Chapter 10
Frankie
The scratchof the pencil against the paper soothes me. Only a week has passed since I last immersed myself in drawing, but the time away feels much longer. Each swipe allows the world to melt away until all that remains is me and my work.
I”ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. The realism style attracted my attention from the time I was little, left alone and bored in our house. The lights would be off because someone inevitably forgot to pay the power bill, so I”d prop a flashlight up beside me in the corner of my bedroom and doodle. Over the years those doodles transformed into a style uniquely my own.
The past several years I worked with a small boutique in town to commission my work. Any free time I could spare I”d spend working on canvasses for Lola to sell in her shop. Enough tourists would pass through our town on their way up north that I managed to sell a few higher-priced ones a year. It wasn”t until Lola opened her online shop that I really started to see a decent payout.
Our dynamic worked seamlessly. She handled the business side of things that I had no time or inclination for, and in return, she”d receive a small percentage of my earnings.
Saying goodbye to Lola and her boutique was one of the hardest parts of getting into that car with Dillon. I said goodbye to a piece of my independence for someone else’s pipe dream.
Now that I”m still in the state, I wonder if I should reach out to her. I could continue to draw in my free time and make some extra money to supplement what I”ll make from Jude. She still has two of my art pieces up on her online shop that we agreed to leave until they sell. I”ve already decided once the money comes in from them, I”ll pay Jude and his sisters back for their kindness.
My attention shifts from the paper in front of me to my current muse, the fluffy white dog sleeping against my feet. I wiggle my bare toes and brush against her soft fur. I know Jude isn”t happy his favorite companion has temporarily chosen me over her master, but she”s brought me so much comfort over the last couple of days. I can”t imagine I would have stuck around this long without her.
Despite agreeing to stay, I still feel as if my insides are all jumbled. The missing pieces of my memory is the clear culprit to my unsettled state.
The other obvious reason is Jude.
Not because he”s prickly. I actually quite enjoy his gruffly spoken words and his bantering attitude.
No, it”s the way he seems to effortlessly care that”s thrown me for a loop.
For all he”s shown me, I”d have expected him to be rude for the sake of being rude. But the more time I spend around him, the more I can feel there”s something beneath the surface. Jude uses his sharp tongue as a defense mechanism. An electrically charged fence he”s erected around himself to keep unwanted feelings—or people—out.
The more time I spend around him, the more I want to know why he put up the fence to begin with.
Yet despite his rigidity and fortified walls, he”s taken to caring for me as if it”s the most natural thing in the world. Something I suspect is inherently the true Jude Powell. He might trade a few barbs in the process, but to me, they speak of his adjustment to the circumstances. I don”t refuse to believe he”s simply an ass.
Assholes I”ve met don”t care about some random woman in dire circumstances. In fact, they prey upon them.
For all he”s offered, Jude”s never asked anything in return.
I suspect if I put up a fight about helping at his sanctuary, he”d rescind that requirement too. Not that I would. But I can just feel it in my bones that he wouldn”t force me to do anything I didn”t want to do, unless it was for my benefit. Like forcing me back to the doctor for a proper cast.
I look down at the purple wrap encasing my right arm and smile softly. Jude managed to talk the doctor into seeing me bright and early on Friday. That was two days ago, and he”s been scarcely in my presence since.
That all ends tomorrow when I begin working for him with his dogs.
A knock echoes off the wall.
”Come in.”
The door opens with a protesting creak.
”Brought breakfast.”
As he”s done every single morning since I decided to stay.
”Thank you. I told you it”s not necessary, but I appreciate it.”
”Are your concussion symptoms gone?”
Right. Because he overheard me tell the doctor I was still experiencing some headaches and sensitivity to light. Which is why I”ve continued to spend time in his guest bedroom. ”They are now.” I hold up the notebook but keep the drawing pointed at my chest. ”Not even a twinge of head pain.”
My memory still hasn”t returned, but I don”t tell him that. It would only freak him out to know I don”t remember the reason I jumped out of a moving car. It might make him trust me even less.
He nods once. ”Good. We”re going to my mom”s today.”
”You should. You”ve been stuck with me for days. I”m sure your family misses you.”
”I mean, you”re coming with me.”
I pause with a piece of toast halfway to my mouth. ”I”m sorry?”
”You”re coming to family dinner with me.”
”No.”
”What do you mean no?”
I tear off an aggressive bite and drop the toast back to the plate. The buttery mouthful sticks in my throat on the way down. ”I mean no. It”s a universal word.”
”You are.”
”Oh really?”
”Yes.”
”Because you said so?”
”Yes.”
My hackles raise at his determined tone. ”I don”t think so.”
”Well, you can”t stay here.”
”Why not?”
