by Danica Avery
She dropped her hand from his face and gently touched his torso. He tensed without even thinking about it. “I just worry about you. After what those men did...”
Burley frowned. Thinking about Earl and what they had done to his truck, and then to him; they wanted him gone. If he left, it would be giving them exactly what they wanted.
“Movin’ away would be letting them win,” he muttered.
“Yeah, I guess so...” Dove replied. She dropped her hand again and ran her fingers through her hair.
“Is somethin’ wrong?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“No. I’m fine. Just worried about you.”
Burley reached to take a hold of her hand. He gave it a soft squeeze before lifting it to his lips. “I’m good, darlin’. More than good. ‘Cause I got you.”
Dove smiled at him. He leaned in to give her a kiss on the lips. It was a short, affectionate kiss. A kiss to show how much she meant to him and how much he loved her. Life was rough for him in Heart’s Peak, but she had certainly made it easier.
“What about you? You still gonna sell everything?” he asked, pulling back from the kiss.
Dove’s demeanor completely changed with that question. Her eyes went wide and then she was pulling away from him. It caught him off guard.
“Umm. I... I don’t know,” she stammered.
“Dove, I didn’t mean anything--” he started, but she cut him off.
“No, I know. It’s alright. I just don’t want to talk about it,” she said quickly.
“Okay, we don’t--”
“I’m going inside!” she snapped. Then she was turning her back on him. She strode away in quick, brisk steps towards the house.
Burley was left standing there at a complete loss for words. Did that just happen?
23
Dove
“What am I going to do...?”
Dove let out a sigh after speaking the words to herself. She sat in her car outside of the Piggly Wiggly. She came into town to get groceries, but the entire drive, her mind was on something else. She was still thinking about the will.
When Burley had asked her the other day about her plans, she panicked. She felt stupid about running away from him, but what was she supposed to say? Answering as if nothing had changed would be dishonest. It would’ve felt like she was committing to keeping the will a secret. At the same time, she wasn’t ready to come clean, because she didn’t know if she was going to. So many things were up in the air... and she didn’t know where any of it was going to come down.
Things were going great with Burley. Unbelievably great. She could imagine herself spending the rest of her life with that man. But how would they work out? She wanted to tell him about the will, sell the place, then bring him back to New York to live happily with him in the city. That seemed so perfect in her mind.
Yet when she brought up the question of him leaving Heart’s Peak, he wasn’t keen on moving away. If neither one of them wanted to move, how would they last? Was this doomed to be a short relationship? If it was, and if she handed over the will, she’d be left alone with nothing but debt and heartache.
Her phone’s ringtone jolted her from her thoughts. She fished it out of her purse and saw Aria’s name on the screen under her friend’s smiling picture. She swiped to answer the call.
“Hey, Aria,” she said, putting the phone to her ear, hiding her distress from her voice.
“Hey, girl!” Aria replied. “I haven’t heard from you in a while. How’s it going?”
Dove wasn’t sure how to answer such a simple question with a simple answer. There was so much she hadn’t told her friend. She no longer saw Burley in a bad light, but his history was still serious and sensitive, and she didn’t feel right gossiping about it to Aria over the phone. She’d rather explain it to her in person, whenever she got back home.
Then again, if things were going to be over with Burley, it wouldn’t even matter...
“Going good, I guess,” she answered. Aria could hear her lack of enthusiasm.
“Oh, what’s wrong? The house giving you trouble, or did something happen with your hottie?”
Dove sighed and leaned back in her driver's seat. “Things are actually amazing with my hottie. And the house is coming along good too.”
“Okay... then what’s got you sounding so down?”
“I’m stressed over what’s going to happen when I leave. We live so far apart, you know?”
“Oh... Yeah. That really kinda sucks,” Aria said with a frown in her voice.
“It does suck. What we have is so perfect and I’m worried it’s gonna all just be over,” Dove felt depressed even saying those words out loud.
“Aww, Dove, don’t say that! Have you talked to him about what you guys are gonna do?”
“No...” Dove admitted. “But he said he doesn’t want to move away. And my life’s in New York. I don’t know how we can make this work.”
“It’s a tough situation... but maybe you can work something out. Even if it means being long distance for a while.”
Dove scoffed at that idea. She loved that her friend was supportive, Aria was her best friend for a reason, but she was never interested in a long distance relationship. She doubted Burley would be either. He didn’t even have a cell phone.
Of course, she totally understood why he gave up his cell, after that tragic accident. But without one, they couldn’t text. They couldn’t send pictures back and forth. They’d only have phone calls, or maybe video chat if he used a computer. It didn’t sound appealing at all. Hearing his voice or looking at a video of his face, without being able to touch him, sounded like torture.
“I dunno. If I’m going to be with him, I wanna be with him,” Dove replied.
“Well... You really need to talk to him. Maybe he’ll surprise you.”
“Maybe,” Dove said, though in her heart, she felt she might have to say goodbye.
She talked with Aria for a while longer. Aria got her laughing by telling her about a date she had that was both awful and hilarious. She joked that Dove needed to hang onto her man because at least one of them deserved to have a good one. Dove was amused, but she still found herself feeling depressed after they hung up.
