The Southern Belle

“I like champagne, yeah. But wine… blech. Gross.” He laughed and said, “I know… weird, since champagne is technically a type of wine. But honestly… I think it’s the bubbles that help.” Jude looked at her and added, “I’m probably the only French chef who doesn’t like wine, too. But don’t tell.” Jude looked mock affronted that she’d question his integrity. “Are you kidding? I want to jump in and see how big of a splash we can make together!” he said, tugging at her hand. “Now come on! On the count of three, okay?”

Jude followed Kennedy out to her deck, and the view was absolutely breathtaking. “Yeah, I’d love that,” he nodded, agreeing to her plans even though so far, none of the contestants had seemed that into drinking. It was a gorgeous place and he had Kennedy all to himself - a bottle of champagne wouldn’t be a bad idea at all. When he turned back to look at her, the dress was gone and she stood in nothing but a bikini. “You are so beautiful,” Jude said with a smile, reaching out to kiss her again. When he broke the kiss, he pulled off his shirt and held out his hand. “Let’s jump in together,” he said with a mischievous smile.

“Do you like champagne? I’ve realized, we’ve had wine or champagne at cocktail parties and dinners, but that doesn’t mean you actually like it.” Kennedy had gotten very good very quickly at social drinking. She smiled at him, realizing this was the least he had seen her in ever, “Thank you..” She kissed him and never wanted to break it, but they did and he pulled off his shirt and the red head smirked before taking his hand, “are you going to push me in? Or do that thing where you count to three and then I jump in and you don’t? Because do it and you’ll get splashed.”

“I know that,” he nodded. “I’m not upset with your answer, honestly.” Jude kissed Kennedy’s forehead and said, “It’s really sweet of you to give her that choice. That means a lot.” Jude took Kennedy’s hands in his own and looked into her eyes. “I really appreciate you saying that,” he told her with a smile. “I know how to thank you for it,” he said with a grin. “Because I’m going to thank you, that’s just the way I am.” He stood up and reached out for her, taking her hand to lead her up onto her feet. “We should swim, and then come in and cuddle up and get room service. Get some cheesecake again, what do you think?”

Kennedy raised an eyebrow before a smile crossed her face before taking his hands and getting off the couch. “That sounds perfect, let’s go.” She walked with him out to the pool, overlooking the entire island and ocean. It was gorgeous and she stopped for a minute to take in the view, “Can we drink champagne out here when the sun goes down? That sounds... super cheesy but really romantic.” The redhead looked over at him before slipping off her sundress to reveal her bikini.

Jude wondered for a moment if he’d asked the wrong thing, when Kennedy sat up straight, but he let her process his question and turned to face her, focusing completely but not pressuring her for an answer. Her reply made a lot of sense to him, and he nodded as he said, “That makes sense, yeah. And it’s a really good point. And it means a lot to me that you’d want her to have that choice.” There were still worries, that maybe if something happened to Bee and she was hospitalized, that only he would be able to see her, but he also had faith that it was very unlikely that would happen. “Thank you. For being so accepting of her. And my life. I know I don’t exactly come from a really great family. There’s baggage. So thank you.”

“It’s not that I wouldn’t want to adopt her right away, I hope you know that.” Kennedy was giving her real answers, but she hoped that they were the right ones for Jude as well, “I just don’t want her to ever feel like I forced her into something she she didn’t want. “ She placed her hand over his and squeezed it, “Everyone has some sort of baggage. You’re an amazing person and father, that’s what matters. And from what I’ve heard about your brothers and mother they seem pretty great too. You don’t have to thank me for loving you, alright? I just.. I just do.”

Nodding, Jude said, “For the record, I think you’d be an amazing mother. You were so good with Mallorie and I’m positive you’d be amazing with Bee, too.” He looked over at Kennedy, gazing into her eyes for a moment as he said, “I can’t believe I’m actually thinking about giving be another parent.” He swallowed hard before he said, “On her birth certificate - I’m the only parent listed.” He paused. “I’d never make anyone do this, but… could you see yourself considering adoption? Like, if it’s you and me at the end of this… would you adopt her and take on that legal responsibility? It’s totally fine if you say no, or would want to wait until she’s way older or something, too…”

Kennedy sat up, this seemed like a much more serious conversation and being cuddled up with him didn’t seem like the best move for this conversation. She thought for a few moments before speaking, “Of course I would adopt her. I told you I’d love her as my own and I mean that. But.. I think I’d wait until she was a little older and could understand what it meant. Because if she doesn’t want me to adopt her, if she still has that place in her heart for her ex, then it’s not my right to take it away from her to try and prove how much I love her. You know what I mean? It wouldn’t be fair, I don’t think, to adopt her when she doesn’t truly understand what it means.” Kennedy looked at him, trying to read his face, “does that make any sense?”