His upper lip curls, but it”s the way his hands draw into fists that grabs my attention. He”s such a contrast to himself. The side he shows versus the side he tries to hide. ”Because I don”t leave known thieves alone with my things.”
”That was a one-time thing!” I throw my hands up and scramble to my knees in the center of the bed. Ashe raises her head and looks between us as if she”s deciding whether or not to be bothered by this argument. Her answer is clear by the way she rests her snout back on her paws.
Jude moves one heavy step closer to the bed. ”Tough shit, baby.”
My jaw snaps shut.
Did he just...
Did he just call me baby?
”Get ready. I”ll be waiting downstairs. We leave in an hour.”
Ignoring the way my breathing has grown shallow and my heart beats faster in my chest and whatever the hell that warm feeling is in my stomach, I stretch my legs over the side and climb off the bed. I don”t miss the way his eyes drop to the expanse of exposed flesh just south of the hem of his tee.
Nor do I miss how much I like it.
Oh, Frankie. Girl, you are in trouble.
Pushing my hair over my shoulder, I keep my chin high and walk past a rigid Jude on my way to the bathroom. My shoulder brushes against his, and my lungs falter at the accidental touch. If possible, he stands even more stiff as I force myself to stride confidently across the hall.
By the time I shut the door, he still hasn”t moved.
Jude parkshis serial killer van against the curb in a tidy neighborhood. The closely placed houses remind me a bit of home. That is, if the homes were replaced with trailers in desperate need of some repair. It”s not hard to figure out which one we”ll be spending the afternoon in if I”m judging by the cars tucked into the short driveway.
”How many family members do you have?”
Despite my earlier attitude, nerves flood my system at being introduced to god knows how many people.
”I have five siblings and my mom. Some of them have spouses and kids too.”
”And you guys do this weekly?” I gaze in awe at the vehicles again. The dedication to family feels so foreign to someone who grew up the way I have.
”Try to. I miss once in a while.”
”I”m sure things come up when you have as many dogs as you do.”
”Yeah.” The sound of his door creaking open prompts me to do the same.
I watch through the windshield as Jude walks around the front and stops on the sidewalk. As if realizing I”m not beside him, he turns back.
”Come on, Frankie.”
”Just a second,” I call out, hating the shake in my vocal cords. For fuck”s sake, Frankie, pull yourself together.
I brush my sweaty palms over the borrowed pair of blue jeans. They fit perfectly, so at least one of his sisters or sisters-in-law is my size. I”ll have to figure out which one and thank her. They paired nicely with this flowy top. The hem edged in cream lace dips low enough to cover my hips and ass. It”s tasteful, and the light, draping sleeves fit nicely over my cast.
They were even thoughtful enough to find a pair of black ankle boots, also in my size. I suspect Jude did some investigating to get that one right.
As the seconds tick past, I realize it”s shame that I feel welling up inside me. These people probably think I”m a freeloader, and I don”t know how to let them know their generosity is appreciated without overstating it.
”Hey.” Jude”s gruff voice startles me out of my nervous thoughts. ”What”s going on?”
”They”re going to hate me,” I blurt out.
His brows snap together, his expression fixed with confusion. ”They”re not going to hate you.”
”I”m sure they”ve all heard about me by now, and I can”t imagine anything in that story lends them to think good things.”
”Lee thought it was fucking hilarious that you stole my van.”
”Is that your brother?”
Jude crosses his arms and rocks back on his heels. ”Mm-hmm. The oldest. Believe me, he thinks you hanging around me is exactly what I deserve for being a cranky ass.”
I can”t fight the twitch of my lips. ”I guess that makes me feel a little better.”
”You have nothing to worry about. My family is excited to meet you.”
A sour feeling fills my stomach. ”Okay, now I feel worse again.”
Jude chuckles, one of those rare brief laughs that has me forgetting about the worries in my head. ”They”re going to love you just because that”s the kind of people they are. And I dare you to try not to like them back.”
”I”m not worried about that. I already like them.” I gesture to the clothes they brought me.
”You can”t avoid them. They’re probably staring at us out the window as we speak, so let”s get this over with.” He jerks his head in the direction of the house.
He”s right. I”m being ridiculous. They don”t know me any more than the next person who walks into this town. I shouldn”t care what they think of me.
But for some reason, I do.
If this is truly the fresh start I”ve craved for so long, I want to be liked.
I want to feel like I might belong.
I roll my shoulders, ready to hop out, when suddenly Jude is there, tugging my door the rest of the way open and offering me his hand.
”Wouldn”t want you to slip and break the other arm.”
I hold up two fingers barely an inch apart and squint. ”I”m this close to hating you.”
”I”ll have to try harder then.”
