Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
When Jude opened his eyes, the sunlight blinded him.
Wait, what time is it?
Oh shit. Cody. Throwing off the covers, he jumped out of bed. He skipped the shower and hurried downstairs.
Still groggy, he found his dad in the kitchen. “Where is he?”
His dad had a hand braced on the stone counter and a leg crossed over the other. “Dropped him at school.”
His dad’s calm and steady demeanor eased his anxiety. “Good. Thanks for that. I know how much he wanted to go today.” The last thing he wanted was to disappoint the boy.
“No problem.”
Jude poured himself some coffee. “I haven’t figured out how to make my work schedule fit with babysitting.” But he’d better. He had him for another five weeks.
After the bar closed at two, he had to count the cash drawer and lock it in the safe, run a quick check of the booze, clean up…and a hundred other things. He didn’t get home till four.
His father eyed him carefully. “I didn’t ask you to work.”
“Well, I’m not going to just live off you.”
His dad’s eyes darkened, his features pulling tight. “This is your home. You do whatever you need, and I’m here to support you. You get that?”
He looked away. “Sure.” He hadn’t lived here in twelve years. He didn’t know what home felt like anymore.
His dad came right up to him. “You know I didn’t send you away because you were a bad kid, right?”
“Yeah.” What was his point?
“Judge Adams left us no choice. Either we got you out of town, or you boys would’ve wound up in juvie.”
“Dad, I was there. I heard.”
“Yeah? Then how come the other guys came back, but you never did?”
“Because I needed to cut ties.” To have an identity outside them. “I didn’t want to get drawn back into their shit.”
“And how’d that work out for you?” Humor glinted in his dad’s eyes.
“Not so good.” He lifted his mug. “Here I am.” Drawn right back into Marco’s drama. But he wanted to make sure his dad understood. “I hope you know I never blamed you for what happened when I was a kid. You had four boys”—one of them a baby—“and no income. You did the best you could.”
“Well, that’s a nice way to say it, but nothing changes the fact that you were the oldest and got the worst of the situation. You’ve never been much of a talker, so I didn’t know what was going on. I only knew you were taking care of your brothers. Now I know there was no one looking out for you.”
“But that’s the point. There was.” Marco.
“Yeah, I get it.” He stepped back to wipe the counter. “In any event, while you’re here, I don’t expect you to work. As far as I’m concerned, you’ve got one job, and that’s to take care of the boy.”
“Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it.” He took a slug of Ava’s dark roast. His dad might not drink coffee, but he kept it in the house for her and his sons.
“Now, if you decide to go through with the adoption, I assume you’ll stay in town so we can help.”
“I haven’t given it a lot of thought, but yeah. That makes sense.”
His dad gave a curt nod. “If that’s the case, the bar’s yours.”
Jude straightened so quickly that the coffee sloshed in his mug. “What do you mean, it’s mine? You’re not retiring, are you?”
“Got other shit I want to do. And if it’s something you’d like, I think now’s a good time to start transitioning it over to you. If you want it.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“Dad, come on. I don’t exactly get along with the people in this town.”
“First of all, I don’t give a shit what the ten thousand locals think about a kid who ran wild for a few years.
You took my truck out for a joyride and knocked out someone’s mailbox.
So what? I care about the three million tourists who come to Wild Billy’s each year to ride the mechanical bull. They’re the ones who pay my bills.”
A strange warmth flooded him, loosening the tightness in his chest that he lived with. “Fair point.”
Right then, the front door opened, and boots treaded on the wood floors. Wyatt came into the kitchen holding a bag and a big box. “This is for you.” He handed the package to his dad.
“What is it?” His dad grabbed a knife from the block and cut it open.
“Don’t know.” Wyatt tossed the bag onto the counter. “It was sitting on a snowbank on the driveway.”
“Damn delivery drivers.” Beneath the packing ice, his dad unearthed a fancy wooden board. “What is this?”
Jude pulled out the accompanying container and peeled off the plastic wrap to reveal a variety of meats, nuts, cheeses, and crackers. “It’s a charcuterie board.”
“The fuck?” His dad read the card. “It’s from Finlay.” He barked out a laugh. “She’s thanking me with a meat board for letting her stay the night.”
A clutch of protectiveness had him yanking the board out of his dad’s hands. “That was nice of her.”
“Not sayin’ it wasn’t.” His dad pulled out almonds, figs, prosciutto, and olives. “Just didn’t expect it.”
Jude had to grin. It was a nice gesture but probably sent to the wrong crowd. Not because they didn’t like the food. They did. They just weren’t delicate eaters. One of them could polish it off single-handedly and then sit down to a full meal of steak, potatoes, garlic bread, chips, and guacamole.
Grabbing a butter knife, Wyatt cut off some soft herbed cheese and smeared it on a thin cracker.
“This is the kind of thing Ava would do,” his dad said.
“Yeah, that’s because she’s civilized,” Jude said.
Wyatt gave a chin nod to a bag he’d also brought in. “Got gloves for Snowfest. Don’t know Cody’s size, but they’re pretty much one-size-fits-all.”
Jude rooted through the bag, pulling out a tiny pair. “Appreciate it, man.” He didn’t know why his voice came out so rough. But his chest tightened, and he found himself caught between sorrow and a ferocious anger.
“You okay?” Wyatt asked.
Of course, his brother would notice. Jude held up the gloves. “He’s just a kid.”
“Yeah.”
Wyatt had been the same way. A little, lost boy. Neglected. Teased relentlessly. No one looked out for him. “He needs protection. He needs…” He looked at his brother and dad. “Family.”
