Chapter 13 Jude
Jude
Em: Is there any chance of you getting here early Friday morning?
Jude: If it means more time with you, sure.
Em: Have you always been such a sweet talker? I always thought you were so polite and respectful.
Jude: I AM a gentleman. Have I not proven that?
Em: Did you want to do more than that, hubby? I’m curious now.
Jude: Let’s just say that I’ve been wanting to give you better goodbyes but I’m trying to be patient.
Em: Oh…Now I’m wanting to know what could be.
I chuckle under my breath but now kissing her properly… thoroughly… is all I can think about.
Jude: You’ll have to wait and see.
Em: I guess I’ll be waiting IMPATIENTLY until then. Just so you know, I’m ready when you are.
Jude: Duly noted, wifey.
It’s been two and a half weeks since our dinner date and I’ve been to Palmer twice more since then.
The weekend after the restaurant, we spent the Saturday looking at all the ‘hot spots’ around the town she now calls home.
We ended the day with shakes and burgers at an out-of-the-way diner only locals know about.
Last weekend, I turned up on her doorstep on Saturday morning with coffee and breakfast sandwiches from the same diner.
The plan was to just hang out at her house since the weather had taken a turn for the worse.
I also didn’t want Em to think we had to always do something whenever we were together.
That plan went out the window the moment Em told me how she had been planning to paint her kitchen and dining room a deep sage green color before Sully got sick.
Cue me grabbing her jacket from the closet, tangling my fingers with hers and leading her out to my truck before asking for directions to the nearest hardware store.
In the end, we had the first coat done by Saturday night, and with the help of a few hired fans that I left to stay on overnight, we were ready to finish the second coat the next day.
I also fixed the broken blind in her front window, cleared a few blocked gutters before the rain really set in, and even made us lunch before cuddling up on the couch to watch the episode of Deadliest Catch we’d been waiting all week for.
Then, as with every other visit to Palmer to see her, I reluctantly left and started the drive back to the mountain.
What stuck with me most the whole drive home was how it felt to have Em in my arms as we hugged goodbye.
Every single part of me wanted to stay and never let her go.
The way she was holding on tight, her heart beating in sync with mine like it was the most natural thing in the world, made me feel like I was king of the world.
That’s why I know whatever she’s planning for this weekend will be good, whatever we end up doing.
Em: So, Friday?
Jude: I can be there whenever you’d like. Any excuse to spend more time with my wife…
Em: Lucky for you, I want to spend time with my husband too. That’s why I’ve made plans.
Jude: Do I get to know what they are?
Em: It’s my turn to visit our remote monitoring sites this month. I figured it would be a great chance to show you one of the perks of my job.
I frown at my phone.
Jude: Visiting remote sites is a perk?
Em: It is the way I do it. We need to leave at 7am Friday morning though. I can pick you up from the B&B on the way.
Jude: Sounds like a date.
Em: I figured we’re on a roll, so why stop a good thing. Besides, it’s time to show you what I can bring to the table.
Jude: You know you don’t have to do that.
Em: I want to. Don’t argue hubby. Happy wife, happy life, right?
Jude: My new motto. Happy Em, happy Jude.
I catch Will and Case swapping amused looks and Wy smirking at me. “What?”
“Never thought I’d see the day that you’d be the one kickin’ your feet over a girl,” Wyatt muses.
“I’m not kickin’ my feet. And it’s not just any girl, it’s my wife,” I reply.
Wyatt rolls his eyes. “No way. You’re married?” he gasps, clutching at his chest. “I never would’ve guessed. It’s not like you’ve been talkin’ non-stop about her lately.”
Case nudges Wy. “Aww. Don’t be mean. It’s cute that our baby bro has a big ol’ crush.”
“On my wife,” I reply, pinning them all with a stare. “I ain’t goin’ to deny it. Doesn’t mean I’m blushin’ and kickin’ my feet.” I focus on my brothers. “You two can’t talk. You’ve both been through the Call. You know what it’s like.”
They look between each other and shrug before Will smirks my way. “Doesn’t mean we’re ever goin’ to stop teasin’ you about it, though.”
“I’m not in love,” I shoot back. “We’re gettin’ to know each other at our own pace. The mountain may have tried to speed things up and make it abundantly clear that Em is my One but we’ve got all the time in the world to start our lives together. We’re takin’ it slow.”
“Meanin’ they haven’t even kissed yet,” Wy adds.
Will and Case look surprised. Case reaches out to pat my shoulder. “It’s cute. Don’t know how you’re doin’ it, but I’m proud of you, Jude. I’ve never seen you so…”
“Smitten,” Wy pipes up.
“Down for the count,” Will adds.
I arch a brow Case’s way, waiting for his contribution. “What? You’re not goin’ to say anythin’ else?”
He smirks. “Nope. Just want to remind you of what you said about takin’ on extra work to make up for you goin’ away every weekend.”
“Didn’t he also offer to help out at the Wilson’s too?” Will says. Dammit. I did say that.
Will grins, knowing he’s got me. “That means you can fix that leaky tap in Sutton’s Zen garden for me. While you’re doin’ that, I might go visit my wife for lunch.” He shoots me a half salute before spinning on his heels and walking back toward the house.
