Chapter 20
MAVERICK
The old flatbed trailer is parked behind the peach shed just up the hill from the guest cottage, and I climb onto it, lying flat on my back and looking up at a sky full of stars.
I forgot how bright they are out here in the country. For a few minutes, I’m fifteen again, visiting with all my cousins and our moms and aunts and Dove and her friends.
At night, we’d make s’mores and tell ghost stories. We’d lie on this old trailer and watch for shooting stars and make wishes. I think about my wish to be here. I think about other wishes I’ve made through the years.
Is there a limit on how many of them are allowed to come true? I sure hope not, because even if we did tell a lie, I wouldn’t change a thing about our situation right now.
Okay, I’d change one thing.
A smile is on my face as I watch a streak of light cross the sky, and I close my eyes thinking of another wish I’ve had for a long time. One I wouldn’t mind coming true…
An old phone ringing interrupts my dreams. I’m drifting in the reservoir, staring at the clouds overhead, completely relaxed, when I realize the sound is my phone alarm going off.
I tap the button and sit up too quickly, only this dizzy spell is way shorter than the ones before. Good to know I’m getting better at least.
My dick is also standing up straight, and I groan, wondering how the hell I’m going to jump off a flatbed and run back to the guest cottage with a woody in my sweatpants.
I carefully slide off the side of the trailer and ball up the blanket I ended up using for a pillow. Then I bend low, doing my best to walk normally to the guest cottage. At least the walk should help it go down before I see Dove.
The door is unlocked, and I slip inside, putting my back to it and stopping. She’s asleep on the bed, but it looks like she must’ve tossed and turned all night.
Her hair clings to her neck, and the sheet is wrapped around her smooth legs. She’s wearing a white tank top, and I swallow an audible gulp when I realize one of her breasts has escaped.
I don’t want to look, but it’s impossible not to see it even for a flash. It’s the first time I’ve seen any part of her naked, and her breast is as perfectly magnificent as I’ve always imagined it would be.
It’s soft and full with a warm, rose-colored areola and a thick nipple. I imagine pulling it into my mouth with a firm suck, and my fading morning wood springs to full-on erection.
“Fuck,” I hiss, bending forward and slamming my eyes shut.
Now I’m leaning against the door with a hard-on, my eyes closed, and I have no idea how to get to the bathroom to take care of this. Shit.
I don’t want to wake her, but if I open my eyes, I’m going to see that gorgeous bare breast again. Lifting my chin, I exhale a groan, opening my eyes a crack and staring at the ceiling.
My cock presses against my sweatpants so hard, I have to stay bent forward, and I have to drop the blanket so I can wave my hands in front of me to prevent crashing into the furniture.
I take several small steps to the left, following the wall in the direction I think is the small, half-bath.
Despite my best efforts, I bang the corner of the bed, letting out an oof! and scooting the entire thing to the side.
“Umph!” I hear a grunt and rustling on the bed in front of me, but I keep my eyes fixed overhead.
It’s bad enough the image of her body is branded on my brain… Stop thinking about her breasts, man! Now my cock is literally aching.
“Maverick!” I hear her shifting, probably sitting up, blankets rustling. “What are you doing?”
I imagine she fixed her top, but I can’t take the chance.
“I need to get to the bathroom, but I, ahh…” How do I say I saw your entire breast?
“You can look now.” Her tone tells me she already knows.
My eyes blink down to hers, and thankfully, she’s completely covered. I’m starting to get a cramp from being bent in an awkward angle, and without thinking, I straighten.
Her eyes drop to the tent in my pants, then widen. “Oh…”
It’s not an exclamation of surprise. It actually sounds more like interest, and that’s the last thing I need in my condition. Another pulse, and I cover myself with both hands quickly.
Her hand covers her mouth, and she’s fighting a laugh. Her cheeks are pink, and when our eyes meet, mischief sparkles in hers.
“Surprise,” I say with a dash of sarcasm. “I’m a guy. Give me a minute to take care of this.”
My hands fall away, and I step into the bathroom. The door closes, and I hear her laughter coming from the bed. I stand in front of the sink, my shoulders dropping as a smile pulls my lips as well.
