Iwoke up the next morning with a weird mix of feelings. I was close to euphoric at the thought of seeing Jude that evening, and just as close to nauseous at the thought of confronting Abigail.
In the interest of delaying that particular task for as long as possible, I started a load of laundry, made eggs and bacon for breakfast instead of my usual yogurt and granola, then decided I should get my grocery shopping for dinner done before I got caught up in work…..and Abigail.
I’d come up with a menu the night before. Stuffed shells, salad, homemade rolls, and peach cobbler for dessert—Grandma’s famous recipe. I sat down and wrote out my shopping list, then mixed up the roll dough so it would have plenty of time to rise.
It ended up being after lunch before I finally made my way upstairs to my office. I checked my email first, snapping to attention when I read one from Ian complaining about me not pulling my weight on the job I was doing with Abigail.
I was on a low simmer as I read his words a second time. Not pulling my weight? I’d done twice as much work as Abigail, and the breakthrough we’d had two days ago had been all me. It had never even occurred to Abigail to look for a second hidden server.
Unfortunately for Miss Abigail, there was nothing like an undeserved email-lashing from the boss to move me past my reluctance to confront. I immediately sent her a message requesting a video conference in ten minutes. Well, maybe I didn’t request so much as demand. Go me.
I drummed my fingers on my desk while I waited, coming up with several different ways to begin the conversation. With three minutes to go, my phone suddenly emitted the text tone I’d sorely missed the last few weeks. I almost knocked it off the desk as I grabbed for it.
Is it seven yet?
My heart melted and I replied quickly. Not quite, but I’m glad to be counting minutes with you again.
Me too. I think.
You’ll be glad to know I have a video meeting with Abigail in about two minutes.
Thatta girl. I’ll say a prayer for you.
Thanks. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Call me. I don’t want to wait until this eve.
Okay I will. Bye for now.
A minute later, my computer trilled and a video request from Abigail popped up. I took a deep breath, remembered Jude was praying for me, and answered.
***
One glimpse of her face and I knew she wasn’t happy about me summoning her to this meeting.
“Hey, what’s so pressing, Ava? Some of us are trying to get some work done, although I notice you just now logged in.”
I said a quick prayer of my own, asking for courage and the right words to speak.
“We need to talk, Abigail.”
She didn’t actually roll her eyes, but she may as well have. “We talk all the time. We work together, remember?”
I ignored the sarcasm and got right to the point. “I found the cameras.”
For one split second her eyes showed shock and maybe a little fear, then…..nothing.
“What cameras? What are you talking about?”
Wow, she was good. If I wouldn’t have been zoomed in on her face, I might have missed that first unguarded reaction. And if I had, her total composure now would have fostered some doubt about whether she was guilty.
I leaned forward and looked directly at her. “You wasted a lot of time and money,” I said bluntly. “There was never any need for the cameras. I don’t have a thing for Ian, and I never did. Not even way back when we were going out.”
Abigail looked down, studying her black-painted nails. “You’re so weird, Ava. I have no idea what you’re talking about or why we’re discussing cameras.”
“I’m not planning to get the police involved at this point,” I continued, as if she hadn’t spoken, “even though it gives me the creeps to think about you watching me. I’m not even planning to tell Ian. But it’s messed up, Abigail. You can’t just put cameras in a person’s house and think that’s okay. If you don’t trust Ian after dating him for this long, then maybe you two aren’t meant to be.”
She looked up then, her ice-blue eyes like lasers. I suppressed a shiver, glad we were talking virtually rather than face-to-face. What I saw now scared me.
“Don’t you ever talk about Ian and me,” she ground out. “Our personal life is none of your business.”
I stood my ground. “You’re exactly right about that. And mine is none of yours.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Are we done here? This is a ridiculous conversation.”
“You also need to stop trying to turn Ian against me professionally,” I stated. “I have more than enough evidence to prove you were the one watching me, and I can pass it on to him at any time. You might want to think about that the next time you try to undermine me on a project. Especially one where I’ve contributed twice as much as you have.” I gave her a narrow-eyed look of my own. “You’ve spied on me, and now you’re trying to get me kicked off the team. Did you think I was going to sit back and let that happen?”
Her eyes were full of hate, but I wasn’t finished. I opened a three-ring binder and held the first page up to the camera long enough for her to see what it was.
“I’ve been printing out daily logs for our joint project, ever since I realized you were misrepresenting my work to Ian. It’s a little app I designed a while back to keep track of a job where we billed for hours worked instead of a contract price, and it came in real handy for this. I’ve also included a lot of my own daily notes. I’m going to send it all to Ian, so he knows exactly who’s done what on this project.”
“Like logs can’t be faked,” she said breezily, not looking at me now. She gazed off into space and twisted a lock of her bright red hair like she hadn’t a care in the world.
