“Do I look like someone who’s getting married?” She slid her fingers over her cheek.
“I― What?” Joseph could only gape at her. What was she saying? That she wasn’t . . . “You mean you’re not getting married?” Dare he let himself hope?
“No.” She gave an ironic laugh and shoved her chair backwards as she stood. “I am most definitely not getting married.”
“Oh.” Joseph stood too, following as she barreled out the door and down the street. “That’s great . . . I mean . . .” He trailed off. She was a dozen steps ahead of him and likely wouldn’t hear anything he said. Not that he knew what to say.
Ask her out, you idiot.
But his brain seemed incapable of forming the question. And considering that she seemed determined to leave him in her dust, now might not be the best time to ask.
Instead, he met her at the door to his office, unlocking it and helping her get Griffin settled into her vehicle, glad to have something to focus on other than his own confusion.
“Thanks.” Ava jumped into her SUV.
“Wait. Ava.”
She shook her head but didn’t close her car door.
“Did something happen? I mean, were you supposed to get married and . . .” If some jerk had hurt her . . . Joseph tensed.
“I was never engaged, Joseph. I haven’t even―” She broke off and reached for her car door, but Joseph intercepted her.
“Why would Lori―”
That’s not the important question.
But it was too late to take it back.
Ava shrugged. “No idea. I’ll see you later.” She yanked the car door hard enough that Joseph had to let go.
As she backed out of her parking spot, Joseph was left with the morose thought that he’d never see her again, if she had her way.
But if she wasn’t getting married, that meant―
Oh, he was definitely going to see her again.
Chapter 6
Aunt Lori picked up the empty coffee pot and sighed. “I see you haven’t forgiven me yet.”
“Nope.” Ava kept her eyes on her phone, pretending to read the same article she’d been staring at for ten minutes.
“It’s been five days. And I’ve said sorry like a hundred times. Do you want me to go and tell him I’m sorry too?”
Ava couldn’t help it. She had to look up. “Don’t you dare.”
Aunt Lori grinned, and Ava realized she’d been set up.
But if her aunt would go so far as to tell Joseph that Ava was engaged, who knew what else she was capable of. Ava hadn’t been able to make herself go into her studio all week for fear she’d run into Joseph in town and have to explain that not only was she not engaged, but she hadn’t had a date in the past eight years―and she didn’t expect she ever would again. She wasn’t naïve enough to think her appearance mattered that little. Besides, she’d seen the way people―men―looked at her: a combination of curiosity and repulsion.
Joseph doesn’t look at you like that.
But whatever he thought or didn’t think about her scars was irrelevant. Especially after what Aunt Lori had told him.
She covered her face. “It’s so humiliating. What could you possibly have hoped to accomplish by telling him I was getting married? Don’t you think he would have eventually realized something was up when I didn’t actually have a wedding?”
Lori sighed. “I don’t know. I just saw him standing there, asking about you like nothing had happened, and I snapped. I wanted him to know what he gave up.” She came to stand in front of Ava. “Look, I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to see you get hurt again.”
Ava sighed heavily. She knew Lori had meant well. And she supposed it was partly her own fault for letting Lori believe Joseph had been the one to end their relationship.
The doorbell chimed, and Ava and Lori both froze, staring at each other. Ava couldn’t remember the last time anyone had come to their door.
“Expecting someone?” Lori raised an eyebrow at her.
Ava snorted. “Are you? Your date from the other night, maybe?” Honestly, she’d been dying to ask Lori about that all week, but anger had won out over curiosity.
Lori shook her head, though her cheeks took on a girlish pink just as they had when she’d first told Ava she had a date.
The doorbell rang again, and they both jumped, then laughed together, the sound making the same sweet harmony it always had. Ava’s chest eased. She hated being mad at Aunt Lori.
“I’m sure it’s for you.” Ava gestured toward the door. “I’ll be in my room.”
As Lori hurried toward the door, Ava carefully disappeared down the hallway. Whoever it was, she didn’t feel like socializing at the moment―or ever, really. So different from the pre-fire days, when she’d never hesitated to talk to anyone and everyone.
“Joseph.” Aunt Lori’s greeting carried from the front door, and Ava froze.
She had checked her phone obsessively ever since she’d torn away from his office on Saturday. But he hadn’t called or texted even once.
Not that she was surprised. She’d always known that once he saw the extent of her scars―saw what the fire had done to the girl he’d once called beautiful―he would realize how lucky he was that she’d let him go.
So what was he doing here now?
She touched her hands to her face, thankful that she’d put on makeup today.
“We were just talking about you.” Lori’s venom-laced comment to Joseph set Ava’s feet in motion. Joseph did not need to know they’d been talking about him.
“Oh yeah?” Joseph’s warm reply came just as Ava reached the living room. His smile landed on her, and she had to stop where she was.
“All good, I hope.” He winked toward Ava.
“Well―” Lori started.
“What are you doing here?” Ava cut in.
Joseph’s smile didn’t falter. He held up a blue and white gift bag. “I came to check on Griffin. And to bring him this.”
