Page 158 of Still Bruised
“Right? I mean, I knew it was pretty good, but not firefighters fighting over good.”
Jude laughed.
It was probably the first real smile he’d seen cross Jude’s face. His heart quickened, his chest tight. He’d thought Jude was handsome before? He’d had no idea just how handsome Jude really was.
His mom’s pumpkin pie was miraculous, clearly.
29
Jude was never so glad as when Foster pulled the SUV into the driveway and shut off the engine. He was ready to relax.
In Foster’s arms.
And maybe get some ice for his aching hand.
Foster turned to eye Jude. “We could just go on up and have pie for breakfast, you know?”
Jude chuckled. “We told your mom we’d come back. Plus, I’m sure she wants to know how the delivery went.”
“We’re not telling her about Rick, right?”
“Nooo,”Jude said, though he felt so good that he wanted to scream it to the whole town. Rick was a fucking coward who had run from him in fear. The entire script had been flipped. All the panic that had risen faded the second that asshole had shown them who he really was.
He sensed the dread wouldn’t return the next time he faced Rick. At least, he hoped so.
“We’re telling everyone else, though, right?” Foster asked. “I don’t normally spread gossip, but thisneedsto be spread.”
“I suspect our firefighter friends will ensure that happens,” Jude said, grinning. “Hopefully they get the story straight and don’t make me out to be a cow-killing lunatic.”
Foster grinned.
“Speaking of gossip, I’ve got some of my own to share,” Jude said. It was time to come clean to Foster.
“Oh?”
“After we had that little talk about me being stuck in the past, I started seeing someone. A professional. You were right. And I’m working on it.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Foster smiled.
“I asked you for space, and I wanted you to know that wasn’t bullshit. I’m trying to move forward and not back.”
“What kind of future do you want for yourself?”
“One with you in it,” Jude whispered.
“I want that, too.”
Foster leaned closer, but Jude pressed a hand to his chest to stop him.
“There’s more I gotta say first. Some things you need to know.”
“Okay.”
Jude stared down at his lap. He’d been rubbing his wrist without realizing it. Releasing his hold, he rubbed both palms along his thighs. “The doc—she thinks I have something called Avoidant Attachment Disorder. She just sprung this on me recently, so I’m still learning what it means, but basically… I avoid romantic relationships because I don’t trust people and I’ll do my best to sabotage things if they get too intimate. Not sexually intimate, but emotionally intimate.”
“I’m aware.”
“How could you know that?”
