Chapter 24

Chapter Twenty-Four

Jude

Present

Her phone rings, and when she glances at the screen, her face pales.

“Who is it?” I ask, sitting up in bed, though I already know. It’s the same name plastered across the for sale sign outside her parents’ home.

“My realtor.”

This should be a good thing. It’s what she’s been waiting all week for.

So why does my heart sink when she answers her phone and gasps with excitement? When she thanks the realtor for all their hard work?

Ending the call, she sets the phone down on the nightstand and turns to look at me. “The house sold. With a cash offer.”

“That’s great news, right? What you’ ve been wanting?”

“Yeah, it is. There’s something else too.” The look in her eyes is cautious as she searches for the right words. I can feel my pulse in my ears as I wait for her reply. “Since they’re paying with cash, they’re pushing for it to close fast—like really fast.”

“How fast exactly?”

“Ten days, give or take. Which means I’ll be back in Washington in two weeks.”

My heart drops as I process her words. Two weeks, and she’ll be gone. The brave smile she’s wearing is barely holding back the weight of the reality between us. It’s everything she’s been working toward, and yet it feels like the ground is shifting beneath us.

“Wow. That’s amazing, but also…really soon,” I manage to say.

“Really soon,” she repeats, her smile faltering for a split second before regaining her composure. “I can’t believe it’s all happening now.”

We both know this should be a moment of celebration, and instead a heaviness settles in.

“I’m happy for you,” I say, forcing a smile as I reach for her hand. “That you’ll finally get closure with the house being sold.”

“Thanks.”

We both become awkward as we know our time together is coming to an end, even if we don’t want it to.

All I feel is emptiness carving out my bones as reality hits me. I’m here, and now she’s the one leaving. But this time, it feels final. Like the door is being cemented shut, and it’s our last chance slipping through the cracks.

For the next two days, the chaos of work is the perfect distraction for what’s going on with Ella. There’s virtually no downtime, barely enough time to even eat a bite of food or use the restroom between patients.

But as soon as I swipe my badge to clock out, the reminder of her leaving hits me straight on. My lips on her body, her mouth on my dick, us talking all night and the comfort of her sleeping next to me in bed—it’s a feeling I never want to lose. But now it feels like an hourglass, the sand slipping through faster than I can catch it. Every grain brings me closer to losing her.

After swiping my badge and heading out of the building, I run into Cliff in the parking lot. Today, he’s starting his shift as I’m ending mine.

“Hey, Judey! How’s it going?” he calls out across the lot, the early morning light catching the salt-and-pepper in his hair.

I take a few long strides over to him and reach out for a handshake. “Doing alright. How about yourself?”

“Who cares about an old man like me? You ready to tell me her name yet? I’ve seen that run before—like you’ve got a woman to rush home to.” Well, he’s sure straight to the point. And amazingly spot on.

“Her name’s Ella,” I confirm.

“Ella. That’s a pretty name. How’s it going with her?”

“Amazing. Better than amazing.”

“Then why the long face?”

I shrug. “She leaves in two weeks. ”

His crinkled eyes are full of pity. “Well you’re not going to let her get away, now are you?”

“I don’t know how much choice I have in the matter.”

“Don’t be a damn fool. Of course, you’ve got a choice. If you want something bad enough, you’ll find a way to make it work.” He sighs like I’m a complete idiot. “Did I ever tell you about the time I met my wife?”

“At that baseball game? When you spilled a beer on her?”

“No, that came after. The first time I ever saw my wife, I was working as a contractor, building houses right outside of town. She was passing through with her family on a road trip—didn’t even live around here. Just some girl from across the state. We hit it off right away, but she was leaving in a few days.”

He spins his keys around his finger, staring off into the distance with his memory. “I could’ve let her go, figured it wasn’t meant to be. But I didn’t. I got her information, and we wrote letters for months. Talked on the phone all the time. Took road trips back and forth when we could. Hell, we even talked about moving across the country for a fresh start for us both. Whatever it took to stay connected, we did it. Eventually, we made it work.”

He looks at me, his gaze sharp again. “The point is, if I had let her leave without trying, I wouldn’t have had the forty damn good years we did together. Don’t let her go without a fight.”

He slings his lunch bag over his shoulder and hustles off toward the back door of the hospital. Before he disappears inside, he turns and shouts, “Don’t mess this up, son.”

