Chapter 2
Jud
Once Jud's work was done, he went back to the smokehouse, like he always did when he had to think. The man had guaranteed she'd like him more, and it did make sense. She'd be scared and need some kind of hero. That seemed logical enough; girls were weak and liked it that way, most of them probably fantasized about being rescued by some big, strong man. Some big, strong man who was more than deserving of their love.
However, the more Jud thought about it, the more he realized that any number of things could go wrong. The men involved could easily get carried away and could actually go through with it, all while he watched his worst nightmares play out in front of him. His nightmares of Laurey's being ravished and pleasured by someone else, of her forgetting all about him. He didn't know how many cohorts El Gallo had; if two or three of them were strong enough, they could hold him back while the rest took turns with his girl. He couldn't even bear seeing her walk around the farm walking arm in arm with Curly, so paying a man to actually kiss her and touch her seemed insane.
Even if they kept their word, there were other problems to consider. Laurey would get scared, that was for sure, and there was no telling how a scared girl would act. Even if he rescued her, she could start to hate him. Every time she looked at him, she might remember that night and what had happened to her. She might even start to love the men who did it—sometimes girls did that, if it was good enough. El Gallo was certainly handsome, from what Jud could tell. He might become the man she fantasized about every night. Jud might not even be able to rescue her in the right way, might manage to scare her even more or say the wrong things that would make her even more afraid of him. He never knew how to act with her under normal circumstances, so there was no telling how he'd botch things if he tried to rescue her.
Or, worst of all, it could drive her closer to Curly. Curly wouldn't have been there, so he wouldn't remind her of what happened. And he'd probably know all the best things to say to her—probably convince her nothing like that would happen if they got married.
Finally, there was the fact that El Gallo hadn't named a price. Jud had plenty of money saved up, but there was no telling what a service like that might cost. It wasn't exactly something he could get for cheaper somewhere else.
Jud lay in bed, realizing he couldn't go through with it. He had to find some other way to win her, some way that was less risky, like every other man seemed to be able to do. But…El Gallo had said he would return. If he hadn't said that, Jud might have forgotten the whole thing, might've brushed it off as some kind of dream. But the knowledge of El Gallo's returning, the fact that he would have to give him an answer in a few days, made it impossible to put what had happened out of his mind.
