40. Jude
40
jude
N othing could demolish this high. It was as if I was floating on air. Or so I thought.
“Well, what do you want to do?” Alex asked.
We had just finished a grappling session, but I really needed a heavy bag. I had to go find a hay bale to punch.
I wiped the towel down my face, mopping up the sweat.
“I have to call Jessica.”
And I had to tell Romy. She wasn’t going to like this. It already caused my gut to cramp just thinking of saying the words. She was either going to be pissed, or … no, she was going to be pissed. I wasn’t scared of her ferocity, even when her temper got the best of her, but I realized now that was when she needed me the most. Just in the last few days, now that we bared our hearts, our communication was improving.
“Who’s Jessica?”
Shit.
Worst possible timing for Romy to walk into the garage.
I buried my face into the towel before peeking out to look at her.
Yeah, I wasn’t scared of her … well, maybe a little. It was a healthy fear for the woman I knew I’d one day call my wife. Because I never wanted to hurt her.
Romy stood beneath the open garage door, the evening light against her back. She was still wearing her boots, her jeans dusty and dirty from a long day of trail riding. Her hip was cocked, her hand resting on it, while her other hand flipped her braid back over her shoulder.
“I need to tell you something.” I cringed.
I chanced a glance at Alex. He was looking hella uncomfortable.
“Um … good work tonight.” He slapped me on the shoulder. “I’ll see you in the morning. Bye, Romy.”
“Bye, Alex,” she said.
She didn’t even look at him when he grabbed his water bottle and ducked out of the garage to his rental car.
“Do you want to sit with me?” I gestured to the weight bench.
“No, I’m good. I’ve been in the saddle all day.”
I nodded, rubbing my neck with my towel. Maybe I’d take a seat.
Grabbing my hat off the rack, I brushed my hair back and pulled it on backward so she could see my eyes while I told her this. I sat down on the bench, resting my elbows on my knees, and glanced up at her.
She kicked off her boots before padding across the mat to stand in front of me. Her brow was arched, waiting for me to speak.
I blew out an exhale between my lips.
“This doesn’t seem good,” she commented.
“It’s not. A story was released today on an MMA YouTube channel, and it kinda went viral. Mike Reyes reposted it on his social media, and it’s spreading like wildfire. I’m going to have to release a statement and probably talk about it at a press conference once I’m in Vegas.”
“What’s the story, Jude?”
She was growing impatient. Her toe tapping.
I inhaled a deep breath. There was no way around this but through. “A reporter connected the dots. Everyone already knew about me decking Junior in the bar, but no one had really determined why until now. They found the story in the local paper about the murder on the ranch. They know I was defending you, but they are also saying I was defending a murderer. They’re spinning the story to sound like I condone the killing of Jesse Matheus.”
“But that’s not true. They have no idea what happened. We still don’t really know, but I’m becoming more and more convinced he was abusing her.”
“You know that. I know that. That’s why I have to make a statement. That’s why I need to call my ex.”
“Jessica?”
I nodded. “She’s also my publicist. Hopefully, she can help me with damage control before the story becomes a bigger problem than it already is—before it affects you and Thornbrush.”
“I don’t give a fuck how it affects me. I worry how this impacts you and the ranch. You need to let Chuck and Lina know.”
“Yeah, I’ll tell them tonight and then give Jessica a call.”
“Do you want me to be there with you when you tell them?”
That question eased some pressure in my chest. Man, I loved this girl. “Please.”
“Done. We will face this together.”
Uncle Chuck and Lina took it better than I thought. They were more pissed for me than anything. They wanted to help where they could, so I just told them to take care of Romy while I was gone.
When I called Jessica, I told her everything. I detailed what we knew, why I had to come home. I informed her about Hazel and what we suspected about her and Jesse. She wasn’t surprised when I advised her about Romy. She always knew that I was in love with someone from my past. She recorded my statement, and she said she’d start constructing the narrative to highlight the facts and start reporting all the social media posts as disseminating information. Hopefully, by the time I reached Vegas, the story would be old news, but there would inevitably be questions during press conferences. Knowing Reyes, he wouldn’t shy away from bringing it up, either. The dude was a shit talker.
“If someone asks you about it, just say you can’t speak to the ongoing investigation and trial, that you trust the justice system to do their job,” Jessica counseled. “Your statement should be a sufficient answer for everyone. If anything, it should paint you as hardworking, loyal to your family, compassionate to those involved, and focused on your fight. They don’t need to know the sordid details.”
To say this didn’t distract me from focusing on my fight was an understatement. It did exactly what the YouTuber and Reyes set out to do. I spent days trying to regain my equilibrium, Alex throwing all his motivational pep talks at me, but I didn’t latch on to a single one. I needed to get my head in the game, but it didn’t help that Romy couldn’t go with me, that I had to leave her to deal with the bullshit and walk into that courtroom without me. I wanted to care about this fight, but it was becoming clear that my heart wasn’t in it.
