CHAPTER THIRTY
For Jude, arriving back at the estate had felt like coming home in a way it never had before. Of course, he’d never had someone waiting for him to return. And he’d certainly never had someone waiting at the edge of the helipad the way Angela had been.
The sight of her there, bundled up against the cold, had settled something inside him. And when Duncan had told him that he was off the clock—essentially freeing him to reunite with Angela the way he wanted to—he’d wasted no time in going to her and taking her in his arms.
They’d ended up sharing dinner with the family, then they’d gone to the library, where Jude had turned the gas-powered fireplace on.
In the cozy warmth of the space, they’d talked for a few hours, catching up on all the things that hadn’t been easy to discuss over text or during the few calls they’d had.
And every day over the next two weeks, they’d continued to spend time together. Those meet-ups had become the highlight of Jude’s day.
On several evenings, Angela had accompanied him when he’d worked out in the gym at the rec center. She’d even exercised herself a couple of times, but she had made it pretty clear that she much preferred to just watch him rather than participate herself.
They’d also watched some movies in the theater room, sometimes joined by Annie, Benji, and Kiara.
No matter what they did, Jude had enjoyed every minute of it because he’d been with Angela. He never would have imagined that someone would come into his life who he would want to spend so much time with.
Apart from it being time they used to get to know each other better, Jude just enjoyed being around Angela. She made him smile and even laugh more than he usually did. And it wasn’t that she was super funny or anything like that.
It all came down to the fact that he didn’t feel he had to hold his emotions so closely when he was with Angela. His usually tight emotional control loosened because he felt such a level of peace and contentment when she was around.
He’d come to realize that there was more to life than work… but he only wanted that if Angela was part of it.
Jude poured himself a cup of coffee from the carafe in his kitchen, then leaned a hip against the counter as he stared out the window. The snow that had begun the previous day had finally ended that morning, leaving them with bright sparkling snow drifts.
Later that day, he and Angela had plans to go to Coeur d’Alene for dinner and a show at a local theater. He wasn’t really a musical sort of person, but Angela had seemed excited about it. And if she wanted something, he’d do what he could to make it happen.
But that wasn’t going to be until that evening. He needed to do a few things around the house that he’d been putting off. One of Mrs. Stevens' daughters came to clean his place once a week, but he took care of his own laundry, which was what he needed to focus on that morning.
Setting his mug on the counter, he headed for his room and gathered up all the laundry. He got the first load going, then returned to the kitchen.
Being a Saturday morning, he didn’t have to head to the office, though, as usual, he was available for anything that needed his time and attention
When his phone chimed with an incoming video chat, he hoped it would be Angela. A quick glance at the screen, however, showed it was his mom.
He answered the call and set the phone up so that he could make himself breakfast while they chatted. He hadn’t told her about Angela yet, but one of these days he would.
They’d been chatting for a few minutes when a call came in from the security office.
“Mom, I have to go,” he said. “I’m getting a security call.”
She gave a sigh but didn’t argue. Just made him promise to call her again in the next day or two for a longer chat.
“What’s going on?” Jude said when he accepted the call.
“I’m not sure, but Angela is on her way to you, I think,” Dawn said. “She came flying out of the house and ran down the road headed to your place. She’s not wearing a coat.”
Jude frowned. “Okay. I’ll meet her with the UTV.”
The bacon still had twelve minutes until it was done, which would be plenty of time to get her and bring her back.
Worry pricked at Jude as he hurried to the UTV in his garage. He didn’t bother to close the overhead door behind him since he’d be back soon.
Cranking the heat, he drove down the winding road that led from his place to the main house. It was about a ten-minute walk, but driving was only a minute or so.
That meant he spotted Angela almost immediately. Head down, she was trudging through the snow drifts on the road since it hadn’t all been cleared yet.
He pulled to a stop and got out. The minute Angela saw him, she ran toward him and flung herself into his arms.
“What’s wrong, love?” Jude asked, needing to know what he was facing in order to help calm her down.
“He’s going to be so mad.”
She looked up at him, distress clear on her face. Her eyes were puffy and red, and strands of her hair were caught in the dampness of her tear-stained cheeks.
“Who’s going to be mad?”
“Duncan,” she said. “He’s going to be so mad.”
“C’mon.” Jude put his arm around her shoulders and guided her to the UTV. “Let’s go back to my place, and you can tell me what’s happened.”
