Dove

25. Josh

JOSH

A bell above the door jingled as I stepped inside the local auto shop, the smell of grease and gasoline instantly assaulting my nose.

The distance sound of a drill whirring halted, and someone’s voice shouted from the attached garage that they’d be right out.

I waited patiently in the dusty, outdated lobby until Rodney came walking out from the back, his gait uneven.

Somehow, he looked exactly the same as he had when I left: old, grey, and perpetually frowning.

His eyes roved over me, up and down, before he glanced over my shoulder toward the wide storefront window, where my SUV was parked just out front.

“You pickin’ up parts from here ?” he asked in a gruff voice which held just as much skepticism as his eyes.

I’d been out all morning, running errands I neglected because my focus since arriving had been on more important things—like Dove and the farm.

I made a quick stop to the Walmart just outside of town to grab some clothes, eyeballing sizes off the rack and praying they’d fit.

I was sick of wearing the clothes found in my gym bag, the only ones I came with, or hunting through old clothes in my room that I barely fit into anymore.

After that, I gunned it to the cellular store for a replacement phone, another thing I desperately needed.

At least now I could give Ollie a call, although he’d reassured me to take my time and call him whenever I was ready.

Despite that, I owed him an update on how everything was going.

I’d have to somehow break the news that I may not be back any time soon. Or ever.

There was still too much to do with the farm, and I was elbows-deep into unraveling the state my father had left it in. Not just physically, but financially. I added those calls onto my mental to-do list.

That left Rodney and Dell as my last stops of the day, which would also likely end up taking the longest. Then I’d be on my way back home to Dove.

“Yes, sir,” I confirmed, holding back my amused smile.

Around these parts, it was trucks and tractors and not much else. My ride screamed “outsider,” and I was getting the non-local treatment because of it. Despite the fact I’d known Rodney “Hot Rod” Snyder since I was a little boy.

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Whatcha pickin’ up?”

I rattled off the parts I was here for, and he scanned the various papers spread out in front of him on the desk before picking one up and squinting at it, the wrinkles of his forehead creasing.

Despite the pair of readers lying right next to him, he opted to ignore them in favor of holding the paper up and away to read it.

“Joshua?” he confirmed.

I hummed in agreement.

“Wait a dang minute.” His eyes widened in recognition, and he set the paper back down. “You’re Hex’s boy.”

I sighed internally. This was small town living, I reminded myself. This was why Dove and I wouldn’t stand a chance if we made our relationship public. This town forgot nothing and no one—no matter how many years passed by.

“Yes, sir,” I repeated, brusquer than I meant it to be.

“Sorry to hear about your pa,” he apologized somberly. He dipped his head in respect. “He was a good man.”

He was a good man to everyone but his own son .

“He’ll be missed,” I forced out. The words tasted like ash on my tongue, and a sharp stab of guilt coursed through me. It was sad that the local mechanic was more sorrowful about Gareth’s passing than his own son.

He rested his hip against the desk. “We was wondering where you ran off too, son.” His eyes sized me up with clear curiosity. “Got bit by the city bug, did ya?”

I remained silent, knowing that whatever I said would be fodder for local gossip.

I wanted to remain out of Haven’s scrutiny for as long as I could.

We were already the focus of the town’s attention because of our parents’ passing, I didn’t want to give them anything more to talk about.

And believe me, they didn’t need much to go off of.

Gossip in Haven was like fire during a drought—one tiny spark could become a raging wildfire within minutes.

Best to remain under the radar, especially now that Dove’s and my budding relationship was something neither of us wanted the town to find out about.

“Well.” Rodney coughed, as if realizing I was a paying customer. “I’ll go get your order.” He picked up the invoice lying on the desk, eyes skimming it once before he made his way into the back.

I let out a tired exhale once he was gone.

It wasn’t anywhere close to living in the city, but Marleysville was built up a hell of a lot more than Haven was.

I didn’t know everyone there, for starters.

Hell, I barely knew my neighbors. Here if you didn’t wave to someone, you’d find yourself walking into a bar that went quiet, or every eye set on you when you went grocery shopping, whispers following you down the aisle.

Haven was a small, tight-knit town, but that only meant that word traveled fast and fierce through the community.

