“If she’s my soulmate, she didn’texactlyhave a choice in it. It’s the mountain spirit’s doin’. Besides, she doesn’t know about the Call and was brought to town to help out at the hospital, remember.”
“Don’t diminish this, Sutt. I know you do it to protect yourself and to stop you from overthinkin’. Believe me, I knowallabout copin’ mechanisms thanks to you.” Jude has ADHD with some OCD tendencies on the side. To me–even as a medical professional–I rarely see the signs of it now. To me, he’s just Jude, my youngest brother who has always had what we call his ‘squirrel’ moments.
He’s easily waylaid when he’s not actively focusing on something. He tends to fidget a bit if you watch him closely. He’s the most outgoing and boisterous one out of us siblings and that lends itself to him talking without a filter and over-explaining himself. I call it ‘info dumping’. He’s also the most caring, attentive, and surprisingly observant brother I could ever ask for.
“I know you missed all of us bein’ together before Gramps’s passin’ and you were the one pushin’ the most for us to move here. I think out of all of us, you need a good woman at your side. Someone you know will always be there. Am I makin’ sense, doctor?” he says as a cheeky smirk appears.
“Yes, Jude. I always forget how much you see.”
He laughs and bumps his shoulder into mine. “That’s because y’all underestimate me.”
“We really don’t. We just have a bad habit of thinkin’ we still need to look out for you.”
“And I love that, I really do. Doesn’t mean I don’t see all and hear all and keepsomeof it to myself.”
“Hmm. Let’s see how long it takes everyone else to find out Blair and I are goin’ on a date on Sunday then,” I muse.
“I can cover for you if you like. Sundays are usually weddin’ plannin’ days and I think this weekend the plan is to finalize the flowers, food, and the cakes,” he explains. “That means the happy couples will be out for the afternoon. You’ll have a good few hours without any speculation if you just wait until they all leave.”
I let out a relieved sigh. It’s not that I’m keeping secrets, but after Birdie and Isla already hinted at lunch that they wanted to play matchmaker, the thought of going out with Blair without the pressure of everyone knowing about it would be a huge weight off my shoulders.
“Do you want some help plannin’ your date? Or have you already got somethin’ in mind?” Jude asks.
“You know what? That would be great. It was Blair that I was messagin’ and–”
“I guessed that, Sutt. You’re not exactly good at hidin’ your emotions you know,” he says in a ‘duh’ like tone.
I roll my eyes. “You goin’ to help or just sit there and tease me?”
“Can’t I do both?” He shrugs. “OK. What’s the plan?”
And for the next half an hour, we check the weather forecast and search up hiking trails in the area until we find one that’s a little over an hour long each way and has some great views of a place called Hidden Lake, somewhere I didn’t know existed until now.
“Quiet, easy, and a little romantic,” Jude says, slumping back against the couch. “It’s perfect, Sutt.”
Yep. Just what the doctor ordered.
Chapter 7
Blair
“Two weeks and you’ve already got a date,” Cate sighs over speakerphone as I decide what to wear today.
Why did I suggest hiking? And why did the weather have to be a clear blue day with a high in the sixties? Something that wouldn’t be an issue if I didn’t spend most of my life indoors and have pale skin that hates the sun?Thank God for SPF 50.
“I blame Alex. She got into my head about finding a mountain man and I justhappenedto end up staying with one who was my secret admirer from college that I had no idea existed.”
“When Starchild said a fresh outlook, I’m not sure she was meaning a new boyfriend,” she giggles.
“It’s a hiking date. Low key, stress-free,hopefullywith no animals hijacking it, and good conversation. It’s not amarriageproposal.”
“Can youimagine?” she gasps. “Anyway, have you chosen the perfect Alaskan mountain date look? I’m thinking denim… maybedoubledenim, oooh!”
I stare at my double bed which is now covered in almost all of the clothes I brought to town with me. “Firstly, no double denim.Isn’t that more of a Canada thing? And secondly,pleasehelp me Cate,” I beg.
“That’s what I’m here for. Put me on video and let’s get you dressed at least. Can’t leave the poor man waiting. Ithasbeen ten years, after all…”
“More than ten, actually. But technically it’s like aseconddate, but also a first. We had dinner at the diner last weekend, remember?” I remind her.
