by Ellie Hall
“I can’t decide if that’s the sweetest thing or the most stalkerish thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I really hope you choose the sweetest. But if you tell me you don’t want this, I respect that decision. But I’m not going to sit back any longer and leave us both to wonder what could’ve been. I know I love you, Ruby. The years haven’t changed that. It wasn’t a passing young love. I wish I’d handled things differently our senior year of college. I wish I hadn’t jumped to conclusions. I wish I hadn’t been so insecure. But no matter what’s happened in the past, I don’t want to let that define our future. We can choose the path we go on from here. And I really hope that we’ll be on that path together. “
I was finding it hard to focus on his face as he spoke. It was one of the most beautiful things I’d ever heard.
And he was saying it to me. Me. Ruby. Ruby who loved Jude. Ruby who wanted to be on that path with Jude. Ruby who hoped Jude would pursue her relentlessly. He was saying everything I dreamt of him saying.
“Are you going to kiss her or not?” Lillian called out the window, where she stood holding a stack of china she must have been packing away.
I jumped in Jude’s arms, and he threw his head back and laughed.
“We’ve all been waiting on this ever since you two came back to town!” she called out again.
“Then I better get to it, shouldn’t I?” Jude asked.
And he did. He quickly wiped away my uncontrollable laughter and replaced it with something else.
10
Ruby
“I don’t think I want to go today,” I said as I stared at the glowing white building with piano music spilling out of it.
Jude had stopped by my house early that morning and drove me into town in my truck, where we grabbed some breakfast and endured a million questions from people in the diner about when we had gotten back together.
We’d grabbed our breakfast and ran, deciding that eating in the truck was better than answering questions. The trouble with dating in a small town was that you never got to enjoy the new stage with you and your significant other. Everything was everybody’s business.
“We’ve been spotted. It would be weird to leave now,” Jude answered.
“No, really, I don’t think it would be…”
A strong finger hooked through the belt loop of my jeans, stopping me from booking it out of the parking lot. My shoulder brushed against his side, and if we hadn’t been in the church parking lot, I would have been tempted to lean up and kiss him.
The day before, we’d managed to finish the dog fence by the time Dean showed up with the new owners in tow. We’d hurried out of there and spent the rest of the day together—lunch and an afternoon spent fortifying the gate in Jude’s backyard, thanks to the llama’s attempts to break out.
It might not have seemed like the most amazing date for some people, but it had been perfect for us. We’d had the chance to reminisce, kiss, make up, and do some more kissing. It was marvelous.
Jude had insisted on delivering me safely home, where he kissed me on the front steps of my porch as well, promising to pick me up on the way to church in the morning.
I’d lain awake the whole night, regretting the fact that I hadn’t listened to him sooner, regretting that it had taken me another week to forgive him after hearing about the ridiculous misunderstanding.
And now I was going to pay.
Mrs. Boone stood on the entry porch to the old white church. She was leaning close to Lillian Barker and chatting while staring at us.
“Remember when Mrs. Boone told us to come by that barbecue for Ford?”
Jude nodded. “I have a feeling we should have gone. We’re going to have to pay penance today with a thousand questions.”
“Well, we did mention something about being married by Sunday. In fact, I think it was you that mentioned that. So, now we can add fortune-telling to your resume.”
“Ha, that’s what you think. We’re not married.”
“Yet,” Jude added with a smirk.
“That’s pretty confident for a guy that just asked me out yesterday. Did I say yes? I can’t seem to recall what I said...”
Jude leaned down to whisper in my ear, “It’s a good thing we’re heading into church right now, because otherwise I’d be tempted to do something not very churchy right now.”
“Can you use ‘churchy’ as an adjective?”
“Yes,” Jude replied. “Lillian Barker is churchy. See? It fits perfectly.”
In a strange way, it made sense. Lillian Barker was churchy. She was as churchy as they came: a sweet little lady that played the organ, always knitted a new outfit for any newborns in the congregation, and routinely made fudge for anyone that was alive. She still wore a large-brimmed hat every Sunday that matched her outfit. She was the epitome of churchy.
“Should we walk in there and pretend like we aren’t dating?” I asked.
“I’m pretty sure it’s too late for that,” Jude said with a smile. “If Dean knows, then everyone knows.”
“You don’t suppose that him hiring you to do the fence and asking me to consult was his own way of matchmaking, do you?”
“Dean? I don’t think so. He’s never been one to match-make before. I’d lay the blame at that llama’s doorstep.”
“No, I think I’ll lay the blame at your doorstep. You’re the one who started this all by deciding you would take home a crazy llama.”
“Well, if we’re really going to get into the nitty-gritty details, I could point out that you were the one that invited me to sit next to you during lunch when we were twelve years old.”
“I felt bad for the awkward middle school boy.”
As if Jude had ever been awkward. He was one of those people that had been blessed with dignity through all the stages. He’d never had to have braces and he’d never been awkward socially.
