Trace + Olivia Series Boxed Set (147 page)

“I’m sure you’re terribly sad,” I played along, looking out the window. “I bet you cry yourself to sleep every night.”

“I do. I use my teddy bear to mop up my tears and I also suck on my thumb,” he rambled, not missing a beat. 

“Now that,” I couldn’t help laughing, “is something I’d love to see.”

“You can come over anytime,” he grinned. “There’s plenty of room in my bed for an extra snuggle buddy. But you already knew that,” he winked, laughing under his breath.

I had no comeback for that one and he knew it.

We grew quiet as he turned off the highway and drove along. The town soon disappeared, replaced by the country and a dirt road. A wooden fence kept cattle from crossing into the road and trees were everywhere, blanketing the sky around us.

“Where are we going?” I asked, unable to handle the suspense a moment longer.

“To answer your question.” 

“I really hate show and tell,” I muttered under my breath. “You better not take me to a whorehouse or something.”

He let out a belly laugh and smiled crookedly. “You’re funny.”

“I was being serious,” I replied.

“I know you were,” he grinned at me, “that’s why it was funny.”

The dirt road narrowed into a driveway and I stared around in awe at all the animals. There were goats, cows, sheep, llamas, and the most beautiful horses I’d ever seen. “Wow,” I breathed, unable to keep myself from uttering the word. 

“I know, right,” Jude agreed. “It’s beautiful here. My favorite place in the world.” He whispered the last part.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” I admitted, still in awe of the spectacular property.

“You’ve never been on a farm?” He asked, his tone of voice incredulous. “Isn’t that like a prerequisite to live here?”

“My parent’s are pretty citified,” I mumbled. “My mom would’ve complained that she was getting her shoes dirty and my dad wouldn’t have set foot at a place like this. Did you grow up here?” I realized immediately that maybe I shouldn’t have asked the question since our deal was one question a day, but I couldn’t help myself. 

He answered anyway, despite my slipup in our plan. “Yes and no.”

“What does that mean?” I asked, my nose crinkling in confusion.

He shrugged and I let it drop. I didn’t want him prying into my life, so I wouldn’t do the same to him.

The trees pulled away, hanging in a way that they almost framed the two-story white house. A porch wrapped around the front and sides. I could tell the home was old, and in need of a lot of work, but no less beautiful. A large red barn sat behind the house, looking exactly like I’d imagined one to look. If I peered far enough, I could see at least two more barns on the property. In the distance there were rows upon rows of cleared land, ready for the planting season. 

Jude killed the engine on his truck and hopped out. I was left to follow. 

He bounced up the rickety steps to the front door.

I was much slower, a bit afraid that the steps might cave in.

He opened the door and waved me inside ahead of him.

Like the exterior, the interior was obviously old and in need of repairs. Flowery pink wallpaper in the foyer peeled down and the wood floors needed to be sanded and re-stained. I still thought it was beautiful in a rustic, homey sort of way. 

“Pap?” He called out. “Where are you?”

“Back here, boy!” Sounded a gruff voice from the back of the house.

Jude nodded his head for me to follow him. 

We rounded the hallway into a kitchen and the first thing I noticed was that it was covered with dirty dishes. It was also covered with at least ten baskets of eggs. I had never seen so many eggs in my life. Not even at Easter brunch as a child when we had an Easter egg hunt with family. 

In the corner of the room, sitting at a small wood table, was an older man. His gray hair was thinning but there was a sparkle in his brown eyes—the same shade of brown as Jude’s. His face was heavily wrinkled, and he looked tired—like a man that had worked hard his whole life. Upon seeing us, he smiled and it lit up his face.

It didn’t escape my noticed that despite the fact that it was the evening, the man was reading the newspaper, a plate of bacon and eggs in front of him. A cup of coffee and orange juice sat at the side of the plate.

“Pap,” Jude groaned, “what have I told you about the eggs?!” Not waiting for the man to respond, he continued, “They spoil. You either need to sell them, or toss them. You can’t eat all these.”

Lowering the newspaper, the older man responded. “Andrew, I’ve taken care of myself this long, I think I’m fine.”

Andrew?

“Pap—?”

“The yard needs to be mowed, do you think you can do that?” He talked right over Jude.

