Joseph deposited the dog on the table, then scrubbed in and began to prepare his instruments. “Maybe you should wait out front,” he said to Ava. She’d never been great at dealing with blood.
But she remained glued to the dog. “I’m staying with him.”
He gave her a long look. But if there was one thing he knew about Ava, it was that once she’d made up her mind about something, there was no changing it.
So he picked up a gauze pad and got to work.
Ava’s eyes went from Joseph to Griffin and back to Joseph again.
She’d been doing the same thing for the past two hours.
Joseph had sedated the dog, who lay completely still on the table. Ava wanted to ask how Griffin was, if he’d be okay, but she didn’t want to distract Joseph. He worked methodically, silent aside from an occasional mumbled, “Good dog,” as he cleaned and stitched the wounds. He bit the corner of his lip the same way he always had when he was concentrating.
Something soft rubbed against her leg, and Ava looked down to find the white dog that had been padding between her and Joseph nuzzling its head against her knee. She reached with one hand to rub the dog’s ears, taking solace in the silky warmth of the fur. This was why dogs made such good therapy animals.
She continued to scratch the dog’s ears as Joseph snapped off his thread, then looked up at her with a tired smile. “That was the last one.”
“Is he going to be okay?”
Joseph unwrapped the stethoscope from around his neck and held it to Griffin’s chest.
“None of the wounds were too deep, thank the Lord. He should make a full recovery. But I want to keep him overnight for observation.”
Ava stroked the dog’s side, careful to avoid the freshly stitched wounds. Did Joseph really expect her to leave Griffin here alone?
“Don’t worry. I’ll stay with him.” He’d always had the uncanny ability to read her thoughts.
“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to―”
“I’m the vet, Ava.”
Right. He wasn’t offering to stay with Griffin for her. He was doing it because it was his job.
She nodded. If he was going to be here, then she should go. They weren’t going to sit up together all night―not like that night on the pier. The night they’d made that promise to each other.
Her fingers went to her cheek.
She could only imagine how relieved he must be that she’d let him off the hook from keeping that promise.
“When can I pick him up?” She had to keep her focus on Griffin.
“First thing tomorrow morning. I’ll call you.” Joseph opened his mouth like he was about to say more. Instead, he brought a hand slowly toward her face.
Ava flinched, pulling back and turning her head so that her scars were away from him. Her scar-covering makeup did a halfway decent job of making her face look closer to natural, but that didn’t mean she wanted him examining it.
“Sorry.” But Joseph’s hand continued toward her. “You have a . . .” His hand stopped at her hair, and he slid his fingers through it, then held up a twig.
“Oh. Thanks.” She stepped back, ducked her head, and gave Griffin one quick pat, then fled into the hallway, forcing herself to walk at a semi-normal pace to the lobby.
The white dog trotted at her side.
“Tasha likes you.” Joseph’s voice was warm as he followed.
She needed to get out of here. But she couldn’t resist crouching halfway across the lobby to give the dog’s ears a good scratch. “That’s a good name.” Tasha’s fluffy white tail swished from side to side.
After another second, Ava made herself get up, careful to keep the more disfigured left side of her face from Joseph’s view. “Thank you.”
He shrugged. “That’s what I’m here for.”
She nodded and darted for the door.
“And Ava?”
She stopped with her hand on the door but didn’t look back.
“You’ll have to unblock my number.” Joseph delivered the comment nonchalantly, but Ava wondered if there was a trace of hurt under his words.
She bobbed her head once and reached for the door again.
“And one more thing,” Joseph called.
This time, she turned to look at him over her right shoulder.
“It’s good to see you.” Wistfulness lined his smile.
“Yeah.” She opened the door. “You too.”
