12. Jude
Jude
“Knock that off.” Colt slapped my hand, which I’d been rapidly tapping, on the tabletop. I crossed my hands against my chest to stop the movement, even if I didn’t dignify my brother with a response.
“Well…” He looked around the Japanese restaurant, eyeing the building crowd. “I’m getting out of here, you coming?”
I hesitated, then finally said, “Nah, I’ve got to drop something off at Sweater Weather.”
Colt nodded, not bothering to question me. He rarely ventured downtown these days, preferring to stay on the farm, and he clearly didn’t want to wait around. I got the bill and we said goodbye, then he left me outside the restaurant, alone.
I watched Colt walk down Main Street, but I didn’t leave yet. I didn’t have a reason to. In reality, there was nothing keeping me downtown tonight, yet I couldn’t bring myself to go.
I barely knew why I had lied to Colt. The words had slipped out before I could rationalize them. What I did know was that thoughts of Harlow had been eating at the edges of my mind all evening. I hadn’t been focused.
Is she enjoying her night out? Is she chatting with people at the bar?
Her and Kasey had been drinking, so I assumed they’d be sleeping in Sweater Weather’s upper level, where Kasey had a couple spare couches and overstock—after all, there weren’t any Ubers in Autumn Creek.
Or would some man ask to drive her back to my home?
I wouldn’t dare trust some guy from the bar.
And I quickly realized there was no way I’d leave Harlow with sleeping at the cafe as her only option.
Not after I had already neglected to consider her dismal room under my own roof.
I needed to do better.
Especially after what she’d told me about how she’d been treated by her ex. I couldn’t help but feel protective of her. It felt like my responsibility to make sure she at least got home safely. I’m just being a good neighbour.
She was new in town, and I knew people would see that as a novelty. I wondered how many people had asked her why she’d come to Autumn Creek this evening? Just like I had done.
Looking back at our conversations, in retrospect, I could now see her smile dropping every time I had pushed that topic. I ran a hand roughly over my face. I’d been such a dick.
Maybe I was just finally making up for the way I had treated her, or maybe something about her appealed to some part deep inside of me. Maybe it was both.
I shoved my hands into the pockets of my fleece-lined jacket and began walking.
A few minutes later I crossed the road to The Crabapple.
Music and people sprawled out on the patio to chat under the dark night sky and string lights.
I walked toward the open door to find Kasey.
I didn’t want to interrupt their girls’ night, but I may as well let them know I could be their ride home.
Helping them out would at least calm my brain down a little.
I shook away my thoughts, hoping I wasn’t being completely stupid, getting caught up thinking about a girl who wasn’t sticking around. At the very least this could be a step toward fixing the mistakes I’d made with her.
But it looked like I didn’t have to worry about Harlow being questioned and overwhelmed. She was doing just fine on her own.
I stopped in my tracks, right in the middle of The Crabapple’s open doorway, my eyes glued right to her.
Dark wash jeans hugged her hips. Her cardigan was discarded over the back of a nearby chair, leaving her in a tight cropped shirt.
It rose even higher when she twirled her hands through the dance floor’s thick air.
She fit right into the crowd, her body swaying and moving to the sound of the guitar. But I wouldn’t dare say she blended in—I couldn’t. In the sea of people, she was the only one I could see clearly.
I was so focused on her—just her—that I didn’t even notice the person moving closer until there was a hand on her hip. I tore my eyes away before I could see who it belonged to, and waded deeper into The Crabapple searching for Kasey, with a tightened jaw.
I had absolutely no claim over Harlow, but seeing her with someone else made my stomach drop. My body had been desperately trying to draw me away from trusting her, but I pushed back, apparently a little too far. Now I was slowly starting to crave her presence.
I was an idiot for even thinking about her like that.
My eyes moved over the dance floor once again, searching for Kasey. I couldn’t find her. Honestly, I should just leave, send Kasey a text asking if they wanted a ride, and mind my own business. But as I turned back toward the door, I found Harlow once again.