“I couldn’t fool Ian with a fake log, and you know it,” I said. “I’m going to give it to him and let him draw his own conclusions about who’s taken the lead on this project.”
“Oh come on, Ava. Do you really think he’s going to fire me? Or break up with me?” She laughed and gave me her best sultry look—one she no doubt used frequently on Ian. “Pretty sure I can convince him it was just a misunderstanding.”
“You can try, but something tells me he won’t be quite as forgiving as you think, especially if I tell him about the cameras. Which I don’t plan to do…..unless these misunderstandings continue to happen.”
“Your threats don’t scare me, Ava.”
I smiled grimly. “They should. Goodbye, Ava. I’m going to get some work done now.”
I closed down the video app before she could make another snide remark, and then I just sat there for a few minutes recovering. When the tension in my gut finally eased and my hands stopped shaking, I emailed Ian the digital version of the log I’d shown Abigail. I didn’t include any explanation, I just sent him the proof of my work in response to the email he’d sent me that morning.
After that was sent, I settled in for a few hours of work on the project. It was important for Abigail to see me working as usual, but it was awfully hard to concentrate. I not only had Jude heavy on my mind—in a good way for a change—but for the first time, I began to seriously consider leaving Ian’s team.
It would be a drastic move, but there was little chance Abigail and I could be colleagues long-term. One of us had to go. I knew if I exposed her deeds to the other team members, they’d agree she should be the one to leave. But even if that happened, she and Ian might continue to be a couple, and if that was the case, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to continue working with him.
I had other options…..maybe it was time to explore them.
***
Once I’d had a little time to process the talk with Abigail, I called Jude to report it had gone pretty much as expected. When he asked if she admitted to installing the cameras, I told him no, but based on her reaction, I was positive she was the one. He wanted a blow-by-blow account of what she’d said, and I smiled and told him I knew he was going to ask for that, so I’d recorded the whole thing and would play it for him tonight.
He laughed that sexy, low laugh of his and said he wasn’t surprised I’d thought of that. Then he asked if it was okay if he filled Jed in on what was going on so we wouldn’t have to leave the house to talk about it that evening. I had no problem with that, since Jed—or JP, as I still thought of him—would never meet Ian or Abigail anyway. I did, however, request that Jude not give JP a lot of details about the kind of work I do.
After we hung up, I sat there staring into space with a goofy smile on my face. I was still completely amazed that Jude had opened the door to give us another chance. Amazed and beyond grateful. I hoped and prayed I wouldn’t mess it up again.
I forced myself to work for two hours, then went back downstairs to knead the bread dough and shape the rolls. I left them to rise again while I worked for another hour, then I locked my fancy security door and went down to get started on the peach cobbler.
It was the weekend, after all. Three hours of work was plenty for a Saturday, regardless of what Abigail might say.
***
I pulled into Jude’s lane at ten minutes after seven. I would have been right on time if I wouldn’t have had to stop for gas, but I’d been too distracted yesterday to notice the needle was clear at the bottom of the “E.” I was lucky I hadn’t run out on the way home from Jude’s.
I’d just gotten out of my car when Jude came out the front door.
My breath caught at the sight of him and I slowly closed the car door, standing still while I watched him come down the porch steps and across the drive toward me. He was wearing a light gray T-shirt and well-worn jeans that fit his long legs perfectly. I was pretty sure I would never, ever get tired of watching Jude Keller’s smooth, loose-limbed, sexy walk. I actually shivered a little as he neared.
“Hey,” he said, his teeth flashing white when he smiled. “Thanks a lot for doing this. I have a real hungry brother looking forward to some home-cooked food.”
I raised my brows. “What about you?”
His eyes roamed over my face, his smile growing. “I was looking forward to you more than the food, but I’ll eat my share.”
I ached to hug him, long and tight, but reminded myself we were doing this at his speed. And, since I didn’t know exactly what that speed was, I needed to let him be the one to take the lead.
“I hope you like it,” I said, feeling a little awkward because I was pretty sure he knew what I was thinking. I quickly turned and walked to the back of the SUV to open the tailgate. I had all the dishes tucked snugly into two boxes, but before I could reach in for them, Jude came up behind me and put his hands on my waist.
I sucked in a breath at his touch and closed my eyes when he pushed his face into my hair.
“Food smells good,” he murmured. “You smell better.”
I slowly turned to face him, putting my hands over his. He smelled good, too. So good. I looked up at him, my pulse racing from being so close.
I swallowed nervously and decided to push the issue just a little. “So…..last night you said we could make up the rules as we go, right?”
He raised a dark brow. “I believe I did say that. Do you have a suggestion?”
“Mmm, yeah, I kinda do. I’m thinking we could make a rule saying I’m allowed to hug you whenever I’m especially glad to see you. Like I am now.” I cocked my head and squinted up at him hopefully. “Actually, I think I should always be allowed to hug you. Because it’s really hard not to.”
