“It’s like watching a light come on. Someone looks at a flower their whole life and sees decoration. And then you tell them it’s a landing strip for a bee, that the whole plant engineered itself around that one relationship, and suddenly they’re looking at it completely differently. I love that moment.”
“Ever thought about teaching?”
I open my mouth to sayno, obviously not. I’m a greenhouse worker who still can’t decide what she wants for dinner most nights. But the word doesn’t come. Instead, something shifts inside of me like a key turning in a lock I didn’t even know was there.
“No,” I say slowly. “But maybe I should. Thanks, Jude.”
“Hey, I just asked some questions. You did all the thinking and figuring out yourself, Birdy.”
I look at him across the candlelight and think about how easy this is.That’s what keeps catching me off guard, over and over. How easy it is to sit across from this strong man. To talk to him, to laugh with him. Hell, to be completely myself without pretending I’m someone I’m not. I’ve been on dates that felt like job interviews. I’ve been in relationships that felt like homework. And this… just feels as easy as breathing.
“Thank you for dinner,” I say after clearing my plate.
“Don’t thank me yet.” He stands. “Come outside. I want to show you something.”
I grab my jacket from the hook by the door and follow him out onto the porch. The first thing that hits me is how bright the stars are up here compared to the valley.
“Wow,” I say.
“I know, right?”
We stand there in silence for a while, our heads tipped back and looking up at the stars.
“That’s not all I wanted to show you,” he finally says.
He steps off the porch and I follow him around the side of the cabin, across the yard toward the fence line. He pulls a torch from his jacket pocket and runs the beam slowly along the posts, the wire, and the gate latch. All of it looks sturdy and well-maintained, but I don’t understand why he’s showing me this.
“Motion lights here and here,” he says, pointing to two mounted units on the cabin corners. “Bear spray by the front door and the back. Bears are smart, but they’re also lazy. They go where it’s easy, and this fence says it isn’t easy to get past.” He turns the torch off and looks at me. “I know that you’re still scared from meeting that bear, but I promise you’re safe here,Birdy. Nothing can get to you up here. Not while you’re with me. I need you to understand that.”
I tilt my head up at him. “Why? So I can enjoy dessert without looking over my shoulder?”
He’s quiet for a moment. Jude looks at me like I’m something he’s been waiting a long time to find, and I get goosebumps just thinking about how I want him too.
“I need you to feel safe here because I want you to stay,” he says. “Not just tonight.”
My jaw drops. He wants me to stay?
“I know it’s fast,” he quickly adds. “I know it doesn’t make sense. Believe me, I’ve been arguing with myself about it since the second I met you. You’ve been in my head constantly. I don’t know what to do with that except tell you and hope you feel the same way.”
My heart is so loud I’m almost surprised he can’t hear it.
“You’ve been in my head too, Jude. Since you scooped me off the ground and carried me inside like it was nothing.”
He reaches out and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, and his hand stays there, warm against my jaw, and I stop breathing entirely.
Then he kisses me without holding back anything. I go up on my toes and kiss him back with everything I have. His other arm comes around my waist and pulls me in close. I grab the front of his flannel vest with both hands because I need something to hold on to.
He kisses me like he’s thought about it for days. Like he has absolutely nowhere else to be and nothing else to do for the rest of his life except this.
I’ve been kissed before, but not like this, and I soak up every single nanosecond.
When we finally break apart, we’re both breathing hard.
“Stay,” he says.
I lean back just enough to look up at him. His eyes are dark and certain and waiting.
“Yes,” I say. “I’m staying, Jude.”