

  Skepticism pinched her expression as she peered up at him through long lashes. “And those are...?”

  “Common sense. And a heart filled with more love than that baby will be able to handle.”

  She turned away, but not before he saw the sheen in her eyes. Nodded. “You know, if I don’t get some pizza pretty quick, I just might keel over.”

  “Well now, we can’t have that.�
�� He reached for her hand and aimed for Main Street. “Come on.”

  He held open the door to the pizza place and allowed Kayla to enter first. As with many of Ouray’s restaurants, this one had gone through many incarnations. Everything from fine dining to, now, a pizza joint. He could only hope that it lived up to all the hype he’d heard from locals and, if it did, that it would stick around for a while.

  Inside, the aromas of fresh-baked bread and garlic awakened his appetite. Fortunately, they were seated right away and the waiter promptly dropped off a basket of garlic knots before taking their order.

  Kayla knew exactly what she wanted, a supreme pizza with extra cheese, while he vacillated between the all-meat and the straight pepperoni, ultimately deciding on the all-meat.

  Tearing into a garlic knot, he watched the steam rise from the warm roll.

  “These are amazing.” Kayla’s voice was muffled by the bite she’d already taken. “Definitely fwesh.”

  “Didn’t your mother ever tell you not to talk with your mouth full?”

  She swallowed, then sent him a satisfied grin. “Trust me, it wasn’t anywhere near full.”

  He laughed before sampling the piece he’d broken off. At least she was smiling.

  “Those are some good rolls, ain’t they?”

  Jude turned at the sound of his father’s voice to see the man approaching with Hillary at his side. Seemed the two of them were together more than they were apart lately. And that was okay. Dad was only in his midsixties, and Jude liked Hillary. If they made each other happy, then more power to them.

  “Can’t argue with you there.” Jude held up the other half of his garlic knot.

  “They’re delicious.” Kayla reached for a second, eyeing the couple. “Would you two like to join us?” She motioned to the two empty chairs at their table.

  “Oh, no, that’s all right, hon.” Hillary waved a hand. “We’re on our way out anyway.”

  Arms crossed and resting atop the table, Kayla leaned closer. “So, is the pizza as good everyone says?”

  Hillary peered left, then right before stooping almost secretively toward Kayla. “Even better.”

  Kayla’s face lit up. “Hot dog!”

  Hillary’s smile widened. “Looks like somebody’s got a craving.”

  Tearing off a piece of her roll, Kayla said, “You have no idea.”

  “Oh, I believe I do.” The older woman winked.

  Dad nudged Jude’s shoulder. “Don’t forget, we’re working cattle first thing tomorrow.”

  Jude’s insides twisted. He didn’t have time for working cattle. Not when he had orders coming in regularly from repeat customers, pleased with the quality of his work. And he still had work to do for the project in Telluride. Yet he’d scheduled the day off, not so he could catch up on his work, but to work cattle. All because Jude couldn’t seem to bring himself to tell his father the truth.

  He had to correct that tomorrow.

  “I haven’t forgotten.” How could he when the man kept reminding him?

  The waiter arrived with their pizzas just then.

  “Clint, we need to leave these two to their supper.” Hillary smoothed a hand across Jude’s father’s back, as though encouraging him to move along.

  “Good to see you again, Kayla.” Dad waved.

  “Bye.” She smiled as they departed, then eagerly grabbed a piece of her pizza. “This smells so good.”

  “Yeah. It does.” Though Jude’s hunger had been replaced with angst. How would the old man take the news? Would he get mad or understand? For the most part, his father was a reasonable fellow. Occasionally he just needed time to come around to someone else’s way of thinking, but there were other times when he allowed his pride to stand in the way of common sense. Jude had witnessed it firsthand when his father and his brother Matt ended up estranged for years. Until Dad swallowed his pride and acknowledged he’d been in the wrong.

  That was a tough time for Matt. And Jude did not want to go down that road.

  “You haven’t touched your pizza.” Kayla, on the other hand, had already scarfed down two slices of hers.

  He glanced down at his hand-tossed meaty pizza. “Sorry. I guess I was lost in thought.”

  “Uh-huh.” She wiped her hands on a white paper napkin, her gaze fixed on him. “And I’m guessing it has something to do with your dad.”

  He picked up a slice and set it on his plate. “What makes you think that?”

  “Because your entire expression changed as soon as he mentioned working cattle.”

  She could see that?

  “What gives?”

  “It’s nothing. I just hated taking another day off work, that’s all.”

  Leaning back in her chair, she folded her hands on her belly. “Sorry, that doesn’t work for me.”

  “What doesn’t?”