The warmth of his hand swallows mine as I slip mine in and step down. He seems to touch me so effortlessly, as if it”s no consequence to him to have his skin brushing mine. Touching my hand, lifting me in his arms, carrying me to his four-wheeler, dressing me in his shirt. He seems utterly unaffected, and here I am trying not to hyperventilate on his mother”s sidewalk. He must have had a lot of practice, and I”ve had practically none.
He tugs me aside in order to shut the door and hit the locks on the key fob. Only then does he let go, and I find I instantly feel the loss of his touch.
I can only imagine what his family would think if we walked in holding hands. The message that might send.
”Are we the last ones here?”
”Most likely. Sometimes Aiden shows up after everyone else.”
”Is he another brother?”
Jude glances down at me. ”He”s the youngest.”
Keeping them straight already seems like it might be impossible.
Without knocking, he twists the knob and leads me in. I trail behind, fighting the feeling of my shoulders bunching around my ears.
The sound of chatter immediately surrounds me as the door closes at my back. The warmth of the house suffuses me, along with the smell of cinnamon treats and other baked desserts. I think I can pick out the scent of apple in the air.
Following Jude”s lead, I toe off my shoes and push them aside before following him around the corner into a kitchen.
”Uncle Dude!”
”It”s Jude, Bennett. Juh-Juh sound like my preschool teacher telled me.” A little girl with bouncy blond curls follows the small boy to Jude”s knees. Her features are twisted into a stern expression.
”I say dat!” Bennett lifts his hands straight in the air in the universal sign for pick me up.
“My man.” Jude swiftly complies. ”He”ll get it, Luce. You”re a good teacher.”
”Who are you?” She peers around her uncle”s legs at me.
”My name is Frankie.”
Bennett slaps his palms against Jude”s broad shoulders. ”You got a Fankie, Uncle Dude!”
”Frankie is my friend.” Jude turns the two of them around to face me. ”Now tell her your name.”
”Bennett.” He”s suddenly shy, burying his face in his uncle”s neck.
”I”m Lucy.” The little girl bounces on her toes, making her curls shake around her cheeks.
”It”s nice to meet you.”
”Do you know Daddy?” With both hands, she pushes the hair out of her face.
”I don”t think so.”
”Do you know Mommy?”
”Um, which one is Mommy?”
Jude brushes his shoulder against mine and leans down toward my ear. ”She”s the one who brought you the clothes.”
”Oh! I know your mommy.”
”We have a dog Cooper and a dog Bo.” She continues revealing her life”s details.
”Lucy, why don”t you let them come into the house.” Her mom, Whitney, ushers her away. ”Sorry, she loves to talk.”
I tuck my hands into the pockets of my jeans. ”I don”t mind.”
”We”ve already officially met, but the others are excited to meet you.”
Her warmth infuses me. I can only hope the rest of the family members are the same.
I can feel Jude at my back as Whitney leads me into the living room. Every seating space is filled by a body. There are so many that some people even lounge on the floor. All the eyes in the room find their way to us as Whitney begins thorough introductions.
”We might as well work our way around the room.” She gestures to the woman with cropped blond hair on her left. ”This is Bree. She”s married to Corjan.” She gestures to the man next to her with curly brown hair and twinkling eyes. ”And their two kids are Charlotte and Weston.”
”It”s nice to meet you! How are the jeans, do they fit okay?” Bree asks.
”They”re great, actually. Thank you so much for lending them to me.”
”Ptsh,” she waves her hand in front of her face. ”You can keep them. Those are from pre-pregnancy, and no amount of dieting is going to return my thighs to that size.”
Corjan runs his hand up her leg. ”I love you exactly like this.”
Bree blushes. ”Me too.”
”Anyway.” Whitney rolls her eyes.
I stifle a nervous giggle. Jude”s warmth at my back keeps me grounded while I”m under the spotlight.
”Next is Aiden. He”s the baby.”
Aiden puffs up his chest. ”I”m hardly a baby.”
”The youngest is always the baby. I would know,” a girl pouts from beside him.
”That”s Juniper. She”s the youngest of the girls. She”s married to Lee, who happens to be the oldest of us all.”
I”d love to hear the story of how the two of them got together, but Whitney keeps going.
”Next is my fiancée, Jack. He”s Jude”s biological twin. We’re getting married this summer and we have another little one on the way.” She cradles her very small belly.
I tilt my chin over my shoulder. ”Does that mean the rest of you aren”t related?”
”We were all unofficially adopted.”
”How does that work?”
”He means it wasn”t through the traditional avenue,” Jack says. My attention pulls to him, where he regards us with contemplative eyes. Something about his expression conveys a lack of trust, and his tone shuts down any further questioning.
I move a step back, only to bump into Jude”s broad chest. My spine snaps straight as I return out of touching distance.
