CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
In other circumstances, Angela might have been worried about spending time with people she didn’t know, especially ones who weren’t hiding the fact that they were curious about her.
However, she was with Jude. She knew that he would make sure she was alright.
And that anyone he counted as a friend would be someone she was safe with.
“Jude, you and Angela can sit over there,” Melanie said, pointing to the far side of the table that was set for six.
Jude led her around to the seats, and they stood there until everyone had come to the table. Once they were all seated, Cooper said a prayer of thanks for the food.
“I’m sorry it’s nothing too fancy, Angela,” Melanie said. “But we’re a pretty basic food type of family.”
“It looks and smells delicious,” Angela assured her. “To be honest, I never ate fancy food until recently. My sister and I were on a pretty strict budget, which meant we ate a lot of pasta and whatever meat was on sale.”
“And you know I don’t go for fancy,” Jude added. “As long as food tastes good, I’m all for it. And I’ve eaten here enough to know that you’re an excellent cook, Mel.”
“Hey!” Cooper protested. “What about me?”
“Well, your steaks are tasty.”
“Thank you for your recognition of my exceptional skills.”
"Your exceptional grilling skills. Just don't ask him to make anything else," Melanie said with a playful smile. "The man can grill, but that's about it."
Cooper placed a hand over his heart in mock offense. "I'll have you know I've mastered the toaster as well."
Angela laughed, feeling herself relax further. The banter between Cooper and Melanie was lighthearted, and she could tell there was love and affection between them.
"Angela's an amazing baker," Jude said, his voice warm with pride as he passed her the bowl of mashed potatoes. "Her cinnamon rolls are to die for, and the chocolate chip cookies she made the other day were the best I've ever had."
Heat rose to Angela's cheeks at his praise. "I’ve been baking for as long as I can remember, and my job before coming here was in a bakery."
"Really?" Melanie's eyes lit up with excitement. “The next time you come for dinner, you should bring dessert.”
Angela smiled as she nodded. “I can do that.”
Surely the fact that they wanted her to come back meant that they liked her. She wanted the approval of the handful of people Jude trusted enough to call friends.
"I love that idea," Cooper chimed in. "Jude's been keeping you all to himself, so we need more opportunities to get to know you."
Under the table, Jude's fingers sought hers, weaving between them with quiet certainty.
Warmth bloomed in her chest as she stole a glance his way, finding the corners of his mouth lifted in a small smile.
With a gentle pressure from his fingers, he released her hand, returning to his meal as if nothing had happened.
Though to her, it felt like everything had.
"So tell us about yourself, Angela," Melanie said, cutting into her chicken. "Jude mentioned you have a sister?"
"Uh, yes. I actually have two. Kiara. She's…
well, she's been my best friend my whole life.
" Angela paused, considering how much to share. Jude had let her know that he’d told the couple pretty much everything about her current circumstances because he trusted them implicitly.
"We've been through a lot together. And then there’s Annie, who’s my twin. "
"Does she look the same as you?" Chloe asked, her fork loaded with mashed potatoes.
Angela smiled. “Yes, we look mostly the same since we’re identical, but there are a few differences. Annie’s hair is longer than mine, and she wears it straight.”
“Can you tell them apart, Uncle Jude?” Alex asked.
Jude chuckled. “Yep. Even if they looked exactly the same, I’d be able to tell them apart.”
Angela turned to look at him. “Really? You think you could, even if our hair and clothes were identical?”
“Sure.”
“How?”
“Well, let’s just say that Annie doesn’t look at me the way you do,” Jude said with a wink. “She looks at Cole that way.”
Cooper and Melanie laughed as Angela felt heat creep into her cheeks.
“Don’t go embarrassing her, Jude,” Melanie admonished.
“It’s okay,” Angela said, glancing up at Jude with a soft smile. “He’s not wrong.”
Angela was so glad that Jude was letting her see this lighthearted side of him. She liked his serious, professional side. In fact, it was that protective nature of his that had first drawn her to him.
But now, it was his smiles and occasional teasing that made her feel special. She didn’t see him interact with anyone else that way, though he was definitely more relaxed around Cooper and Melanie than the others she’d seen him interact with.
“Oh goodness,” Melanie said. “This is just so sweet!
“Melanie has been trying to set Jude up with a woman for ages,” Cooper explained. “To no avail.”