It’s evident to myself that I do want her enough. Hell, I want to be with her more than I’ve ever wanted anything. Seeing her again, being with her, has only solidified that feeling.

Ella and I are both cautious people. Neither of us ever take a risk if we know the odds are stacked against us. A long distance relationship, only after being around each other for this short amount of time—the odds are definitely high that this wouldn’t work. But there’s this nag in my brain that knows it will. That we’ve waited all this time, and will fight like hell to keep it.

Now I’ve just got to convince her.

After a quick shower and a power nap, I head over to Ella’s to pick her up. She mentioned texting when I arrived, but I’m not the type to sit in my car like some frat boy douche honking the horn. I’m knocking, and I’m definitely going to open the car door later for her too.

She answers, peeking around the edge of the door. “Shit. I’m not ready yet. Do you want to come in or wait in your car?”

“I’ll come in. No rush,” I say, stepping inside as she opens the door wider. The house feels hollow compared to what it once was. It’s completely empty, except for a pink water thermos on the counter and a pair of sandals by the door .

“I still have to grab a few things. You can follow me,” she instructs.

I trail behind her, taking in the barren, almost sterile atmosphere of the house.

In the guest room, she tosses an empty bag onto the bed and starts filling it with sunscreen, a hat, sunglasses, and other essentials for our day. My eyes drift to the small foldout bed that I had attempted to secretly purchase for her. It’s decent, but imagining her sleeping on it night after night makes my chest tighten. She deserves more than some fucking makeshift setup like this. She needs a real bed, a real home, somewhere she can actually live, not just exist.

On the windowsill, I spot a Lawson Police Department business card with a report number written in the corner. I know it’s none of my business, but she feels like she is my business and I can’t help but ask.

I nod toward the card. “Is everything okay? Did you have to contact the police for something?”

She freezes mid-packing and looks at me. “Yeah. Last night…there was an incident.”

A protective storm rolls through, making me see red. I keep my voice soft. “What kind of incident?”

“I heard someone out the window in the middle of the night. I think maybe they were casing the house or looking to break in.”

I want to personally hunt down those motherfuckers and teach them a lesson. But I can’t let that rage seep through right now. What needs to happen is being there for her. “Did the police find them? ”

“No. I think they ran when they saw me turn a light on in the house. The police took a report, so we’ll see. I’m not sure what else they can do.”

“El—you shouldn’t stay here alone.”

“I only have two weeks left,” she says, biting her lip.

“What if they come back? There’s all those inspection people coming in and out, and a huge sold sign on display in the front yard. They’re assuming the house is empty and it’s an easy spot to target. Either I’m sleeping here or you can come stay at my place.”

She studies me for several seconds before speaking again. “I don’t want to intrude on your life.”

“You’d never be intruding. I’m not going to force you, but if you want to stay the night, or fourteen nights, or however long you want, my home is your home.”

She bites her bottom lip again, clearly weighing the offer. After a minute, she exhales, the hesitation in her eyes dissolving like sugar in water. “Okay. If you’re absolutely sure you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind. I think we’ll both sleep a lot better at night knowing you’re safe.”

She looks up at me, studying my face with the most angelic expression in her eyes. “I’ve never had someone care about my wellbeing the way you do.”

It’s like a dagger to my heart. This literal angel of a woman never having the safeguard of having someone look out for her. “All I want is to make sure you’re okay. I protect the people I care about. And you matter to me.”

My words hang between us as she comes to terms with what I’ve said. Releasing a breath, she pulls her shoulders back and nods. “Okay. Let me grab my suitcase. At least there’s not much to pack.”

I watch her load her hard-shell suitcase, crammed so full that the zipper struggles to close. I love the sight of it. With my offer, I was worried she’d pack enough for only one night. But the truth is, I hope she never leaves. Call me crazy, but I’d permanently move in with her right now if I got the chance. There’s something that courses through your veins and awakens every nerve when you realize the entire future you want is standing right there before you.

Wheeling her luggage out of the house, I pack it into my vehicle with a sigh of relief. No more worrying about her in that dark, empty house.