Instead of her eyes being half closed and lost in the music, they had widened. Her body wasn’t swaying along to the beat, instead she stood straight as the man behind her tried to whisper in her ear.
Trevor Callahan.
My hands turned to fists and white hot anger spread through my chest. I was moving before I was thinking clearly.
I shoved him. Hard.
“Get your hands off her, Callahan,” I said between gritted teeth. His button-up shirt was gripped between my fingers and I pulled him closer. I should’ve paid more attention the second I saw his slimy hands on her waist, and the burning anger inside of me swirled together with regret.
“Jude.” Harlow’s voice came breathlessly from behind me.
Trevor craned his neck to look up at me and flashed a sour smile. “I was just introducing myself, Bramley. Lay off.”
I looked at Harlow, my grip on his shirt unwavering and raised my brows at her.
She didn’t take a glance at him, she just narrowed her eyes and asked, “What are you doing?”
Trevor had brought his hands up to attempt to move my grip, but he didn’t need to. Everything about Trevor Callahan disgusted me, even more so now. I tossed him back, and he stumbled into a high-top table.
“Don’t talk to her.”
I didn’t watch to see if he fell. I just reached for Harlow, drawing her closer and leaning down to her ear.
“Do you want to go?”
She crossed her arms firmly but I could see them shaking. “Yeah, I’m going to get out of here.”
My hand met the small of her back and I led her through the crowd. Only then did I snap back to reality.
Her quiet words were so easy to hear in this normally restless bar. People around us had stopped in their tracks, watching the scene with Trevor unfold. The guitar was still strumming in the background, but even the musician had stopped singing.
I inhaled and flashed an easy smile at the crowd like it was nothing. “Have a good night, everyone.” But behind my smile, my jaw ticked as we walked out the door.
“Hey!” Kasey almost crashed into us, just as the cold air of the street did. “What happened there? It just got so quiet.”
“Trevor,” I replied gruffly, staring at her with a narrowed gaze.
Silent conversation moved between us and she let out an exacerbated breath.
“That fucker.” Kasey kicked a wooden post beside the door. “When I see him—”
Harlow cut her off, “It’s okay, really.”
At the same time, I replied, “I’ve dealt with it.”
Kasey’s eyes hopped between us both, back and forth and back again, before landing on my hand on Harlow’s waist. She hadn’t shied away from my touch, but I quickly dropped it.
“You want a lift home, Kase?”
She didn’t reply to me yet, instead looking at Harlow. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yeah. It was nothing. Go have fun.”
“Okay then.” She leaned back peering over to the patio. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. You’ll take care of her?”
I nodded swiftly, and Harlow gave Kase a tight hug. Then I walked us away from the bar.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I couldn’t stop the tension in my jaw, as I peered down at her with concern.
“I am.” Then she firmly added, “I could have dealt with that myself.”
“Was he bothering you?”
“Does it matter if he was, Jude?” Her deep brown eyes shot daggers at me.
“Of course, it does.” On so many levels I hated it, but I couldn’t express it all right now, certainly not when I was so worked up.
Trevor Callahan was known around Autumn Creek as a sleazy guy, so he liked to try and chat up girls from out of town, ones who didn’t know how he spoke about women afterward. I’d seen the way Harlow had tensed up beside him. No one should be making her feel like that.
And then there was the thing I absolutely could not say.
I couldn’t even begin to break it down rationally. But I hated the sight of her even close to another guy. I’d been thinking about her, worrying about her not having a good time. I was pissed that Trevor had ruined it for her.
Of course, I didn’t spill my guts like that. Instead, I asked, “Do you want to come home?”
Her eyes softened, despite her arms being tightly crossed, and she nodded.
I was quickly learning that Harlow Spencer was resilient—tough, even. I had been completely wrong about her, and now, instead of being someone I was afraid of trusting with the things I cared about, she was quickly becoming one of those things.