I had a feeling I’d be the next topic of conversation after this.

Shaking my head, I pulled out my phone and messaged the only contact I’d programmed into it so far.

How’s your day going, beautiful? I hit send, and my text sent with a whoosh .

I wasn’t sure what Dove was up to this morning, or if she’d even had her phone with her, so I wasn’t anticipating a quick reply, but to my surprise, my phone pinged a moment later.

I’ll tell you the moment I know who this is.

I huffed a laugh at her sassy reply. Typical Dove.

Figures you’d have enough men calling you beautiful I’d get lost in the crowd.

Who is this

Her lack of punctuation had me chuckling.

I’ll give you one guess, little dove.

My phone rang a moment later.

“Figure it out yet?” I teased.

“What are you up to?” Her voice carried an edge of suspicion, but I could practically hear the smile on her face.

“Running errands, like I told you.”

“You said you were going to pick up parts.”

“I am, I just had a few other stops to make before that.”

“Well,” she huffed, her voice strained like she was picking up something heavy, “don’t break this one.”

Over the line, I heard her murmur softly, as if she was talking to someone else.

“I’ll try not to,” I replied. Then when curiosity got the best of me, I asked, “What are you doing?”

“Attempting to lure Clover out in the field,” she replied, worry clear in her voice. “I don’t think she’s feeling too well, Josh. She doesn’t want to leave her stall. We might have to call the vet.”

“We’ll keep an eye on her,” I promised.

Hopefully she was just having an off day.

A vet visit was pricey, especially for farm animals since it required a traveling vet to come out.

The farm was already in a tenuous financial situation, although I didn’t say that to Dove.

I wasn’t entirely sure she knew, and I hadn’t mentioned it yet.

Knowing my father, he likely hadn’t been very forthcoming about it.

No surprise there. She wouldn’t care, though.

Dove loved the animals so much; she’d do anything for them, enough money or not.

If we could get this harvest to work in our favor this year, we could skirt by until we figured something out.

I’d been meaning to bring it up to her, but with everything going on…

I kept it to myself. Dove didn’t need more bad news.

I was taking care of it, looking over our options.

I just needed a bit more time before I brought it up.

Clover whinnied and a second later Dove’s gentle voice replied, soothing and affectionate. My heart panged in my chest, overwhelmed by just how amazing this girl was. Thoughtful, sweet, and unbearably beautiful, I wondered how in the world I got to call her mine.

I wondered if I’d get to keep calling her mine.

Rodney came shuffling out of the back room with boxes loaded in his arms just as the thought crossed my mind, saving me from spewing the mushy thoughts out loud to Dove.

“Got to go,” I rushed out quick, hurrying over to hold the door open. “I’m heading to Dell’s after this, but I’ll be home soon, okay?”

“Alright,” she replied warmly. “Don’t rush. I’m good here.” She paused for a moment before adding, “Be safe.”

I couldn’t stop the pleased smile at hearing those two little words. That was how she used to always end her calls to me. “Always.”

When the phone beeped, signaling the end of our call, I shoved it into my back pocket and fished out my keys, holding the door as I pressed the button to open the trunk.

“Fancy,” Rodney commented with a derisive snort as he passed by. “Right there in the back?”

“Yeah.” I followed a step behind him, making sure he or the boxes didn’t fall. “Need any help with that?”

He grunted, which I took for a solid I don’t need your help, boy.

Three years away and I still spoke local-ese.

Once everything was stacked in the back, I pressed the button just inside the trunk that caused it to close automatically.

As I ducked out from under it, I ignored Rodney’s quiet scoff and cynical grousing as it shut and locked with a quiet mechanical whir.

Unable to help myself, I asked, “I can Venmo you, right?”

He looked at me like I’d grown another head. “We take good old fashion American dollars at this here establishment. None of that fake internet money you kids are dabblin’ in these days.” With that, he turned his back to me and made his way back into the shop.

“Good thing I’ve got some of that,” I replied in amusement as I followed him in.

He ignored me as he shuffled toward his desk, settling behind it as he began calculating my total in nearly the same way Dell had, probably adding on a few extra dollars for outsider tax.