Rolling my eyes, I shake my head as I switch on the tap and put some cold water on the back of my neck. It’s not how I’d like to handle this situation, but thinking about the alternative isn’t going to help my dick calm down.
The small cottage is empty when I come out of the bathroom. A text from Dove is on my phone telling me to come to the house when I’m G-rated. She’s one to talk.
I shake my head, stepping over to my suitcase and taking out a fresh pair of jeans and a maroon tee.
Kelani meets me halfway across the yard, barking and hopping along beside me as I walk to the house. I bend down and scrub her cute little head, and when I open the back door, she races up the short flight of steps.
Dove, her mom, her aunt Mindy, and Gina are all crowded around an open laptop on the table when I enter.
Taron is at the stove with Maddie on a stool beside him. They’re both wearing aprons, and I see he’s making his famous hoe cakes in the cast-iron skillet.
I’ve had those little fried corn cakes on all my visits here, and I can attest they are delicious.
“Looks like I got here just in time,” I say, and they all look up.
“Maverick, good morning!” Dove’s mom smiles. “I hope you slept well. I’ve got Mountain Dew for you in the fridge.”
“Legend is they got their name because farmers would fry the cakes on the back of their hoes…” I hear Dove’s dad gently explaining to his little helper in the same way he did with all of us.
“Daddy said hoe is a bad word, and I shouldn’t say it.” Maddie looks up at him with wide eyes.
Gina snorts from the table. “Different kinda hoe, Mads!”
“A farmer’s hoe is a tool like a shovel,” Taron says. “Only it’s flat instead of rounded, so you can use it for chopping.”
Maddie nods slowly, listening, and I walk over to get in on this action. “Got any for me?”
“Coming right up,” Taron says.
“We have sausage links, too,” Noel says. “Dove, go take care of Maverick.”
Dove glances up to where I stand, and her eyebrow arches. “Mav takes care of himself, don’t you, honey?”
“Tara Dove,” her mom scolds. “Every man likes to be spoiled.”
“Boo has an aesthetician coming over to do everyone’s mani-pedis in a little bit,” her aunt Mindy says. “She said it’ll take most of tomorrow to get everybody’s hair and makeup done for the ceremony…”
The delicious scent of frying cornbread makes my stomach growl, and I use a fork to stab one of the sausage links.
When I straighten, I notice Dove is watching me again, her coffee cup at her lips. Energy passes between us, and I glance down at the link. Lifting it up, I give her a slight nod as I glance from it to her.
Air bursts from her nose, and she leans forward, putting her hand in front of her lips.
“Dove!” Gina cries, wiping her arm. “Spit-take much?”
“What’s wrong?” Mindy frowns. “Do you not like your colors?”
“Sorry…” Dove chokes, waving her hand. “No… it’s all perfect.”
I turn to face the stove, grinning as I take a bite of the fresh hoecake Maddie just slid onto my plate.
“Mm-mm…” I make a big noise of delight. “That is the best hoe cake I’ve had since the last time I was here.”
Maddie smiles up at me proudly. “It’s good?”
“The best.” I give her a little bump as I polish it off in two more bites.
The swinging door opens, and Leon walks into the room. He’s wearing a cap and he looks like he’s dressed for work.
“Come on.” He slaps the side of my arm. “Let’s get out of here before they start trying to paint your nails, too.”
“Ooo, Mav. You’d look very edgy with a coat of black nail polish,” Dove calls from the table.
“See what I mean?” He stops, holding the back door for me. “You should’ve seen what Noel made me do when she was testing her skin care line.”
“She had him in one of those peach masks…” Mindy laughs as we head out the door. “Pure blackmail material.”
“Skincare for men is an emerging market,” Dove’s mom argues.
I follow Leon to the old red pickup parked outside the peach shed. “Thought you might want to see what we’ve been working on around here.”
“I do.” I slide into my seat, glancing over at him. “Dove said y’all were caught completely off-guard by that fungus.”
“It was pretty overwhelming at first.” He shakes his head, passing a hand over his mouth. “We were able to get some money from the government to help at first, but this thing is insidious. We’re doing everything we can to stay on top of it.”
I look out the windshield at the sun shining over the rows of trees.
