“Well, I guess I know better now.”
He laughs. “It would be like me callin’ you a rock doctor.”
My eyes jump wide before a giggle escapes. “Technically I probablyamone. Minus the doctor part.”
“You’re so much more than that. You’re workin’ toward understandin’ the natural world in order to make it a safer place for those of us that live in it.”
My heart doesn’t just flip this time, it freakingleaps. “That’soneway to look at it, yeah,” I reply, my voice a little rough.
“I still can’t believe you’ve wanted to study earthquakes since you were a kid. That’s kind of amazin’,” he continues and just like the first time I told him about my job, I blush at his praise.
“Keep it up, hubby. You’re good for a girl’s ego.”
His gaze gentles and yes, it’s a damn good look on him. “Glad to be of service.”
A yawn escapes me before I can stop it and I quickly cover my mouth. “I’msosorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not the first time I’ve exhausted someone just by talkin’ to them.” My mouth drops open to argue but I stop when he winks. “I’m jokin’. Kinda. Before I got my meds right, I could be rather tryin’.”
“ADHD doesn’t define you as a person, Jude. It makes you more interestin’. You’re just wired differently to others.” Then something occurs to me. “Wait, people have called you exhaustin’ before?”
He shrugs, as if brushing it off. “Not for a while.”
My heart aches and I’m hit with an urge to wrap him up in my arms and protect him from everything and everyone.
“Please don’t feel sorry for me. That’s not why I said it. My brothers and I joke about our collection of mental health disorders all the time,” he explains.
I cock my head. “Have you all got ADHD?”
“Nope,” he says with a jerk of his head. “Just me. Will was pretty burned out before we moved to the ranch, Case has seasonal depression disorder—though it's been a lot better since we moved here and he met Isla. Sutton had pretty severe social anxiety when he was younger. He’s one of the steadiest people I know now.”
“And now you’ve all got each other to lean on.”
“You’ve got your family too. Carin’ about those important to you isn’t defined by location and nearness. Me and my brothers are a testament to that. We lived in opposite parts of the country before the readin’ of Gramps’s will and although we didn’t talk every day or see each other that often, we always knew we’d be there for one another.”
My lips tip up. “And now y’all are livin’ together on my mountain.”
A stunned snort hits my ears. “Oh. It’syourmountain now. Is it?”
“Yep. My daddy said so, didn’t he?”
Jude shakes his head, his eyes never leave mine though. “Hmm, that’s not the way I remember it. He said you brought his family together and you’d bring themountaintogether.”
Ironic that I’m the reason my familyisn’ttogether right now.
“Not sure how he thought I’d put the mountain back together,” I think out loud.
“I’m not quite clear on that one either to be honest,” he replies, though I detectsomethingworking behind his eyes. Maybe I’m just seeing things that aren’t there.
“My brothers and your family seem to be gettin’ along fine now. Goin’ by the amount of times you’re visitin’ Wilson Ranch, anyway.”
He arches a single brow. “You keepin’ tabs on me, wifey?”
“No, I—” I stutter.
“It’s cute. I like it. Don’t letmestop you.” His wide grin is doing things to me that it absolutely shouldn’t.It’s fake, Em.
“Jude, I?—”