Chapter 44 Jude
JUDE
I’m packing up the last of our gear into my truck, so I can take a final look around the property before we leave. Teddy hops into his truck, which is parked beside mine, and pauses to ask if I need a hand doing a last pass before he takes off.
I wave him off. “Nah, I got this, Ted. Thanks, though.”
He smiles and lifts a hand from the steering wheel. “See ya, boss!” he calls from the open window.
I wave back, heading off to do a full walk of the property. There’s almost always some small tool or stash of scrap materials we’ve left behind, even when we’re sure we’ve got everything.
My phone rings in my back pocket and I pull it out.
“Miles, what’s up?” I answer, wondering what my brother wants. I spot a pair of pliers in the grass and stoop to pick them up.
“Hey, man, not much,” Miles replies. “Just calling ’cause I… Well, I’ve been thinking about some things. And I wanted to say thanks.”
I pause. I’m listening for any signs he’s been drinking, and so far, nothing. “Uh, thanks for what?” I reply dubiously.
“For letting me crash a couple weeks back.” He sounds unusually steady.
I’m skeptical. “Miles, you’ve crashed here plenty and you’ve never called to say thanks.” I chuckle in my confusion and keep walking. “What’s up?” I ask again, scanning along the cliff-side, down the line of all the plants. All clear.
“I just want you to know I appreciate you. You’ve taken care of me a lot when I’ve been in pretty rough shape. Look, I’ve been talking with Barry. I’m getting back on track with AA.”
“That’s great, Miles.” I sigh with relief; it’s about time. “You getting all sappy on me, now or…” I smirk to myself.
He laughs. “Hey, no, sorry, just wanted you to know I’m doing better.”
“Seriously, that’s great news. Keep it up.” I turn, walking down the gravel path to the sunken garden.
I hear him scoff on the other end of the line, then laugh. “Keep it up?” he repeats, mocking me. “No congratulations? Just keep it up? Like, don’t fuck it up?”
I switch my phone to my other ear, smiling to myself. “Yeah. Don’t fuck it up.” Gotta keep that big brother thing going.
“Alright, alright, message received,” he laughs. I can almost hear him rolling his eyes. “Well, that’s the plan, anyway.”
“Good.”
He pauses. “Hey, about that girl you had over. Sorry again for freaking her out, by the way. Everything okay with her?” He sounds concerned.
I hesitate. “Uh, not really, actually. Long story.” I’ve been trying my hardest not to think about Olena for the last three days.
“Sorry, man,” he says, “I hope I didn’t… I mean, I hope it wasn’t me.”
“No, it wasn’t you. Don’t worry about it.” Looking around the sunken garden, my eyes land on one of the benches around the fire pit. Something black sits tucked between the cushion and the frame.
“So, what happened with her? What was her name, anyway? I don’t think you ever told me.”
I walk over to take a closer look. It’s a phone.
“Olena.”
Turning it over in my hand, I recognize the case. I press my lips together and close my eyes, shaking my head.
“Alanna?”
“No, Olena.” I sigh. “Nevermind. Uh, well…” I pause, rubbing my forehead with the back of my knuckles, Olena’s phone still in my hand.
I contemplate how to explain everything without it taking hours.
“Her ex was bothering her—scaring her. He’s from out of town and apparently he threatened to come see her here.
” I look at the phone once more and slide it into my pocket, then continue walking.
“Shit, man. That’s grim,” Miles says.
“Yeah, not great. Anyway, she didn’t tell me about it… but then I found out. And I got… upset. We haven’t really been talking since.” Memories of a tearful Olena hugging her knees sweep into my mind. I’m not proud of how I left things with her on Wednesday morning.
“That’s rough.”
“Yeah.” I sigh. It has been.
“So, wait a sec, she’s got some unstable ex-boyfriend who might show up in Lennox?”
“Yeah.” I frown.
“And you got pissed and split?”
“Uh, yeah.” I’m uncomfortable with where this is heading.
“This is the same girl you were falling all over yourself about when I showed up there last time?” He chuckles incredulously.
“Get to the point, Miles.” I wasn’t prepared for my little brother calling me out like this.
“Okay, okay, I’m just saying… I could see you were a goner that first day, man.” He pauses. “Even though my memory’s a bit fuzzy, that much was clear.”
“Yeah, well—” I start, feeling the need to defend myself.
He cuts me off. “And I mean… finding out some dude is threatening your girl and then leaving her alone… That doesn’t really sound like your thing, man.”
I grimace. “Hold on. My thing?”
“Yeah, Jude.” I hear him scoff. “You’re the guy who takes care of people.
You know, like how you took care of me after Mom and Dad died.
How you took care of Grandpa when he got sick, remember?
And how you’ve been taking care of me all this time, you know, with my drinking and shit. It’s what you do.”
The silence hangs on the line for a moment as I take this in.
“Fuck.” I squeeze the bridge of my nose between my fingers.
He’s right. I hate that he’s right. I’ve up and abandoned Olena to fend for herself when she’s got a potentially dangerous man trying to track her down.
And, to make matters worse, I’ve gone back on my word and run away from her.
I let my pride and my own hang-ups get in the way of being there for her when she was in crisis.
How the hell did I not see this?
“Look, I don’t know what her deal is,” Miles says. “I could be talking outta my ass here, but… from what I saw? It looked like you cared about her.”
“Yeah, Miles, I—”
“Like, a lot.”
“Yes, Miles,” I say again. “Point made. Thank you.” I shake my head.
“What?” He sounds like he’s smiling on the other end of the line.
I realize what I have to do. “Miles, I gotta go.”
Realizing that I’ve never been to Olena’s house and I have no way of calling her, I head to find Wyatt.
I pull open the door of the deli about two minutes before closing time and let out a breath of relief.
Wyatt is wiping down the sandwich station countertop.
He looks up and frowns in confusion and surprise when he sees me.
“Jude, hi…” He tilts his head at me. “Is Olena with you?”
“What?” I frown. That’s not what I was expecting to hear. “Why would she be with me?”
“She was just here. She left to drive back to the job site—said she left her phone there. And she said she wanted to talk to you…” he says, trailing off, both of us realizing at the same time what’s happened.
“Fuck.” I reach into my pocket and pull out Olena’s phone, holding it in front of me. “I’ve got her phone.”
“And she…” Wyatt starts slowly.
“And she just drove back to see me while I was driving here to see her.” I press my lips together and grimace.
Wyatt looks apologetic. “You probably passed each other.”
“Shit.” I look up at the ceiling.
“I know she wasn’t sure she’d make it before you went home. I mean, obviously, she didn’t get there before you left,” he says with a half-smile.
Connecting the dots, I tap the top of the sneeze guard and point at Wyatt. She would have gone to my house after seeing I’d left. “I think I know where she is. Thank you!”
“Jude!” Wyatt calls out before I’m fully out the door. I pop my head back inside, my hand on the door handle. “Sean showed up here. At our place.”
My eyes widen as anger swells inside me.
“She’s fine,” he quickly adds, and I exhale. “She gave him hell. You’d be proud.” He smiles sadly. “But just… watch out for her. I don’t trust that asshole. He might still be in town.”
I nod, frowning, suddenly feeling uneasy that she’s alone right now. Not only do I want to find her—now I need to find her. I turn to leave again.
“And Jude…” Wyatt calls out again. Again, I pause, almost out the door. “Hear her out.” He levels me with a look. “This isn’t all on her.”
I pause, holding his gaze, then nod again before leaving the deli. Hopping back into my truck, I quickly pull a U-turn out of my parking spot and speed toward home.