“I― Oh.” Well, if he’d been trying to crack that safe around her heart a little farther open, that was certainly the way to do it. Not that he was trying to crack it. Or that she was going to let any of those old feelings out.
“He’s in the family room.” She turned abruptly, trusting Joseph would follow her. “I have to get to my studio soon, so . . .”
“I’ll make it quick.” Joseph’s voice came from right behind her, and she sped up, but not before his familiar scent―a refreshing mix of lemongrass and mint―could overtake her.
She made herself hold her breath until they reached the family room. “I’ve been keeping him in his kennel mostly, since otherwise he wants to run around.” She stepped toward the kennel, where Griffin lifted his head, his tail thumping hard enough to rattle the metal of his cage.
“Hey, boy. Good to see you.” Joseph knelt next to the kennel and eased it open, reaching in a hand before Griffin could get up and launch himself out. “Easy. Good boy.” He stuck his other hand into his bag and pulled out a bone, passing it to Griffin. “These are Tasha’s favorites.”
As the dog chomped the bone, Joseph ran his fingers over the healing wounds.
“Do you always do house calls?” Ava didn’t mean to ask, but Dr. Gallagher had never done them. Maybe this was a new service Joseph was starting.
“Only for my very favorite patients.” He glanced over his shoulder, shooting her a grin that made her heart balloon momentarily.
She crossed to the other side of the room and concentrated on straightening the already perfectly straight picture frames that hung on the wall above a narrow table.
“He looks good.” The kennel door squeaked as Joseph closed it.
“Okay.” Ava stared harder at the pictures, then reached for one above her head that really was crooked, feeling, rather than seeing, Joseph come up next to her. He leaned past her to straighten the frame she couldn’t reach. His nearness sent a shiver up her back, and she scooted to the other side of him so that her
left cheek wouldn’t be toward him.
But moving to this side did nothing to keep his familiar scent from toying with her memories.
“What happened to all the pictures of you?” Joseph’s face creased into a frown as he studied the wall. Ava looked at the framed pictures too: mostly landscapes, interspersed with a few pictures of Aunt Lori and Griffin and one or two of her parents―the only way Ava could remember their faces after so long.
She shrugged. “I wanted a place to display my work.”
She felt his eyes on her, but she didn’t owe him an explanation for why she no longer looked at pictures of who she used to be―and never allowed anyone to take pictures of who she was now.
She retreated toward Griffin’s kennel. The dog could give her moral support if nothing else.
“These are really good.” Joseph looked over his shoulder to smile at her, then turned back to the photos. “Who’s this little kid with Griffin?”
“That’s Dalton. He was a patient at the Children’s Hospital where Griffin and I do dog therapy.”
“Griffin’s a therapy dog?” Joseph gave the dog an impressed look.
“When he’s not wrestling with bears.”
“Looks like Dalton likes him.”
“He did, yeah.” Ava blinked. “He died a few months ago.”
Joseph sucked in a breath. “Ava, I’m sorry.”
She shook her head. “Thanks.” One thing working with the kids at the hospital always did was put things in perspective. There were a lot of kids dealing with a lot worse things than she’d gone through.
“How’d you get started doing that?” Joseph left the pictures and crossed the room to stand closer to her.
Why did he keep insisting on standing to her left? She slid past him and moved toward the picture windows that overlooked the backyard. “There was a woman with a therapy dog who visited the hospital when I was there. We all looked forward to their visits so much. When I came home, I knew I wanted to do that too. It took me a while to convince Aunt Lori to let me get a dog, but I’ve had him for about five years now. I never realized I could have such a strong bond with an animal.”
Ugh. Did that sound weird?
But Joseph’s smile was filled with understanding. “I’ve only had Tasha for a year, and I already feel that.”
“Have you ever considered training her to be a therapy dog?”
Wait.
What was she doing? She wasn’t supposed to be recruiting Joseph to her own hobbies.
But there weren’t enough therapy dogs for all the patients who needed them. If Joseph and Tasha could help . . .
“I don’t know.” Joseph shuffled his feet. “I tend to be better with animals than people. And Tasha’s a little wild.”
“She seems like a sweetheart. I’m sure with a little training, she’d be a hit.”
“And you could help me train her?” Joseph’s eyes landed on her.
Well, she’d pretty much walked right into that one, hadn’t she?
Ava looked out the window. “I could probably do that.”
“Good. We have a deal.” Joseph’s footsteps approached the window.
She shuffled to the side so he’d have no choice but to stand to her right.
“That where the bear was?” He pointed up the mountain slope.
She nodded, keeping her eyes focused outside. Not on him. “Up over there, you know where the clearing is . . .” She stopped herself. She didn’t need to remind him―or herself―of the picnics they’d shared up there. Of the lazy days they’d spent pointing at the clouds and dreaming of forever.
“Do me a favor and don’t hike up there anymore, all right?”
She shrugged. “I’ll be fine.”
“Ava―”
“Really, Joseph, you don’t have to worry.”
“What if it comes after you next time?” Joseph reached for her shoulder, but she sidestepped his hand.
She bit her tongue before she could say it wouldn’t matter. It wasn’t like a bear attack could make her face any worse. “It won’t.”