  Her gaze narrowed. “I don’t appreciate being lied to.”

  And he had lied. Blatantly. As if that would earn him her trust.

  But she already had so much on her plate. He didn’t want to burden her with his problems.

  Still, she had opened up to him. If he hoped to build any kind of relationship with her, it was time for him to do the same.

  “I’m sorry, Kayla. I shouldn’t have disrespected you like that.” He surveyed the space around them, relieved to find it empty. Ouray was a small town where word could travel faster than a wildfire.

  Returning his focus to Kayla, he said, “My father wants—make that expects—me to take over his cattle business.”

  Her expression turned to one of confusion. “But you don’t like cattle ranching. Or you didn’t used to anyway.”

  “You remembered.” And for some reason, that surprised him.

  “There are a lot of things I remember, Jude. So, what do your brothers have to say about that news?”

  “They don’t know. Nobody does, except me and my father.” He eyed the untouched pizza on his plate. “Which puts me in an even tighter spot. I don’t want to disappoint him, but my business is finally at a point where I’m ready to quit the police department to focus on woodworking full-time.”

  Grabbing a third slice, Kayla said, “I don’t suppose you could do both, could you? Cattle ranching and woodworking?”

  “Running two businesses? You obviously overestimate me.”

  Her smile warmed him. “Well, I know what your mother would tell you to do.”

  He waited.

  “She’d tell you to pray about it.”

  “I have been.”

  “And?”

  “If I do what I feel like I’ve been called to do, I’ll end up hurting my father. But I don’t want to give up my dream either.” He let go a frustrated sigh. “I just wish the old man could be proud of me.”

  “Jude, I’m sure your father will be proud of you whatever you choose. I also know that if God has called you to something, He will pave the way. But you can’t keep your dad hanging. You need to tell him.”

  “I know. And it looks like I’ll be doing it tomorrow.”

  Chapter Eleven

  In the storage room of the barn the next morning, Jude finished gathering all of the medicines and automatic syringes he and his father would need. Aside from vaccinating the cattle, they’d be evaluating the animals’ overall health and sorting out those that were younger or thinner and moving them to a separate pasture where they could be given adequate food to help sustain them through the winter months.

  When Jude was a kid, he always looked forward to helping his father, having a little one-on-one time with him. Whether it was checking the herd, feeding, fixing fences or working cattle, he just wanted to be with his dad. Spring, summer, fall or winter, he was by his father’s side. He knew every aspect of running a cattle ranch.

  But he wasn’t passionate about it. Not like his f
ather.

  No, Jude’s passion was wood. From the moment he got his first pocketknife at age seven, he’d been whittling and carving. Then, when he was in high school, he went to the house of a friend whose father had a wood shop. That opened up a whole new world. He’d find excuses to go over there just so he could watch the man create furniture, spindles and even decorative bowls.

  Suddenly, any money Jude made went toward buying carving tools, chisels, routers and, of course, wood. Eventually, he cleared out a corner of his parents’ shed, which, until then, had mostly been used for storing tools, lawn equipment and snowmobiles.

  Intrigued by all of the intricate millwork on the many Victorian homes in Ouray, he went to work for a guy who was renovating one of the most gingerbread-laden houses in town. Not only was it where Jude met Kayla, but it was also where he discovered what it was he wanted to do with the rest of his life.

  Now he was finding a certain measure of success in his custom and reproduction work and was prepared to give up his day job and focus solely on woodworking. But his father was oblivious to Jude’s desires. And, somehow, he had to find a way to make the man understand.

  After double-checking to make sure he had everything, Jude exited the barn and continued around to the pens at the back of the building.

  Gray skies overhead and a definitive chill in the air had him admitting it was good that they were working the cattle today. Because, from the looks of things, winter could be headed their way anytime. Snow was already in the higher elevations and with this upcoming cold snap, anything was possible.

  And to think, it had been so pleasant yesterday. Even as he walked Kayla back to Granger House Inn after dinner last night, the star-filled skies had been clear and the still air just cool enough to warrant a light jacket. Matter of fact, it had been so pleasant that, once they’d reached their destination, they’d settled on the porch swing and talked for at least an hour.

  Seemed impending motherhood was attempting to get the best of Kayla. Thoughts of childbirth and being a single parent threatened to overwhelm her. Later, as they discussed things the baby might need, he made the mistake of pulling up a list of recommended baby items on his phone, which only added to her angst. Who’d have thought that babies required so much gear? Of course, a lot of it wouldn’t be needed until the baby was a few months old, but he’d still had to talk Kayla off the ledge. Assure her that she had plenty of time.