Saving Tatum (Trace + Olivia #4)

by Micalea Smeltzer

  “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.”

  I reached up and tapped his forehead. “It’s from this strange brain of yours.”

  He captured my hand and held it. “This strange brain comes up with some pretty amazing ideas.”

  “Like what?” I asked, smiling.

  “Hmm,” he thought. “Well, first there was the vodka soaked gummy bears I set out that led to the first night I got to sleep with you in my arms. If that doesn’t have brilliant idea written all over it, I don’t know what does.”

  “And I also threw them up,” I stated.

  “That was merely a minor hiccup,” he shrugged, grinning crookedly.

  “What other brilliant ideas have you had?” I challenged, quirking my head to the side as my lips threatened to turn up in a smile.

  He tapped his chin, thinking. “There was the time when I kissed you in the shower…you know, we should really do that again, for research purposes of course.”

  “Oh yes, of course,” I agreed, but he was already talking again.

  His voice grew low and gravelly in my ear. “Then there was the night you let me touch you,” he groaned, his fingers digging into my hips almost painfully. “God, you felt fucking amazing. You’re amazing.” He nuzzled my neck. My eyes closed as his arms wrapped around me. “I want you in ways I’ve never wanted anyone else,” he whispered so softly I wasn’t even sure I heard him correctly, “it scares the crap out of me, but in the best way possible. You tear me apart and build me back up. You make me better without even trying.” He looked into my eyes, smoothing his large thumbs over my cheeks.

  He lowered his head and his lips formed a seal over mine in a soul-stealing kiss. His fingers tangled in my long hair and I grappled for something to hold, settling on the cotton of his shirt. He kissed me for so long that I began to feel lightheaded.

  Panting with loss of breath, he ran his index finger over my bottom lip. “With others, kissing was never enough, but with you…everything is different. It’s more important. I could kiss you forever and be a happy man.”

  “You sure about that?” Leave it to me to have a sarcastic reply to his deeply romantic words.

  “Absolutely,” he rubbed his nose against mine.

  “Jude?” I asked. “What are we?”

  He started to laugh. “What do you mean?”

  “What are we?” I repeated. “We go back to school tomorrow and I want to know where we stand on our…relationship.” Basically, I wanted to know if I was going to have to watch him fawn over other girls.

  He nipped my chin lightly with his teeth, almost as if he was punishing me for my question. “You’re my girlfriend, Tate. Don’t question that.”

  I let out a weak laugh. “I’m twenty-two years old and you’re my first official boyfriend. I don’t know what that says about me.” I tucked a piece of hair behind my ear—I couldn’t stand it being in my face.

  He pressed his forehead against mine. “I’m the same age as you and you’re my first girlfriend. I never cared about official titles until you.” Until you. Those two words were the truth of our relationship. Until Jude I’d never imagined much of a future for myself. Until Jude my heart had been a frozen tundra. Until… Until… Until…

  I laid my head against his chest and he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. I wanted him to heal all the parts of me that were still broken. I wanted him to make me better. But healing took time, and hopefully we had plenty of it.

  Eventually we broke apart and lay on the ground. I curled my body against his as his fingers lazily rubbed the skin of my arm. My eyes began to grow heavy from the heat of the sun and the feel of his fingers. Before I could drift off completely he interrupted the silence.

  “You know,” he started, then almost seemed unsure if he should continue, “we haven’t played our question game in a while.”

  “Isn’t it kind of pointless?” I asked, sitting up to gaze down at him.

  He shook his head. “I just have one last very important question.”

  “Alright,” I shrugged, settling back down. “What is it?”

  “Did I win the bet?”

  Of course. I should’ve known that would be his question. I smiled to myself and sat up once more. I kissed him softly, letting my lips linger against his as I spoke. “You won the bet.”

  He won the bet.

  He won my heart.

  He won it all.

  I was his.

  Chapter Twenty

 
“I honestly don’t know if I’ll ever get used to this,” Rowan clapped her hands giddily, then pointed to where Jude and I sat across from her at the cafeteria table, “but I’m so incredibly happy you two finally got your shit straightened out.”

  “Um,” I leaned towards her, propping my elbow on the table and my head in my hand, “If I recall, didn’t you resist Trent for like…years.”

