Chapter 5
DOVE
“It definitely looks like Armillaria.” Dr. Smithfield examines the pictures I took of the orchard on my phone.
He’s a tall man, although everyone seems tall to me since I’m only five-foot-two. He has a thick, white mustache, and he actually could be the Lorax.
“Do you have any clippings or samples we could test or put under the microscope?” His bushy eyebrows furrow as he looks down at me.
My chest sinks at his words. “No, sir. I guess I knew before I came here you were going to say that.”
I didn’t want it to be true. I was still holding out hope we were wrong, that it was some other problem, something easier.
He puts a large hand on my shoulder. “Don’t despair. There’s no cure for Armillaria, but the spread can be managed, even stopped. You will have to excavate and destroy the affected trees, and you can slow the spread by exposing the root crowns to the sunshine and air to dry it out.”
“The air doesn’t get very dry in Louisiana.”
“Rotate the trees, install barriers.” He gives me a wise old smile. “You’ll learn about all the options. By the time we’re done, you’ll be an expert like I am.”
“I hope you’re right.” A lump is in my throat at the thought of our beautiful orchard dying or having to be destroyed. “I love those old trees.”
“I know exactly how you feel.” With a little pat, he walks to his desk.
I follow quickly. “I’m ready to start learning everything right this minute.”
He lets out a gravelly chuckle. “Then you can replace me. I’m getting too old to stand in front of a classroom all day. It’s time for new blood, and you seem just the type to inspire future generations of scholars.”
“It’s a lovely thought.” Turning, I look up at the risers full of empty chairs and picture college students, bright young minds ready to solve all the world’s problems. “But I have to get back and save my family’s orchard first.”
Pulling out his chair, he gives me a nod. “I’m sorry your family is facing this threat. I won’t sugarcoat it. Armillaria is a tough adversary.”
“I keep thinking of that fungus in The Last of Us.” His brow furrows, and I realize he hasn’t seen the show. “Sorry, it’s about humans being overtaken by cordyceps militaris.”
“Ah.” His chin lifts. “Another formidable adversary. Cordyceps has been documented to actually change the behavior of its host. Terrifying. And yet, in Chinese medicine it’s used to reduce fatigue and even increase sex drive in older adults.”
“The Himalayan Viagra,” I add.
“You’ve done your research.”
“I went down the rabbit hole after watching the television show. I had to know if it was possible for it to make the leap to humans.”
“As a scientist, you should know we hold the door open for anything to be possible.”
“Just hopefully not that.” I give him a cringe-smile.
“What are you two talking about?” Haddy enters the room again. “That face can’t mean anything good.”
Haddy came with me and made the introductions before stepping out to revisit her old stomping grounds in the aerobiology wing. It’s all related, only her studies were on airborne childhood diseases. Mine are on creeping, underground root rot.
“Cordyceps,” I answer.
“Oh, yuck.” She shivers. “I can’t stand fungi, and don’t even try to make me watch that show.”
“Now I’m intrigued.” Dr. Smithfield chuckles, looking from her to me. “You’ll have to tell me how to find it.”
“I will.” I hold out my hand for a shake. “And I’ll see you on Monday, ready to get started.”
“I’ll put your curriculum and required readings in the portal. Do consider my offer to teach a few classes. In my experience, young people always perk up at the sight of a pretty new instructor. It’s still a male-dominated field, you know.”
“We’re working hard to change that,” Haddy says, putting her hand through my elbow. “Sorry I have to steal her away, but I’ve got to get back to work.”
“Bring your daughter with you next time. I love meeting the next generation of scientists.”
“Will do,” she calls, and I follow her out into the hall.
“You’re right, he’s lovely. If you hadn’t shown up, I was going to ask him to marry me.”
“That feels like an extreme reaction.” Haddy teases.
I glance at the pictures on my phone, that knot still twisting in my chest. “He’s so encouraging. He’s the first person I’ve met who’s given me hope since this ordeal began.”
“You have cordyceps in the orchard?” She frowns at me over the hood of Gavin’s Rover.
“Armillaris.” I hate even saying the word.
Her blue eyes widen. “Oh, shit, Dove, that’s serious. How far has it spread?”
“We’re not sure. Uncle Sawyer has been digging up trees and burning them and Leon has been driving plastic barriers into the ground and taking soil samples. We didn’t know it until almost a third of the orchard started to die.”
