“He’ll be alright,” Jude said as he draped his arm around my shoulder. “The folks at Keller & Associates are good people. They’ll keep him in line.”
“No,” I whispered as my eyes welled up with tears. “You don’t have to leave. You don’t have to?—”
“I need to,” Joel said as Jude slid closer.
“What?” I stammered. “But you can’t move to Rhode Island! You don’t know anyone there. Just stay here. It’s not a bother. It’s?—”
“We can visit,” Jude said as he kissed the back of my head. “You’re off work for three months. We can travel. Remember how good it felt to get away from everything? Go off the grid?”
My world was falling apart, but I nodded.
He smoothed his hands down my arms and twined our fingers together. “This is a good thing. For both of you. Besides, your lease is up in November. We can put all our shit in storage and spend the next few months just . . . living.”
Living was a privilege.
I turned to Jude. “How do you know my lease is up in November?”
He smirked. “I stalked you. Remember?” Jude immediately read the trepidation on my face and pulled me into his chest. “He’s going to be okay, little fox.”
“You deserve time to yourself,” Joel said.
In my heart of hearts, I knew it was true. I had gone through things I never thought I’d survive because I was trying to protect Joel. Him choosing to move to Rhode Island was growth. I didn’t want to stifle that.
But it also terrified me.
“Getting away from the East Coast could be nice,” I said as I glanced up at Jude. “And I do have a lot of cash sitting in a safety deposit box to burn through . . .”
Jude rubbed my back. “I quite like road-tripping with you. You know—when you don’t make me chase you through a parking lot after climbing out of a bathroom window.”
“You didwhat?” Joel said with a laugh.
“In my defense, I thought you were going to kill me,” I said.
“Nah,” Jude said quietly. “But I’d die for you.”
I squeezed his hand. “I know.”
“We can take that train down the California coast,” Jude mused. “We can go to Providence and visit once Joel’s settled in. There’s a pie shop up there that’ll knock your socks off. We can go visit my folks in Arizona. They want to meet you.”
“Really?”
The doorbell rang as Jude tipped my chin up and kissed me. “Really.”
I looked at Joel. “Who’s that?”
“Movers,” he said. “They’re going to take my car and my stuff up to Providence.”
Sandpaper wrapped around my throat. “You’re leaving . . . like . . . right now?”
“Yeah,” he said as he eased up onto his crutches. “I need to get a head start on the whole ‘growing up’ thing.”
I jumped off the couch and pulled him into a hug as Jude answered the door. “I’m going to miss you. You’re going to do great up there.”
“I hope I don’t,” he said as he squeezed me as hard as he could while still using crutches. “I need to fail a little more. I think I’ll learn more that way.”
“I love you.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “And I’m proud of you.”
“Love you too.” He cracked a smile. “And you can call me this time. But if you don’t, it’s okay. I know you’re in good hands.”
