Page 60 of Axe-ing for Trouble
Huh. It was the first time I’d thought about something like that. I wasn’t exactly the domestic type.
“Jude!” I squealed in delight as I saw my friend emerge from the woods. Ripley came running over and pushed her nose against the glass.
“What is it—shit,” he hissed.
We watched as the moose walked around the yard, bending down every few yards or so to graze.
“Isn’t it adorable? I’ve been calling him Sir Antlerstein, but then I realized I don’t know whether it’s a boy or a girl.”
He continued to stare as it meandered around the grassy area. “This is bad,” he said, shaking his head. “That’s an adolescent. They’re even more unpredictable.”
I brushed him off, continuing to marvel at the majestic creature.
“Oh, fuck,” Jude hissed, taking a step back and lacing his fingers on top of his head. “That’s Clive.”
The big one came trotting out of the woods, looking annoyed at the younger one. Or maybe that was just his moose face? Either way it was so cool.
“You managed to lure Clive into my yard.” He yanked his glasses off and cleaned them on his T-shirt.
“Who’s Clive?”
He frowned at me. “He is a menace. A massive bull that is way too comfortable coming to town and wreaking havoc. He made a huge mess at the Fourth of July festival a few years back and recently crashed a wedding.”
Laughter bubbled out of me. “That’s hilarious.”
“It’s not. It’s dangerous. See the big scar on his flank?” He pointed out the window.
I followed his line of sight, taking in a thick whitish scar that cut across the moose’s thick brown fur.
“No one knows how he got it, but it’s always been there. It’s how we identify him. Not that it’s hard. The other moose are smart enough to stay deep in the woods.”
“So he’s the dad? That’s cute.” I watched as Clive nudged the younger one with his antlers, and then they both took off running toward the forest.
“Nature is awesome,” I said with a smile.
Jude rolled his eyes. “Please do not feed that baby again. We can’t have Clive hanging out around here. He could cause damage or a car accident.”
Crestfallen, I nodded. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt, but I was bored out of my skull most days, and moose sightings were pretty damn exciting.
“You need rest.” He scanned the office supplies and the unassembled ergonomic desk chair lying on the floor.
“Yes.” I huffed. “But my brain doesn’t really do rest. While my body sits around, my thoughts switch to overdrive. I gotta get all the ideas out.”
I was energized in a way I hadn’t been in years. My journalistic instincts had come back online. For so long I’d been living in survival mode, I’d lost my objectivity, as well as my ability to contextualize and work through problems.
Maybe it was the peace of this house or the presence of a person who was willing to do the work with me.
“You know things, I know things, Parker knows things. We’ve got to combine it all and organize it in a way that makes sense,” I explained. “And Owen has been so helpful.”
He frowned. “You’ve talked to Owen?”
“Yes. Willa gave me his number. He’s great. Super efficient.”
With a sigh, Jude shook his head. “If you need help, just ask.”
“It’s fine. Willa said he had the financial records, and apparently Lila is an absolute genius with numbers, so it made sense to go to them for that.” I shimmied where I sat. “Honestly, I may be sexually attracted to the Excel spreadsheet she made. The pivot tables are immaculate.”
Jude burst out laughing. This wasn’t a chuckle. It was a full-blown belly laugh. He took off his glasses, shoulders shaking, and used his shirt to clean them, even though he’d done it only a moment ago. He was a sexy laugher, especially when his ab muscles peeked out from beneath the hem he had pulled up, contracting and releasing. His eyes crinkled in a way that suggested both maturity and intensity.
