Chapter 17
DEX
Thursday afternoon, I was at Miller’s Hardware picking up supplies for a repair job when I heard the voice that every local knew, and most tried to avoid.
“Dexter Moore! I haven’t seen you in weeks!”
I turned slowly, trying to arrange my face into something that looked pleased instead of panicked.
Mrs. Shulster was bearing down on me with the determination of a woman on a mission, her massive purse clutched in her arms like a football.
And peeking out of the top of that purse was Titus, her ancient, possibly-deceased dog who she carried everywhere despite the fact that he hadn’t moved voluntarily in at least two years.
The smell hit me before she did. Like old pennies and mothballs and something distinctly organic that made me want to breathe through my mouth.
Titus was definitely dead. Had to be. No living creature smelled like that. But then he belched and I automatically held my breath, knowing breathing now would be the end of me.
“Hi, Mrs. Shulster.” I tried not to inhale too deeply. “How are you?”
“Oh, wonderful, dear! Just wonderful!” She adjusted Titus in her purse. The dog didn’t so much as twitch. “I’ve been meaning to catch you. Wanted to ask how things are going with the wedding planning.”
“Erm… It’s going well? Trace and Delaney are excited.”
“As they should be! Those two deserve all the happiness in the world after everything they’ve been through.” She patted my arm with her free hand. “And I hear you’ve been a wonderful help. Always such a good boy, Dex. Your grandparents would be so proud.”
Something in my chest squeezed. “Thank you.”
“And speaking of the wedding, I heard that lovely Leigh Pierce is doing the photography. Jasper’s… daughter? I’ve seen her around town but I didn’t want to impose. It’s a difficult situation I imagine.”
My heart started pounding. “Yeah. She’s really talented, and she’s… processing well.”
I could see this for what it was. A fact finding mission. The problem was, I had no idea what I was and wasn’t supposed to say when it came to Leigh, apart from the obvious.
“I’m sure she is. And I also heard,” Mrs. Shulster leaned in conspiratorially, and I got another wave of Eau de Dead Dog, “that you two have been spending quite a bit of time together.”
Shit.
“Just wedding planning,” I said, trying to keep my voice casual. “Scouting locations, coordinating schedules, that kind of thing.”
“Of course, of course.” But her eyes were twinkling in a way that said she didn’t believe me for a second. “Though someone did mention seeing your truck at that overlook spot last Tuesday evening. The one up on Hanover Pass?”
We weren’t at the overlook Tuesday. We were at my house. But someone had clearly seen my truck somewhere with Leigh’s car, and in a town this size, that was enough to start the gossip mill.
“We were checking out potential photography locations,” I said. “For the engagement shoot.”
“I’m sure you were, dear.” She smiled wider, and I suddenly understood why people were terrified of grandmothers with too much time and too much information. “Well, I think it’s wonderful.”
“What’s wonderful?”
“You and Leigh, of course.” She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“That girl needs someone good in her life, and you’re a good boy, Dex.
Always have been. Took care of your grandparents when they needed you.
Always helping the Farrington boys. You deserve to be happy too.
And right now, I think you’re exactly what she needs. ”
“Mrs. Shulster, we’re not… there’s nothing…”
“Oh, don’t look so panicked!” She laughed, patting my arm again. “I’m not judging. I think it’s lovely. Young people should enjoy themselves. Life’s too short not to.”
I opened my mouth. Closed it. Had no idea what to say.
“You haven’t mentioned this to Billie, have you?” I finally managed.
Her expression softened, became almost conspiratorial. “No, dear. I haven’t told my niece anything. Some things are private until you’re ready to share them. A woman learns that after seventy-three years on this earth.”
“Thank you.”
Of course, Billie already knew but it was good to know that the Farrington women’s vow of silence was still in effect.
It was time to come clean though. We couldn’t keep asking people to keep this secret for us. I didn’t even know why we felt like it needed to be a secret.
“But Dex…” She leaned in again, and I fought the urge to step back from the smell. “You can’t keep secrets forever in this town. You know that, don’t you?”
It was like she could read my mind.
“I know.”
“People talk. They see things. And in Willowbrook, everyone knows everyone’s business eventually.
” She adjusted Titus again. This time I swear one of his eyes looked to the left but the other stayed completely still.
“I’m not saying this to scare you. I’m saying it because I care about you.
And about Leigh. And about those boys who think of you as a brother. ”
“I know, Mrs. Shulster.”
“Do you?” She studied me with eyes that were sharper than most people gave her credit for. “Because the longer you wait to tell them, the worse it gets. Secrets have a way of festering. Of turning into something bigger than they need to be.”
“We’re planning to tell them. Soon,” I said, already realising that I was admitting to something I wasn’t supposed to be.
“Good. That’s good.” She smiled, patted my arm one more time. “Well, I should get going. Titus needs his afternoon constitutional.” She held up the purse. Titus still hadn’t moved. Still smelled like death.
She was definitely walking around with a dead dog.
“Mrs. Shulster, is Titus... okay?”
