Her cheeks are flushed a pretty pink, and the way she smiles, the slow blink of her eyes… Did I hit my head, or is it possible…Is Dove Rhodes looking at me the same way I always look at her?
A jackrabbit thumps in my chest, and all the summers we’ve spent together, all the years I never dared to say what I was thinking, all the times I wanted to ask if it would be okay if I kissed her…
I can’t let this moment go. I might not get it again.
My lips part, my breath quickens, and I’m about to ask, when a male voice cuts in on our moment.
“Here you are.” It’s Corey Hayes. This rich guy from town, who’s always “just dropping by” the place. “Didn’t you hear me calling? What happened?”
I’ve met him before. He’s like twenty-five or something, and the way he looks at Dove makes me want to punch him right in the nuts.
“Let me help you.” He reaches down to take Dove’s arm, and she lets out a yelp. “What’s this? You’re bleeding?”
My senses perk up, and I stand quickly. “Bleeding?”
“I must’ve cut my arm on the basket.” Dove sounds confused, and I’m right at her side.
“You’re not okay,” I say, touching her carefully.
That dick Corey steps right in front of me, blocking my view. “We’ve got to get you down to the house. This looks serious. You need stitches.”
“Don’t overreact,” Dove huffs, and I’m doing my best to get around this guy.
It’s too bad the Bradford growth spurt my uncles are always talking about hasn’t kicked in yet. I’d shove him aside.
“I’m taking her to the house. You, collect these peaches and meet us there.” Corey Hayes gives me a sharp order, and I almost snap back that he’s not my dad.
Only that would make me sound as immature as I feel right now.
“It’s okay, Mav.” Dove smiles, looking back at me before going with him. “They’re not ruined. You can save them.”
Her pretty face relaxes the fist in my chest. “Okay…”
Picking up the basket, I watch as Corey holds her arm, half leading, half dragging her down the hill to her parents’ house.
I look around at the fallen peaches we were gathering for ice cream. The sun is setting. Our family is waiting. They’re probably wondering what’s taking us so long.
I look up the hill at that tree where her grandfather’s spirit lives, then I look down at that peach that threw us to the ground. Dove’s soft body in my arms. It was the best ten seconds of my life so far.
You can save them… I start collecting the damaged fruit. Her smile glows in my brain.
We changed today. I don’t know where or how, but thiswas the beginning. Corey Hayes might’ve taken her away from me this time, but it won’t happen again.
1
DOVE
Present day
“I’ve always thought the orchard was perfect for weddings.” My mom leans against the front porch railing. “Every spring it’s like the cycle of life starting all over again.”
From where we sit, the sun transforms the dew into a silvery blanket covering the ground. It’s late fall, post-harvest, and the peach trees aren’t yet coated in the milky white blossoms that will appear in spring.
We’ll go through Christmas and New Year’s, Mardi Gras and Valentine’s day. The bright yellow-orange leaves will fall away, and the branches will become open palms, reaching craggled fingers upward to heaven.
“The peach blossoms are hope.” I’m sitting on the front porch swing with my best friend Boo. “It’s like all the mistakes are erased, and we’re able to start over again.”
“Check this out.” Boo turns the iPad she’s holding to me. “For my dress, I really like this white linen.”