Chapter 5
The reflection in the mirror blinked at Ava as she used a large brush to blend the foundation across her scars and down onto her neck. She’d already applied primer and the green-toned concealer that helped to neutralize the red of her scars. The foundation would help to hide some of the ridges and crevices her face wore from years of skin grafts. She couldn’t wait to pick up Griffin―Joseph had texted an hour ago to say that the dog was doing well―but she wasn’t going to face Joseph with her scars on full display.
Finally satisfied with her foundation, she added a careful application of contour, blush, and highlighter to make her cheekbones look even, despite the pronounced droop to her left jaw.
When she was done, she sat back, giving herself a critical once-over. Her nose wasn’t shaped quite right on the left―courtesy of being burned nearly clear through the cartilage―but she’d never found any way to hide that. Other than that, she looked . . . okay. She certainly wasn’t going to win any beauty contests or modeling contracts, but she could at least be seen in public without being called a monster.
It had only happened once―but that was enough. She’d just gotten Griffin, and she was eager to socialize the dog because she planned to train him to be a therapy dog. It was the first time she’d gone outside without the full-face mask that was designed to protect her raw skin from the sun―and before she knew anything about makeup. Griffin had run off to sniff another dog being walked by a little girl and her mom, and Ava had chased him, forgetting for a moment about her scars. But when she’d reached them, the little girl had taken one look at her and screamed to her mother to save her from the monster. The mother had shushed her daughter, looking mortified, but Ava had seen the horror in the mother’s eyes too as her gaze fell on Ava’s face. The woman may not have said the word monster out loud, but it was clear in her expression.
It was why Ava and Griffin stuck to walking in the woods these days.
She pushed the memory away, donned a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt to cover the burns that traveled down her left shoulder and arm and parts of her leg, then pulled on her tennis shoes and grabbed her keys.
Monster or not, she had a dog to pick up.
But as she approached River Falls, a sick feeling twisted her stomach. It was one thing to see Joseph yesterday, when they were both focused on Griffin.
But how was she going to deal with seeing him today? What if that flood of feelings that she had worked so hard to build an impenetrable safe around managed to find its way out? What if she broke down and told him the one thing she’d promised herself she’d never let him know―that she was still in love with him.
You won’t, she promised herself. You can’t.
She pulled into the parking lot of the veterinary office, trying to believe her own words.
She’d go in, grab Griffin, and get out.
And as soon as she got home, she’d research a new vet so she wouldn’t ever have to see Joseph again.
Easy enough.
She took a bracing breath and made her way into the building. She was greeted instantly by the click of dog toenails.
“Griffin?” Was he already up and around?
But instead of Griffin, Tasha appeared from the back hallway, her tail wagging as she pranced across the lobby toward Ava. Ava laughed and bent to pet her. “Are you the official greeter?”
“Actually, she prefers chief greeter in charge of sniffing new people.”
Ava glanced up to find Joseph leaning against the doorway that separated the lobby from the hallway. He looked tir
ed and a little scruffy, his five o’clock shadow thicker than it had been yesterday. But he looked as good as ever. Better, even. He was still tall and lean, but his shoulders had broadened, and thick muscles peeked out from under the sleeves of his t-shirt.
“Well, it’s probably best that she be the one to sniff new people, instead of you.”
Joseph laughed, the sound rich and melodious and knocking right up against Ava’s ribs.
“I don’t know.” He took a few steps closer to her. “You always smelled good.”
In spite of her best efforts to keep it under control, Ava’s heart stepped up its rhythm.
Remember, come in, get the dog, get out.
She cleared her throat. “How’s Griffin?”
“He’s doing well. I’m sure he’d be up and playing already if I let him, but he needs to stay pretty quiet for a couple of weeks to let the stitches heal.”
“A couple of weeks?” Ava gaped at Joseph. Obviously he didn’t know Griffin very well. The dog was an energy machine.
“I’ve given him a mild sedative to help keep him calm,” Joseph said.
Ava nodded, wondering briefly if a sedative would help with whatever was going on with her heart right now.
Joseph’s eyes roved her face, and she angled her head so her left cheek wouldn’t be in his line of sight.
