Porco's head snapped back from the force of something blunt and angry.
For a moment, he'd thought the earlier kiss from Jules had knocked him back on his rear. He wouldn't have put it past the effect of her. He had no clue how he'd kissed other women and thought he'd found any pleasure in the act. Any and all memories of others were quickly fading from his mind until only Jules remained.
And now there were two of her. Not her sister with the short, springy hair. There were two Jules with caramel skin, flashing hazel eyes, and long spirals snaking over him while he lay on the ground.
Why was he on the ground? Had he skipped some time in this long, endless second day of their marriage, and they were now finally getting to enjoy their wedding night properly? But if so, why were there tears in her eyes? Had he hurt her?
No, that couldn’t be it. Because he was the one hurting. His eye was throbbing. Now the right eye along with the left eye.
Jules's fingers over his bruised eye was a balm. Behind her, he heard scuffling. More men charged into the picture. He heard the unmistakable grunt of Grizz and the barking orders of Keaton. But all he could focus on was Jules.
"Wow, Porco. The vegan got a drop on you twice?" That was Keaton. Was that censure in his voice or amusement?
Porco sat up with Jules still draped around him. As his vision came into focus, he saw a tall man with a thin build. The guy looked familiar, but Porco couldn’t quite place him. Until he saw the man’s balled fist. That he remembered well.
"Paris," Jules hissed. "What is the matter with you!"
Porco had seen Jules smiling. He'd seen her frowning. He'd seen her passionate. He'd seen her confused. He'd seen her disappointed. This was the first time he'd seen her angry.
His produce eating, peace-loving, even-toned wife was a ball of energy. And she was set to launch at the man who’d knocked her husband down. It was taking Grizz and Keaton to hold Paris back from him. Porco got his arms around Jules before she could launch herself at the captive man.
Even with two swollen eyes, this was a battle he had to fight. He'd been prepared to turn the other cheek to Paris after his sucker punch last night. But this was all the zen Porco was going to muster.
"It's all their fault," snarled Paris. "We lost the certification because of them.”
Some of the fight to get free went out of Jules at Paris’s words. Her hands came to rest on his shoulders. Porco felt his wife’s fingers tremble. He turned a murderous glare on Paris. It was one thing to hurt him. He would not stand to have anyone hurt Jules.
But he would have to wait his turn. Brenda stepped between him and Paris.
"You are trespassing on my land,” she said. "And you've assaulted one of my residents."
"You assaulted the purity of my lands," said Paris. “The USDA inspector detected pesticides at the boundary between our lands. On our side.”
"We stayed away from your land as agreed," said Brenda. "No one sprayed near the border."
A whirring sounded overhead. Up above, soaring through the sky, was a commercial airliner. The timing was uncanny as cold dread washed over Porco. His hands tightened around Jules, certain that if he didn’t, she might get away from him.
She tore her gaze from Paris and looked down at him. Concern colored her beautiful face, and she ran a hand over his brow. “David, what’s wrong. Are you hurting?”
Porco shook his head, though he felt his insides squeeze. “I did it.”
“You couldn’t have done anything,” she assured him, her heated gaze still on Paris. “None of this is your fault.”
Porco swallowed, taking in a deep breath before saying the words that would hurt the woman he loved. Her vanilla scent swirled into his nose. He drunk in her scent, taking in the warm comfort.
“Jules.” Her name was a prayer, a balm. He reached for her hands and entwined them with his own.
Jules’s concerned melted away. Porco watched as the lines of her forehead creased with something worse than worry. Etched in those lines he saw the markings of dread.
“I was spraying near your lands the other day. I was using a drone. I lost control and it hovered over your land.”
Jules blinked, as though she was seeing the scene play out in her mind. “That was you?”
The fear he’d harbored came true a second later. Jules’s fingers shook again. This time, anger wasn’t the cause. Despair was, and Porco was at its root.
Porco reached for her again, unwilling to let even a breath of space between them. She didn’t snatch her hands from him. She gazed down at their entwined fingers as though she was lost.
“It was an accident,” said Porco. “I didn't do it on purpose."
"We lost everything," said Paris. "We won't get the certification. Everything we've worked for all these years, gone because of him.”
"I'm sorry, Jules," said Porco. "Tell me how to fix it."
“I don’t know,” she said, defeat in her tone as she rose. “I’ve gotta go home and figure this out.”
“I’ll come with you,” said Porco.
He took a step towards her. When their gazes connected, he saw that something had dimmed in her eyes. Her focus shifted from him to her sister, and then to Paris.
“I don’t think that’s the best idea,” Jules said. ”I need to work this out with my people.”
“With your people?”
“I mean, with my family.”
“I’m your family.”
Jules sighed. His heart broke on her quiet breath.
“I don’t want to start another fight,” she said. “Just let me go and take care of this. I’ll call you later.”
Porco watched as his wife walked off with the man who had been his rival just a day ago. He was gratified to see that Jules turned away from Paris when he motioned her towards his truck. Instead, she hopped into the vehicle with her sister. Before they made a U-turn to head off the property, Jules lifted her gaze and connected with Porco one last time before all he saw was the dust kicked up by the tires.
When the truck was no longer visible from the horizon, he remembered. He’d never given her his cell phone number. And she didn’t have one of her own.