Pieces of Forever: A Christian Romance (River Falls Book 1)

by Valerie M. Bodden

  Ava ignored his look. It wasn’t like she’d promised Joseph she’d never hike without him. Just that one time. And besides, it wasn’t like he was offering to go with her again.

  She slipped on her boots, grabbed her camera bag, and led Griffin toward the back door.

  She was just pulling it open when her phone rang. She groaned and considered ignoring it, but she was waiting to hear from a potential new client to schedule a portrait session.

  She pulled the phone out of her pocket, glancing at the screen.

  A disbelieving breath escaped her, and she let her finger hover over the screen. Should she answer it?

  She wanted to hear his voice so badly. She moved her finger toward the answer icon.

  But hearing his voice would only confuse her more. She needed to decline the call.

  Before she could, Griffin rammed his head against her leg, making her nearly drop the phone. As she snatched it from the air, she heard a voice calling, “Hello? Ava?”

  “Are you kidding me?” she hissed at Griffin, who looked up at her with his big, innocent eyes.

  She must have bumped answer when she’d caught the phone. Now she had two options: put it to her ear and say hello like a human being―or hang up on Joseph.

  Her finger moved toward the end call button. But she wasn’t strong enough to do it.

  Growling at herself, she lifted the phone to her ear. “Hey.” She was proud of the way she managed to keep the delighted anticipation burning in her chest out of her voice.

  “Hey. What are you up to right now?”

  Ava looked at the leash in her hand and the dog watching her expectantly. “Um. Nothing. Why?”

  “You were about to go for a hike, weren’t you?”

  Ava spluttered. Did the man have security cameras on her? “How could you possibly know that?”

  “Griffin needs a quieter tag.” She could hear Joseph’s suppressed laugh through the phone. “Thought you could get away with it, huh?”

  “Well, that’s― I’m not―” She gave up. “I never promised we wouldn’t ever hike again without you. We can’t sit around here and wait for you to be available, you know.”

  “You didn’t ask if I was available,” Joseph pointed out.

  “I― That’s―” Ava spluttered. There had to be a better comeback than that. “Well, are you?” Defiance made her words sharp. She hoped he’d say no. Prove her point.

  “Actually no, not at the moment,” Joseph answered, and Ava told herself she felt vindicated.

  “Are you?” he added.

  “Am I what?”

  “Available?” He sounded amused.

  “Joseph, we already talked about―”

  “Just trust me. Oops―where you going there, little guy?” There was shuffling in the background.

  “What? Joseph, what’s going on there? Who are you talking to?”

  “Just get down to my office as fast as you can. You’re going to want to see this. And bring your camera.”

  He clicked off the line, and Ava pulled the phone away from her ear.

  “That was odd, right?” she asked Griffin.

  The dog wagged his tail at her, his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth.

  She tucked her phone away and stared at the leash still in her hand. They should go for their planned hike. It didn’t matter what was going on down at Joseph’s office. Didn’t matter that he had asked her to come. Didn’t matter, even, that his voice had been as warm and comfortable as ever.

  She chewed her lip, telling herself not to give in to the curiosity.

  She did battle for five minutes before giving up and grabbing her car keys and camera bag. She’d bring Griffin with her for backup. Not that he would be much help, since he seemed to have developed a strong preference for Joseph during their one day together.

  All the way to River Falls, she told herself this was a bad idea. Still, she kept driving, and thirty minutes later, as she pulled into the parking lot of River Falls Veterinary, a flutter worked through her stomach and up toward her heart. But there was no reason to be nervous. One thing she knew about Joseph―when he made a promise, he kept it. There was no chance he’d renew the question he’d almost asked the other night.

  She let out a quick breath, opened her door, and snapped on Griffin’s leash. “All right, boy. Let’s go see what this is about.”

  As soon as she opened the door of the veterinary office, she was met by utter chaos. The tiniest puppies she’d ever seen scurried helter skelter across the lobby, yipping and chasing each other.