He narrowed his eyes as he pretended to think about it, his hands tightening on my waist. “I think I might be able to live with that rule. Do I get to hug you back?”
I grinned. “You have to. That’s gonna be part of the rule.”
Without further ado, his arms closed me in. I wrapped mine around his back, pressing my face into his chest.
“I’ve missed this,” I said against his shirt. “I’m so glad to be here.”
I felt his chuckle vibrate through his chest. “Yeah, well, I should warn you, Jed is going to give us a lot of crap when we go inside. He says I’ve been acting like a kid on Christmas morning.”
I pulled back just far enough to look at him. “Because of me coming over?” I asked, feeling my whole body get warm. The notion that he’d been as eager to see me as I was him seemed too incredible to be true.
“Mmm-hmm.” His blue eyes were sparkling and his smile was sweet.
“You’re sure it wasn’t the food?” I teased.
He chuckled and tousled my hair before stepping away. “Definitely not the food,” he confirmed. “But if we don’t get those boxes inside soon, Jed’s gonna get cranky.”
We each carried a box to the porch. Jude reached out to open the front door, then stood back to let me go first.
JP was in a wheelchair near the kitchen, and he did indeed look a bit impatient.
“Hi,” I said a little nervously. “Sorry I’m running a bit late.”
He lifted his chin and sniffed, his grumpy expression magically turning into a smile. “I forgive you. Man, that smells incredible.”
I set my box on the counter and took out the huge dish of shells and the basket of rolls, which I’d covered with a cloth so they’d stay warm and soft.
“The table is ready,” Jude said, placing his box beside mine and nodding his head toward the dining table by the window that looked out over the backyard.
“It’s been ready since five,” JP said dryly. “Our boy here was a little anxious.”
Jude gave me an I-told-you-so look, and I grinned.
“I hope you guys are okay with pasta and salad.”
“We’ll eat pretty much anything,” Jude assured me, picking up the rolls to carry to the table. He stopped and lifted them to his nose. “Are these homemade?” he asked almost reverently.
“They are. Hopefully I didn’t forget the salt or something else important,” I said, although I knew I hadn’t. I’d done a quick taste test before leaving my house.
“Oh man, Jed. We hit the jackpot tonight.”
“No complaints here,” JP said, wheeling himself over to the table, which was just high enough for him to get under with his wheelchair.
Jude took bottles of water from a mini-fridge sitting in the corner as I carried the shells and salad over. “Sorry I can’t offer you anything fancier to drink,” he said. “The big fridge won’t get here until Monday, so we only have the bare necessities.”
“I’d probably choose water anyway,” I told him.
We took our seats and he held my hand against his thigh as he said grace. When he said amen, I smiled at him and he smiled back, giving JP a chance to dig into the shells first. He piled some on his plate and I slid the salad dish over to him so he wouldn’t have to pick it up and aggravate his ribs.
“So, Jude told me about your creepy stalker,” he said after he’d filled the rest of his plate with salad. “Said you called her today. I think you should call the boyfriend, too. Tell him what she’s been up to.”
I moved the salad bowl and replaced it with the rolls, butter, and blackberry jam.
“I sent him a work log to show him she’s been lying about my work on our project. I’m kind of surprised he hasn’t already called me about it.”
“How do you think he’ll handle it?” Jude asked as he loaded his own plate.
I shrugged. “It’s hard to say. I don’t think he’ll doubt me, but I’m guessing he’ll come up with some kind of an excuse for her. Then he’ll probably assure me her attitude will improve and urge me to let it go.”
JP grunted. “I still think you should tell him about the cameras. Put it all out there. That way he’ll know for sure she’s whacked.”
I winced. “Maybe, but I’d rather not have to take it that far.”
“Ava feels sorry for the girl,” Jude said, glancing at JP and then giving me a fond smile as he handed me the salad bowl.
“I do feel sorry for her,” I admitted. “Ian and the team are her whole life. I don’t know what she’d do if she lost them.”
“Not your problem,” JP maintained. “She could be dangerous.”
“She just gets crazy where Ian’s concerned. I’ll admit she’d probably love it if I was kicked off the team, but I can handle her. And the others on the team will make sure I’m treated fairly. They’ve stood up for me before.”
“Which will only make her more jealous,” Jude said.
“Exactly. If she sees you as a threat to both her place on the team and to her relationship, who knows what she might do,” JP persisted. “She might try to manipulate facts to turn the team against you. Or worse, she could resort to violence.”
I shook my head decisively. “She wouldn’t lower herself to being physically violent. If anything, she’ll use her hacking skills to try to one-up me. But I’m hoping our talk today convinced her not to try. I made it very clear that if she backs off, I won’t tell Ian about the cameras.”