Jude shook his head. “You know I will, but not—”

“Today, please. It’s looking shabby.” His eyes landed on me. “Who’s this? Oh…is this Julia? She’s lovely, Andrew. You’re description didn’t do her justice. She’s stunning.”

I shot Jude a questioning gaze. 

“Pap, we’ll be right back.” Jude reached for my hand and pulled me from the room. 

“Alright, I’ll finish my breakfast while y’all talk,” the man said from the other room.

Once we were in the living room away from the kitchen, Jude released my hand. “I should’ve explained before we walked in here. I don’t know what I was thinking,” he muttered, shoving his fingers through his hair so it stuck up wildly. “That’s my grandpa, which I’m sure you’ve figured out. He has Alzheimer’s. Some days are good, some days are bad. Very bad. Like today. He was fine yesterday, so I thought he’d be okay today.”

“So, Andrew is…?” I prompted, my gaze travelling around the room. An old piano sat in the corner with an even older couch. One of those giant Grandfather clocks took up space against the wall. I’d never seen one in person. This house was screaming to be fixed up. 

“My dad,” Jude clarified. 

“And Julia?” I tilted my head to the side.

“I don’t know,” he frowned. “My mom’s name is Karen. When he gets like this, I’ve found it’s best to play along. He gets mad if I contradict him.” Jude’s eyes grew sad. Normally he always smiled or laughed, to see him like this was a new experience for me. Jude loved his grandpa. That was obvious. 

“I don’t understand what any of this has to do with answering my question,” I muttered, suddenly feeling even more uncomfortable. It had to be a terrible thing to lose your memories. 

“It has everything to do with it,” Jude said simply. Pointing in the direction of the kitchen, he explained, “That man in there practically raised me. He was more of a dad to me than mine ever was. Watching him slowly start forgetting things hurt more than anything. When I started college, I knew I wanted to be a nurse and work in a nursing home. I wanted to work with people like my grandpa and maybe make their day a little nicer. I want to help, because watching someone you love slip away day by day is a terrible thing. If I can ease the burden for another family, I’m glad to do so.”

I think my mouth fell off at one point during his speech and currently rolled around on the floor. 

Jude Brooks had a heart. 

Hell must have frozen over. Between this, and my conflicted feelings over Graham’s death, today was proving overwhelming. 

“You don’t need to say anything,” he shrugged. “But that’s the truth.”

I shut my mouth, because if I spoke I might say something nice to him and that would not be good. Instead, I nodded. 

“Are you okay to go back in there?” He asked, appearing nervous—like he believed I’d be afraid of his grandpa.

“Of course,” I replied. “He’s not a rabid animal.”

Jude threw his head back and laughed merrily about that. He laughed a lot. Most guys didn’t. It would be refreshing if he wasn’t, well, Jude.

Back in the kitchen, his grandpa said, “Son, get the yard mowed. You’ve got all day to flirt with the pretty girl.”

I looked out the kitchen window at the sky beyond. It was getting dark now, too dark to mow. 

“I’m going, I’m going,” Jude chanted. 

“You can’t mow in the dark!” I cried. I don’t know why I was coming to Jude’s defense, but I knew I couldn’t let him do that. On a property this large, it would be impossible to mow in the dark.

He leaned into me, brushing strands of my blonde hair off my shoulder with a single flick of his fingers. Whispering in my ear, he said, “I installed a headlight on it. I’ll be fine. Besides, I won’t do it all. Just enough to make him happy.”

“But—” I gaped.

“You’ll be okay?” He framed it as a question. 

I looked from his grandpa to him and nodded. 

“Just play along,” Jude reminded me.

His steps thumped against the old floors as he headed outside. The screen door creaked shut and I was left alone with the eldest Brooks.

“Lovely morning, isn’t it?” He nodded towards the window.

“Beautiful.” I agreed.

“Are you hungry?” He asked. “I made plenty. Grab a plate for yourself.”

“I already ate,” I assured him. “But thank you for asking.”

He nodded. “I see you have manners. I like that. You’re a pretty girl, Julia.”

“Thank you,” I said again. 

“You’re too good for Andrew,” he continued. “That boy’s trouble.”

“Is that so?” I asked, pulling out a chair and sitting down across from him. The table and chair set looked like it was made in the seventies. The chairs were a pukey green color and the table was a dark wood. “Tell me more about Andrew.”