“Oh, he’s fine! Just sleepy. He’s seventeen, you know. Needs his rest.” She kissed the top of his head. Titus remained motionless, and I somehow resisted the urge to gag.
Yep. Definitely dead.
“Right. Well, have a good walk.”
“You too, dear. And Dex?” She paused at the end of the aisle. “Be happy. You deserve it. Don’t let fear keep you from something good.”
Then she was gone, trailed by the faint smell of death and old pennies.
I stood there in the hardware aisle, heart pounding, supplies forgotten.
Someone had seen us. People were talking. Mrs. Shulster knew, which meant it was only a matter of time before the entire Wednesday Lunch Club knew, which meant half the town would know by Sunday.
We’d been so careful. Or at least we’d thought we had been.
But in a small town, careful wasn’t careful enough.
I grabbed my supplies on autopilot, paid without really seeing the cashier, and headed out to my truck.
Once inside, I sat with my hands on the steering wheel, trying to breathe normally.
I needed to tell Leigh. Needed to warn her that our secret was getting out.
But more than that, I needed to convince her that we had to tell her family. Before someone else did. Before it became the kind of secret that felt like a betrayal.
I pulled out my phone and called her.
“Hey,” she answered on the second ring, sounding happy. “What’s up?”
“I ran into Mrs. Shulster at the hardware store.”
“Billie’s aunt? The one with the dead dog that she insists is just sleeping? Honestly, I can’t wait to meet her. She’s the stuff of legend and I really need a picture of the dog for Wren.”
Despite everything, I smiled. “That’s the one. And yeah, that dog is definitely dead. I just saw one of its eyes move independently of the other.”
“Gross.” She laughed, and I could hear the smile in her voice. “What did she want?”
“She knows about us. And she said people are talking.”
Silence.
“Leigh?”
“How is that possible?” Her voice had changed, become smaller. “We’ve been so careful. We haven’t been seen together anywhere public except for wedding stuff.”
“I know. But this is Willowbrook. Someone saw my truck at my house on a weeknight. Your car there on Sunday. In a town this size, patterns are noticed.”
“Oh God.” I could hear her breathing, could imagine her pacing. “They’re going to find out. From gossip. Before we’re ready. They’ll never forgive us for keeping it a secret.”
“Which is why we need to tell them. Soon. Before someone else does.”
“Dex…”
“I’m serious, Leigh. Mrs. Shulster was nice about it. She said Billie didn’t tell her anything, but that just means people are starting to notice things. Secrets don’t stay secret here, Leigh. And the longer we wait, the worse it gets.”
“I know. I just... I’m not ready.”
“Then when will you be ready? Because I don’t want Trace or Xander or any of them hearing about this from Mrs. Harper at the grocery store or someone at the diner. I… I thought keeping this to ourselves was for the best, but I’m seeing now that this is just going to hurt them even more.”
“I know!” Her voice cracked. “I know, okay? I just need time to figure out what to say. How to explain that this is just temporary and not some huge complicated thing that’s going to mess up the family dynamics.”
The word “temporary” hit me like a punch to the gut.
“Right,” I said, and even I could hear how flat my voice sounded. “Temporary.”
“Dex, that’s what we agreed.”
“I know what we agreed.”
Silence stretched between us, thick and uncomfortable.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked quietly.
“No. I’m not mad. I’m just...” I ran a hand through my hair. “I’m worried. About what happens when they find out from someone else. About what happens when this becomes the thing you hid instead of the thing you told them about.”
“You’re right.” She sighed. “We’ll be more careful. No more overnight visits. We only see each other when it makes sense for wedding planning.”
“So we’re hiding.”
“We’re being smart. There’s a difference.”
“Is there? Because it feels like we’re ashamed of this. Like we think it’s something wrong.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it? If this is just some temporary summer thing, why does it matter if people know? Why are we hiding?”
“Because it’s private! Because I don’t want the pressure of everyone watching us, waiting to see if we fail. Because I just want to enjoy what we have without making it into some big family drama!”
She was right. I knew she was right.
But something about the way she said “temporary summer thing” made me want to argue anyway. Made me want to say that this didn’t feel temporary to me. That I was starting to care more than I’d planned. That the idea of her leaving in August made me feel like I couldn’t breathe.
But we’d made an agreement. She had a life in Blue Point Bay. I had a life here. This had always had an expiration date.
I didn’t get to change the rules just because I was starting to want more.
“Okay,” I said finally. “We’ll be more careful.”
“Thank you.” She sounded relieved. “I’ll see you at the band auditions tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah. I’ll be there.”
“Okay. And Dex?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry. For making this complicated.”
“You’re not making it complicated. It just is.”
“Right. Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow, and we can figure out how we’re going to tell them and when.”
“See you tomorrow.”
I hung up and sat in my truck, staring at the phone.
This was getting messy. Complicated. Exactly what we’d said it wouldn’t be.
And I had no idea how to fix it.
Or if I even wanted to.
Because despite the complications, despite the secrets and the fear and the knowledge that this was all going to end in a few weeks, I couldn’t bring myself to regret it.
Not when being with Leigh felt like the first time I’d been fully alive in years.