”The two in the corner are Lincoln and Ollie. Lincoln is Juniper”s brother, and Ollie belongs to Courtney.” Whitney points at a stunning woman sitting on the floor between the legs of a man with a bored expression. She pushes her shiny black hair behind her ear and waves kindly. ”The guy behind her is Sebastian.”
”Are you two dating?” I ask.
”We”re engaged,” Sebastian answers. A silence envelops the room. The untold story hangs heavily.
“It’s new.” Cortney grins and flashes her ring. Her eyes move behind me to Jude. “He popped the question on vacation.”
“Congratulations,” Jude rumbles.
”And this is Nancy! She raised the entire brood.” Whitney resumes control of the conversation.
”It”s really nice to meet you.” I speak directly to Nancy but also to the room at large. Despite my minor freak-out, they do appear to be a welcoming bunch.
Mostly.
Sebastian seems like he”d rather be anywhere else, and Jack is obviously protective over his twin.
I can”t blame him.
”We”re thrilled you”re here,” Nancy says. ”Now, if only one of my sons could get up out of their chair so you could sit down. Jude told us about your accident.”
”Oh, that”s okay.” My words fall on deaf ears as three Powell siblings vacate their seats.
”Sit by me.” Juniper pats the spot on her right. I settle in beside her and force my muscles to relax. ”That top looks great on you.”
”It”s really close to something I would have picked for myself.” I fiddle with the lacy hem.
”It was mine, but a little too dressy for my tastes.”
”Well, thank you.”
She lays her hand carefully over my casted arm. ”Really, you don”t need to thank us. We packed that bag full, and I don”t want you to feel like you need to say thank you every time you step out of the house in a new outfit. We get it, and we”re happy to help.”
Her words wash over me like a balm.
”I”m just not used to all this attention and support. It”s a bit overwhelming.”
Juniper grins. ”You”ll get used to us.”She says it as if she expects me to stick around.
Isn”t that what I wanted? A fresh start would require me not to up and leave at the first sign of discomfort. And really, the timing couldn”t have been better. I already quit all my obligations and packed up to move with Dillon, so this could become my new normal if I let it.
Post introductions, everyone settles in. Almost as if they were all waiting for me, and now that that”s over, they can continue to mingle. The girls surround Juniper and me on the couch.
”How”s Jude?”
”Is he being his grumpy self?”
”You”ll tell us if he needs a talking-to, right? I have no problem setting him straight.”
The rapid-fire questions come from people whose names I”m still learning. ”He”s fine. He”s been really helpful the past few days.” A cup of something hot is shoved into my hands.
”It”s coffee, but if you”d prefer something else, just speak up,” Bree says.
”This is great.” A tentative sip provides a brief distraction.
Someone, I think her name is Cortney, pulls a face. ”Jude”s really treating you all right?”
I feel suddenly protective over the man. ”He”s been nothing but kind.” It”s a stretch, but I wouldn”t say our arguments weren”t not kind, per se. ”Why do you ask?”
”I love my brother to death. He”s just so quiet,” Cortney says. ”I know it can be a little uncomfortable if you aren”t used to it.”
”He hasn”t been that quiet.” I stop myself from divulging too much. If he presents himself a certain way to his family, I don”t want to spoil his secrets.
”Oh?” Cortney leans in as if she”s incredibly invested.
”I just mean we”ve talked here and there. Not much, but he”s not giving me the silent treatment or anything.”
She leans back. ”Huh. Interesting.”
The girls all exchange a glances.
”What?” I ask, eyeing them over the rim of my mug as I go in for another sip.
”It”s nothing,” Juniper says. ”We”re just glad he didn”t stick you in an upstairs bedroom and leave you to fend for yourself.”
Whitney nods. ”And if you do get lonely, please reach out to us. We”d love to hang out.”
”I don”t think it”ll be a problem. With all those dogs, I”ll probably never feel alone.”
”Enough gossiping.” Lee pushes his way into the group and throws himself down beside Juniper. ”I”m sure she could use a little breathing room.”
”Oh, I”m fine—”
”We aren”t smothering her or anything.” Juniper pokes his side.
”Yeah, brother, we”re just getting to know her,” Cortney adds.
”Well, you”re riling up Jude. I think he’s feeling a little territorial and can”t decide if he needs to intervene, so he”s just stewing across the room with that pissed off look on his face.”
Four heads swivel in the opposite direction in search of Jude. I find him instantly, in the exact position Lee described.
“I”m fine,” I mouth.
The way his eyes scan my face feels physical, even from across the distance.
”I think it”s getting a little warm in here. I”m going to get a drink.” Whitney brushes her hair behind her ear and practically skips out of the room.
This family could work on its subtlety. But I can”t say I”m not enjoying it.