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Tobias grins up at me “Thanks, Mister Cody!”
He rushes off down the driveway as fast as his little legs will carry him. Laughing to myself, I head inside and put my groceries away.
Cursing myself, I realize I forgot to grab dog food and snag my keys from the table. Heading outside and back in my truck, I drive down the dirt driveway just to come to a stop.
Another damn truck is blocking the exit.I really should have created a better driveway… separate driveways, not sharing one damn exit.
I look over to see Juniper laughing with some dude on her porch. I park and storm over, ready to rip them both a new one.
“What did I tell you about parking in the driveway, Juniper?”
She turns to me as the guy puffs all up, standing in front of her like he’s protecting her.
“Yo, man. Don’t talk to her like that.”
Rolling my eyes, I get closer. “Yeah, thanks. Now move so I can talk to Juniper.”
She pushes in front of the guy and glares at me. “He was picking up some furniture. I saw you go up, so I figured it would be fine for like ten minutes.”
“Well, it’s not fine.”
Juniper puts her hand on her hip, jutting it out. “You wake up on the wrong side of the bed, Cody? Lord help us.” She turns back to the guy. “Sorry about this, Mike. But I appreciate you coming out to grab this dresser. It will help with the bills.” She turns back to me. “Since I got fired yesterday.”
Mike smiles at her, making the green beast in me roar. “No problem. Here…” He takes out a napkin from his back pocket, writing his number down with the stupid pen behind his ear. “Call me and we can meet up for drinks. Or if you have any…” He glares at me. “Issues. I can be here.”
Juniper smiles, her hand on his arm as she walks him to the truck. Red floods my vision, but I quickly shake my head, getting that feeling away from me.
She’s not ours. And she never will be. We’re good alone. Me, Dagda, and the sunflowers.
She walks back over and glares at me. “Smooth, Cody. You almost scared away my very first customer.”
“Customer?”
Juniper nods. “Yeah. I need to make money somehow. So I repainted and repaired that old dresser, listed it online, and boom. Two-hundred bucks.”
“That’s great. Just don’t let them park in the driveway anymore. Make him pull up to your damn door or something.”
She rolls her eyes, but lets a smile sneak across her face. And as I turn to get back into my truck, I let my smile out. There’s just something about my little sunshine neighbor that brings a beam of light into my cold, dead heart.
But as I head down the road, I can’t help but get this overwhelming sensation about Juniper. Thoughts of her on that date with that yuppy jerk and man, do I want to turn around and find him. Let him know she’s off limits.
No. That can’t happen. Ever.
I pull into the cemetery and get out of the truck, Dagda right next to me as we walk down the path. I find the headstone and sit down, pulling out a book and some sunflowers.
“Alright, Em. I got a new book from the library today. Ready to hear this story?”
I pull outThe Secret Gardenand lean back, Dagda laying down next to me. Em loved reading, and the classics were always her favorite.
As I read the story out loud, the groundskeepers smile as they pass me. Other families I’ve gotten to know stop by, leaving flowers for their loved ones and always bringing a sunflower for my Emily.
I get through a few chapters before the sun sets. Patting the ground, I stand and stretch, Dagda doing the same.
“We’ll read more next week. Love you.”
We head back to the truck and I let Dagda in, turning back to gaze at the cemetery as the sun sets behind it. Sighing, I hop into the truck and head home.
I pull up to our driveway and stop, getting out to move a little red bike. Smiling to myself, I gently place it next to Juniper’s front door.