  Her cheeks colored slightly. “That was different.” She pretended to pick lint off her shirt to avoid my eyes.

  “Mhmm, sure it was,” I laughed.

  Beneath the table Jude’s hand found my thigh and gave it a slight squeeze. I’d been getting nasty looks all day from the female population. Even in college, there were still high-school-like antics and the women were pissed that Jude was off the market. I half expected one of them to grab me by my hair and try to throw me around. Jude acted like he didn’t notice, but I knew he did. Even the guys on campus seemed surprised that Jude was holding my hand and we were acting like a…well, like a couple, because that’s what we were.

  I finished my lunch and pushed the uneaten portion over to Jude. I’d discovered the guy was a bottomless pit. He never seemed to get full.

  “So,” I smiled at Rowan, “graduation is in a month, and then your wedding is soon after. Are you ready?”

  She took a deep breath. “I’m ready to be married, but not for the wedding itself. I feel so unprepared, and big parties aren’t my thing anyway. We’re trying to keep it small. But…that isn’t working out so well.”

  “You have nothing to be worried about,” I assured her. “Everyone that meets you loves you. I wish you could see how amazing you are.”

  “Yeah,” she groaned, biting into the sandwich she’d brought from home, “maybe one day I’ll view myself differently. I’m working on it.”

  I was beginning to think we were all always ‘working’ on something to better ourselves. We all had our faults, and most of us were well aware of them, even if we tended to ignore them.

  I knew if I was a better friend I’d offer to help her out more with the wedding. But between finals and now a job, it left very little free time, and what time I had I wanted to spend with Jude. I was probably the most selfish person on the planet.

  “Hey,” Jude rubbed my neck in a soothing manner, “why do you have that angry look on your face?”

  “No reason,” I forced a smile.

  Jude didn’t believe me, of course, but chose to ignore it. “Are you ready for your last week of shadowing me?” He asked. “I’ll try to make it good for you,” he joked with a wink. He knew something had upset me and was trying to make me feel better.

  “I’m ready to be done with my paper,” I grumbled. I’d been struggling immensely to get it right. The day in the library where Jude and I went to get ice cream wasn’t the first time I’d had to walk away from my laptop out of frustration. I needed it to be perfect and my words kept falling flat. “But I’m going to miss watching you work and interact with the patients. You’re quite remarkable.”

  Jude grinned, then turned to Rowan. “She just likes to look at my ass in my scrubs.”

  “Do not!”

  “Your cheeks are getting red, Tate. And I think,” he leaned closer, “…yep, your nose just got a little longer.”

  My hand shot up to grab my nose, an involuntary reaction. “I’m not Pinocchio.”

  “Oh, I know you’re definitely not Pinocchio,” he nuzzled my neck, and then peppered light kisses along my chin and jaw.

  “Ew,” Rowan wrinkled her nose. “You guys are gross.”

  “You wanted this to happen,” I admonished her. “It’s too late to change your mind now.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah,” she muttered. “I’m getting what I deserve. The disgusting public displays are worth it to see you guys happy,” she cracked a smile.

  “Are you happy with me?” Jude asked, playing with a strand of my hair.

  I nodded. “Very happy.”

  We stared at each other for a moment before Rowan interrupted us. “I don’t know which is worse, the PDA or staring lovingly into each other’s eyes.”

  I picked up a leftover carrot and tossed it at her. It hit its mark, landing in her hair. She fished it out and dropped it on the table.

  “No more complaining,” I laughed at her.

  She smiled and wadded up her trash. “See you guys later.” She turned on her heel and her hair swished around her shoulders as she headed for the door.

  “Well,” Jude continued to play with my hair, “we better get to class.”

  I nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, class.”

  After spending pretty much every moment with him the last week, it was weird to spend so much time apart. But class was necessary, and after this week I’d see him even less.

  Oh God. I’d turned into one of those clingy girls that never wanted to part from her boyfriend. Damn. What an about-face from who I’d been before. It was strange—especially after spending so long hating him—but once I saw that Jude wasn’t the cause of all my problems it became impossible not to fall for him.

  We tossed our trash in the closest trashcan and then he took my hand. His was warm and steady, clasping my smaller one. Even when he wasn’t trying he made me feel protected.