“Hey, Jude. You want to get started on clearin’ the gutters around the house too? Winter’s comin’. And since you did Em’s, I figure you’re an expert at it. Last thing we need is for them to fail under the weight of the snow when it hits,” Case says.
“Sure thing,” I grumble, lifting my chin. I turn to Wy. “Anythin’ you want to add to my workload?”
He laughs. “Nope. I figure I’ll just help you so you can leave early like that text was sayin’.”
My mouth drops open. “Stop readin’ my messages with my wife?”
“Dude, with the sappy look you had on your face, of course I had to see what sweet nothin’s she was textin’ you.” He slaps my back. “Can’t wait to hear what her date plans are. Do we need to give you the ‘talk’?” The brat even adds air quotes.
Case dives in, not missing a beat. “Now, Jude. When a boy likes a girl—”
I shrug him off, which just causes them both to laugh. “I hate you all.”
“No, you don’t. You love us,” Wyatt says.
“Just not as much as you lurvvve your wife though,” Case muses. “But that’s OK. Happens to the best of us.”
Even though they’re laughing at my expense, I take it. Mainly because I may not be in love with Em right now, but I know I’m heading down that road.
Starting with Em’s date she’s planned for Friday.
“Hey,” I say, sliding into the seat of Em’s SUV outside the B&B which has fast become my home away from home. Five weeks in a row I’ve stayed here.
The owners now know my name and I know theirs. They even invited me for dinner and a game of Yahtzee some time. I said I’d need to check with my wife, which led to a very surface-level discussion about Em and I and how we came to be.
“I thought you might need this,” she says, handing over a travel mug. “It’s the least I could do considerin’ you drove late into the night to get here.”
“Not a sacrifice, wifey.” My fingers brush over hers as I take the cup off her hands and bring it to my mouth for a taste. “Damn, that’s good. Remind me to make you some of Wyatt’s cowboy brew sometime. It’ll make your hair stand on end.”
“That good, huh?”
I take in her bright-eyed, beautiful face. “Oh yeah.” She licks her lips and my gaze drops to her mouth, and I’m suddenly reminded of our text conversation from a few days ago. “Somethin’ on your mind?” I say with a smirk.
Her head jerks and she turns back to look out the windshield, a sly grin of her own appearing. “Wouldn’t you like to know.”
“I’m a patient man. I can wait.”
A snort escapes her. “I can too, hubby.”
As we hit the road, we chat about the drive to Palmer and I fill her in on news from back home. When Em turns off the highway, I catch a sign directing us to a heliport. “Somethin’ you forgot to tell me about today?”
“Sure. Do you want the dumbed-down version or can I geek out a bit?” she asks.
I glance over at her, loving the happiness shining in her eyes. “I can handle you geekin’ out. In fact, I insist. If I get confused or lost, I’ll just pepper you with questions until you’re sick of me.”
“Doubt that’ll happen, but you’ve got a deal,” she replies, beaming with excitement.
“Part of what we do out of our field office is monitorin’ any and all seismic events.
” I nod at her to continue. “Most of the time, we do that from our desks. But once a month, we take turns goin’ out to check any of our remote stations that have had signal dropouts, battery warnin’s, or telemetry problems. We visit them and see if they can be fixed by us, or if more specialized repairs are needed. ”
“That’s what we’re doin’ today for our date?” I say, surprised and thrilled. “Are you even allowed to take me with you?” My mind is racing at the chance to not only spend the whole date with Em, but to see her in her element doing the job that she loves.
“The answer to both questions is yes,” she says, popping the p before we come to a stop outside a big hangar. “And just in case you haven’t figured it out, we’re goin’ by helicopter.”
“That’s one of my bucket list items,” I confess.
“Really? I never thought to ask whether you liked flyin’ or not. But I love that I get to share this with you.”
My hand flies over the center console to grab hers. “I’ve always wanted to go up in a helicopter but never had the chance.”
Em’s entire body relaxes as a slow-growing smile transforms her features, happiness and relief radiating over to me. “Then I guess today’s your lucky day.”
I stare out the windshield, excitement and anticipation bubbling up inside of me. My brothers are going to be so jealous. “This might just be the best date in the existence of dates,” I say to myself before meeting her eyes again. “I’m never goin’ to be able to top this.”
“That’s the thing, hubby. I don’t expect you to. This isn’t a competition. I just want to spend time with you.” I squeeze her hand, encouraging her to finish. “I really missed you this week. I know it’s weird, and we’ve talked about how we both feel like it feels wrong when we’re apart, but—”
“I’ve missed you too. From the moment I leave town, every time,” I confess, loving the way we can both be so honest with one another. “At least we know we’re both in this together.”
“Yeah…” she says softly, her gaze dropping to my mouth again. This time I’m the one who licks my lips, but I do it with a small smirk. One that grows when she huffs out a breath and distracts herself by undoing her seatbelt. “You’re a tease, you know that?”
“Yep. Lucky for me, my wife can give as good as she gets.”
That earns a snicker. “Well, I guess we’ll just see who can torture who the most then, won’t we?”
“That we will.”
Em laughs. “You ready to go see the helicopter?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“Just a bit. Some of us don’t like makin’ people wait. Let me grab my backpack and then we’ll get goin’. Rhys is waitin’.”