“Yeah, it was really great. They were all so kind,” Jude said with a smile. They’d been so welcoming and even Kennedy’s dad, who looked incredibly intimidating, wasn’t. He was a really good guy. “I was really nervous. Which you knew. But… Mallorie warmed to me and that meant a lot, and the talk I had with your dad…” Jude paused. “It wasn’t that I didn’t believe you, because I did. I mean, I do. That you’d love Bee as your own. But I asked your dad about it and he just completely agreed with you, that it’s something you’re ready for, and you’d be good at, and that meant a lot to me. It made me feel really good about us. Better than I already felt.”

Kennedy listened to him talk about her family and finally about the conversation he had had with her father. She hadn’t asked her father about it, she wanted Jude to be the one to tell her what was said, “No I’m glad you talked to him about it. I know how important that all is to you, if you hadn’t asked I would’ve been a little worried that you weren’t as serious about me. I’m glad he helped reassure you.”

He led her to the sofa to sit down and draped an arm around her shoulders. “Thanks again for last week. I had a really good time. Your family is all so cool.” Smiling at the memory, he said, “Mallorie is such a cutie. I got so homesick but in the best way, you know?” Jude brushed his thumb over her shoulder and said, “How do you think it went?” He was really curious to know her thoughts on it, too. They hadn’t gotten much alone time at the hometown date.

 Kennedy took his hand and squeezed it a little, “Just a few more weeks and you’ll get to be home. I hope my family was kind of a good replacement in the interim?” She laughed, “Oh, babe. They absolutely loved you. Especially my mother and sister, they couldn’t stop going on and on about you. And my dad, he doesn’t talk a whole lot, but whatever he said was positive.” She looked up at him, “What did you think? I mean, you obviously felt alright about it because I’m still here, but what did you think of everything?”

“God, they really didn’t spare any expense, did they?” he asked, looking around, taking her hand, and leading her inside. The place was gorgeous, with a beautiful view and the sun streaming through as it set over the horizon. “How have you been? How was the trip out here?” He hadn’t seen Kennedy for a couple of days and that felt like an eternity to him - which only served as a testament to how close they’d grown over the past few weeks.

“No they didn’t. This place is amazing.” She let him lead her back into the suite. Kennedy still couldnt get over that this was the place they got to spend time alone at. It seemed like something out of a movie. “The trip out here was good, seeing the islands while we were flying in was gorgeous. I can’t believe this is out life for at least a week.. but I’m good! Better now that you’re here..” She looked up at him, a little smile on her face, “I missed you.”

Jude was dressed in khaki shorts and a polo shirt, along with sandals, his hair loose in the wind with a hat propped atop it. The wind was light and cooled him down in the warm South Asian heat. He made his way to Kennedy’s private suite. It felt so weird to him to think that each contestant was on a different island, but they were. He knocked on Kennedy’s door, smiling, eager to see what awaited them when there were no cameras around.

The redhead opted to not make herself as dolled up as she usually did when the cameras were on her. Instead to let Jude see what she looked like on a day to day basis, her freckles not covered up with makeup, her hair not perfectly curled, just in natural waves and light makeup. Kennedy had dug out a light, white sundress to keep her cool in the heat, but it was also simple and flirty and romantic as well. She had just finished getting ready when she heard Jude knock at the door. She ran over to open it, greeting him with a large smile and a kiss, “Hi.. it’s so weird to see you without all the cameras. In a good way of course.”

Jude walked into the dining room behind Bill and sat by Kennedy’s side, smiling at her as he did. “It went really well,” he whispered to her before settling in to his seat and taking the food as it was passed to him. “This looks amazing, thank you for cooking,” he said kindly to Kennedy’s mom before chuckling with the family as they talked about Kennedy’s cooking skills. “Well, she’s good at baking with chocolate… so she could survive on her own, if she had to,” he joked along with them. He smiled at Kennedy and then dug in as they were asked about their story. “I mean… what stands out to me the most when I look back at where we started and how we got here… the details don’t stand out to me nearly as much as the fact that Kennedy has just… been there for me. When things got rough and when some of the contestants showed their ugly sides… she ignored the drama and focused on making sure I was okay and that was honestly my saving grace at times.”

Kennedy was looking at him like he was the only thing in the world before her brother in law broke the silence, “That’s the most important thing in a relationship. Really, me being there for Allison, her being there for me. It is what has made our marriage work even though we’ve only been married for six years.. If you two already have that, you seem pretty set.” Kennedy smiled at Jude and, finally, her younger brother decided to add to the conversation by holding up his wine glass, “Um.. I’m not much for.. well for anything, but.. I think we should raise a glass. To Jude and Kennedy.” 

