Chapter 2
Joshua’s graying black hair was tied back in a braid like always.
His tanned skin contrasted beautifully against the crisp white shirt he wore at every market.
It had the logo of his small, local farm on the front—Joshua’s Veggies.
It was not only Callie’s favorite booth, but he was also her favorite vendor.
Joshua always had the most delicious, most fresh vegetables to offer, and it didn’t hurt that he was quick with a smile.
“Callie!” He waved her over when he saw her approaching, flashing his white, charmingly crooked teeth. “I was hoping I’d see you today.”
“Hey, Joshua,” she said, smiling back—as if she could do anything else when a man as handsome as him looked at her that way. “I was just on my way back to the car, actually, but I couldn’t leave without stopping in and saying hello!”
“I’m glad you did. I put these aside just in case.” He bent down and grabbed a little wooden crate from underneath one of the tables. Inside, there were bright red tomatoes, shiny cucumbers, and multiple bushels of various herbs. She grinned when she saw them.
“Wow! Looks delicious! How’d you know I needed tomatoes and cucumbers for my recipe?”
Joshua winked. “Lucky guess.” He handed her the entire box without any mention of price, as always.
“No, I think you have a sixth sense about these things. I swear, every week I come by, you’ve got exactly what I need.”
“Be careful,” he said playfully. “Don’t go telling a man something like that unless you mean it.” He pressed a hand to his chest. “I’ll take it to heart, and then one day, you’ll stop coming to the market. Then what am I going to do?”
“Never,” she assured him. “You’re stuck with me until… well, not to sound morbid, but I guess, until I die.”
“A true honor,” he said, before dropping his hand and sliding them both effortlessly into his pockets.
“Is there anything else you need? I’ve got a few avocados left, but I can’t promise they’re any good.
It’s a little late in the day and most things are picked over.
I meant to snag a few earlier on, but it totally slipped my mind. ”
“That’s alright.” Callie looked around even though she was on a time crunch. “I think I’m good. But I’m glad you’ve had a lot of buyers today. Seems like the market is pretty busy, even with it closing in thirty minutes.”
“Yeah, it’s great. This late in the season, a lot of people just assume the market is a bust and don’t come, but I think since the weather was so nice today, we got more than usual.” He slid his hands into the pockets of his worn jeans. “Anyway, how have things been with you?”
She smiled and tucked the box under one arm. “They’ve been good. I don’t know if you heard anyone talking about it around town, but David and I have a new house guest. Two. A young mom and her nine-month-old baby.”
He shook his head. “No, I must’ve missed that piece of gossip. Although, it always takes twice as long for news to get all the way out to the reservation.”
Joshua, who was Native American, lived part time in Ferndale and part time on the Hoopa reservation about two hours from town.
His farm was located closer to Ferndale and his only son had moved there with his wife and kids a few years back.
Thus, Joshua stayed a few nights a week in the guest room of his son’s house and spent the rest of his time at the reservation.
Callie had asked him once why he went back and forth, and he explained that he didn’t want to abandon his people just because his business started booming elsewhere.
Joshua cared deeply about his community, just like Callie did. It was one of the reasons they got along so well from the very first day they met.
“Are they family friends or what?” Joshua asked about Sasha and the baby.
“Oh, no.” Callie shook her head. “Up until a few weeks ago, they were complete strangers.”
He frowned at her. Callie laughed and then explained, “We’re sponsoring them.
At least, that’s the word the social worker used, but I’m not sure if that has any official definition or anything.
I’ve been using it to describe the situation, but sometimes it feels a little…
weird. It reminds me of when you’d sponsor someone running a 5k or something.
” She shrugged. “Anyway, she and her baby were living in a women’s shelter, but they needed something more stable, something safer, so we offered to take them in. ”
“Oh, wow, that’s so nice of you,” he said.
She knew her smile was widening, but that always happened when she was around Joshua. He just had a way of making her feel… seen.
“It’s the least we could do, honestly,” she said, shyly looking down at the box full of vegetables.
“We’ve got all those extra rooms and it’s stupid for them to just sit empty when there are people who could really use a place.
Not to mention, Sasha and the baby are perfect houseguests.
It’s been wonderful having them around.”
“That’s great! Does that mean David’s put some of his travel plans on hold, or…?”
“No, I didn’t ask him to. This was kind of my idea anyway, and he’s so excited about his upcoming trips.
Although, he and Sasha seem to be getting along well, which makes this a whole lot easier.
Since I took the reins on this one, I was worried if things wouldn’t go smoothly…
” She trailed off for a moment and then pivoted.
There wasn’t enough time for her to really delve into all of that anyway.
“It’s just a complicated situation, as you know, and so there were a lot of ways that this sort of thing could go wrong. ”
Joshua nodded. “I understand. But if there were any two people who could figure it all out, it’s you and David.”
“You think?”
“I know,” he insisted. “I’ve always really respected the way the two of you have navigated your relationship over the years.
I know of a lot of couples who wouldn’t be able to do what you guys have.
It could be really messy, but instead you handle things well.
Like two people who, genuinely care about each other. ”
She felt her face warm from the compliment.
“Thanks for saying that. It hasn’t always been easy, but I do think we’ve done better than expected.
And when it comes to Sasha, it’s not like I need help from David, so he’s welcome to leave on his various trips without feeling guilty or anything.
