Hey Jude (Lennox Valley Chronicles #1)

He tromps down the steep wooden steps close behind me, descending the stairs that zig-zag down the hillside near where his home is perched.

My hand slides along the wooden railing as I look out across the river. The day is overcast, but it’s warmer than it’s been in a while. Below us, the river burbles along the rocky shore. Birch and arbutus trees with peeling bark shoot up along the bank between the mix of boulders and smaller, smooth stones.

“You get used to it.” He exhales the words with a smile as we descend at last to a small cement landing surrounded by rocks.

I step off and climb over them, balancing with my hands as I teeter on precarious footing. I grab the low branch of an arbutus and pivot to the next boulder. Jude clambers after me, following my lead.

“God, it’s beautiful here. I didn’t know this spot existed,” I say, stopping to admire the view. The breeze loosens strands from my messy bun and they whip around my face and neck; with effort, I pull them away from my mouth with my fingers. I turn and grin at Jude, who squints back at me, a half-smile on his lips. “What?” I ask, seeing his amused expression.

“I was just remembering that day I saw you beside Lyons Park in Nat’s car.”

I roll my eyes and throw my head back, cringing. “No! Erase it! Erase it from your memory! That was so embarrassing; I could’ve crawled into a hole.”

He laughs as my cheeks flush and I shake my arms, trying to shrug off the memory of how foolish I must have looked.

He moves toward me, pulling me into a tight hug. “Sorry to say, but that one’s already burned into long-term memory,” he says with a chuckle, pressing a kiss to my head.

I wrinkle my nose.

“Come on.” He pulls away and offers his hand. He leads me over several more rocks and around a corner to a small floating dock. We sit down at the end, hanging our feet over the edge. The river laps at the posts not far below us. Jude puts his arm around me and squeezes my shoulder, kissing my cheek.

“I can’t believe we’re almost done with the Faulkner property,” I say, twisting to look at him as I wrap my arms loosely around his waist.

“Yeah,” he agrees with raised eyebrows, his gaze resting on the river in front of us. “It’s gone by fast.”

I pause. “What happens next?”

“What do you mean?” he asks.

“Like, are we supposed to just go on to other projects?”

“I think so, yeah,” he chuckles, glancing at me with a hint of confusion. “Why? What did you imagine?”

“I don’t know,” I sigh, looking out across the river, watching as a few tiny white boats slowly float along with the current near the distant shore. “I mean…” I look down at my hands. “I like working with you.” My eyes lift to meet his.

“I should hope so!” He arches an eyebrow at me and I smile.

“We’ve made a pretty good team, I think.”

He smiles. “Yeah, Charles and Carol seem pretty happy so far.”

I sigh. “I’m so glad. And I really needed this job. They did me a huge favor, hiring me.”

“Agh, you’re killing me with that,” he says, pulling his arm away and shifting back a bit to look at me.

My arms drop from his waist. “What?”

“You never give yourself any credit.” He looks exasperated. “They hired you because you’re good. Full stop.”

“I dunno,” I say, shrugging. “They only hired me because they’re Wyatt’s aunt and uncle…”

I trail off as he pushes himself to a stand. “Where are you going?” I ask, my brow creasing. I twist around as he walks back to the other end of the small dock, toward the rocks.

He runs a hand over his beard and turns to me. “Repeat after me.” He looks serious.

“What?” I shift my eyes with a nervous laugh.

“Repeat after me,” he says impatiently, his voice louder.