Angela didn’t like the thought of Jude dating someone else. It must have shown on her face, because Melanie reached out to touch her arm.
“Don’t worry,” she said. “He was never interested in any of them. I was beginning to think he’d never find someone to love and settle down with.”
“I’ve always been pretty settled already,” Jude said as he cut into the piece of roast chicken he’d taken. “So I didn’t really need anyone to settle me down.”
“That’s true,” Cooper agreed. “You do live a pretty boring life.”
Jude chuckled. “Well, don’t make me sound too unappealing.”
“Like anyone would find you unappealing,” Cooper scoffed.
“Anyway,” Melanie said. “Suffice it to say, we’re thrilled that the two of you have found each other. I pray you find much happiness together.”
Angela smiled at the woman, grateful for the support of Jude’s friends. It would have made their relationship more challenging if Jude’s hadn’t thought she was good enough for him.
The rest of the meal was spent sharing stories about their lives. Even Alex and Chloe contributed, both of them happy to talk about stuff they’d done at school that week.
By the time they decided to leave, Angela was happier than she’d been in a while. Meeting and spending time with Cooper and Melanie and the kids had made Angela feel like she was finally putting down roots in Idaho.
Now she had friends there who had nothing to do with who her father was. Nothing to do with Kiara. Nothing to do with Annie, Julian, or Benji.
They were in her life now because of Jude, and that made her happy.
“Do you have your list for the store?” Jude asked as he pulled his truck away from the curb in front of Cooper and Melanie’s house.
“Yep. Kiara has a few things she wants me to pick up too.”
“I’m surprised she hasn’t wanted to go shopping herself.”
“She probably would have wanted to today, but she isn’t interested in going to a new church.”
“Did she go to church with you in Briar Hollow?”
“Sometimes,” Angela said. “But she wasn’t as committed as I was. Not sure why.”
“Maybe after she’s been here for a bit, she’ll feel more comfortable.”
“I’d like that.” But she doubted that would be the case.
Kiara had only come to church with Angela when it was a special occasion like Christmas or Easter, with a smattering of other times thrown in.
It didn’t take long to get to the store they’d shopped at previously. This time, Jude took the cart right from the start, allowing Angela the opportunity to gather the things on her list.
Now that she had access to more money, it made shopping easier. But she still struggled with spending too much all at once.
“Could we get a laptop here?” she asked as she spotted the electronic section.
“A laptop?”
“Yes. The one that Kiara and I share is really old. We got it cheap secondhand. We’ve used it mainly to watch videos and stream some movies on the one streaming service we had. But now Kiara is looking at doing online school, and I don’t think the one we have is good enough for that.”
“Okay. I should have thought about that. I’ll talk to our tech guys and get them to set up two laptops. One for each of you.”
“Oh, I don’t really need one,” Angela said.
“Maybe not, but we’ll get you one anyway. I’m pretty sure you could find a use for it.”
“I do like to look up recipes and watch cooking shows,” she admitted. “So maybe a newer one would be good.”
“Give me a couple of days, and I’ll have them for you.”
“Thank you,” Angela said with a smile.
“You’re welcome. Now, where to next?”
Angela considered it for a moment before she led him to the clothing section again. She wanted to buy some more comfortable clothing.
“No chocolate today?” Jude asked after she’d put her choices into the cart.
Angela grinned. “Well, now that you’ve mentioned it…”
With a chuckle, Jude turned the cart toward the candy aisle. This time, Angela picked up several bags of Kiara’s preferred candy and a few of her own favorite chocolate bars.
“Which ones do you like?” Angela asked. “Since you’ve admitted to a sweet tooth.”
“I like chocolate and caramel.”
Angela turned to look over the selection, then picked one up . “Like this?”
“Yep, that’s my favorite.”
She picked up three of them and added them to the cart with the other candy. “All done.”
Jude reached out and wrapped his arm around her, drawing her to his side for a quick hug. “Thanks, babe.”
Babe…
Angela couldn’t keep the smile from growing on her face as they walked to the front of the store to check out.
As the cashier rang her purchases through, Angela watched the total climb with less trepidation than the previous time, though it was still a little alarming. When it was all rung up, she paid with her debit card while Jude loaded the bags back into the cart.
Throughout their time in the store, she’d noticed him occasionally scanning the area around them. He wasn’t off the clock, but he was so subtle in what he did that she tended to forget that he was also her bodyguard and carried a weapon under his jacket.