Sasha’s a very responsible young woman and her baby is a joy. Things are going just fine… for now.”
He raised a brow. “Why do you say for now?”
“Well”—she chewed the inside of her lip—”the kids are all coming home for Thanksgiving… And they don’t exactly know about Sasha... Or rather, I haven’t talked to all of them about it. I’m not sure who knows what at the moment, to be honest, and I’m worried how they’re going to react.”
“I’m sure they’ll be thrilled about the idea,” he said confidently. “Why wouldn’t they be? This is a good thing you’re doing, a great way to help someone in need, so what could they have against that?”
“It’s just… there are some things about the situation that I know my kids are going to have issues with.
” She waved it off. “But I don’t mean to take up so much of your time complaining.
You’ve got vegetables to sell, and I should get back to the car.
How much do I owe you?” She glanced over her shoulder, but there weren’t any other shoppers trying to get his attention. She liked talking to Joshua.
“For the stuff in the box? Nothing. That’s on the house.”
“Not that I really have time to argue with you.” She gave him a look. “But Joshua, you have to stop giving me free stuff. It can’t be good for business.”
“I’ll decide what is and is not good for my business, thank you very much,” he said.
“And since the first day you came to my little booth here, you’ve been one of my best, most loyal customers.
Over the years, you’ve spent more than enough money here, which is why I insist on giving you some free stuff every week.
If you don’t like it, then I guess you’ll just have to stop dropping by. ”
She smirked. “Aww, I couldn’t do that. You’d miss me too much.”
He chuckled and shook a finger at her. “You know what? It’s true. I’d be sad if you stopped coming by....” A gentle smile formed in his eyes. “Seeing you is my favorite part of every market.”
Blushing, she glanced away. But her eyes widened when she spotted Sasha standing just a few feet away, staring drop-jawed at them.
Oh no. How long had she been there?
What had she heard?
“Uh, well, anyway,” Callie said nervously, taking a step back. “It was good to see you. Thanks for the veggies and I hope you sell out the rest of your stuff.”
He furrowed his brow a bit, clearly confused by Callie’s quick shift in demeanor. “Yeah, that’d be great. It’s never happened before, but I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”
She forced a laugh and shot another look in Sasha’s direction. The young woman hadn’t moved. “Right. I sort of just said that without thinking. But who knows? Maybe today is the day. I’ll—I’ll see you around.”
“See you next week?”
She nodded, but then said, “Uh—maybe. Maybe not. I’m not sure what my schedule looks like.
Sorry, I have to go. Bye!” She rushed over to Sasha and hooked arms with her.
She dragged Sasha away from the booth and towards the parking lot.
“Hey, what’re you doing here? I thought you were waiting for me by the car! ”
“David was worried you might’ve gotten sucked into a conversation with a friend or something,” she said.
Callie scoffed. “It’s been, what? Five minutes. I was on my way.”
“I’m just relaying the message,” Sasha said. “According to him, you’re known to wander.” She put a strange kind of emphasis on the last word, signaling to Callie that she’d heard enough of her conversation with Joshua to make a couple unsavory assumptions.
Gulping down her anxiety, Callie did her best to laugh along like everything was okay.
“Okay, fine. He’s not completely wrong in saying that.
I can get easily distracted, and I like to stop at almost all the booths.
But really, there’s no reason for him to act like it’s some kind of crime!
I have a lot of friends who are vendors here and I like to catch up with them. ”
“Like that guy back there?”
“Joshua?”
“If you say so.”
There was no mistaking Sasha’s tone. The young woman was convinced she’d seen Callie doing something wrong, and Callie was going to have to work a little harder to ease her concerns.
“Yeah, Joshua’s a good friend of mine,” she said.
“David too. David and him are friends as well.” Adding this detail felt like the right thing to do at first, but once she’d said it out loud, she started to feel like maybe she was being too obvious.
How would someone who hadn’t just been caught flirting behave?
Callie’s heart raced when she realized her anxious demeanor was making her seem even more suspicious.
“David knows Joshua?” Sasha blinked quickly and tilted her head, as though staring at a picture turned upside down.
“Of course! Pretty much everyone knows everyone in this town, and Joshua’s farm is kind of locally famous. He grows some of the best vegetables in the state... if you ask me.”
“Hm.” Sasha nodded but seemed to be mostly lost in her own thoughts.
“Uh—how’s Dot?” she asked, hoping to bring Sasha’s attention onto another topic. “Is she still asleep?”
Sasha didn’t answer right away, her eyes darting from her feet to Callie who evaded her gaze while struggling to remain calm.
“Yeah, we got her in the car, and she conked out,” Sasha said eventually. “David turned the heat on, so she didn’t get too cold. They’re waiting for us at the curb up there.”
“Great.” Callie smiled wide and pushed down the panic that was welling up inside. “It was getting a little cold. I’m ready to go home and warm up. Oh—I know, we can make some hot chocolate. That sounds good, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, I guess. But—”
“Oh, there’s the car. C’mon, let’s hurry before David gets annoyed.
Otherwise, we’ll get a lecture on the environmental impact of idling in the car.
” She picked up her pace, making it much harder for them to carry a conversation.
Sasha fell silent as they scurried across the grass the rest of the way, and much to Callie’s relief, she didn’t bring up Joshua on the car ride home.