“I do miss you guys. I hope you know that.”
“Miss you too, Little Em,” Dare replies.
“I don’t. Means I only get bossed around by Dare and not you too.” That’s Asher, always one to deflect and mask.
“Wow. I’m really feelin’ the love, Asher Wilson.”
“You know I’m jokin’.”
“Mmm,” I hum, skeptically. “OK, well I better go. Give my love to the tornado twins and no doubt we’ll talk soon.”
Ash snorts. “Like tomorrow when EJ, BJ—or both—call you because they feel left out?”
“Pretty much,” I giggle.
“And reply to your husband. If not for anythin’ else so that he’ll stop askin’ us how you are. It’s double handlin’ and since he’s got your number now, and you’ve got his, you two can actually talk like real, bona fideadults,” Dare says slowly.
“A husband and wife talkin’ to one another, who’d have thought,” Ash deadpans.
“Yeah, yeah. Bye. Say hi to Rodney for me,” I add before ending the call.
I lay back down and hold my phone above me as I bring up Jude’s message and read it again.
I mean, what’s the harm in replying?What’s the worst that could happen?
So that’s exactly what I do.
Chapter 6
Jude
Em: Hey hubby!
It’s notexactlythe response I’d expected. Then again, I hadn’t expected a reply so soon either.I’m taking it as a win.
Something I learned about Em in the short amount of time I got to spend with her after the wedding was the fact there are two sides to her.
There’s the strong, kickass, independent woman on the outside that goes after what she wants and makes things happen. Then there’s the caring, sometimes goofy, fiercely protective, and multi-layered one she keeps for those in her close family circle.
While I count myself blessed to have seen even a sliver of that private side, all it has done is left me wanting more. And since there hasn’t been a day that I haven’t thought of her since she returned to Palmer, that’s saying something.
At first, I wondered if it was a simple case of ADHD hyperfixation.
Since being diagnosed in my teens, I’ve made it my mission to learn about my ADHD and since Sutton has literally made acareer out of studying mental health disorders, he has always been my go-to person when I have any questions.
When it comes to Em, we both agree my feelings and preoccupation with her are more likely to be Call related. Sutton explained it like this, both hyperfixation and lust—and, in turn, love and attraction—are driven by the brain's dopamine-seeking system. Dopamine is the thing that makes you feel good.
Like when I got Sully’s blessing and asked Em to marry me…thatfelt good. I’d say it was the same as after our first and only kiss as husband and wife. Exceptthatfelt better than anything I’d ever experienced in my life thus far.
Therefore, it makes sense that my default is to blame everything on ADHD. Now that I have the mountain’s Call to consider, I’m guessing life is about to get a hell of a lot more interesting.
These are the kind of things running around in my brain on an endless loop since that day I first went to the Wilson Ranch and especially since Em’s departure.
I think that’s why I’ve made a point of keeping in touch with the Wilsons. It both makes sense and makes none at all. It’s a total one-eighty from before Sully passed, but something about the events of that day brought us all closer. It’s as if the old man finally got what he was wanting his entire life—a mountain united. Considering the grievances were never ours to begin with, it has been easy to put them aside.
Wy nudges my arm and nods down at my phone. “What’s got you smilin’ like that?”
We’ve been busy harvesting the last of the crops before the weather turns and it getsreallycold. Now that we’ve finished with that, we’re getting ready to plant some garlic, carrots, broccoli, and cabbage.