Chapter 7
Jude
The intake buildingneeds a fresh coat of paint.
It’s the third task I’ve settled on since this morning. After taking out the dogs and cleaning up the yard, I set up three stalls for some incoming strays we’re having transferred from the county animal control. They ran out of room and needed somewhere comfortable for the dogs to wait out their mandatory stray hold. If nobody claims them, they can become part of our rescue pending adoption.
Once that was finished, I couldn’t help but notice the chipping paint on the exterior wall. This winter was harsh, and if I don’t take care of this today, I’m not going to be able to stop thinking about it. Our dad, Terrance, taught us a lot once we came to live with him. One thing he hammered home was to complete a task and get it off your mind. If you’re strong and capable now, don’t put it off because you might not be tomorrow.
With his words in my head, I gather the paint supplies from last year. This sudden motivation has nothing to do with the woman sleeping in the room down the hall from mine. I’m certainly not avoiding the fact that I owe her an apology. At the very least, I owe her another meal.
I bite back a curse and set about the mindless job. Despite the glove covering my hand, I grip the brush handle with numb fingers.
Crisp wind blows against my neck. The gray sky reflects my inner disquietude. Treetops whip erratically in the cold. The temperature reminds me we aren’t quite past the reach of winter. Though it’s not unheard of for Minnesota to get hit with an April winter storm, especially in these parts, the forecast is clear of impending snow.
The sound of tires advancing up the driveway alerts me to a visitor. My shoulder muscles bunch and tense in anticipation. Numbers roll through my head.
One. Two. Three. Four.
Lee’s truck pulls into view.
My oldest brother hops out to key in the code and rolls forward. Juniper, his wife, is visible in the passenger seat. They’re a little early for her shift as one of our dog trainers, and she usually drives herself. I drop the brush back into the paint and jog over to his window.
“Hey.”
Lee greets me with a wave before dropping his wrist back to the steering wheel.
“Sorry for the early intrusion. Juniper promised Cortney she’d check on the stray we brought by yesterday. I called, but you didn’t pick up.” His pointed look is reminiscent of Mom even though they don’t share any DNA.
“Phone must be on silent. I’ve been busy this morning.”
“Climb in.”
The thought of returning to the house sends a buzzing jolt along my frayed nerves, but I can’t avoid my house forever. The problem isn’t Frankie. The problem is I don’t know what asshole remark is going to come out of my mouth next. Usually, I’m not so mean, but something about her riles my tenuous control until I spew words designed to throw her as off-kilter as I feel.
She’s driving me fucking insane.
Lee pulls up outside the house, and I lead us into the lower level of my home. A large, open space flows off the bottom of the stairs, separated by a gate. To the right of us is a long hallway with rooms on each side. The left houses the training area where Juniper works with behavior issues, and on the right is a multipurpose room.
Juniper moves through the door on the right where Jack and Aiden set up the stray for the foreseeable future. As I follow, I feel Lee’s eyes on my back.
“There she is,” I say to no one in particular. The brindle boxer doesn’t move from her cushioned position. The poor thing has clear signs of malnourishment and neglect, but nothing we won’t be able to help her with. With my dedicated crew, we’ll have her feeling brand new in a couple of weeks.
Trusting humans again might take a little bit longer, but we’re determined to get her there too.
“Oh, poor mama.” Juniper drops to the dog’s side in a careful crouch. “Is she eating or drinking?”
“Yep. Fed her a little this morning. She was weak but eager.”
I’ve long since learned to temper the fire that comes from finding an animal in such a state. My focus is entirely on helping them heal, not the circumstance that hurt them in the first place.
We allow the police to handle that.
“I picked up the antibiotics from Cortney’s office on the way here. She needs a dose twice a day. I can give her the first one now.”
“Thanks.”
The floor creaks above my head, and my eyes shoot to the ceiling.
“How’s the girl?” Juniper asks, straightening from her crouch. She wipes her palms against her dark blue jeans.
I cut a glance at my brother. Lee scratches the side of his nose with his thumb and avoids my gaze.
“She’s fine.”
“Can I meet her?”
“You can’t not meet her.” I shrug. “Don’t need my permission.”
“Great! I have a little time before my shift.”
“How long is she staying?” Lee asks.
“Tomorrow. She has a concussion and is supposed to rest.”