“I don’t know how to thank you enough.”
Joseph covered a gigantic yawn. “I could use a cup of coffee.”
She met his eyes. Those blue, blue eyes that had melted her heart more than once. He gave her a soft, gentle smile. No pressure, no hint of wanting anything more than a cup of coffee.
Considering that he’d saved her dog, she supposed a cup of coffee was the least she could do. “What about Griffin and Tasha?”
“They’ll be fine here.” Still that steady gaze.
She nodded.
“Good.” His smile grew. “And maybe a slice of pie. Now that I think about it, I never did have dinner last night.”
She laughed and pointed a finger at him. “Don’t push it.” But she’d buy him a slice of pie―a whole pie, a truckload of pies―to thank him for saving Griffin.
The coffee and pie were good. But being with Ava was better. Looking at her made him feel like a desert that had gone too long without rain. She looked different, of course, but still so, so beautiful. He could tell she was wearing makeup to cover up her scars, but he wished she wasn’t. He wanted to see her exactly as she was. Not that it mattered either way. She was still Ava.
Even if she seemed skittish, constantly glancing around at the other customers in the pie shop and covering her cheek with her hand. A dozen times, he’d had to resist the temptation to pull her hand away from her face, to really look at her, to tell her what she seemed not to realize―she was perfect just the way she was.
He took a small sip of coffee, wanting to stretch out this moment with her as long as he could.
Ava shifted as her eyes followed a young couple who breezed past their table. Was she thinking the same thing he was? That not too long ago that had been them? That it could be them again?
But no, that he knew she wasn’t thinking. She had probably been thinking about her fiancé.
The realization turned the pie in his stomach. What was he doing, trying to get close to her again when she was with someone else?
“How’s your family?” Ava had returned her gaze to their table, though she was staring at her fork, not at him.
Joseph let out a breath. It was a safe topic at least. “Benjamin is off at school. Studying to be a chef.”
“Oh my stars. How can that be?” Ava gaped at him. “Isn’t he like twelve?”
Joseph laughed. “I know. It’s crazy how fast time goes, isn’t it?” He swallowed, resisting the urge to grab her hand and tell her how much he wanted to make up for the time they’d lost together.
“Anyway―” He forced his thoughts back to the topic of his family. “Asher’s doing his park ranger thing. He and Ireland are together again. They’re getting married in a few months.” He didn’t mention that seeing his brother reunited with his high school sweetheart had given Joseph hope that he still had a chance with Ava. “Zeb’s still a cop. He and Carly got married like five, six years ago.” Another brother living out his future with his high school love. It seemed unfair that it wasn’t going to happen for Joseph too.
It's your own fault for waiting too long. You could have tried sooner, if you weren’t such a chicken.
But he hadn’t been a chicken. He’d been trying to respect Ava’s wishes.
Keep telling yourself that.
“I heard that. I was happy for them.” Ava’s smile seemed genuine. “What about Simeon?”
“Got married a couple years ago. Grace is married too.” Wow. He’d never felt more alone. Almost all of his siblings were off and getting married. And here he was, pining for his ex-girlfriend as she prepared to marry someone else.
“Oh yes. I heard all about that from Aunt Lori.” Ava laughed. “Big Titans fan, you know.”
Joseph laughed with her. “I remember. She should come by and meet Levi sometime. He’s a good guy. He and Grace have a bed and breakfast in Wisconsin, but they visit a few times a year.” He still couldn’t believe he had a former NFL quarterback for a brother-in-law. But it was true that the guy was incredibly down-to-earth. Though if Grace’s stories were to be believed, that hadn’t always been the case.
“So that leaves Judah. Any word from him?”
Joseph shook his head, anger building as it always did at the mention of his older brother’s name. “Not a peep. Not even when Mama died.”
“I’m so sorry.” Ava’s voice was soft and compassionate. “I wanted to come to the funeral but . . .” Her fingers brushed against his hand for a fleeting second.