She finally went inside the store, but she ended up just aimlessly pushing a cart down the aisles as her thoughts were stuck on more serious matters. She paused in the middle of an empty aisle and pulled some folded paper out of her purse.
The Last Will and Testament of Bennett Donoghue.
She looked at it in her hands. Honesty or security. The two fought in her mind like kids on a seesaw. What if this, what if that, what if, what if. She was going to ‘what if’ herself into an early grave if she didn’t make a decision.
Okay, enough of the games. She knew, deep down, that she had been swaying one way more than the other these last few days. She could tell herself differently all she wanted, but she knew what she was going to do. She decided, then and there, to just go with her gut. No more debates.
A sense of confidence washed over her. She glanced around, finding the aisle still empty, and stashed the document back into her purse. She didn’t know what was going to happen with her and Burley, if she’d be heading back to New York alone, but she did finally know what to do about the inheritance.
Now, she needed to figure out the rest.
She abandoned her cart and left the grocery store. She dug her phone out as she was returning to her car. She called the number for Burley’s house and fumbled for her keys as she waited forever for him to answer.
“Hello?” Burley’s voice came over the line after several rings. He sounded as if he had just rushed to the phone.
“Hey. It’s me,” Dove replied.
“Oh, hey, hun. You caught me just as I was heading out the door. You need somethin’?”
“Yeah. Can you come meet me? In town?” she asked.
“Yeah, okay. At the hardware store?” he replied.
“No, I was thinking at a
restaurant. We need to talk,” she said. There was a pause before Burley answered.
“You wanna just talk when you get home?” he asked.
“I’d rather you come meet me,” she insisted.
Burley sighed. “Okay, I’ll be there.”
She appreciated him coming despite how he’d clearly rather not. She thanked him for it and they decided on a place to meet. They settled on Martha’s Kitchen, a local family-owned sort of restaurant that boasted the best waffles in the county. It was just down the road from the Piggly Wiggly, so close that she could walk if she wanted.
For now, she decided to wait there in her car, where it was parked. She knew it would take Burley a little while to make the drive into town. She practiced the conversation in her head, anticipating all the different ways it could play out. She tried to be hopeful like Aria but she had worry burrowing an ugly hole in her chest. Their future together just didn’t seem within reach.
24
Burley
Burley hadn’t been to Martha’s Kitchen since before the accident. He didn’t feel enthused to be going there now. What could Dove possibly want to talk about that needed to be said in a restaurant?
He didn’t know. She had been acting strange ever since he asked her if her plans had changed. Her strange reaction answered his question without her needing to spell it out for him. She still planned to sell everything and move back to New York City. When that happened, the two of them would be over. He didn’t know if he could let her go that easily.
When she asked him if he’d ever move away from Heart’s Peak, it wasn’t that he was entirely against the idea. Of course moving had crossed his mind. Starting over in some place new, where he could go back to living a normal life, how could that not sound appealing?
At the same time, Heart’s Peak was where he had lived his entire life. He knew the town like the back of his hand. Learning a new place would be intimidating. Not to mention, he’d be giving Earl and the boys exactly what they wanted. He’d be proving Earl right about him being a coward, and that just didn’t sit well with him.
If it meant keeping Dove, maybe it would all be worth it. His heart ached to think of her leaving. If he never got to see her sweet smile again, he didn’t know if he could stand it. Just those days apart had been torture. He needed that woman in his life.
He pulled his truck into a public parking lot. Martha’s Kitchen was just down the street from the lot. He pushed his door open and stepped out into the heart of town for the first time in months. A rush of panic washed over him. He felt half tempted to get back in his truck and drive home. Tell Dove he couldn’t do it.
Thankfully, that feeling passed. He shut the door to his truck and stepped onto the sidewalk. He had his long hair tied back in a low ponytail, and was wearing a trucker’s cap on his head. With luck, no one would recognize him.
He strode down the sidewalk, hands in his pockets, walking quickly and hoping that Dove was already there. He didn’t want to have to wait around for her. That would only draw attention to himself.
He kept his eyes held downward. As he was walking past Ollie’s Barbershop, he heard a bell jingle. It was the bell attached to the door at the barbershop.
“Well look who it is!” came a familiar voice behind him. Of all people, it was Earl. Burley could have kept walking. He could have tried to ignore him. But he knew it would be useless. Earl had already spotted him. He wasn’t going to let Burley leave without drawing a lot of attention.
Burley turned and looked at the other man with a frown on his face.
“I thought you’d be hightailin’ it out of town after the ass whoopin’ we gave ya,” Earl said. He closed the gap between them.
Burley narrowed his eyes. “I’m not goin’ anywhere.”
“Where’s that girl of yours? You know, I’d feel like a real pussy if I needed a woman to fight my battles for me,” Earl taunted.
Burley’s jaw tightened. He balled his fingers into a fist.
“She know what you done? ‘Cause if she does, and she still wants to be with your sorry ass, she must be as sick as you are.”
“Don’t talk about Dove,” Burley snarled.
