CHAPTER TWO
Jude tapped his phone to accept the call, then put it on speakerphone before setting it on his desk. “Hello, Mom.”
“Darling!” His mother’s voice filled the air. “Happy New Year’s Eve!”
“Same to you.”
“Do you have any special plans?” she asked.
Jude stared through the window at the towering evergreens outside the cabin he called home on the Burke Estate. “Nope. Nothing special. I probably won’t even be up until midnight.”
“That’s such a shame,” his mom said with a sigh. “You should have someone special in your life by now. You’re forty, you know.”
"Thirty-eight, Mom. I'm thirty-eight," Jude corrected, his tone flat. He leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"That's still too old to be alone on New Year's Eve." The concern in her voice was genuine, even if her methods were intrusive. "I worry about you, sweetheart."
"You don't have to, Mom. I'm fine. Really." Jude glanced at the security monitors on the wall of his home office that displayed various angles of the Burke estate. All quiet, as it should be. "The job keeps me busy."
“Too busy.” There was a hard edge to her voice. "Your father was the same way. Always the job first."
Jude's jaw tightened. Though not surprised at the direction their call had taken, he wished that, for once, they could have a conversation without his mom venting her frustration about her marriage to Jude’s dad.
The man had been dead for most of Jude’s adult life, and his parents had been divorced for decades. His mom had even remarried and had more kids. So, as far as Jude was concerned, she needed to let her frustration go.
There wasn’t a day that went by that Jude didn’t miss his dad. He’d done a lot for Jude, including taking on the sole task of raising him after his mom had left them.
And even though he’d had good reason to turn Jude against her, his dad had never done that. Instead, he’d encouraged Jude to build a relationship with her.
It was only because his dad had made that request that Jude had continued to answer any of his mom’s calls following his dad’s death. Now, they had a relationship that was good, for the most part, but he could never really let himself open up completely to her.
She’d left his dad, angry that he wouldn’t give up his low-paying, dangerous job as a cop.
The irony was that because she’d abandoned them, his dad had ended up quitting his job.
Since he’d viewed himself then as a single parent with a co-parent who wasn’t around, his dad had decided he had to work at a safer job for Jude’s sake.
He’d eventually ended up employed by Duncan Burke, ultra-wealthy business tycoon. It had ended all too soon, however, with his dad dying of a heart attack when Jude was just twenty-one years old.
Jude had carried on working for the Burkes, eventually taking over as head of security. The job his dad had held at the time of his death.
"The job is important."
"More important than having a life? Than finding someone to love?" There was a pause. "I just want you to be happy, Jude."
"I am happy." The words came automatically, rehearsed from countless similar conversations.
His mother's laugh told him she wasn't convinced. "At least tell me you're not working tonight."
"I'm on call." He was always on call.
Jude's eyes drifted to the framed photo on his desk—the only photo he had in his house. His dad stood with his arm around Jude’s shoulders, a proud expression on his face.
It had been taken shortly after Jude had begun to do work around the estate as part of the security team.
He’d been just seventeen years old, but already willing to do what he could to prepare for the career he wanted in the future.
"You're always on call," his mother said with a weary sigh. "When was the last time you took a real vacation? Or even a weekend off?"
Jude couldn't remember. The Burke family's safety was his responsibility, and that didn't take breaks. He had plenty of downtime. Plus… "I like what I do."
"That's not what I asked." Her voice softened. "Honey, I know you think I don't understand your dedication, but I do. I lived with it for years with your father. I just don't want you to wake up one day and realize you've missed out on everything that makes life worth living."
The familiar knot in Jude's chest tightened. "Dad didn't miss out on anything."
"Didn't he?" The question hung in the air between them, heavy with his mom’s bitterness. "He died alone in that office, Jude. Working late. Again."
Jude's hand curled into a fist on the desk, wishing he’d never told her the details of that evening. "He died doing what he loved — working to keep the people he cared about safe."
"I'm not saying he was wrong for how he lived his life. I just want better for you." His mother's voice cracked slightly. "You deserve more than just duty and obligation."