  But the moment they spotted Ava and Griffin, the little critters made a beeline for them.

  “Oh my stars. Look at y’all.” Gasping and laughing, Ava lowered herself into a crouch to greet them. She scooped up the first one to reach her, then held out a hand to let the others sniff at her fingers. Next to her, Griffin stood stock still, though his tail wagged wildly from side to side, knocking Ava in the back.

  “It’s okay,” she said to him. “They’re puppies.”

  Griffin gave her a questioning look, then lowered his head and began sniffing.

  Ava lifted the puppy in her hands to her face and nuzzled its soft fur against her cheek. Its puppy scent―a mix of warmth and kibble―brought back the comforting feeling she’d soaked up from Griffin when he was a pup.

  “I see you’ve met my visitors.” Joseph’s laughing voice reached her, and she looked up to find him emerging from the hallway with yet another puppy. Tasha trotted at his side, eyeing the critter he carried.

  “How many are there?”

  “Nine. Left in a box on the doorstep.” He set the puppy in his hands down and picked up another.

  The puppy he’d just released took a wobbly step. It seemed much less stable on its feet than the others.

  “Is she all right?” Ava pushed to her feet and moved closer to the pup.

  “One of her back feet is slightly twisted.” Joseph rested the pup he’d just picked up on the waiting room counter, probing at it.

  “Isn’t there anything you can do?” Ava watched as the puppy in front of her tipped over, its legs splayed Bambi-style on the floor.

  “It’s not severe enough to need surgery. She’ll be fine. Eventually, she’ll adapt and be running around just like her brothers and sisters.”

  Ava frowned. How could he be so sure the puppy would adjust? Look how she was already separated from the others, who were all now exploring under the waiting room chairs. Some things a person―or dog―just didn’t adjust to.

  “What are you going to do with them all?”

  Joseph eyed her, a glimmer she recognized only too well in his eyes. “That’s where you come in.”

  “Me?” Ava held up her hands. “Aunt Lori barely let me get one dog.”

  Joseph’s laugh scared the puppy in his hands, and he gave it a reassuring pat before setting it on the floor. “Not to adopt them. To take pictures of them, so we can post them online. Find good homes for them.”

  “What about the shelter in Brampton?”

  Joseph shook his head. “They don’t have room for this many. So I said I’d take care of them.”

  Of course he had. Joseph hadn’t met a problem yet that he didn’t think he could solve.

  “So will you help me?” His look was warm and hopeful.

  Ava looked away. But it wasn’t like she could say no to puppies.

  Chapter 15

  Joseph slapped his hands against his cheeks to wake himself up.

  It turned out that taking care of nine puppies night and day, on top of seeing his regular clients, was exhausting.

  Fortunately, it had only taken six days to find good homes for all but one of them.

  “What are we going to do with you?” he asked the puppy with the leg deformity, whom he had nicknamed Princess.

  The puppy looked up from Tasha’s dog bed, where it had plopped for a nap half an hour ago. From the floor next to the dog bed, Tasha gave him a look that said she was no
t amused.

  Joseph glanced at the time. One o’clock. That meant he had an hour free before his next patient. An hour he should probably spend charting this morning’s visits.

  He tapped his pen on his desk, his thoughts going to Ava as they inevitably did whenever he had a free moment―or when he didn’t.

  What he needed was a way to spend time with her that wasn’t a date. That way he could keep his promise―but she could also see that she’d been wrong to ask him to make it.

  He’d thought the puppies were his answer. But aside from taking pictures of them last week, she hadn’t stopped by to visit them once. At least the dogs had given him an excuse to text updates every time one found a home. And Ava had even texted back. But it wasn’t enough. He needed to see her. To talk to her.

  He stared vaguely at the family picture on his desk as he considered other excuses to spend time with her.

  The idea came on so slowly that it took him a moment to realize his own genius.

  But when he did, he picked up his phone and dialed, tapping his fingers impatiently as he waited for his sister to answer.