“Yeah, he does.” His dad clamped a hand on his shoulder. “But he’s got it now. He’s going to be all right.”
Was he, though? Jude didn’t even have temporary custody yet. He had no idea what life would be like for this boy.
“We’ll make sure of it,” Wyatt said.
Jude could almost believe them. His phone buzzed, and he glanced at the screen. He wouldn’t usually answer if he didn’t recognize the number, but now, he had Cody to worry about. “Yeah?”
“Is this Jude McKenna?” a woman asked.
“Who’s this?” he asked in his don’t fuck with me voice.
“This is Jenna Halston, a lawyer from Winter, Browne, and Sampson. We’re handling the guardianship case?”
“Oh, right. Yeah, this is Jude. What can I do for you?”
“Well, we’ve got a hearing.” She sounded pleased. “Can you be at the courthouse in twenty minutes?”
“I can. What do I need to bring with me?”
“Wear a coat and tie. If you can get your father to show up with you, that should help.”
“Sounds like there’s a possibility the judge will say no.” He’d hoped the legal guardian’s choice would be honored.
“There’s always a possibility when a child’s well-being’s at stake.”
Jude came to a stop the moment he entered the courtroom.
“Is there a problem?” the attorney asked.
“No, it’s just… That’s Judge Adams. I have history with him.”
“Anything I should know about?” she asked.
“In high school, Jude was the getaway driver when his friends stole a car,” his dad said.
“That’s right. High school.” That was twelve years ago. The judge would be a dick to hold that against him.
They all headed down the center aisle, parting when his dad, Ava, and brothers sat in the first row, and he took his seat beside his attorney.
He barely registered the formalities of the bailiff announcing that court was in session and everyone rising as the judge entered, because he was preoccupied with his attorney’s advice to keep his cool and be respectful, not defensive.
And the hope that, maybe, the judge had forgotten about him.
It’s been twelve years. He’s seen hundreds of cases since then.
Once finished, Judge Adams peered over his glasses. “Mr. McKenna, let’s catch up. In the twelve years since you last stood before me, I became the Wyoming chess champion two years in a row, a grandfather of seven, and, if I may brag, quite a good pickleball player. What have you accomplished?”
“Your honor, I’ve served eight years in the Marines.”
“I thank you for your service. And how have you filled the remaining four years?”
“I’m a bartender, currently residing in Key Largo.” He wished he had a more impressive résumé, but he’d still done well for himself. “I also flip bars. So I’m comfortable financially.”
Judge Adam held Jude’s gaze, his expression unreadable. “I’ve read Mr. Rossi’s affidavit. I’m curious why he chose you.”
“I grew up with his grandson, Marco, Cody’s father.
” It was true Jude didn’t share much, but if he wanted to win over this judge, now was the time.
“I don’t have a lot of memories from before I moved to Calamity.
I remember a big pile of presents under a Christmas tree, and my mom reading books to me before bed. ”
She’d had soft hair and a soothing voice, but he’d long forgotten what she looked like.
His only recollection was how she’d made him feel.
“I remember the shock of moving into the bike club when I was six. The specific age sticks with me because I’d just started kindergarten and had a crush on a blue-eyed, blonde girl named Melissa and didn’t want to move away from her. ”
Laughter in the courtroom had Jude pausing, but the judge didn’t crack a smile.
So he drew in a breath and continued. “Anyhow, I’d just moved into the club, and I remember being outside with a bunch of kids.
We heard gunfire—something I’d obviously never heard before.
” In his peripheral vision, he saw his dad stiffen.
Yeah, he’d never shared that one. “Scared the life out of me. Turns out, some of the members were drunk and shooting bottles lined up on a wall. But it was Marco who grabbed me and brought me to his hideout, a place he went when things got too crazy. And it was Marco who protected me at school when kids made fun of the way I dressed.”
“Are you making excuses for your dangerous and reckless behavior as a teenager?” Judge Adams asked.
“No, sir. I’m trying to explain my loyalty to Marco.”
The judge made a gesture with his hand. Go on.
“I know I did a lot of stupid things, but that ended by the time I hit high school because I had a dad who cared. Who disciplined me and had expectations of my behavior.”
For a moment, the judge’s hard mask softened.
It gave Jude hope. “Marco didn’t have any of that. I’m the man I am today because of my father, and Marco turned out the way he did because he was raised without parents in the club. I want to give Cody the life Marco should’ve—no, deserved—to have.”
Judge Adam’s head tilted as he gave him an assessing look. Something that looked like approval registered in his eyes. “Besides your family, who will you spend time with while you’re in town? Your former friends from the club? If they need a getaway driver, for example, will they call you?”
This is bullshit. I’m not that kid anymore.
“No, sir. I’ve cut ties with everyone. Look, I understand that I’m set in your memory as a troublemaker, but I’m not the same man at thirty that I was at eighteen.
And there’s no one better to be this boy’s guardian than me because I won’t let him take the path I took. ”
The judge nodded. “You’re right. You are set in my mind as a troublemaker, and after three decades on this bench, I’ve come to the conclusion that most people don’t change.
Because it’s not your circumstance that matters.
It’s how you handle it. You’ve shown me your character, and it doesn’t give me confidence in your ability to raise a five-year-old boy.
Frankly, I’m not convinced the best choice is a single bartender whose motto is ‘live full throttle.’”
Before he could articulate his defense, he heard a rustling sound, and a familiar voice filled the courtroom.
“Your honor, if Jude’s single, then he’s got some explaining to do.” Everyone swung around in their seats to find Finlay holding up her left ring finger. “Because we’re engaged.”