JUDE: Book 2 The Justice Brothers Series by Taylor Lee Page A

still couldn’t decide which had surprised him more, that she’d essentially told him to go to hell—with a smile, no less—or his staggering assertion that he cared about her.
    ***
    “Why, if isn’t Ms. Hughes. Please, Skylar, come in. I understood from Jared that you’re helping Jude with this incredible tragedy that we’re dealing with.”
    Judge Justice reached for Sky’s hand and then put his arm around her slim shoulders, pulling her into an embrace. Glancing at Jude, he said over Skylar’s head, “That is a smart thing to do, Jude. I presume you know how lucky you are to have Ms. Hughes’s help.”
    Jude wasn’t aware that his grandfather knew Skylar, but apparently like the rest of the Justice men, she impressed him.
    Still smarting from their challenging discussion in the garage, Jude managed a non-committal response. “So I understand, Judge. However, I didn’t know that you were also a champion of Ms. Hughes .”
    Jude saw the slight flush on the squirt’s cheeks at his emphasis on her proper name. But even he understood that his chivalrous grandfather would object to one of the derisive appellations he’d been tossing her way. Which made his grandfather’s next words a bombshell.
    Still holding Sky’s arm, the Judge frowned at him. “Hmm, I thought you knew that Morton Hughes and I were classmates at Yale.”
    Seeing Sky’s flush deepen, Jude decided to press his advantage. Clearly, there was a lot he had to learn about the spiky-haired pixie that Jared had neglected to mention.
    “No, Judge, I wasn’t aware that you knew Skylar’s father.”
    The Judge raised his hands in protest. “Please, I would never presume to know Morton Hughes, who is one of this country’s, and the world’s, foremost mathematicians. However, we did both attend Yale.” He turned to Skylar with a smile. “I didn’t know your father in college, Skylar. He inhabited a much more rarified realm than I did, frankly more than any of our classmates did. But when he learned that you were thinking about abandoning his dominion to disappear into the outback,as he referred to our humble domain, he looked me up and apparently decided that I was worthy of a call.”
    The Judge laughed. “When he learned that the most I could do was assure him that I would watch out for you, he conceded that you were intractable. Apparently, my dear, you are as oblivious to the perils that might come your way as my grandsons are. His final admonition to me was that the least I could do for a fellow Yale alumnus was to see that you eat properly.”
    Jude shoved at the chuckle rising in his throat and said carefully, “Given that I’m only coming to know this interesting young woman, I can attest to the fact that her illustrious father’s concerns about her eating habits are well-founded.” He added, “Thanks for that information, Judge. I wasn’t fully aware of Ms. Hughes’s pedigree. I can see now why my brothers are so protective of this young woman.”
    The Judge frowned and looked as if he would say more, then released Skylar’s arm, acknowledging the knock on the door. “Excuse me, please. I was expecting a call. I asked Gregory to let me know.” He walked to the door and said over his shoulder, “I’ll be right back. This will just take a moment.”
    After his grandfather left, Jude sidled up next to Skylar. He didn’t try to hide his grin. Winking at her, he said, “Have to say, Squirt, hearing what the Judge had to say about your father puts our latest conversation in context. Maybe I’m not as overbearing an asshole as I thought I was.”
    Skylar shrugged dismissively. “Or perhaps you and my father have both earned that designation.”
    Jude gave her a thumbs-up and said with a wink, “Touché, Specs.”
    His grandfather’s harrumphing cough from the doorway confirmed that the Judge had heard Jude’s offensive nickname for the young woman, who was staring at a spot on the floor, the rigid set of her slim shoulders