Page 131 of Axe-ing for Trouble
With a chuckle, Jude shook his head. “Sorry.” He pushed my hair behind my ear. “My family can be a lot, and it looks like you’re meeting my mom today.”
After loading up in the car and driving the forty minutes back to Lovewell, I was starving and in desperate need of a shower.
I knew so much about Jude and had heard all about his large, boisterous family, but aside from that first night, I hadn’t actually met any of them but Willa. With every mile we traveled, my stomach twisted tighter and worries consumed me.
Would they resent me for putting him in danger? How could I look his mother in the eye, knowing it was my fault her son had been shot?
Turned out there was no point worrying. Gus hadn’t even put his truck in park before people were spilling out of the house. They were hugging and crying and telling me the names of all the various kids who were running around.
There were others too. Parker and her husband, who was holding a little girl, and more of their family members. Parker’s brothers-in-law, maybe.
I couldn’t keep track. And honestly, the someone I was most interested in seeing wasn’t even human.
At least fifteen people had come out of the house when Ripley finally bounded down the front steps. She stopped right in front of Jude, sniffing his crutch and instantly sensing his injury. He bent at the waist and buried his face in her fur, hugging her fiercely.
When he straightened, I dropped to my knees and did the same. “You are such a good girl,” I said as she licked my face. “I missed you so much.”
Jude’s mom, who insisted I call her Debbie, hugged me several times, getting teary and thanking me for saving her precious boy.
I explained gently that it was the other way around, but she wouldn’t hear it.
Inside, I felt as if I’d found myself on the set of a heartwarming movie. The home was neat and filled with food and kids. Every person in attendance was happy and kind and determined to feed me. The love that filled this place to the brim made my heart ache for my own little family. I missed my mom and Hugo so much.
Once we got settled at Jude’s, I’d talk to him about borrowing his truck so I could drive down to Boston this week.
Debbie led me to the couch, carrying a slice of pie the size of my head in one hand. She’d urged me onto the cushion and forced the plate into my hand when Willa sat next to me, giving my knee a reassuring pat.
“You doing okay?”
I nodded, taking a big bite. Shit, this was good pie.
“You’re madly in love with him, aren’t you?” she asked, following my gaze to where Jude sat across the room, babbling to his niece Tess.
I shrugged and stuffed another bite of pie into my mouth.
“It’s okay. The Hebert boys are an irresistible bunch.”
“Truth.” A woman with a dark ponytail joined us. She’d been introduced as Victoria, Noah’s girlfriend. “We all knew he was hung up on you,” she said. “The mystery woman.”
“I was pretty much gone when he played the guitar for me,” I admitted, feeling like I was being granted admission into some kind of sisterhood.
Victoria fanned herself and Willa pumped her first. “Good work, Jude.”
For a moment, I was entranced by the bearded man in glasses across the room. He looked tired, but so, so happy as his brothers gathered around him.
“What are your plans?” Willa asked. “Are you staying?”
“Yes, I was wondering too,” Victoria said, her expression eager. “And if you have free time, I’m always looking for volunteers at the food bank.”
I looked between them, at a loss for how to respond.
“Do you know how to knit?”
“Ladies.” Alice Gagnon appeared, giving me a big smile. “Don’t overwhelm her.” She sat in the chair beside the couch and crossed her legs. “Mila, sweetie, when you’re healed, I want you to come and talk to my students about journalism. Tell them all about your exciting career.”
“Maybe leave out the getting shot at part,” Willa said.
“That’s my favorite part.” Parker sauntered up with a baby on her hip and a beer in her hand. “When I go to career day, I always bring a sidearm.”