Except that duty and obligation were something he could depend on. Something that had never hurt him in the years since he’d joined his dad on the employment path that provided security for a wealthy family.
“I’m just not sure it’s healthy for you to still be single,” she said. “I mean…”
Jude understood her implication, but he wasn't interested in justifying his life decisions. His father had instilled in him the belief that a man should transcend his basic instincts, exercising self-control and overcoming the temptations of the flesh.
He hadn’t been perfect, especially in the time following his dad’s death. But when his grieving had lessened in intensity, and he’d been able to think about his dad without drowning in pain, he’d straightened up and done his best to live an honorable life. Glorifying to God.
Daniel Kessler had lived that way, while also leaning heavily on the belief that he couldn’t do it on his own. He’d become a Christian after his wife had left him, and each day, he’d reminded Jude that God gave them strength and wisdom to deal with the situations they faced.
“I’m fine, Mom,” Jude said. “I am happy with my life. I’m content and fulfilled.”
“Can you really be fulfilled when you’re all alone?”
Before Jude could respond, his phone vibrated on the desk with an incoming message. He pulled it close, tuning out his mom’s continued attempts to make him dissatisfied with his life, and read the message.
D. Burke: Please come to my office. ASAP
Jude frowned. Though he’d told his mom that he was on-call, he hadn’t anticipated needing to do anything. The whole Burke family was at the estate, and there had been no plan for them to leave the property until the next day.
“Sorry, Mom. I’ve got to go,” Jude said as he got to his feet.
“See? Always duty.”
Ignoring her jab, Jude said, “Have a happy new year, Mom. And give my regards to Robert and the kids.”
He didn’t know Robert well, but he’d gone to their wedding. And his dad had done a background check on the man, just to be sure he was a good person.
Since the marriage, his mom and Robert had had two kids. A boy and a girl. There was a significant age gap between him and them, with the kids just barely out of their teens, so he didn’t know them at all either.
Putting thoughts of his mom’s family from his mind, Jude strapped on the weapons he always wore when out of the house, then headed for the door that led to his garage.
Once through it, he ignored the twenty-five-year-old truck that had once been his dad’s pride and joy, as well as his own shiny, newer, bigger truck. He went straight to the rugged UTV that he used for driving on the estate.
After firing up the engine, he pressed the remote to open the garage. Bright late afternoon sunlight poured into the space, sparkling off the snow that lay on the ground and making him squint until he lowered his sunglasses over his eyes.
Within a couple of minutes, Jude was pulling the UTV into the brightly lit garage at the back of the security building.
But rather than go further into the building, he exited it the same way he’d driven into it, through the large opening.
He used his phone to close the garage door, then headed in the direction of the main house.
The cold air had him pulling up his collar, then shoving his hands deeper into the heavy coat he wore. He’d stupidly left his gloves back at the house. Thankfully, the walk from the security building to the main house didn’t take too long.
He let himself into the mudroom, then peeled out of his jacket and hung it on a hook near the door. After stamping his feet a few times to shake the snow from his combat boots, Jude ventured deeper into the mansion.
Stopping by the kitchen, he quickly greeted the housekeeper and her daughter before he headed down the hallway that would take him to Duncan Burke’s office. It was a walk he’d made countless times over the years since Duncan had moved his kids—and his entire life—from New York to Idaho.
The door stood open, so Jude stepped through the doorway.
“Good afternoon, Duncan,” he said, trying not to wince at the use of the man’s first name.
For too many years, he’d been Mr. Burke. It had only been when he’d been promoted to head of security that Mr. Burke requested Jude call him Duncan. And though it had been several years since that had occurred, Jude still wasn’t completely comfortable with the familiarity.
“Good evening,” Duncan said as he looked up from his computer screen. He gestured to the chairs opposite him at the desk. “Please sit down.”
A knot formed in Jude’s stomach. After knowing the man for as many years as he had, he could read him quite well.
But right at that moment, he had no idea what was going on. Duncan’s emotions were hidden behind a wall of stoicism, which didn’t bode well.
“What’s happened?” Jude asked, wondering if Duncan was unhappy with something he’d done.