“This is going to be my last one,” I finally told Coach.
He only nodded and said, “I know, and you’re going to go out swinging.”
When the day came I was supposed to leave Romy, I was a nervous wreck. Alex was going to drive us to the Portland Airport, so I had to say goodbye to her at home.
The double-wide had become our home. At least I could leave knowing it was our home, knowing she would be here when I got back, that she would be waiting for me.
Washed in the sunrise, Romy still curled up in the blankets of our bed, we kissed and clung to each other until the very last second. Really until Alex came pounding on the door.
“I don’t want to leave you,” I mumbled against her lips.
“You need to go,” she said, but she didn’t push me to leave.
Another pound on the door.
I groaned, gripping Romy’s hips to swing her over to straddle me. We had already gone one round this morning, but my dick didn’t care that I needed to go. It strained against my Nike joggers, digging into her. Those fucking tiny sleep shorts.
“Come on, I’ll walk you out.” She slid off my lap.
I whined.
“Come on, big baby.” She pulled on my arm until she was able to sit me up.
I adjusted myself in my sweats.
The pounding at the door was incessant. “Hold on, asshole!” I called.
“Dick!” Alex yelled through the door. “We’re going to miss our flight.”
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I drew Romy in between my legs, gripping the back of her thighs right beneath the curve of her ass. I stroked her perfect cheeks beneath the hem of her shorts with my thumbs.
“This is killing me.”
“I know, babe, but the sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll come back to me,” she whispered against my lips. Her fingers dove into my hair, stroking, soothing, loving.
“I love you, honey.” I pressed my lips to hers, wanting this to last.
“I know you do. I love you just as much.”
She kissed me back, our tongues lingering just a little bit longer.
“Okay, I really need to go before Alex decides to knock down the door.”
I intertwined my fingers with Romy’s, leading her to the door, my other hand taking the handle of my suitcase.
“One last thing,” she said.
“What’s that?”
Romy grabbed my Thornbrush Ranch baseball cap from the coat-tree. Pressing up on her tiptoes, she brushed her lips across mine while putting on my hat.
“You can’t forget this,” she murmured against my lips.
“Of course not.”
Bang. Bang.
“All right. Don’t get your panties in a bunch!” I called through the door.
I gave Romy another smack on the lips before lacing my feet up in tennis shoes and opening the front door.
“It’s about fucking time,” Alex called from where he now leaned against his rental car. But instead of looking annoyed, amusement painted his face, knowing exactly why I was taking my sweet time leaving.
I mean, look at her! Even in— especially in—that oversize sleep shirt that barely revealed her soft, cotton shorts, that phoenix tattoo up her thigh, and her thick, blonde hair piled into a messy bun. She was stunning.
“I love you, honey.”
“I love you, too, babe.” She held on to the doorknob while she buried her nose into my neck, wrapping her arm around me to hold me tight.
I burrowed my face into her hair, taking one last pull of her coconut scent, hoping it would at least last me until I got on the airplane.
“FaceTime tonight?” I asked her.
She nodded. “Text me when you take off and land.”
“I will.” I kissed her one last time before I willed myself to pull away. It was painful leaving her here, making myself go when I wanted nothing more than to stay.
“Bye, babe!” she called, giving me a small wave as I walked toward Alex.
He grabbed my suitcase to throw it into the trunk.
I couldn’t stand it. I turned back around and ran right back up those steps, causing her to laugh as I lifted her into my arms. I melded my lips to hers, my tongue darting out to urge her to open for me one last time. She released a soft whimper into my mouth, and I ate it up. Holding her to me, feeling the press of her breasts against my chest, her lips against mine, her tongue dancing across mine, the scent of her like a cloud. I wanted to memorize it all so it would last me until I came home.
“Okay, lovebirds. If we don’t get this show on the road, then we’re never getting there.”
Romy’s lips tipped up in a smile. “I love you. Now go win a fucking fight for me,” she said.
We couldn’t get enough of saying those words to each other.
“I love you, honey. Always and forever. Be safe while I’m gone.”
“You, too. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She winked at me when I set her down.
I chuckled. “I’ll be good, I promise.”
I jogged back down the steps to the car, turning to look at her one last time. To burn the image of her standing at the threshold of our home until I could see that image again.
“Love you!” she yelled.
I blew her a kiss, then got into the car.
Alex was smiling like a fool when he got behind the wheel. “You got it bad, Bull.”
“Badder than bad. It kills me to leave her.”
She stood in the doorway watching us back out of the drive, and I never took my eyes off her until we were turning down the dirt road, away from the ranch.