The three of us continued to talk it over as we ate. Jude agreed with JP that Abigail might pose more of a threat than I wanted to admit, but I staunchly refused to go that far. By the time we’d finished dessert, with both men declaring the meal delicious, they were chomping at the bit to see the video of my conversation with Abigail.
JP’s leg and pelvis were aching from being in the wheelchair, so Jude helped him move from to the recliner while I cleaned up. We’d used paper plates, so that part was easy.
I watched the two of them covertly while I put the leftover pasta in a plastic container I’d brought and found room for it in the mini-fridge. It was sweet how Jude put his arms so carefully under JP’s, trying not to jostle the cracked ribs as he pivoted him from the wheelchair to the recliner. I would have worried about his pelvic bone not being stable enough for the move, but Hannah had told me he’d had surgery and now sported a combination of screws and plates to hold the bones fast.
When JP was settled, I went over and handed him my iPad. Jude and I knelt down on either side of him to watch the video. When it got to the part where Abigail had jumped all over me for bringing up her and Ian’s relationship, both JP’s and Jude’s heads jerked.
“Whoa,” Jude said, immediately reaching over to back up and replay it. “Did you see her eyes, bro?”
JP nodded and they watched it again.
“She’s not right, Ava,” Jude said.
“I’m gonna have to second that,” JP agreed. “This video isn’t doing anything to set my mind at ease.”
I frowned at them. Although I kind of liked having the two intimidating Keller brothers ready to protect and defend me, I was still convinced they were wrong about Abigail. She obviously wasn’t totally harmless—she’d been spying on me, after all—and she definitely had a temper. But I honestly couldn’t see her going any further than she already had.
“She knows she has to be careful from here on out,” I told them. “There’s no way she’ll risk me telling Ian about the cameras.”
The video ended and Jude looked over at me, his expression grim. “You sure about that, Ava? I’m getting the impression she isn’t all that confident about where things stand with her and Ian, and if she feels she has nothing to lose, I wouldn’t put anything past her.”
“Especially if she feels like you’re what’s coming between them,” JP added. “The log you sent is going to show Ian he can’t trust her, and if he calls her out on that, she might go for broke.”
I stood up and paced to a window. “I guess I shouldn’t have sent it.”
“You had to do something,” Jude stated. “It’s pretty clear she’s working to get you kicked off the team. Or at least demoted somehow.”
I sighed and gripped my arms. “Maybe that wouldn’t be the worst thing. I’ve had some good offers recently. Maybe God’s providing me with an out, before Abigail causes more trouble for me and for herself. It’s just that I really enjoy what we’re accomplishing as a group. We’ve come so far, and I hate to think about leaving now that we’re finally making a name for ourselves.”
Jude got up and put the iPad on the coffee table before coming over to wrap an arm around my shoulders. “We aren’t trying to tell you what to do, we just want to make sure you aren’t glossing over what Abigail might be capable of. I know you’ve tried to make it clear you’re not interested in Ian, but I think the root of the issue, for Abigail at least, is how Ian feels about you. You’ve told me before that you don’t think he’s gotten you entirely out of his system.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t pursue me or anything. He just gets moody and makes snarky comments sometimes.”
“But what does he tell Abigail? Maybe he compares her to you. Makes her feel lacking.”
His arm was still around me and I leaned into the comfort of his chest. “Abigail and I couldn’t be more different. I can’t imagine he compares us. And if he does, she should have kicked him to the curb a long time ago.”
“She’s obsessed. She’s not going to kick him anywhere,” Jude stated. “My guess is she knows he’s still hung up on you to some extent, and that’s been eating away at her. She put in the cameras to keep an eye on you and Ian when you were working together on the bids, and probably to make sure he wasn’t showing up at other times when she didn’t know about it. But she also wanted to study you. To find out what you have that she doesn’t.”
I hated to even acknowledge that as a possibility. Abigail and Ian could be so perfect together—why were they letting jealousy and old, unrequited feelings ruin that?
I huddled closer to Jude and looked from one brother to the other. “If she can’t get past those feelings, I’m going to have to quit the team.”
Jude tightened his arm. “Let’s see how things play out once Ian reads the email you sent him.”
I tried to think of a scenario with a positive outcome and failed.
JP carefully reclined his chair and clasped his hands over his stomach. “There’s nothing you can do about it right now, so you might as well put it out of your head and enjoy yourself. Go take a walk with my brother.” He gave us a lopsided smile. “It’s a beautiful night. You shouldn’t let it go to waste.”
That sounded like the best thing in the world to me, but since I didn’t know whether Jude would welcome the alone time, I stayed quiet.
Thankfully he didn’t disappoint me. “You up for a walk, Ava?”
I was more than up for it. I immediately took his hand and pulled him toward the French doors off the kitchen, ready to focus on happier things. The fate of my career could wait.