He was always the guy that everyone wanted to hang out with, and I’d been the shy and awkward girl obsessed with her animals. Yet, he still chose to sit by me that day and every day afterwards.
With that thought in mind, I crushed his hand in mine and marched inside the church building, practically towing him along with me.
“I guess that answers that,” he said with a grin.
And in a short twenty seconds, the entire town of Boones-Dock would know that we were dating again. Anyone not at church would be informed via text message.
After the church service finished, we made a mad dash to our getaway vehicle, only to discover that we had a flat tire on my truck.
“You know, I don’t think that’s going to be a quick fix,” Jude said as he examined the front tire. “You okay with walking over to Nim’s and seeing what he has in stock? I’d worry about you hauling trailers on your spare. He might have one of these.”
I smiled. “Sure, that sounds great. He’s the one I ordered my tires from anyway. Maybe he has a spare or another set I could buy off of him.”
Jude stood up and grasped my hand. “I’m actually not trying to be helpful. I just want some of that buttery popcorn he has there.”
“Me too. He won’t mind the business, and we can gorge ourselves on popcorn. Lunch problem solved. It’s brilliant.”
Jude grinned and tugged me close for a quick kiss.
The auto-mechanic shop was directly across the street from the church—and the only one in town.
Nim met us at the door. “Jude. Ruby. How’ve you been? I heard you were both back in town. Here to stay?” he asked as he cracked the top on a Bud Light.
Nim rarely left his auto shop.
If you didn’t stop by with a problem, chances were you wouldn’t actually lay eyes on the man. I wasn’t sure what he ate, because I’d never bumped into him at the grocery store, and Boones-Dock was definitely not the kind of place that had a grocery delivery service.
“We got a flat tire, Nim. Right there in the church parking lot.”
Nim grinned. Popped tires meant good business for hi
m. “Well, isn’t that a shame.”
He didn’t look upset about drumming up some business. I wondered if he’d thrown a handful of nails out there.
“Why don’t you guys make yourselves comfortable in the shop while I go take a look at the tire and see if it’s patchable.”
He hurried past us with a spring in his step. I glanced toward the parking lot where my truck sat at an odd angle.
“Is it just my imagination, or does it look like your truck isn’t the only one with a flat tire?” Jude asked as he slung an arm around my waist and tugged me close.
“Shoot. That does look a little suspicious.” At least ten other cars had that look about them. Several people stood examining their cars with the same perplexed look I’m sure Jude and I had.
“It’s Nim’s lucky day,” he chuckled. “Quick, let’s go inside and steal a spot on the bench before everyone else gets here.”
I laughed as he dragged me into the shop and shut the man door behind him. The scent of oil and spilled fuel filled the room. A soft hint of popcorn wafted through the air.
Jude squeezed my hand as we walked around an engine block hanging from a large chain. Shelves of tools lined the walls while boxes of tools sat around the floor.
A pickup sat in the center of the shop with the hood popped open. Nim’s cat sat on the roof of the pickup, watching us with a twitching tail.
“Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve been in here,” Jude said. “It’s nostalgic.”
“I know what you mean.” Everyone in Boones-Dock had spent time at the mechanic shop. Maybe it was because you broke an axle speeding across the bridge, or maybe you just needed a new set of tires that could stand up to gravel roads. Either way, it sometimes felt like a second home.
“Do you know what I’ve never done?” Jude asked.
“Hmm, raised a llama?”
“Very funny.”
He stopped next to a stack of tires.
“I’ve never kissed you in a shop.”
“Well, that is very disappointing,” I teased as I stared up at him. “What are we going to do about that?”
He glanced over my head to make sure the door was shut then wrapped an arm around my waist, lifting me off the ground and pulling me against his chest. I gasped as he brought me to his level. “I love firsts.”
He pressed his lips against mine, gently at first. His soft lips pulled at mine. His arms held me tight against his chest, allowing me to wrap my arms behind his neck without fear of falling.
It had been far too long without Jude. It shouldn’t have taken us this long to get back together. Young, dumb, and stubborn. Both of us too hurt to see that the other one still cared.
And now we were showing each other just how wrong we were.
I threaded my fingers through his hair at the back of his head, grateful that it was long enough to grasp.
He groaned, his chest rumbling against me as I deepened the kiss.
Yup. I shouldn’t have been holding a grudge for so long. Not when we could have been doing this instead.
A door slammed open, and I jerked back in surprise. Jude grinned sheepishly as he slowly slid me to the ground.
Mrs. Boone stood in the doorway of the shop. “At least now I know why you didn’t come to Ford’s birthday yesterday,” she teased.
Jude turned a lovely shade of pink. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Flat tire for you guys too?” she asked as she stepped inside. Her high heels looked out of place on the grease-stained concrete.
“Looks like it’s catching out there.”
Mrs. Boone stepped inside. “I wonder if Nim was needing some more business…”
We laughed, and Jude stepped over to the popcorn machine, filling a bag and handing it to me.
I led him over to the old wooden bench that sat against the wall and sat down next to him. I lifted his arm and put it around my shoulders with a grin.