From there, the drive to the beach feels like a scene from a dream. As the two-lane highway winds its way through the golden hills, the landscape shifts—native ice plants in shades of green giving way to vibrant orange poppies, their colors dancing in the sun. We roll down the windows, letting the salty breeze tangle in our hair while our favorite nineties grunge blares from the speakers.

Every mile brings us closer to the shore and further from our worries, as if the ocean itself is pulling us toward freedom. Everything else fades away—the fears, the uncertainties, the weight of decisions yet to be made. All that remains is the way her dark hair whips around her face, her smile as wide as the horizon. She glances over at me, and the pure joy in her eyes is infectious, making my chest tighten with a happiness that feels almost too big to contain .

Sometimes, the future isn’t some distant, far-off thing. Sometimes it’s right here, unfolding before your eyes, waiting for you to recognize it. Seeing her here, radiating happiness in the passenger seat of my car, I know without a doubt—this is what my future looks like. It’s her.

We arrive at the beach and quickly set up, placing our blanket in the sun-baked sand right beside the rock jetty. The waves crash rhythmically against the shore, and a group of tiny plovers scurries along the edge of the water, their little legs a blur of motion.

As we settle in, a memory pops into my mind. “Hey, do you remember how we used to play the ‘Did You Know’ game?”

Her face lights up. “Of course I do. That’s how I found out that narwhals are in fact very real and not some imaginary, mythical creature.”

“I still remember the look on your face. You thought I was full of it.”

“I did,” she admits. “And in my defense, you also thought Transylvania was a made-up vampire town.”

I grin. “I still won’t believe it until I see it for myself.”

“We should play it again,” she suggests, shading her eyes from the sun with one hand as she turns to face me. “Tell me a fact. About yourself, or something I may not know.”

There’s a lot I want to share with her—both the random medical trivia cluttering my brain and the overwhelming feelings I have for her. But I’m not sure how far to push it.

I decide to start with something disgustingly interesting and light. “Lobsters urinate from their faces—right underneath their eyeballs, to be exact.”

Her expression is a mix of both horror and amusement. “What. The. Hell,” she laughs. “That’s vile, and I love it. Oh, I’ve got one,” she says, trying to speak without laughing. “I recently found this out while pet sitting my neighbor’s dog and doing a deep dive on the Internet at two in the morning.” She leans in closer, holding my gaze as if to emphasize the gravity of what she’s about to say. “Dog food taste tester. It’s a real job.”

“You’re fucking with me.”

“Unfortunately, I am not. It’s true. Supposedly they’re highly trained and well paid too.”

“Well, I’d certainly hope they make loads for having to eat dog food. I’m still traumatized from the dog treat I tried as a kid.”

Playing this old game we used to play brings a wave of nostalgia. If I could sit here on this beach with her, listening to her talk, watching the seagulls dive for crabs and the sky fade into twilight, I’d be content for the rest of my days.

I unpack the insulated cooler full of food that I brought, lying it all out on the blanket.

I’ve thought and rethought some grand speech of what I want to say to her before it’s too late. I need to make my intentions clear. This time it will not be some mediocre repeat of ten years ago where we danced around confessing our feelings because we were young and dumb. I’ve grown and learned my lesson. “I wanted to talk to you about something. ”

She looks me up and down like I’m about to crush her world. “About what?”

I take a deep breath, my heart pounding as I muster the courage to put it all out there on the line. “I want this thing between us to be real.”

“It is real, it’s always been real,” she replies, her voice soft but sure.

“I know, but it needs to be different this time around.”

“Different how?”

“Different, meaning we make it work. That I fight to keep you, and you don’t run away from me either.” I take her free hand, the one resting on the blanket, and hold it tight. “I don’t have any intention of fucking things up with you this time. I’m all in. Even when you’re back in Washington, I want to make it work and do long distance.”

She searches my face for any hint of doubt. But whatever she sees in my expression seems to ease her nerves. “I’m all in, too, then,” she whispers, her expression softening with happiness.

What a fucking relief. I feel like I can finally breathe again as I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her close into my body as we face out toward the lapping waves of the ocean. With a bend of my head, we kiss as the setting sun shines down.

My lips move on hers as the world around us fades to a faint background noise. We’re completely unaware of the passersby strolling down the shore or the seagulls scuffling around. As we sit on the beach, wrapped in the security of making our relationship official, I hold onto the hope that even eight hundred miles won’t be enough to break what we’ve started.