She and Kiara didn’t exactly dress up for dinner. However, they also didn’t rock up to the table in shorts and a tank top. Their days of eating dinner in their pajamas on the couch were in the past until they were living in their own place.
They’d always eaten dinner as a family with Jim and Sandra, but it hadn’t exactly been a pleasant experience. The meals with Duncan and the family were much more pleasant. Although Julian's presence might make them a little more tense.
As she switched into a nicer sweater and a pair of black slacks, Angela couldn’t help but wish that Jude would be joining them for dinner. She wondered how long it would be before he was welcome at the table with the family.
His absence would be harder to accept if Cole was at the table. But as far as Angela was aware, he was still in California. However, he was likely to show up at some point if he missed Annie the way she missed him.
Once dinner was over, Angela decided that she needed to have a talk with Kiara about the travel idea. Hopefully, Jude would call after that so that they had plenty of time to talk.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Jude pulled on his leather jacket before proceeding into the garage. After climbing into his truck, he exited the garage, pressing the button to close the overhead door behind him. It was just a short drive to the main house, and within minutes, he pulled up to the back door and got out.
The February day was bright and sunny. Beautiful, he supposed. But now that they’d gotten past the coldest part of winter, he was ready for warmer days.
As he approached the back door, it swung open, and Angela appeared. She wore a long navy blue wool coat and a burgundy scarf. Her face lit up when she saw him.
Jude couldn’t help but bend to hug her when she approached him with her arms open. He held her tight for a moment before letting her go.
Looking down at her, he said, “Ready to go?”
“I am.”
He helped her into the passenger side of his truck, then slid behind the wheel. “Kiara didn’t want to come?”
“No. Not this time.”
Selfishly, Jude was glad.
When Angela had mentioned the previous day that she needed to go to the store again, Jude had asked if she would like to combine a trip to Coeur d’Alene for shopping with attending church. She’d quickly agreed.
“Can you tell me a little about your church?” Angela asked. “And how long you’ve been attending there?”
“It’s a large church, which is one of the reasons I like it. Fewer people know who I am that way.” He went on to describe what he knew of the pastoral staff and the church itself.
Their conversation turned to spiritual things, which surprised Jude a little. He didn’t speak much about spiritual things with anyone except Cooper. His dad had encouraged conversations like that, but once he’d passed, Jude had found it difficult to have spiritual talks with people he didn’t know well.
Angela, however, made it easy. She listened in that quietly attentive way of hers, asking questions that weren’t too prying. She encouraged him to elaborate on what it had been like to grow up with a dad who’d embraced faith later in his life.
"It was almost like having two different fathers," Jude told her as they merged onto the highway. “He changed a lot after he became a Christian. Not in the way he treated me, that was always consistently loving and caring. But he was… lighter. Like some weight had been lifted off him.”
Angela nodded, her lips pursed in thought. “Do you remember how old you were when it happened?”
Jude considered the question. “Ten or so? I just remember that all of a sudden I was being dragged to church each Sunday instead of getting to watch cartoons while I ate my favorite cereal.”
She smiled at the image. “Did you like it?”
“At first? Not even a little.” Jude let out a small laugh. “But Dad was stubborn, and he persisted. Over time, we made connections in the church, and regular attendance just became normal.”
Angela lapsed into silence for a moment, letting the information settle between them. Jude found himself wanting tofill the quiet, to keep her engaged. “He always said faith was the only thing that gave him hope when other things in his life went bad.”
He glanced at her to see how his comment landed. She was still watching the trees whip by, but he caught the tilt of her head, the way she tucked her hair behind her ear.
“I think that’s true,” she said softly. “It’s the only thing that makes sense out of all the horrible things that happen. Trusting that God has a purpose and is still in control, regardless of what’s happening.”
Jude wasn’t sure why her words sent a prickle along his shoulders. Maybe because they sounded so certain, when his own faith had begun to feel almost like a habit.
He found that he enjoyed the conversation, and he knew that his dad would have told him that a shared faith was key to building a stable and lasting relationship.
