The guardian
Prologue
Jude Andrews husband left her two unexpected gifts before he died- a Great Dane puppy named singer and the promise that he would always be watching over her. Now two years later, twenty six year old Jude is ready to make a commitment to someone again. But who will it be? should it be Max Evens, the handsome sophisticated engineer who treats her like a queen? Or should it be Tom Quincy, the down to earth nice guy who was her husbands best friend? choosing one of them should bring her more happiness than she's had in years. Instead, Jude is soon fighting for her life in a nightmare spawned by a chilling deception and jealousy so poisonous that it has become a murderous desire.
Chapter 1
It was the first Christmas since Jamie died and Jude was miserable. After two months she still couldn't believe that she was a widow. She couldn't believe that at the age of twenty three she was a widow. Widow. That word kept running circles in her brain as she sat in the kitchen watching as rain hit the window.
Ever since Jamie died she felt so sad and alone and now she was spending Christmas alone. Sure Victoria had invited her over for dinner, so did Sadie, Quest, and Tommy but she had declined all there offers. She knew they were just trying to help her but she also knew there was nothing they could to make her feel better. She had been walking around like a zombie ever since the tumor in Jamie's brain took his life.
Jude's life had never been really great as a child; her mom had to addictions, drinking and men. As a child Jude had never minded the men that came in and out of her mother's life and they never pain any attention to her. This all changed as Jude got older and hit puberty. The guys that would come to the house with her mom were suddenly taking an interest in Jude. This was something that bothered Jude but Yvette was always to drunk to notice. Then when Jude was seventeen her mom's current boyfriend tried to force himself on her. Jude was able to stop him but when she told her mom what happened Yvette blamed Jude. She said that Jude had tried to seduce him and that she had brought it upon herself. Jude couldn't believe that her mom didn't believe her. It was soon after this that Jude found herself homeless.
The six months that Jude was home less were the scariest of her life, but she refused to become just another bum. She wasn't like the people that she met on the street; she didn't steel, beg for money, and she refused to sleep with men for money. Instead she found jobs, she worked at any place that would hire her, but there weren't many places that would hire a homeless girl who never even finished high school, and the places that did hire her never paid much.
One morning Jude was at a diner drinking a cup of coffee that she had bought with the last of her money. That was the day she met Jamie. He bought her breakfast and said he'd do the same again the next day if she came back. That night Jude couldn't sleep, she couldn't decide if she should go or not. Sure she was hungry but what if he wanted something in return, something she wasn't willing to give. In the end her hunger won and she went to the diner. When she got there he was already sitting at the table she had been sitting at the day before. Before sitting down with him she asked him why he was doing this for her and he calmly explained that he saw her come in the day before and he thought she looked scared and lost and he just wanted to do something nice for her, no strings attached. She could tell that he was being sincere so she sat down and they ate breakfast together. They ate breakfast together every day until he had to go home. The last day he was there he told her that if she went to Toronto he would find her a place to live and help her get a job.
About a month later she moved to Toronto; she didn't even know how to find him or if he was even serious when he made that offer. But after a week in Toronto she ran into him at the park; he took her to his Aunt Victoria's house. Victoria was really great to Jude; she gave Jude a job sweeping hair at her salon, she helped get a decent apartment. And after a couple of months of living in Toronto she convinced Jude to get her GED and then she helped her get a license to cut hair.
Jamie had introduced her to his friends and they all befriended her as well, but Jamie was still her best friend. He was the one she turned to for support and he was always there for her when she needed a shoulder to cry on. They were always hanging out together. At first she was happy he didn't try to further their relationship even though she new that he liked her, but after a while she got annoyed, then she got pissed. Eventually she confronted him and asked him why he wouldn't make a move on her. He said that he didn't want to rush her into something she might not be ready for. After a long talk they decided to start dating.
After that day Jude and Jamie were inseparable. They dated for about a year before getting married. Two years later they found out that Jamie had a brain tumor. They did everything possible to get him better but nothing worked and he died two years later leaving Jude all alone.