The man smiled, his eyes lighting up. He lapsed into a tale about a wild boy and all the shenanigans he pulled. I wondered if Jude’s dad was really like that, or if his grandpa’s Alzheimer’s had caused him to combine Andrew and Jude’s childhood.

I found myself intrigued by everything the man said. I didn’t want him to stop telling me stories of his and Andrew’s past. I wanted to ask him about Jude, but since I was ‘playing along’ I knew that was strictly forbidden and I didn’t want to make his grandpa mad by asking something he didn’t remember.

“Come with me,” the man stood. “I’m Jerry, by the way. I’m so sorry I didn’t introduce myself. My rude son should have made the introduction for us.”

“Sometimes Andrew forgets his manners,” I said. It felt weird to call Jude by a name that wasn’t his. 

“That he does,” Jerry agreed, leading me through the house. “I raised him better than that. Sometimes, you do all the right things, and they turn out to be the wrong things.”

I nodded in agreement, mulling over his words. “That’s very true.”

“I grew up in this house, and my father before me,” he said, looking around with nostalgia written on his face. “It’s been in my family for generations.”

“It’s a beautiful home.” Despite the fact that it was falling apart, it had good bones. With enough money and manpower, it could sparkle like new again. 

“I wish Andrew thought that. He hates this place. He can’t wait to get away,” Jerry rambled. “He doesn’t want to live a farmer’s life. I can’t say I blame him. It’s hard work.”

“I’m sure he’ll change his mind,” I assured Jerry.

He shook his head. “No. Once Andrew sets his mind to something, he doesn’t change it.” Smiling at me, he added, “He’s like me. Stubborn to a fault.”

I couldn’t help laughing. The same things had been said about me more times than I could count.

“I should stop rambling about Andrew and show you the place. This is obviously the living room.” 

I’d already seen this room when I was with Jude, but I didn’t say that. Instead, I looked around and told him how nice it was. “Do you play the piano?” I asked, nodding to the upright in the corner.

He shook his head. “That’s Mae’s. My wife,” he added. Looking around, he said, “I haven’t seen her this morning. I wonder where she is.”

“I’m sure she’s around here somewhere,” I patted his arm. Jude hadn’t mentioned a grandma, so I assumed she was gone. It broke my heart that Jerry was so clearly stuck in the past—in a time when his wife was alive and his son was still home.

He led me upstairs, showing me the bedrooms and bathrooms. The upstairs was a little more updated than the rest of the house. 

The last room he showed me was ‘Andrew’s’ but from what I saw in there, it had Jude written all over it. 

The walls were painted a dark blue and the furniture was old and well worn. The bedspread was blue and gray stripes and gray curtains hung beside the windows. A calendar with scantily clad women hung on the wall. There were some clothes strewn around and enough odds and ends to tell me that someone still occasionally used this room.

Jerry took me downstairs again and showed me a sunroom. I was sure it was beautiful during the daytime. 

“Huh,” Jerry tilted his head as he looked out the wall of windows, “it got dark fast. I forgot lunch…and dinner.” 

I frowned, but didn’t say anything. 

“Are you hungry, Julia?” He asked me.

I shook my head. “No.”

“Well, I am. I’m going to make something for Andrew and me to have when he comes in. You can stay out here if you want. Or go out on the porch. There’s blankets in a basket beside the couch in the living room.”

While he went back in the kitchen, I decided to listen to his suggestion to sit out on the porch. I grabbed a blanket, which was right where he said it would be, and found a rocking chair on the front porch. 

It was completely dark now, but there were small solar lights dotting the walkway leading up to the front of the house. They provided enough light to illuminate the fence and some of the animals.

I shivered and wrapped the blanket tighter around my body. 

Today was shaping up to be interesting. I didn’t know quite what to make of it.

Jude was beginning to break down the wall of cinderblocks I’d built around my heart and myself. I didn’t want to be his girlfriend, or even his friend, but he was weaseling his way into my life and I didn’t like it one bit. Or maybe I did like it and that’s why it scared me so much.

“I thought you might want something to drink.”

I jumped at the sound of the voice. Jerry stood beside me with a glass of water. I hadn’t heard him approach. My heart gradually slowed and returned to its normal pace. “Thank you.” I took the proffered glass from him. He didn’t reply as he turned and disappeared inside once more.