  Instead of going separate ways, he walked me to class. Even in high school I’d never had a boy to walk me to class. It seemed Jude was making up for both of our lost time.

  On the way we passed the spot where the guy had hit Jude, which led to our first kiss. That was the beginning of the end for me. Although, I thought he probably already had me before then.

  Jude released my hand when we reached the building my next class was held in. “See you soon.” He lowered his head and lightly brushed his lips against mine. It wasn’t even a real kiss, but my body didn’t seem to know that. My fingers clasped his shirt and I leaned into him, letting out a soft moan. Jude made me crazy in the best possible way.

  He chuckled and removed my fingers from his shirt. He kissed the tops of both of my hands before releasing them.

  “Keep reacting to me like that,” he leaned forward, growling low in my ear, “and I’ll take you right here, right now.”

  Oh God. A few weeks ago I would’ve slapped him and run away for saying such a thing, but right now…I was tempted to take him up on it.

  “You’re not protesting, I like that,” he kissed the skin below my ear, “that’s progress.”

  My blood roared in my ears. “Jude,” I panted his name.

  “Later,” he said promisingly as he pulled away.

  Immediately, I missed the warmth of his body.

  I watched him walk away, a part of me in disbelief that he was mine.

  “It’ll never last.” My head whipped toward the sound of the voice and found a gorgeous girl standing beside me. She had glossy, wavy black hair, dark eyes, and golden sun-kissed skin. “He’ll fuck you and leave you just like the rest. It’s what he does. And let’s face it,” she looked me up and down with a sneer on her lips, “when he does settle down it won’t be with someone like you.”

  Knowing she’d made her point, she flounced away before I could reply. I was tempted to run after and claw her eyes out, but I reigned in my anger. She was just a jealous bitch and nothing to me.

  But that didn’t stop the sting of her words or the pain I felt because of them.

  Was she right? Would he leave me?

  I’d avoided relationships for this very reason—I couldn’t bear the thought of having my heart broken—but I was in too deep now to turn tail and run.

  But she made me wonder, would we get a fairytale ending, driving off into the sunset like those old movies, or were we destined to go up in flames?

  

  “Something’s bothering you,” Jude commented as we walked to his truck.

  “Just thinking about my paper.” Lie. I was still obsessing over what that girl told me. I couldn’t seem to get the words to stop playing on repeat ins
ide my head.

  “Oh,” Jude shrugged, “stop worrying so much about it. You’ll get it right.”

  I forced a smile, trying my hardest to make it believable, and said, “I hope you’re right.” I had to play along the best I could. There was no way I was telling him what she told me.

  Before either of us could say anything else my feet went out from under me and I was down on the ground.

  Jude surprised me by not laughing. Instead he quickly bent down to make sure I was okay. “Tatum, are you hurt?” He asked, eyeing the knees of my now scuffed jeans. My hands were red and scratched from the concrete but I was otherwise unharmed.

  “Oops, sorry.” I looked up in time to see the girl from earlier breeze past us, laughing with her friends. “I didn’t see you there.”

  Jude helped me up and didn’t release his hold on me. “Brooke,” Jude called after her. His chest heaved violently with barely contained anger. “Apologize.”

  Brooke paused, her glossy hair bouncing around her shoulders. “Why don’t you call me when you’re done playing house and then I’ll apologize? All. Night. Long.” The meaning in her words was clear.

  Jude’s hold on my hands tightened as he tried to restrain himself from going after her.

  With a satisfied smirk she flounced away with her friends.

  Jude finally released me and I rubbed my hands on my jeans to displace the gravel clinging to the palms.

  “I’ve never wanted to hit a woman until now,” Jude growled, a muscle in his jaw twitching. “She had no right to talk to you like that.” Intense brown eyes met mine.

  I dipped my head and muttered, “It’s fine.”

  “No,” he lifted my chin, “it’s most definitely not fine.”

  I shook my head. “This was bound happen,” I sighed. “People aren’t pleased to see the campus playboy settle down. I expected it.” Not to this degree, but he didn’t need to know about that.

  Two confrontations with Brooke—at least I knew her name now—sounded a bit fishy to me. Was she really that desperate that she was purposely seeking me out? Were people that pathetic?

  “Here, let me see your hands.”

  I reluctantly held out my hands for him to inspect.