Would it kill this town to welcome the modern age?

Some of my father’s manners must have still been ingrained in me, because I refrained from taking my phone out while I waited, knowing it would seem rude.

I curbed the urge to text Dove again, not wanting to bug her while she’s busy, and instead inspected the shop more closely, trying to spot any noticeable changes from what I could remember it looking like.

Not much had changed, which was unsurprising. Although the corkboard behind Rodney was filled with more colorful flyers than before, all of them pinned over each other, creating a collage of old and new events.

A bright red flyer with the outline of a giant strawberry caught my eye.

Haven’s 85 th annual County Fair and Strawberry Festival

Come on out and have a BERRY good time with friends and family!

It boasted food contests, games, live music, and more.

The flyer might change each year, but the festival was always the same.

It started off family-friendly, but as the night went on, it turned into a lively party, with people dancing, drinking, and getting increasingly inventive with the leftover strawberries—and the booze.

Dove and I had gone almost every summer, usually after our chores were finished and the heat died down, right after families scurried home with tired children but just before the real fun began.

One year we’d gotten into a pie eating contest, a group of my friends and Dove, who nobody believed could out eat us teenage boys.

I was the only one who bet for her rather than against her.

Won myself quite a bit of money that night.

Unfortunately, another flyer was covering the date and time, so I cleared my throat and causally asked, “Strawberry fest’s coming up, huh?”

“Yessir,” Rodney answered without bothering to look up, “s’always about this time of year.”

“Happen to know when?”

At that he did glance up, under the reader’s he’d slipped on.

“Forgot already?” He tsked in disappointment. “It’s always the third Saturday in July.”

Something in his tone irked me, reminding me of my father, and my back stiffened defensively.

I wouldn’t let his offhanded comment get to me.

I’d rarely paid attention to that kind of stuff before, always being dragged by Dove, who managed to know when and where anything local was transpiring at any given moment.

It had nothing to do with me forgetting, but it wasn’t worth correcting him.

Instead, I fished out my phone. Rudeness be damned.

Seeing the flyer had sparked an idea, and I wasn’t about to pass it up.

Dove deserved to go out somewhere. She’d seemed to have a blast at the bar when we’d been dancing, and I wondered how long it had truly been since she’d gotten to do something like that.

I had no idea, but I know who would, and I was about to be heading her way.

I just hoped she’d help me out.

The sun was low as I made my way back to the farm, flirting with the top of the tree line as I followed the driveway down to the house.

I slowed to a stop right outside the garage so I could drop off the parts.

It only took me a few trips to have them all stacked in a neat pile on my workbench.

With the last few tucked under my arm, I closed the trunk, startling slightly when I rounded the side to see Dove leaning against the driver’s side door, eyebrows raised.

“Get lost in town?” she asked, arms crossed. “You were gone awhile.”

There was no way I was spoiling my plans, and I’d vowed Reverie to secrecy, which meant there was a good chance Dove already knew, but I wasn’t going to break on the off chance she’d kept her word.

“Rodney and Dell still use the abacus to tally their orders,” I joked.

“Stop,” she chastised me as she followed me into the garage, but her laughter gave her away.

“I’m serious! I offered them my calculator on my phone, but they’d sooner consort with the devil than use technology.”

I set the parts down with the rest. When I turned to face Dove, her smile had faded.

The humor was gone in her voice as she relayed, “Clover’s still in her stall. She took some sugar cubes, but it wasn’t enough to entice her out.” She bit her lip, worried. “That’s so unlike her.”

Concern was heavy in her voice. I wanted to rub the crease that had formed between her eyebrows. Instead, I grabbed her hand and pulled, hugging her to my chest. “Let’s watch her the next few days, and we’ll call the vet if she keeps acting off.”

She nodded, relaxing against me, but worry lingered in her eyes.

“Want to help me fix the truck?” I hadn’t really wanted to start working on anything tonight, but I knew Dove used to love helping me fix stuff up. Maybe it would take her mind off Clover for a little while.

At the offer her worried frown changed to a small, tentative smile. “I’d like that.”

I leaned down to plant a kiss on her lips, just because I could.

“So would I,” I told her.

More than she knew.