Hey Jude (Lennox Valley Chronicles #1)

“Listen,” I say, “do you know what’s going on? She wouldn’t…” I stop, correcting myself. “She couldn’t talk to me. And now…” I trail off, remembering her text. I shake my head.

He presses his lips together, considering me. He seems to decide something. “It’s not my story to tell, man. She’ll do that when she’s ready.”

I look at him, confused.

“Let’s just say… what you described? That would be”—he pauses, as if searching for the right words—“very triggering for her.”

I let out a breath, frowning. Shit. Olena’s been through something major and fucking Miles had to stir it up. And I wasn’t there.

I look down at the floor, rubbing the back of my neck, and curse under my breath. I try to explain. “The thing with my brother… It’s complicated. But he’s harmless. He was just looking for me. He didn’t know she was there.”

He looks at me skeptically. “Yeah, well, just don’t…” He takes a breath. “Don’t fucking hurt her, okay?” The emotion behind his words hangs between us for a moment.

My chest tightens at the implication. “I would never hurt her. I tried to help her…” My words feel useless and small trying to defend myself against Wyatt’s concern for Olena, which seems to be absolutely warranted.

Wyatt glances at the line behind me. “Look, man, I’ve got other customers waiting. I’ll get Mia to call you when your sandwiches are ready.” He lifts his chin to Mia, now wiping the counter to his left, openly eavesdropping on us. He unties his apron and turns to walk to the back.

“Hey, Wyatt,” I call out before he can get too far.

He turns back to me, crossing his arms over his chest, and lifts his chin expectantly.

“What can I do? To help?”

He considers a moment. “Just listen. Listen to her. She’ll tell you what she needs.”

28

OLENA

Charles catches me early Monday morning and asks if I’d like to join him and Carol for a cup of coffee inside to discuss something. I haven’t seen Jude yet, although his truck is parked in the driveway; even the knowledge that he’s here is weighing on my heart. Grateful for any reason to avoid facing him for a little longer, I agree and head inside.

As I walk toward the front door behind Charles, I look up to see a crew of roofers removing moss from the shingles and washing and suctioning out the gutters. Along the path, Teddy cuts through the weeds with a pressure washer, turning the machine off as we walk past and throwing me a quick wave. A delivery truck beeps, backing into the driveway. Collectively, it all feels a bit much and I’m relieved to step inside the quiet house and sit down at Charles’ invitation.

“Olena, my darling, you’ve done absolute wonders out there!” Carol beams as she pokes her head into the dining room from the kitchen.

Charles sits across from me at the table, smiling in agreement.

“Thank you; it’s starting to look great, I think.” I squeeze my hands together, looking away. “It’s been such a wonderful project to work on. You have a beautiful property here. And a beautiful home too.” I gesture at the house around us. Several areas are still under renovation but the home itself retains its classic beauty.

“Well, glad to hear that, actually, because we wanted to talk to you about the house,” Charles says.

I look at him with confusion; my area is the outside stuff. “I don’t understand.” I smile politely.

“Well, Wyatt was telling us a while back that he and Sam have some trouble getting time for just the two of them,” Charles explains.

Carol joins us with coffees on a tray, reminding me of the last time I sat at this table. I glance briefly at the empty chair where Jude had sat that day, remembering how my cheeks flushed when he let it be known he was single.

“I guess, between Sam living at his parents’ house and Wyatt living with you, they don’t have their own space,” says Carol, settling down into her seat beside me.

“Oh…” I nod, then chuckle in an effort to cover up my staggering confusion. “Sorry, I’m not following. What does this have to do with me?”

“Oh, Charles, we’ve gone and explained it all back to front!” Carol laughs and waves a hand in front of her face as if to dismiss the confusion. “See, the noise here with all the construction is getting to be a bit much for us.” She glances at Charles. “And we’ve got a chance to stay in Seattle for a week with friends.”

Charles cuts in. “We were hoping you might consider house-sitting for us while we’re away.” He gives me a hopeful look.

“Oh!” I take a moment to consider the unexpected offer.

“We thought it was perfect, didn’t we, Charles?” Carol asks. He nods as she carries on, turning to me. “If you could come stay here, Wyatt and Sam could have some time at your apartment for the week, and you would have a very short commute to work. You could take care of the plants, bring in the mail… all that usual stuff. You know, keep an eye on things.” Carol pats my arm and I smile.