  The moment she did, he launched right into his question. “You guys are coming home for the weekend, right?”

  “Hello to you too.” Grace sounded exasperated, but he knew it was an act. His sister was always happy to hear from him.

  “Yeah, yeah. Hello, Grace. How are things?” He played along.

  “Great. We just put in this coffee bar and―”

  “Grace.” His exasperation wasn’t an act.

  His sister laughed. “Sorry. But I am going to tell you all about the coffee bar when we get there. And just for that, the story is going to be twice as long. But to answer your question, yes, we’re coming this weekend. Actually, we have some big news.”

  “Great. Wait. You do? Are you having a baby?” His sister had only been married to Levi Donovan for a year now. But he supposed that was plenty long enough for them to be expecting.

  Grace laughed. “No. Not that kind of news.”

  “Well, what then? Is Levi coming out of retirement?” The Titans sure could use him on the field again.

  “No.” Grace laughed again. “We’ll tell you this weekend. Now, is there a reason you’re so eager to have us home? Or do you just miss your big sister?”

  “Oh yeah.” How could he have gotten side-tracked? “Benjamin’s going to be home from school for the weekend too. So I was thinking we should get some new family pictures taken. Maybe on Saturday?”

  Grace was silent. Joseph pulled the phone away from his ear, but they were still connected. “Grace?”

  “Sorry. You shocked me speechless. Aren’t you the same little boy who hid in the woods for an hour so you wouldn’t have to have your picture taken?”

  “That was a long time ago.” And besides, a bad case of poison ivy had taught him his lesson.

  “I’ve still never seen you willingly be photographed. What gives?”

  Joseph ran a hand over his hair, grateful his sister couldn’t see the heat rising to his face. “Nothing. I just thought it’d be nice to have some new pictures. You know Mama would have wanted us to. Family picture day was always her favorite. And we haven’t done it since she died.”

  “That’s actually a sweet idea,” Grace sounded surprised, and a twinge of guilt pinged Joseph. Was he really using their deceased Mama to convince her? Heaven help him.

  “Great. I’ll call Ava to set it up. I’ll see you―”

  “Ah, so that’s what this is about.” Grace’s voice took on that annoying, know-it-all tone that was so similar to Zeb’s. No wonder those two got along so well.

  “What what’s all about?” But he knew the innocent act was useless. His sister knew him too well. “Maybe a little,” he admitted. “But mostly it’s because I think we should do the pictures.”

  “I’m glad, Joseph. You two were always good together.”

  “Preaching to the choir. If you wanted to mention that to Ava, though . . .”

  Grace laughed. “I’ll see if I can work it in.”

  As soon as he’d hung up, Joseph started to dial again.

  But then he had a better idea.

  He had a rare lull in his schedule, and he was going to make use of it. He stuck his phone in his pocket and pushed his chair back. “I’m going to go get some pie,” he said to Tasha. “Keep an eye on Princess.”

  Tasha sighed and laid her head on her paws.

  Joseph marched out the door and locked it behind him, then set off at a good clip toward the pie shop, squinting against the light bouncing off the river behind the storefronts. Though it was already the beginning of September, the day was hot and sticky, the sun scorching against his hair.

  Even so, he kicked up his pace. He’d noticed Ava’s car outside her studio this morning, and he didn’t want to miss her.

  Ava opened her desk drawer and dropped her phone inside.

  She’d wasted the past fifteen minutes rereading the texts Joseph had sent this week, trying to convince herself that she did not need to see the puppies before the rest of them were adopted out. And more importantly, that she did not need to see Joseph.

  “You just have to stay busy,” she muttered to herself. And she knew exactly where she could start.

  She tried to work up the energy to clean as she dragged herself toward the back room of her studio. But all she could do as she stood in the doorway gazing at the mess was groan. Organizing this clutter was going to be a gargantuan task.

  “Well, you wanted a distraction,” she said out loud. “This should do.”

  “Do you always talk to yourself?”

