Page 130 of Axe-ing for Trouble
Because now I had to rebuild. Start from scratch. And I wasn’t sure I knew how.
“Rest, Trouble,” Jude murmured, pulling me against his chest. We were not supposed to be wedged in this hospital bed together, and the nurses would probably yell at me when they came back to check his vitals in an hour, but I couldn’t stand even a few inches of distance. He’d been shot trying to help me.
“I can’t. My brain is going too fast.”
“Let me help you slow it down.” He kissed me softly.
Instantly, I melted into him. Okay, that was a bit better.
“The timing is terrible and doing this in a hospital is even worse.” He shook his head. “But now that this is over, or at least over for now, I want you to know I love you.”
A lightness I wasn’t sure I was capable of feeling at the moment fluttered through me. “I love you too.”
“I know you’ve probably got a lot of exciting things out there waiting for you, but I’d love to be a part of it.”
Heart clenching, I buried my face in his neck. “I want that too,” I said against his skin. “In every other aspect of my life, I’m lost. But the one thing I know for certain is that I want to be with you.” Heat pricked at the backs of my eyes. “The possibilities are overwhelming. I can’t even begin to figure out what comes next. But you are the best person I’ve ever met. Regardless of all of it, I want to be by your side.”
He held me for a moment, the two of us silent, both processing my admission. This felt good. Vulnerability, honesty. I’d never been comfortable with either, but Jude was worth it.
“We have time to figure it all out,” he whispered. “You were so brave. So amazing. Let yourself recover. Then we can write our next chapter.”
“I don’t know what I want the next chapter to include,” I admitted. “Aside from you and Ripley.”
“That sounds like a good start. First, let’s try being normal, like we planned. I’ll take you out to dinner, and we can go for hikes with Ripley. From there, we can take that vacation we were talking about.”
I smiled at the thought of sand in my toes.
We fell asleep making mundane plans for when he was released and we’d both healed. We’d paint the bedroom, and he would teach me how to work the pizza oven. Then there were the endless Scrabble rematches and some nights volunteering to babysit his nieces and nephew.
As I drifted off to sleep against his strong chest, all I could think was how perfect it all sounded.
* * *
Gus metus the next morning, handling the discharge paperwork and tearing up when he saw his baby brother in a hospital bed.
“Fuck, Jude.” He shook his head.
“Any news?”
“Lots of arrests. Charles Huxley took off. They think he’s headed to the Cayman Islands, but Parker has a team from the ATF hunting him down.”
Of course she did.
“The town is in an uproar. It’s wild out there. Everyone is so worried about you. How are you guys feeling?”
“Tired,” Jude said, shooting me a wink. “Can’t wait to get home.”
The nurse rolled a wheelchair into the room and motioned for Jude to get into it.
“Do you really think you need that?” Gus picked up the crutch his brother had been using.
“I got shot,” Jude huffed.
“The doctor saidgrazed,” Gus replied, arching a brow. “Pretty sure that’s different.” He ruffled Jude’s hair affectionately. “I’m not gonna start going easy on you now, little brother. Plus Mom is going to fuss all over you when we get to her house.”
Jude frowned. “Mom’s house?”
“We’ve all been summoned. She’s got to feed you and see for herself that you’re okay. No use fighting it.”