“Thank you. I mean - I knew that, kind of. But it’s reassuring, hearing it from you, too,” Jude said with a smile. “It means she’s been genuine. Which I thought she was. I’m not saying she -” He stumbled over his words and paused to take a breath. “Sorry. Anyway. You know what I meant. I think?” He looked up at Bill, and then let him voice his own concerns. “I can see myself with her, yeah,” Jude nodded. “But, it’s more complicated than that. There are still other people involved.” He took a deep breath. “Can I promise she’s the one I’m going to marry? No. But can I promise that I won’t lead her on if I feel that somethings progressing faster with someone else? Yes. I’m always going to be honest with these people. I would never lie to Kennedy.”

Kennedy’s face lit up as they walked back in and looked at Jude trying to read how the conversation went, “That smells amazing, Dad. Did Jude help? He’s an amazing chef you know, like really really good.” She beamed at Jude before starting to help herself to some of the food. “That’s right, we saw that. You’re a chef!” Katherine beamed at him while helping Mallorie with some food, “That’s exactly what Kennedy needs. She can cook, but.. i wouldn’t consider her a professional.” Kennedy chuckled, “Thank you, Mom..” Katherine continued, “Jude.. have you enjoyed your experience on the show so far then? I just want to hear everything, I’m sorry. I know I should be asking tough questions, but I just want to hear about the two of yours story. It’s much more important and you two look so happy it has to be a wonderful one.”

Jude followed Bill out to the back and as it turned out, there really was a grill back there and he’d get to help. But he knew that this was also going to be a big conversation. If he didn’t hit it off with Kennedy’s dad, this whole thing could become messy very quickly. When Bill began speaking, Jude got nervous, but the more he spoke, the better Jude began to feel about the whole thing. “Yes, sir. I wouldn’t leave her unless I thought it was best,” he agreed. Plus, his mom had been trying at length to get him to think more about himself. “Thank you. I appreciate that,” Jude said, feeling marginally relieved. There was something on his mind, though, and he wanted to ask Bill, because he was most likely to know and have thoughts on this. “I wanted to ask… since there’s a child in the picture… is that something you could see Kennedy wanting? Being good at?” He felt he already had the answers due to her job, but she’d be stepping in to a big role - and who better to know if she’d be immediately ready to fill those shoes than her father?

Jude looked over when Mallorie toddled into the room - he was always attuned to children and where they were and what they were doing. Bee had been a very curious child, after all. It was a habit now. “Oh, thank you Mal! That’s so sweet of you. She’s going to love that,” Jude said with a smile. He had no idea if he was actually meant to take the stuffed horse back to Bee, but it was the thought that counted, and this little one seemed incredibly cute. Jude nodded when Bill asked if Jude could help him. “Absolutely,” he nodded. While he really did love cooking, especially steaks, he had a very strong feeling that they weren’t actually going to be cooking. He stood up and followed Bill, swallowing hard to calm his nerves.

The family got up and moved towards the dining room and Kennedy gave Jude’s hand one last squeeze and a comforting smile before following her sister to the dining room and letting Jude go with her father. Bill lead the way to the deck that over looked the rest of the ranch. The horses were out of the barn and walking around the fenced in land and it all felt very country, “You know I was very skeptical when my daughters told me about their plan to have Kennedy on the show.” Bill started chuckling a little and shaking his head, “They’ve always been partners in crime and sometimes that didn’t always go according to plan.. but. I have to say. I like what I’ve seen on the show so far.” Bill handed him the tongs to cook the steaks, “You have a little girl. That shows me you are serious about this, you wouldn’t be spending so much time away from her if you weren’t and, as a father myself, that makes me feel much better.  You seem like a good man, Jude. And the way Kennedy looks at you shows me she thinks so too.”

Jude reached over for Kennedy’s hand when Mallorie ran away to play, and he laughed as her mom talked about chocolate and how that was the way into Kennedy’s heart. “I think it worked,” he said to her mom, before turning to face Kennedy’s dad. He seemed a bit gruff, but not too bad. He nodded and said, “They’ve been really great about letting me FaceTime with her. She’s just started Kindergarten this year so she’s had things to keep her occupied, but it’s not the same. She loves it, though, and is really excited that I’m doing this for us, sir.”

Katherine was about to suggest moving for dinner when Mallorie came over to Jude and handed him a little stuffed horse. It was one of her toys, not her favorite, but one that she did enjoy when she was playing farm, “Bee feel better.” She explained before giving a shy little smile and looking over at her mom who looked like she was about to burst with pride, “That’s really nice of you, Mallorie.” Katherine scooped up her granddaughter, “Why don’t we all move to the dining room for some dinner, hm? I’m sure we’re all hungry.” Bill stood up first, “Jude. Do you mind helping me with finishing up the steak?” He asked, making it kind of obvious that it wasn’t really a question.