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She didn’t need her grandparents giving her a shakedown on the way out the door to her date with Rhys Dougherty.
Grabbing her black leather wristlet, she opened the door. The voices of Missy and Walter carried down the narrow hall from the living room, backed by the low hum of the TV.I Love Lucy, if June knew her grandparents. She crept down the hallway, careful not to trip over Krantz and praying the cat wouldn’t meow, giving her up. She grateful the living room was separated from that side of the apartment by the kitchen. She hated feeling like a sixteen year old sneaking out of the house — or at least she imagined this was how teenagers felt, since she’d never actually done it — but she hated the questions more.
Being torn up over your best friend was one thing, and finding a distraction in a local handyman was another.
June managed to escape without her grandparents noticing, and she kept up the slow, careful to walk quietly and barefoot even when she was outside, the rough wood of the stairs leading from the apartment to outside scraping her feet.
When she reached the bottom, she put on her heels and started walking down the street, shooting a text to her grandma that she was going out with Molly and Anna.
Rhys had insisted he pick her up, but June had insisted it not be directly in front of her house. They compromised on the corner of South and Main. There was only one car with headlights, the lowwhoam-whoam-whoamof the idling engine. It was a beautiful old muscle car, she could give him that, but it was so attention-getting and made her involuntarily cringe. As she neared, he jumped out of the driver’s seat and rushed to her side, opening the door.
“Wow, you are positively stunning. Your hair is so pretty,” he said, sounding awed.
“You’re not so bad yourself.” June gazed at him over the top of her door. He wasn’t. He had on a crisp navy button-down, fitted blank pants and nice leather shoes. His smile was slightly crooked, nervous, a dimple popping up on his left cheek. He bit his lower lip as she slid into the car, closing the door behind her and making his way to the driver’s seat. The car smelled fresh, clean, not a speck of dirt anywhere.
He slid onto the black leather seat and turned to her.
“I know it’s loud and we’re only going a short distance, but it’s cold and I didn’t want you walking out here alone. She’s my baby.” He rubbed the dashboard affectionately.
June shifted in her seat. She’d never been in an old car, or a nice one. Being in one and the same was new, and while she didn’t care for the sound, she loved the plush leather beneath her fingers.
“She’s beautiful. What kind of car is it?”
“1969 Dodge Charger.” He stared at June, pride emanating from him. “She was my grandfather’s, my dad and I fixed her up. A car like this is meant to be driven.”
He put the car into gear and drove, reaching the fanciest restaurant in Oak Valley in under five minutes. The rev of the engine when they drove, thewhoam-whoamof the engine at STOP signs, the slow turn of the engine as they passed through intersections all drew attention from passersby. It was humbling being in a car so large and loud, and June was grateful when they pulled into the Thai restaurant parking lot.
The restaurant wasn’t exactly fancy, but it was the nicest restaurant in town. Growing up, everyone knew it as a date spot to impress someone. It was small and charming, decorated with beaded tapestries and low light. There was a dish full of hard candies that June — and Dragan, when he was with her — had loved to take a handful of when she came with her family for special occasions. While she hadn’t been there in years, the place smelled familiar and the dish of candies was right where she remembered.
Rhys gave his name for the reservation, a formality given the intimate space and it being a weeknight. They walked past one couple on the way to their table tucked into the far back corner, and he pulled her chair out before sitting down. As he sat, his biceps pulled against his shirt, a lock of dark hair falling on his forehead.
He was definitely cute, and June warmed to the idea of this being more than a distraction.
“So, Miss June,” he said. “Thanks for coming out with me. I apologize in advance for the awkward first date questions, but I figure it’s best to get them out of the way.”
She laughed. “Hey, we gotta get them over with sometime. Let’s pretend we didn’t grow up in the same town, that our families don’t know each other.”
“Deal. Where are you from?”
“I’ve lived here all my life. My par —,“ she almost choked on the word, his smile faltering. “My parent’s used to run The Little Prince Bookstore, on South Street. What about you?” She said it too quickly, she knew it, but she needed to move onto something else.
His smile had softened, compassion in his eyes. “Funny, I’ve also lived here all my life. My dad runs a big construction company, I work with him and will take it over someday.”
“That’s really neat. Do you have siblings?”
“Oh boy, do I,” he chuckled. “I have two younger brothers, Kade and Finn, and a younger sister, Olive. Do you?”
June shook her head. “Just me. I live with my grandparents, but they’re… they’re my only family. Do you like working construction?”
“Very much. What do you do?”
“I recently took over the bookstore. And actually, I’m starting to write a book. Romance, because why not.”
He raised his eyebrows.
June blushed, her cheeks heating. “I just, I don’t know. I don’t mind staying in Oak Valley but I want to do something more than run a store, you know? I want to contribute something. I went to college for English, for goodness’ sake.” Her laugh was forced. She drank some water and looked away, embarrassed. What a mess this date already was, she was so nervous.
“There has to be something more, right?” He asked gently. “I get it, believe me. Like, am I really going to be the person that stays in the same small town his whole life, running the business his dad and grandfather founded? Doing the same old shit, day after day?” He paused, drinking his own water. “And then I realized that I was okay with that. That if I wanted to be more, do more, contribute more, I was okay with building on my family’s legacy and making it the best it could be. I mean, I help build homes for people, businesses. I give them an affordable, solid, safe space they can build their own legacy in. I think I just became content with the life I was given, and I don’t need anything more.”