But it was enough to reassure him that it was really Ava sitting across from him. It wasn’t a dream.
“It’s okay. I understand why you didn’t.” Though Mama’s death hadn’t been unexpected, it must have brought up all kinds of memories of Ava’s own parents’ deaths. And as much as he’d wanted her to be there, he wouldn’t have her relive that for anything. He still remembered the day her aunt Lori had shown up at school to tell her what had happened. They’d been at recess, and Ava had been called inside. Fifteen minutes later, as the rest of the students were lining up to go back in, he’d spotted Ava emerging from the building, sobs wracking her small frame. He’d wanted desperately to cross that playground and take her in his arms. But he was a ten-year-old boy and she was a ten-year-old girl. And ten-year-old boys didn’t hug ten-year-old girls. So he’d gone back to class―and then gone with Dad and Mama to visit her after school. He hadn’t known what to say, so he’d just sat next to her in silence.
Much like the silence they sat in now.
He wondered what would happen if he took her hand.
Clearing his throat, he tucked his hands under his legs. “Do you still paint? Because I was thinking . . .”
But Ava was shaking her head, her eyes dropping to the table. “I can’t. My hand is too damaged. It’s why I turned to photography.”
She bent and flexed the fingers of her left hand, massaging it with her right.
Joseph’s hand sneaked out from under his thigh, and he had to grab his coffee cup to keep from tracing the raised lines of scars that crisscrossed the back of her hand. His grip on his mug tightened. “Does it hurt?”
Ava frowned, watching her fingers open and close. “The skin is tightening up. It’s called a burn contracture. My doctor wants me to have another surgery, and I suppose I’ll have to do it one of these days.”
He stared at her fingers, still itching to hold them. It’d been one of his favorite parts of dating her. He used to look forward to the end of third period every day, because it meant he could hold her hand on the way to their shared fourth-period class.
Something about her hand caught his eye. “You don’t wear a ring.” He leaned forw
ard, catching a trace of her jasmine scent that had always seemed at once exotic and familiar to him.
“No. I don’t really have any rings. Why?” She pulled her hand back and tucked it into her lap.
He shook his head. What business was it of his if her fiancé hadn’t given her a ring? Even if Joseph had spent more time browsing for the perfect ring than was probably normal for a high school senior. Not that he’d been planning to propose right then―but he wanted to know exactly what he was looking for when the time came. It’d never occurred to him that the time might not come.
“So when’s the big day?” He tried not to wince as he asked. It was better to rip the band-aid off.
“What big day?” Ava lifted her coffee cup with her right hand, keeping her left in her lap.
Was she trying to spare his feelings? She needn’t bother.
“Your wedding?”
She spluttered and slammed her cup to the table, coughing violently.
Joseph scrambled for his napkin and passed it to her. “Are you okay?”
Ava nodded, still coughing, as she wiped up the spilled coffee. When her coughing fit had stopped, she crumpled the napkin and tossed it on her empty plate. And then she just stared at him.
“What?” He didn’t mean to sound defensive, but that look of hers . . . “Anyone I know?” He probably should have masked his jealousy a little better than that.
Ava blinked. “Anyone you know, what? What wedding are you talking about?”
“Yours.” He rolled his eyes. “I just figured your fiancé might be someone I know. It’s a small town. I didn’t think to ask when Lori told me―”
“Lori told you?” She gave him a dumbfounded stare.
“Yeah. When I ran into her at the store.”
Ava made that strangely adorable tsking noise she’d always made when she was annoyed. “She told you that I’m getting married?”
He nodded, much as it pained him. “I get it. It’s been a long time, and―”
“Joseph, look at me.” Ava’s voice was flat, and Joseph raised his eyes to hers, resisting the urge to tell her she was beautiful yet again.
Pieces of Forever: A Christian Romance (River Falls Book 1) Page 3
