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He nodded. “My kisses save lives.”
I snorted, and once I started laughing I couldn’t stop.
I finally regained control of myself and wiped tears of laughter from my eyes. Only Jude could make me laugh that hard and over something so stupid.
“You thought that was funny?” He asked.
“Hysterical,” I responded, fighting my lips natural urge to quirk up.
His face sobered. “I was serious.”
“I’m sure you were.” My hands tightened on the reigns as I tried to regain my balance. Riding a horse wasn’t as easy as it looked. It took balance and grace. Balance, I had, grace…not so much.
“Do I need to give you a demonstration of the miracles it can perform?”
I shook my head. “How about another time? Right now, I’d like to enjoy myself.”
“Sure, sure,” he agreed.
We grew quiet and I enjoyed the peace nature brought.
The birds chirping.
Bugs buzzing.
The clopping of the horse’s hooves.
It was all so simple, but it centered me. I felt at home here on the farm with Jude and his grandpa. More than that, I felt like I belonged.
I turned my face up towards the sun, soaking in the warmth.
I was strong enough now to admit to myself that I loved it here and never wanted to leave. I wanted to be a part of Jude Brooks’ life for forever. It scared me to death, but it was the truth that lived in my heart. I’d never believed in love at first sight, and that certainly hadn’t been the case with us, but something had forced us together—not even my stubbornness could overcome us. Destiny? Fate? I didn’t know and I didn’t care. All that mattered was that we’d happened and I was so incredibly thankful for that. I’d fought hard against him and my feelings, but it was a fight I could never win. The heart wants what it wants, and mine beat for Jude.
“There’s a field up ahead,” Jude pointed, interrupting my thoughts, “I thought we could stop there and sit for a while.”
“Uh…” I looked around us, feeling stupid. “Aren’t we in a field?”
He laughed heartily. “Yes, but this one’s a bit different. You’ll see what I mean.”
Sure enough, a few minutes later I did see what he meant.
This field was full of flowers like the other one, but there was a huge pond with a dock. It was surrounded by trees on three sides, but cleared from where we approached. The grass was getting high and in need of a mow, but it was beautiful. A dragonfly flew by my shoulder heading for the water.
“This is beautiful,” I gasped. “I didn’t know this was here.”
“No one does,” he shrugged. “It’s our property and we don’t want word getting out about it. It wouldn’t be fun having to chase people off our property every day. Besides, Pap is too old to deal with that crap.” Jude jumped off Gimpy with ease. I knew there was no way I could dismount Seraphina with such poise. Luckily, I didn’t have to. Jude reached up and helped me down. Once I was off the horse he kept ahold of me, like he didn’t want to let go. He stared into my eyes, resting his forehead against mine. “I wanted to share it with you, though. This is my sanctuary.” He looked away from me and out towards the water. “When the weather’s nice, I spend a lot of time here. It’s…”
“Magical,” I supplied.
“Not the word I was going for, but it works,” he laughed. His thumb found the belt loop on my jeans and we walked forward to the water’s edge. “The water is a bit too cold still, but soon it’ll be warm enough to swim in. You can even fish.”
“Do you normally ride…Gimpy…out here? It seems like it was pretty far from the farm.”
“Honestly,” he shrugged, “I usually drive my truck out here. This terrain is nothing a Ford can’t handle,” he winked, pinching my side.
“Poor Gimpy,” I wrinkled my nose in distaste at the name. “He probably hates being locked up all the time.”
“You really hate that name,” Jude’s laughter filled the air. God, I loved the sound of it and he laughed a lot. I liked that Jude wasn’t afraid to show his emotions, whatever they may be. “Once again, I was five and I thought it sounded cool. I don’t even know what it’s from.”
