Page 88 of Freeing Their Heart

“He got shot right in the eye.” I remove her hands from my face and kiss them. “Because of me. It was my fault. Right. In. The eye.”

“Oh!” she says. She’s getting it.

“I never finished my sentence. Even if I did, I’m not sure justice would have been served. But this.” I motion to my face. “This is justice.”

Cora starts to argue, but I cut her off.

“Doc can’t heal me because it’s not just. Me being blind, that’s the rest of my sentence.”

“Oh, Jud.”

“No. Listen, baby. I can live with it.” I nod. I get it now, and it’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. “I can live with it.”

Chapter 28

Cora

Morning with Jud

Dawn comes too soon.I’m wrapped up with Jud on a couch in the game room, and I feel more at peace than I have in a long time. All I want is to stay here like this with a sleeping Jud who sought me out and opened his heart to me in the night.

But the ranch house is starting to come alive. Above our heads, I hear the movement of hard-working men starting their day. Pipes quietly hiss as toilets flush and showers come on. The massive windows behind the pool table look out on the hot-tub deck and endless pastures that are slowly gaining color as the sun kisses their dew away.

I think of Hope, sleeping alone upstairs. Knowing her, when she wakes up and finds me gone, she’ll correctly assume I’m in the arms of one of my men. She claims she doesn’t need or even want a man (or men) of her own, but even so, she’ll be happy for me that I found someone to steal me away from her.

Soon, I’ll be returning to Montana with my guys, leaving her and Justin behind. I’ll miss them both, but I know they’ll visit. They need to make their own way in the world, and Hope definitely has goals in mind. Judging from the way the soldiers all watch her, though, I’m guessing she’ll have some convincing to do before they let her walk away from them.

Personally, I think she’s a perfect fit here on the ranch. With her love for animals and her thirst for medical knowledge, she’ll be a real asset. Not just to the livestock here, but also to the good men who call this place home. In my opinion, a girl couldn’t ask for better men to live with. Except for my men, that is.

Jud stirs. His arms tighten around me. His legs stretch along the couch, coarse hair rubbing against my shaved skin.

“Good morning,” I say, and I stretch up to kiss beside his mouth.

“Mmmmm,kitten.” His sleepy murmur is music to my ears.

Leaning over him, I prop myself up and look at his face. This is the first time he’s allowing me access to his scars. Because he can’t see me study him, I trace his eyebrows with a gentle finger. He’ll know from my touch that I’m seeing everything he’s kept hidden behind sunglasses all week. If he asks me to stop or turns away from my touch, I’ll respect that. I know what it’s like to have scars you don’t want anyone to see. But he doesn’t ask.

He nuzzles into my touch, letting me study him to my heart’s content. It’s unsettling, the way he looks, now. His handsome face has been altered. It’s never been easy to read Jud, but now, it’s even harder. The eyes are supposed to be the window to the soul. Now, there’s no window. Jud’s soul is more inscrutable than ever.

It’s awful what they did to him in New Orleans. It’s awful that Jud accepts these scars. But I get it. I accept mine, too. They’re proof I survived.

“You’ll always be perfect to me,” I tell him.

He smiles. Oh, it’s wonderful when Jud smiles! It’s like the sun rising right here in this room. “That’s supposed to be my line,” he says.

“Too bad,” I say. “I stole it. Now, it’s mine.”

“Guess I’ll have to come up with some new lines.”

“Guess so.” I’m smiling back at him, but he can’t see it. He’ll never see my smile again. The thought makes a sob catch in my throat.

Jud reaches up and begins tracing my face the way I traced his. “I remember exactly what you look like,” he says. “You are so beautiful.”

I press into his touch. His hand is so warm, so welcoming.

His petting becomes a caress that smooths down my neck and arm. He links his fingers with mine and brings my hand to his mouth for a tender kiss. It’s lovely, but it’s not enough.

Pushing against the couch, I stretch up to kiss him fully on the lips.

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