His brows knit together. “And after that?”
And after that, she’ll leave. I’ll go back to living my quiet life while also trying to forget about the woman who knows exactly how to push my buttons. I blink once, heavily, as the image of her wearing nothing but my tee shirt assaults my mind. Blood surges south. A fist restricts my hand from palming the front of my jeans.
“It’s not any of my business. I assume she’ll find her way home.”
The sound of an engine rumbling to life cuts off Lee’s reply. His attention locks on the staircase.
“Expecting someone else?”
“Nope.”
We listen silently a second longer as the sound dampens with distance.
“Sounds like they’re leaving,” Lee remarks.
“Fucking hell,” I growl. Long strides eat up the staircase two stairs at a time. The dogs arouse from my volatile energy, pacing and whining at my approach. I throw open the front door as the taillights on my van disappear around the bend in my driveway.
“You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
Lee nudges my shoulder and swings his keys around his finger. “C’mon. We can catch up.”
But I’m distracted. My mind works to replay the past twenty-four hours as I bounce my gaze around the kitchen. The spot on the island where I left my keys is bare except for a piece of paper. The watch that I took off when I washed up this morning is missing, too.
I stalk toward the note written in a tight, dainty scrawl.
Thank you.
And I’m sorry.
Find your van in town. I’ll park it in a safe place.
-Frankie
Below her signatureis a damn good doodle of Ashe. The little hairs nearly jump off the page of the realistic style drawing. Her talent is as unique as the rest of her.
I can’t help but wonder if the drawing was a parting gift. Or maybe a visual of her hesitance. Did she stand in my kitchen and debate her options with pen in hand before deciding to swipe my keys and take off?
“Jude?” Lee calls from the doorway.
I carefully fold and pocket the piece of paper.
“Coming.”
“I’ll wait here.” Juniper lifts his ball cap to kiss Lee’s cheek and pats his backside on his way out the door. “I can start work early.”
“See you later.” Lee kisses his woman with a passion that diminishes the urgency of this matter.
I’m out the door before he’s finished, moving forward despite the numbers hurtling through my head. My family views me as abundantly patient, but it’s my condition that affords me the facade. They don’t know that when I’m quiet, I’m counting.
“Any idea where she’s going?” He leaps into his truck and cranks the engine.
“Somewhere in town.”
Lee races his truck down the driveway. Gravel kicks up beneath the speeding tires.
“Slow down.” I grip the handle above my head for support.
“I can catch up.”
Images of my crumpled van flit through my head. “Don’t. She won’t go farther than the first stoplight west.”
“How do you know that?”
Because she left me a stupid note.
The paper burns a hole in my pocket.
Somewhere safe. Where would she go that is safe?
“Check the police department.”
Lee cuts his glance from the road. “You think she’d steal a vehicle and leave it at the police department?”
“I don’t think she views it as stealing.”
“What would you call it then?”
“Borrowing.”
His shocked bark of laughter fills the car. “I think you have your work cut out for you brother.”
I whip my head around. “The only work I have cut out for me is picking up my van and returning home so that I can finish painting the intake building.”
“You’re an idiot.” He shakes his head with a smirk tugging at his mouth.
“And you’re a dick.”
“All I can say is payback is a bitch.”
I throw my hands up between us. “I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
“You don’t remember all the shit you gave me when I first met Juniper?”
“No.” I brace myself against the dash as he takes a sharp corner. “And that’s different. I’m not seeing her.”
“Yeah.” He laughs. “I wasn’t technically seeing Juniper at the time either.”
A storm swirls beneath my breastbone. My skin grows hot and clammy at the same time.
“You like her,” he goes on.
“I haven’t spent enough time around her to like her.”
Lee shakes his head. “Doesn’t take much.”
“In fact, I’ve spent enough time around her to know I do not like her.”
“Oh yeah? Name something you don’t like about her.” Lee flicks his blinker and makes a left turn into town.
I spit out the first thing that comes to mind. “She’s brash.”
“It might be good for you to hang out with someone who isn’t as reclusive as you.”
“There’s my van.” Right at the curb in front of the police department. “You can drop me off.”
The truck idles behind my van. “Are you going to file a report?”
“There’s no reason to.” But I am going to take a little trip around Fairview Valley to see if I can get my watch back.
Frankie and I have unfinished business before she skips town.