He gave her a hard look. “Don’t go alone at least.”
“I don’t. I have Griffin.”
Joseph crossed his arms and looked pointedly at the dog, who was pathetically trying to lick a patch of stitches on his back that he couldn’t quite reach.
Okay, maybe not her best argument.
But who else was she going to hike with?
Aunt Lori was always working―not to mention, she preferred viewing the great outdoors from the comfort of the great indoors, where there was air conditioning.
“Tell you what―” Joseph nudged her shoulder with his. “Tasha has been begging to get out for a hike. How about we go with you, once Griffin is fully recovered?”
“You don’t have to do that.” She didn’t need his pity offer.
“I want to. Please.” He turned his blue eyes on her, and Ava let out a heavy sigh. She didn’t have the willpower left to say no to those eyes. She nodded slowly. He’d likely forget about it anyway.
“Good.” Joseph looked satisfied. “And in the meantime, promise me you won’t go alone.”
The word promise rang in her ears. She and Joseph had made a pact long ago that any promise they made to each other they had to keep. So far, she’d only ever broken one promise to him―one she never should have made in the first place.
“Joseph, I’m not going to―”
But his eyes fell on her again.
She shook her head, but the words came out anyway. “Fine. I promise.”
“Good.” Joseph glanced at his phone. “I have to get to the office. But I’m trusting you to keep that promise.”
He was almost to the door when she remembered what she’d wanted to ask him. “How’d you know Griffin’s name?”
“What?” Joseph stopped, looking confused.
“When I brought him in last week, how’d you know his name before I told you?”
“Oh.” Joseph glanced at the floor for a second, then met her eyes. “I looked up your file.”
“Oh.” Ava had no idea what to make of that. She walked behind him to the door, then stood staring at it after he left.
So he’d looked up her file―or well, her dog’s file. That didn’t mean anything. He’d probably looked up every patient’s file.
And memorized every pet’s name?
Whatever. It didn’t matter.
And brought every pet a goody bag?
She couldn’t stop the thoughts.
If she stretched her imagination, she could pretend that Joseph was seeking her out. That he wanted another chance with her.
Stop, she ordered herself.
There was no point in getting her hopes up. Even if Joseph did want another chance, it was only because he remembered the girl she had been before. He’d realize soon enough that she wasn’t that girl anymore.
Chapter 7
“Earth to Joseph.”
Joseph lifted his head just in time to drop his phone and catch the football spiraling straight for him.
“Nice catch.” Zeb chuckled as Joseph tossed the ball back to him. “You up for a game, or what?”
“Yeah. Just a minute.” Joseph stooped and picked up his phone, which had fallen on the porch step. Fortunately, the thing was practically indestructible, though its case now boasted a nice chip in the corner.
Oh well. It would still serve its purpose. He glanced again at the short string of texts he’d exchanged with Ava over the past week.
Him: How’s Griffin?
Her: He’s good, thanks.
Him, next day: I’m looking for an office assistant. Have any recommendations?
Her: Not off the top of my head. I’ll let you know if I think of anyone.
Him, two days later: You’re still going to help me train Tasha, right?
Her: If you’re sure you want to do it.
Him: I’m sure.
That last one had been sent yesterday. He tapped on the message bo
x now, his fingers hovering over the keys. What could he say this time?
Him: How are Griffin’s stitches?
“Seriously, Joseph. Get your back end over here,” Zeb called. “It’s gonna be dark soon.”
“All right, all right.” With one last look at his phone to ensure Ava hadn’t responded, he set it on the porch railing, then jogged out to meet his brothers in the large front yard of their father’s house. They’d played more games of football out here than Joseph could count.
Back in high school, Ava would often come over after school and stay to watch them. He could almost picture her sitting on the steps now, smiling that special smile she’d always reserved for him, cheering whenever he made a play.
Maybe she would be sitting there again soon.
Yeah, because things are going so well with your reunion so far.
He chased away the thought. She just needed time. Soon enough, she would see that they were the same Ava and Joseph they’d always been.
“You got an emergency or something?” Zeb frowned at Joseph.
“No. Not today.” Although earlier in the week, he’d had to go to the office in the middle of the night to perform an emergency surgery on a black lab that had ingested a corncob. “Why?”
“Never seen a guy so attached to his phone.”
“Oh right. Like you and Carly didn’t text every second of the day until you got married.”
Zeb smirked. “So this is about a girl?”
“It’s― What’s about a girl?”
“Your obsession with your phone.”
Joseph shook his head, but Zeb laughed. “I’m happy for you, bro. I was starting to worry you’d never move on from Ava.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” If Joseph were a dog, he supposed his hackles would be standing on end right now.
“Whoa. Easy.” Zeb juggled the football from hand to hand. “Just that the past is the past, and it’s time to move on. I mean, you went through all of college and grad school without so much as looking at another―” He broke off, understanding dawning on his face. “It is Ava, isn’t it?”
Joseph tensed. “And what if it is?”
Pieces of Forever: A Christian Romance (River Falls Book 1) Page 4