She nodded and allowed him to help her into the UTV. For the ride back to the house, she sat in silence, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.
After he pulled into the garage, Jude closed the overhead door, then led Angela into the cabin. She didn’t even look around as he took her through the kitchen to the living room.
“Sit here,” he said, guiding her to his overstuffed couch.
He took a minute to check on the bacon, then returned to where Angela sat staring dully into the darkened fireplace.
“Are you cold?”
She looked up at him, then down at her hands. “I’m okay.”
“Here.” He pulled the throw blanket off his recliner and draped it over her shoulders.
Her hands came up to grip it together at the front. “Thank you.”
He sat down on the rustic coffee table in front of her. When he held out his hands, she loosened her hold on the blanket to take them.
“Tell me what’s going on.”
“Kiara’s pregnant.”
Of all the things that Angela might have said, that was completely unexpected.
“Pregnant?” he asked. “Really?”
She nodded. “And Duncan is going to be so mad.”
“I don’t think he will be,” Jude said. “After all, her personal life isn’t really his responsibility.”
“Oh, he’ll be mad about this,” Angela said, conviction strong in her voice.
“Why?”
“Because it’s Julian’s.”
Jude sat back in shock, staring at Angela with wide eyes. “Julian’s?”
Angela nodded. “Kiara said it’s his.”
“What on earth?” Jude shook his head. “I had no idea there was something going on between them.”
“I don’t think they’re dating or in a relationship or anything,” Angela said. “From what Kiara said it happened one night when they’d both been drinking.”
“I didn’t know that Kiara drank.”
“She doesn’t, but she’s been depressed and frustrated lately. I guess maybe she and Julian got drunk together, and things just… happened.” Angela’s shoulders slumped as her head dipped. “It’s all my fault.”
“What?” Jude leaned forward, keeping her hands firmly in his. “There’s no way this is your fault.”
“I knew that she was struggling, but I just didn’t know how to help her.”
“Which means it’s not your fault,” Jude told her. “Kiara and Julian are adults, and this decision and its ramifications are their responsibility. Not yours.”
“Duncan is going to be so mad at them,” Angela said.
Now that he knew the details, Jude couldn’t exactly argue against that. “Not at Kiara, though.”
“Why not?” Angela asked.
“Because Julian should have known better,” Jude said. “And if he was going to make such a bad decision, he didn’t need to compound it by being irresponsible and not making sure they were protected.”
The timer in the kitchen beeped, so Jude squeezed Angela’s hands, then let them go. “I’ll be back in a minute.”
She nodded, then wrapped her hands in the wool blanket again.
Jude pulled the baking sheet with the bacon on it out of the oven and put it on the hot pads he’d set out on the counter.
His mind was reeling with the news Angela had just revealed. He was actually surprised that it had taken this long for Julian to get into this predicament, given the reckless way he lived his life.
Although, for all he knew, Julian did have other kids, and Duncan had just paid to keep that information under wraps.
Sighing, he returned to where Angela was and sat back down on the coffee table in front of her. “How did Julian react when Kiara told him?”
“She hasn’t told anyone,” Angela said. “And she probably wouldn’t have told me if I hadn’t found her throwing up in her bathroom a little while ago.”
“Is she sure she’s pregnant?”
“Yes. She had a positive pregnancy test.” She gave him a helpless look. “I don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll be honest, I’m not sure what to do either. This is a first for me,” Jude told her. “But I’m not sure we should do anything.”
“Really?” Angela asked.
“The thing is, this situation really only involves Kiara and Julian.”
Angela exhaled heavily. “I suppose that’s true.”
“For now, the best thing you can do is just be there to support Kiara. She’s going to need it.”
“Do you think Duncan will ask her to leave?”
“Definitely not,” Jude said. “Circumstances aside, this baby will be Duncan’s first grandchild. And if you haven’t figured it out yet, family is everything to Duncan. He won’t do anything that will drive Kiara out of his life with his grandchild.”
“He won’t try to take the baby from her, will he?”
“I think the only way he’d step in is if she didn’t want to raise the child herself. If she wants to give the baby up, he’ll make sure that it has a good home with him and Elizabeth.”
Angela’s eyes fluttered closed as she let out another sigh. When she opened them again, Jude could see the turmoil she was dealing with.