  She jumped, even though she recognized the voice. “Oh my stars. Joseph.” She gave herself a second to put on her neutral, of-course-I’m-not-pleased-to-see-you expression, then turned toward him. “What are you doing here?”

  He was wearing a smile and holding pie.

  Her two weaknesses.

  “You asked for a distraction. So here I am.”

  Ava tried to resist the urge to smile back but failed.

  Be strong, she warned herself.

  “What are we distracting you from?” Joseph glanced over her shoulder, his eyes widening at the clutter.

  “Nothing.” She brushed past him toward the front of the building. Not that there was any reason to go up there, but maybe if she got him closer to the door, it would be easier to get him out the door. “And I repeat, what are you doing here?”

  “Delivering pie.” He followed her to her desk, then held out a piece to her.

  She closed her eyes. Blueberry. Her favorite. There was no way she could resist.

  She took the pie but satisfied her conscience by giving Joseph a disapproving look. “You can’t just be dropping by and bringing pie.”

  Joseph opened the plastic clamshell holding his own slice of lemon meringue. “Sorry. I didn’t realize friends couldn’t bring friends pie.” He picked up the plastic fork from his container and cut off a huge chunk, stuffing the pie in his mouth with a satisfied “mmm.”

  That was it.

  She couldn’t help it.

  She was weak.

  She opened her own clamshell and dug out a big bite, sighing as the sweet-tart flavor of the berries popped against her tongue.

  “Still think I shouldn’t bring you pie?”

  She ignored the question, taking another bite.

  “I thought you’d like to know two more puppies got adopted this morning.” Joseph spoke between bites.

  “That’s wonderful. How many does that leave?”

  “Only one.” Joseph polished off his pie and tossed the container in the trash. “Princess.”

  The one with the deformed leg. That figured. “Poor little thing.”

  Joseph shrugged. “I’m sure she’ll find a home. Unless you want to take her.” It wasn’t the first time he’d asked.

  “You know Aunt Lori would kill me.” She shoveled the last bite of her pie into her mouth. Surely,
with the pie gone, Joseph would be on his way too.

  But he settled himself against the edge of her desk. “Got a question to ask you.”

  Ava gave him a warning look, but Joseph pressed on. “Grace and her husband are coming home this weekend, and we were hoping to have some family portraits done . . .”

  Ava started to shake her head. If it wasn’t a good idea to spend time with Joseph, it wasn’t a good idea to spend time with his family either. It’d be too easy to fall back in love with being surrounded by them.

  But Joseph’s eyes captured hers. “Please, Ava. We haven’t done them since Mama . . . We thought it’d be nice to have someone who knew her. Someone who could help us find a way to honor her in the pictures.”

  Ava sighed. “That was low.”

  Joseph raised an eyebrow. “Did it work?”

  Ava bit her lip. “When do you want to do them?”

  Chapter 16

  Ava had barely parked her vehicle in the driveway of Pastor Calvano’s house Saturday afternoon when Joseph was pulling her door open. Unable to wait for her to get out, Griffin trampled over her lap and shot out of the vehicle to greet Tasha.

  “Thanks for that,” she said dryly to Joseph, concentrating on not noticing the way his light blue button down brought out the depths of blue in his eyes―or the way his shoulders filled it out.

  “Come on.” Joseph’s tone was eager. “I have a surprise for you.”

  “More pie?”

  A grin rocketed across Joseph’s lips. “Better than pie.”

  “What’s better than pie? Anyway, I thought I was here to take pictures of your family.”

  “You are. But you have to see this first.” He followed as she got out of the car and made her way to the back to unload her equipment. She grabbed her camera bag and was about to sling it over her shoulder when he plucked it from her hands. She gave him a look but let him carry it.

  “Now are you ready?” Joseph reached to close the back hatch of the SUV, but she pretended to consider.

  “You’re ready.” He closed the hatch with a slam. “Come on.” He reached for her arm but withdrew his hand before making contact.

  Ava let out a long breath. “You know I don’t like surprises.”