We’re at the top of the hill, and from this side, you wouldn’t even know a silent killer was lurking underground.
Stretching all the way to the north, healthy rows of trees bearing soft peachy-white blossoms fill the space. It’s like something out of a dream, or out of a memory from a day when Dove grabbed my arm and dragged me all the way to the top of this hill.
I’ll never forget standing with her, watching the sun set over her family’s land. Her heritage…
“This is what it looks like.” Leon turns the wheel southward, and my chest drops.
The contrast is shocking and ominous. On one side are healthy trees covered in flowers, promising a bumper crop of peaches in only a few months. On this side is death.
“Fuck.” It slips out involuntarily, and I tense. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”
“Don’t apologize.” Leon’s tone is grave. “It’s my sentiment exactly.”
He parks the truck, and we get out, walking up to the barren trees. A few have brown leaves that are curled and dried out on the branches. It’s like something out of a movie where an evil shadow passed over, and everything curled up and died.
Being here, seeing it in real life gives me a better understanding of Dove’s emotions that night I found her crying in the living room.
“This was the first warning.” Leon takes a knee, pointing to a patch of flat, tan mushrooms growing in a clump at the base of one.
“I thought mushrooms meant the soil was healthy.”
I’ve never been much of a farmer, but Mom wanted to grow her own peppers one summer, and that’s what the old-timers told us.
“If it’s the right kind of mushroom,” he says, pulling them from the soil. “By the time we saw these, it was too late.”
“Shit,” I hiss, following him up the row to where it looks like he’s practically dug up the roots of a tree.
“Exposing it to sunlight and air is one way to kill it. Building raised beds to get the roots out of the ground is another way. It’s expensive and time-consuming, and we don’t know if we’re going to beat it.”
“Dove said the ribosomes can persist in the soil?” I look up at him.
“That’s what makes it so hard to fight.” His lips press into a frown, and he puts his hands on his hips, inhaling slowly. “I always thought we’d have this orchard for generations to come, but at this rate… I guess it’s good Dove’s making other plans.”
“What? Dove’s not making other plans,” I interject quickly. “This orchard and finding a cure for this disease is on her mind all the time. She loves these trees.”
His brow furrows, and he studies me. “How do you feel about that?”
“Great.” I shake my head. “It’s one of the things I’ve always admired about her.”
I don’t say always loved about her, although based on our lie, I imagine he wouldn’t mind me saying the word love.
“I just mean with your schedule and being in LA, that changes things.”
Oh.
“Yeah…” I reach up to rub the back of my neck, feeling like I’m being exposed all of a sudden. “It does make things complicated.”
He stands for a moment, hands on his hips, looking across at the healthy trees, which now seem so vulnerable.
“Is that why I saw you sleeping on the flatbed this morning?” He glances at me, walking slowly to the truck. “Or are you a snorer?”
Shit! My shoulders tense, and I clear my throat, forcing a fake laugh. “I’m not sure what you mean…”
He opens the door to the pickup, and I do the same, thankful he doesn’t seem to be preparing to kick my ass.
“I mean,” he looks straight at me across the cab. “Why weren’t you in bed with your girlfriend this morning? Not that I’m pushing you or anything. Just curious.”
We’re both in, and he turns the wheel, taking us slowly to the house again. I look out the window, pinching my lips with my fingers as I try to think of a reason I wouldn’t be in bed with Dove, the most beautiful girl I know, sliding my morning wood between her soft thighs…
Not now, Mav, jeez.
“Well, you see, all this is kind of new.” I’m fumbling, but the story is forming in my head. “We weren’t expecting to share the cottage.”
“Surely, you don’t mind?”
“No way, not at all.” I look down at my hands. “Last night, it just felt kind of sudden… and I didn’t want to rush her into anything.”
That is actually the truth.
I glance over at him, and he nods slowly. His elbow is propped on the open window, and his hand is on his chin.
“You’re all right, Maverick.” He looks at me again, nodding. “Glad to know you’re still a good kid at heart.”
“I try to be.”
“Just be sure you don’t fail.”
“Yes, sir.” I nod, holding the serious expression on my face as he parks the truck. “Well, I’d better get cleaned up.”
I quickly escape to the cottage before he asks any more unexpected questions.