“Or what? What’re you gonna do about it?”
Burley clenched his teeth. He took a quick glance around. There was a woman approaching them on the sidewalk. A man was across the street. It wouldn’t do him any good to get into a fight with Earl.
“What you lookin’ around for? She ain’t here to save your ass this time. You know, she’s lucky I didn’t hit her back when she came at me. Might of knocked some sense into her.”
Suddenly, Burley lunged at the other man. He grabbed him by the cloth of his shirt and shoved him up against the glass window of the barbershop. He had tried to hold back. He knew better than to get into a fight with Earl. He just couldn’t tolerate him talking about Dove. The thought of Earl so much as laying a finger on her filled him with a rage he hadn’t felt in a very long time.
“I told you not to talk about her!” he snapped.
“I’ll say whatever the fuck I wanna say! Get off me!” Earl gripped at Burley’s arms as he squirmed against the window. Earl wasn’t a very big guy. Burley was much bigger than him. The only reason Earl had gotten the upper hand on him before was because he had been outnumbered. He wasn’t outnumbered now.
“You’re gonna stay away from my place, you hear? Away from my truck, and far away from Dove,” Burley threatened him. Inside the barbershop, the owner had noticed what was going on. He walked towards the door.
“What are you gonna do, Burley? You gonna kill me too?”
Burley let go of Earl’s shirt, and slammed his fist against the window beside Earl’s head. A loud thunder bellowed off the glass and Earl flinched, leaning away from Burley’s fist.
“Who’s the coward now?” Burley asked. He gripped Earl’s shirt again and tossed the smaller man towards the sidewalk.
The door to the barbershop opened and Ollie stepped outside. “What’s going on here? Earl, you alright?”
“I’m fine,” Earl grunted. He pushed himself up to his feet. His face was red with embarrassment. Burley was already walking away.
That felt good. Burley would have loved to wipe the floor with that asshole, and really show him that he didn’t need Dove to fight his battles for him. When he was younger, he probably would have. Becoming a cop had taught him a lot about restraint. Besides, he was smart enough to know he wouldn’t have been able to get away with it, if he kicked Earl’s ass right in the middle of town. If Earl ever stepped foot on his property again, he wasn’t going to hold back.
He continued on his way to Martha’s Kitchen. He could see it up ahead, and there standing on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant was Dove. She was holding something in her hands. Looked like paper perhaps.
He picked up his pace, feeling eager to close the gap between them. He was smiling without even realizing it. Seeing her instantly made him feel more confident about being in town. It was hard to feel anxious when Dove was around.
She didn’t seem to notice him. She was staring off in the opposite direction. As he got closer, he heard what sounded like tires squealing.
He turned his head to see an old Buick. It was weaving through the street. The driver had clearly lost control and it was heading straight towards Martha’s Kitchen. Straight towards Dove!
“Dove!” He burst into a run. Adrenaline coursed through him. His heart was pounding in his ears, as his boots were pounding against the pavement. She turned to the source of his voice and then she noticed the car. A scream of terror escaped her just before Burley slammed into her.
His strong arms shoved her out of the way. She landed safely out of the car’s reach. Burley couldn’t say the same for himself. There was a sound of bent metal and then pain. Nothing but pain. His body was thrown from the impact of the car and everything went dark.
25
Dove
Dove stood helplessly in a waiting room in th
e town’s sole hospital. She was pacing around, unable to sit still. A clock on the wall ticked away the seconds, loud in the quiet room.
Tick, tick, tick...
Thinking back, so much was a blur. Burley shouting her name, the car barreling toward her... She was pushed out of the way, lost her balance, heard an awful crunch of metal meeting flesh.
She saw Burley lying unconscious on the ground.
“Dove?”
A nurse’s voice snapped her attention. Dove was quick to respond and the nurse led her back to one of the rooms in the Emergency section. Well, they weren’t rooms at all, more like beds separated by walls of curtains.
She found Burley looking remarkably well. The tension that had been holding her heart tight since the accident was suddenly released. She let out a wavering breath and ran to his bedside to hug him.
Burley seemed to share the same relief, at seeing her safe, and she could feel it in the way he embraced her. For a long moment, neither of them spoke. They held each other, thankful that they were both alive and well.
“Burley, I was so scared! Are you okay? Are you really okay?” Dove asked when she finally pulled back. She looked over him, worry on her features.
She saw a fresh cast on his left forearm. His right arm had what looked like road rash, and there were various other cuts and scrapes on him, but she didn’t see any serious damage.
“Yeah, darlin’, I’m fine. Busted my arm and hit my head, but it’s nothing I can’t shake off,” Burley said, reaching to take her hand with his cast-free one.
Dove held his hand and sat on the edge of his bed. She wanted to throw herself at him, lean against him and never let him go. She refrained because he was probably sore. She squeezed his hand instead, and capped her other hand over them both.
“That could’ve been so much worse. It could’ve killed you!”
“It didn’t. And thank God it didn’t hit you either,” he said, and his voice was completely serious. He reached for her and pulled her close, and she leaned against him the way she had wanted. Burley kissed her forehead and held his arm around her.