He was still embarrassed about being caught making out in the shop—and it was adorable.
The sound of voices outside the shop grew louder. More unhappy customers.
“How many irate customers are going to be upset their Sunday lunch plans were ruined?” Jude asked as he grabbed some popcorn from me.
“This is the part where we watch the show.” I nodded my head toward the open door so Jude would notice who was coming.
“Oh no, this can’t be good,” Jude commented when he saw who was coming.
Mrs. Boone stepped into the front entrance of Nim’s shop, blocking the way for Mrs. Graham to walk inside.
“Ford would never do a thing like that!” Mrs. Boone said in an outraged voice. “How dare you accuse him of purposefully sabotaging the church parking lot!”
“He’s the one who laid down the new gravel! And now we all have flat tires. This is a conspiracy. I know it. You Boones have probably bought stock in a tire company. This is all a ploy just to line your pockets, I know it,” Mrs. Graham seethed.
I leaned toward Jude and whispered, “My money is on Nim. He seemed lonely when we walked in today. He probably threw a few handfuls of nails out there to drum up some business.”
Jude chuckled at that and nodded. As we watched the argument unfold between the two women, Nim walked into the room, rolling a tire and carrying an inner tube over his shoulder. He was whistling a merry tune that didn’t coincide with the row happening in his doorway.
It was definitely Nim who’d sabotaged the cars. I made a mental note to stop in and visit him more often. No one knew why he didn’t leave his shop. They just knew that was the way he was.
A loud crack drew my attention away from Jude and back to the doorway. Mrs. Graham was in Mrs. Boone’s face.
Whatever the cracking sound had been, it was about to get real.
“Did she just hit her?” I tilted the bag of popcorn toward Jude. He reached a hand in and sorted around, picking out the most buttery pieces, like a neanderthal.
“Quit that.” I flicked his hand and stole a few of the buttery pieces away from him, popping them in my mouth.
“Who do you suppose is going to throw the first punch?” he asked as he crunched some popcorn.
“Probably Mrs. Graham this time,” I observed. “Mrs. Boone looks too smug about it. Like she’s hoping to press charges when it’s over.”
Both their husbands stood just outside the door and looked like they were about to come to blows themselves, not helping to diffuse the situation in any way.
“Should we do something about it, you think?” Jude asked as he grabbed my wrist. I’d just found a minefield of buttery popcorn and had tried to scoop it up before he discovered it. He tugged my hand toward his mouth and closed his lips around the tips of my fingers, stealing the buttery popcorn from my grasp. But honestly, who was thinking about buttery popcorn when a warm mouth like Jude’s was around your fingers? No one. That’s who.
His eyes sparkled dangerously as he held my gaze.
I cleared my throat and reached to the side to set the popcorn bag down on the table next to me.
“You know I take popcorn thievery seriously,” I said in my best stern voice.
“Does this mean I’m in trouble?” he asked in a low voice.
“Big trouble.” I scowled and leaned forward and waited. “What am I going to do with you?”
Jude smiled slowly and scooted over until his leg was pressed against mine. His arm dropped from around my shoulders to down around my waist. He pulled me tight against his side. “Hmmm, you’ll have to let me know what my sentence is.”
“Do I need a jury?” I murmured, mesmerized by the Adam’s apple bobbing up and down on his neck.
“I don’t think so, Judge. I think you’ll do just fine on your own.” His breath tickled across my forehead as he bent down.
“Then I’d say you owe me a kiss. In fact, you might owe me a couple.”
“Oh no, not that,” he groaned quietly as he smiled.
I didn’t think he’d actually kiss me with ot
her people in the shop. But he surprised me by bending down and brushing his lips against mine.
“Is that the best you’ve got?” I asked as I rested my hands against his chest.
He leaned back a few inches and looked at me in surprise. Then he grinned. “I’ll show you what I’ve got.”
I barely saw him move as his other arm snaked around my waist, pulling me tight against him. His other hand made its way to the base of my ponytail where he tugged until my face was angled just right for him. And then he showed me exactly what his best was.
You know the saying Those shoes were made for walking? Well, Jude’s lips were made for kissing. And those hands were made for forgetting. Popcorn ceased to exist. Two middle-aged women brawling in front of a mechanic shop? Unimportant. I had lips to kiss, and I didn’t plan on letting them go anytime soon.
Epilogue
Jude
“Where is that crazy llama?” Ruby asked me as she scanned the backyard with a wary eye.
“Hmm?” I busied myself with mixing up the salad. We’d been dating for a couple weeks now. We couldn’t eat out in Boones-Dock without being asked when the wedding date was, so I decided to make Ruby dinner at home and enjoy her company without prying eyes.
“What did you do?” she asked, not fooled by my innocent face.
“I have no idea what you mean,” I answered her.
“Jude, what did you do with that crazy llama? And don’t pretend like you didn’t do something. If it were here, it would be plastered to that window right now.” She pointed to the window that still had spit globs stuck to the outside of it.
“Ford found it a new home for me.”