Chapter 37
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Jude
When I woke with Kendall in the morning, my awareness was hazy from sleep. At the feel of her, soft and warm beside me, my lips curled into a smile. I was getting way too comfortable falling asleep with her.
Last night had been emotional. Something about it felt raw, and my heart felt sliced open. And yet, Kendall held it with such care.
We went to Firehouse Café for coffee, and Janet smiled over at us, letting out a happy-sounding sigh. “Finally.”
“Finally what?” Kendall pressed.
Janet’s brows hitched up, her eyes warm, as a pink flush crested high on Kendall’s cheeks. “I’m just happy for you both,” she said simply.”
Although I knew Janet knew about us from my mom, this was the first time we’d been in here together since. We got coffee and sat down at a table. It was early, so the café wasn’t too busy yet. Those who arrived at this hour mostly wanted a little quiet and we were no exception.
“How you doing now after your talk with your parents last night?” I asked after a few sips of coffee.
Kendall met my gaze. She paused, considering my question.
“Honestly, I was upset, but it felt good to get it all out there.” She shook her head slightly.
“I still can’t believe, after my dad acknowledged how they basically didn’t fight to protect Blake in high school, that my mom still wanted me to have him come stay with me.
” Kendall shook her head. “What the hell? Not to mention, nobody’s talking with Blake about it, as far as I can tell.
I’m guessing they didn’t even ask him about it.
There’s no way my brother wants to live with me in my tiny apartment,” she said dryly.
“I think that would drive him to drink.”
Tilting my head to the side, I nodded. “Probably. I want to stay with you in your one-room studio, but…” Kendall’s cheeks tinged pink as I waggled my brows. “But I don’t think your brother does. Except maybe in a pinch. Have you heard from him?”
“He texted the other day, but that’s about it since the afternoon I picked him up at Fireweed Winery. He said he’s been doing okay.”
“Where do you think he’s going at night?”
Worry chased through her eyes before she gulped her coffee. “I don’t know. I think if he was going out to the bars, he would already have gotten arrested for violating probation. Maybe he’s seeing someone. Secrets are hard to keep in this town, so we’ll eventually find out.”
“For all you know, he’s just driving around.”
“But he’s not supposed to be driving,” she sputtered before letting her breath out in a sharp sigh. “I can’t be worrying about him, but I will anyway.”
“You can’t make yourself not care about him. You set a boundary with your parents, and I know that wasn’t easy,” I pointed out.
“What they’re asking is so fucking ridiculous. Even if I didn’t care about my privacy, there’s nowhere for Blake to sleep. I’m not giving up my bed for him and sleeping on the couch.”
“Your couch is small. It’s not big enough for a person to sleep on.”
“Exactly.” Kendall rolled her eyes before glancing at her watch. “I need to get to the rescue.”
“At your service,” I teased as we stood. It felt so good to reach for her hand and walk out together.
Later that day
With weariness from a busy day dogging me, I hung up the gear from today’s jaunt, which had been cross-country skiing with a college group training for a longer trip. Unlike my usual outings, this group pushed me. They were planning to do a long winter trek in the Gates of the Arctic National Park.
“How are you doing?” Asher asked, leaning against the doorway and draining a bottle of water.
“I’m fucking exhausted, man. Those guys are pushing me.”
“Yeah, I took them on a trip yesterday. Brutal.” He shook his head.
“Oh, is that why you assigned me to them today?” I teased.
Asher let out a sly laugh. “Maybe. But it’s a nice change of pace, you know.”
“That’s one way to put it.”
“Did you hear?” he asked.
“What? I don’t even know what I’m supposed to hear.”
“Lincoln’s here,” Asher said, all matter-of-fact.
“Are you fucking serious?” I was grinning as I glanced over at my younger brother.
“Completely serious. He got here about an hour ago.”
“I gotta hustle.”
Asher helped me finish hanging up the gear before we hurried over to the main resort.
Moments later, we walked through the main entrance.
I haphazardly greeted guests as we passed through the common area, where some were relaxing on couches and others were eating appetizers off trays.
My mom had outdone herself with Chloe’s help, and they actually had a whole setup for guests every evening, food and all.
Sometimes, they actually expected us to be social.
I heard Asher chuckle beside me. “You’re doing great, man.”
I nudged him with my shoulder. “Same for you. You’re a little slicker than me with this.”
“No, I just have more energy today because I didn’t go with those college kids who are taking their training seriously.”
When we walked into the family kitchen, Lincoln was standing beside the counter, grinning at something my mom said.