Page 41 of Dove
Setting my pitchfork against the wall and dusting off my hands, I’d offered Gareth a polite smile and a simple, “Sure.”
Josh had glanced over his shoulder at me, eyes narrowed as if he knew just how I really felt. He probably did. In the years since moving here, he’d learned to read me like a well-loved book. It was almost eerie how he could pick up my moods, how he’d know instantly by the tone of my voice if something was wrong.
Which was why I was out here now, alone with my thoughts, peering out across the expansive backyard to the trees beyond, where the lake sat.
Because I could read Josh almost as well as he could read me.
Neither Josh or his truck were visible from this far away, not with the foliage dense and the silver light of the moon casting shadows, but I knew he was out there. I’d heard him creep passed my room, the distinct start of his truck following minuteslater. There was nowhere to go at this hour, so I lingered by my window, watching as it rounded the corner of the house and bumped slowly across the backyard, disappearing into the tree line and beyond.
He was alone out there, much like I was right now. And perhaps like me, he wanted some company. As much I enjoyed my solitude, there were days I craved someone to reach out to me, tonoticethat I was struggling, and I think Josh was having one of those days.
This past week had been tough on him, with the arrival of another new horse, his dad’s never-ending laundry list of expectations hanging like a weight around his neck, and a calculus test he’d failed on Wednesday, despite all the studying he’d done for it. Tonight, the final straw had come just before we’d gone to bed. I’d heard his phone ring through the wall. His hushed, muffled voice resigned in a way that could only mean one thing.Stella.
Disgust curled on my lips. I had no idea what he saw in her.
Josh deserved someone better, someone who could see beyond their own nose andgivelove just as much as Josh gave.
Someone like you,whispered a treacherous voice that sounded suspiciously like my own, and my stomach flipped as I balked.
No, notme.
But… someone who loved him just as fiercely as I did.
I was pushing off the steps before I’d even fully made up my mind, my feet carrying me across the lawn in the direction of the lake. The cicadas buzzed louder in welcome as I drew closer, the visible part of the lake shimmery with moonlight, beckoning me. The water stretched beyond, cloistered by trees, and in order to get to the farthest side of the lake, where the dock resided, I had to skirt the edge of the water and follow along the dirt trail hugged by thick woods. Hairs raised along my arms as I steppeddeeper into the darkened gloom, the faint silvery light from the moon only visible through slim gaps in the treetops.
I didn’t fear the darkness, but it was a little unsettling to walk through it alone—especially when it was home to any number of wild animals. I’d only ever ventured out here with Josh, never by myself. When a branch snapped under my foot, I startled, my steps quickening as my heartbeat climbed.
When the trees thinned, giving way to a small clearing on the other side of the ginormous lake, Josh’s truck a red smudge in the reflecting moonlight. It was parked away from the water, the tailgate facing the dock, meaning Josh wouldn’t see me coming.
Quieting my steps, anticipation built in me as I imagined catching him unaware. Caught in a constant game of one-upping each other, we’d perfected unique ways to scare the pants off one another around the farm. It broke up the monotony of chores—waiting around corners, leaping from behind doors. Once, I’d stayed wedged between two hay bales for nearly half an hour just to get him. There was no shortage of hiding spots if you got creative enough. He’d gotten me a few days ago, jumping out from behind the chicken coop. Now it was my turn. Maybe I’d even scare the melancholy right out of him.
Crouched low, I inched closer, picturing him stretched out along the back of his truck, gazing innocently at the sky—completely unaware I was creeping up. Until…
“Gotcha!” I leapt around the front of the tailgate, adding extra volume for maximum scare factor. My voice echoed in the still night, and somewhere in the distance an owl hooted, affronted by the disruption—probably angry I’d scared off its prey.
Only a rumpled comforter greeted me in an otherwise empty truck bed. Confusion and worry twisted together in the pit of my stomach. Where could he possibly?—
“You really thought you got me, huh?” Josh’s voice came from so close behind me, I swear I felt the puff of his breath along my ear.
The scream my lungs produced had my cheeks flaming with embarrassment, and I spun around reflexively, lashing out to smack him hard against the arm.
“Ow.” He frowned, rubbing the spot I’d just hit. “No need for abuse.”
My hand rested over my thundering heart. “No need to nearly frighten me todeath,asshole!”
He laughed, his lips quirking up in that way that had me sighing throughout the day whenever I thought of it.
No, I chastised myself, that jerk wasnotcute. My heart wasstillracing!
“Oh, but it’s perfectly fine to do it to me?” He raised an eyebrow questioningly, eyes still sparkling with his victory of scaring me.
“That’s different,” I griped. “You were owed a scare. Just you wait, now I’ve got to get you back double.”
He released an incredulous huff. “Oh, really?”
I nodded resolutely, already thinking of the many hiding spaces I could squeeze into to get him back for this.
The moon turned us into shadowy silhouettes, our features highlighted unevenly by silvery light, but that didn’t stop him from searching my face. “What are you doing out here anyway, Dove? It’s late.”