My eyes burn, and my heart aches like a fungus has crept into my chest and is wrapping around it, squeezing.
We climb into the vehicle, and Haddy turns it in the direction of our houses. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea that’s why you came. I thought you were simply working on your degree”
“I wish that’s all it was,” I say with a sigh. “I’m here on a last-ditch rescue mission. Dad has plenty of money, but it’s going to take more than that to beat this thing. Uncle Sawyer won’t let him spend a dime on what could turn into a lost cause.”
Haddy reaches over and squeezes my hand. “But Dr. Smithfield thinks you can beat it?”
“He said we can.” My eyes drift out the window to a large elm spreading its branches over the sidewalk and a small park. “He said we need to plant woody trees and form a barrier. I don’t know how much of it can work at this point, but I’ll take anything I can get.”
“I’ll see what I can find out as well. We all love that orchard. It’s a part of our shared history. Nobody wants to let it die.”
My lips press into a smile, and my nose is hot as I look over at my friend. “Thanks, Haddy.”
Darcy
What do you think of this?
It’s a photo of a woman dressed in a silky, peach-colored spaghetti strap top with a slightly darker linen wrap skirt.
Dove
That’s stunning! Is this for me?
Darcy
If you like it! Boo said we can all pick the style of top we wear. Mine is more of a crewneck, because you know I need more coverage.
I glance down at my own full bust, thinking I could use a little more coverage myself.
Since I had to come here, Darcy is filling in for me with the planning. To be fair, wedding planning isn’t my strong suit. Darcy has way more experience in fashion.
I’m missing all the fun being here, but when Dr. Smithfield made a place for me in his program, I had to take it. We’re racing against the clock.
Darcy
I’ll let her know you love it!
Dove
I wish I was there, but I’m learning a lot!
Darcy
You’ll be here for the main events. That’s what matters most!
I can’t help feeling a little guilty, though. We’ve all known each other since we were little kids, and Boo is the first of us to get married.
My phone lights up again, and I expect it to be another picture from Darcy. I do not expect to see a text from her annoying uncle Corey.
Corey
LaGrange Orchard, now offering pears… doesn’t have the same ring.
My brow lowers at his message. Corey Hayes has been lurking around our place since I was a kid, insinuating his claim on our land. Then, once I turned eighteen his insinuations grew to include me. He likes to emphasize our connection, how we both come from founding families of Harristown.
The only problem is he’s an arrogant prig, and even if I am friends with his niece, I can’t stand him.
Dove
What do you want, Corey?
Corey
Simply keeping you up to date on the latest developments.
Dove
Leon is building berms for the new trees.
Corey
And Sawyer is planting pears. This must be a heavy infestation if he’s resorting to fungal-resistant species. Perhaps we should take this information to the town council.
Dove
The people who need to know what’s happening already know. Stop making it a federal case.
Corey
It’s time to face facts. Your family doesn’t have the money or the manpower to fight this, and if it continues unchecked, it can spread to other farms and wipe out entire crops.
Dove
It’s not going to spread. I’m here learning all I can to find a way to stop it.
Corey
My offer still stands.
Dove
Your offer.
I can only hope my utter disdain makes its way through the ether.
Corey
My father wanted to acquire the orchard and merge our properties before you were even born. Now is the time to make his and my dream come true.
Dove
Your dream?
Corey
It’s no secret. I’ve always wanted you for my wife.
Dove
What about what I want?
Corey
With my resources, you can bring in all the workers you need to save your precious orchard.
Dove
I’m working on a solution that doesn’t require a human sacrifice.
Corey
Such a drama queen. Marrying me would hardly be human sacrifice.
Dove
Sorry, Corey, I’m simply not interested.
Corey
That’s too bad, because we’re going to buy that farm before it’s all over, and you’ll have to watch it all slip away.
Dove
Over my dead body.
Corey
And that’s not a sacrifice?
Dove
It’s a sacrifice I’d make before I’d ever marry you—or let you get your greedy hands on my family’s land.
My phone buzzes with another text, but I mute the conversation.
I have no interest in giving that nonsense any more oxygen.
It’s late, and I’m exhausted from this day.
I’m also still a little jet-lagged, and I want nothing more than to take a long, hot shower and crawl under the faux-fur blanket Haddy left behind on her wonderfully comfortable bed.
The front door opens, and I look up to see the sun is setting. I was too distracted by Corey’s text and what’s happening back home to realize it’s almost dinner time.
Maverick bustles into the house, dropping his bag inside his bedroom before walking into the living room.
He switches on the lamp, then jumps back when he sees me. “Whoa! What are you doing sitting here in the dark?” He must see the story in my eyes, because at once, he circles the arm of the couch, sitting on the edge beside me. “What happened? Is your mom okay?”
The kindness in his voice makes me want to cry, but I hold it back, pressing my lips together and shaking my head. “She’s fine. Everybody’s fine. I just got a text…”
“A text from who?” His brow lowers like he’s ready to fight, and I kind of love him for it.
Maverick is always so sweet to me. He’s outgoing and fun, and he listens when I talk like it’s the most interesting thing he’s ever heard—when it’s usually only facts about peach trees or soil or spirits of dead relatives.
“It’s this guy, Corey Hayes.” I shove my phone roughly into my pocket. “His family wants to buy our land, and he’s just being really obnoxious about it, saying it’s going to be his.”
I mock his haughty tone, even as the very thought makes me shudder.
“Corey Hayes… I remember that guy.” Mav almost seems as angry as I am about it. “He’s the one who dragged you away from me. Why is he saying that? Does your uncle want to sell?”
“No!” My voice is a little too emphatic, and he holds up both hands like I pulled a gun.
“Good—I love that old place.”
“I’m sorry, Mav.” I exhale heavily, reaching out to cover his hands with mine. “I didn’t mean to snap. He just sort of ticked me off, and I just… It’s a scary time back home.”
“Why?”
I quickly fill him in on what’s happening, noting the deepening concern in his eyes as I speak.
“Shit, that sounds dark.”
“Sounds like I need to finish my degree fast.” I put my feet on the floor and stand. “I came here to learn all I can so I can go back and help them fight it.”
He looks up at me. “You think you’ll find a cure?”
“I don’t know.” I remember Dr. Smithfield’s words, Scientists hold the door open to all possibilities.
“So you’re a hero tree doctor.”
Looking down, I shake my head. “I wish.”
He rises to his feet, and I lift my chin to look up at him. So tall. He studies my face, then he lifts his hand and moves a piece of hair off my cheek.
It’s a tentative move, his finger barely making contact with my skin, and it makes me want to lean closer, rest my cheek against his palm, this man who was the boy I could always trust.
“Aunt Dolly says storms make trees take deeper roots.”
“She should know.”
We share a quiet moment. It’s not long, but it’s enough.
“What should I prepare for our hero tree doctor?” He takes a step away, gently teasing. “Spicy mushroom pizza?”
“Sure,” I nod, putting on my best determined face. “We’ll show those fungi who’s boss.”
“I’d like to show somebody who’s boss… initials CH.”
I follow him into the kitchen. “Did I mention he’s a scratch golfer?”
“Figures.” He glances over his shoulder, giving me a disgusted face. “He probably wears quarter-zips and khakis.”
“How did you know?” I pretend to be shocked, but dissolve into laughter.
The fist in my chest has relaxed some, and while I’m still angry and afraid, I don’t feel alone—not that I ever was. Uncle Sawyer and Leon are working so hard, and I want to help them. I want to be a part of the solution.
Mav takes a cardboard box of mushrooms out of the refrigerator and hands it to me. “Give ‘em hell.”
I snort a laugh, but dicing fungi, no matter how harmless, does make me feel better. He switches on a speaker, and dance music filters around us.
He takes out a knife of his own and dices onions, olives, peppers, and being here beside him, listening to music, helping with dinner is comforting, homey.
It brings me back to the present and possibility, rather than worrying about future fears.
“Maverick Murphy…” I pause, placing the knife on my hip. “Do you make everyone feel better or just me?”
He glances over at me, giving me another one of his unreadable looks. The corner of his mouth lifts, and his eyes are less friendly, more tempting.
The small hairs on the back of my neck rise, and my heart beats faster. My stomach flutters lightly.
He places his knife on the counter, and his voice is low. “I only want you to feel good.”
Rising to his full height, he steps closer and my breath stills. My throat tightens… but he continues past me, opening the refrigerator door and taking out the shredded cheese.
“Gotta cheese the pizza.” He holds up a plastic container.
An exhale slips between my parted lips, and I feel so silly. “Of course.”
Shaking away my fantasies, I remind myself why I’m here.