Small-Town Dreams and The Girl Next Door: Small-Town Dreams / The Girl Next Door

Earl glanced at the car he had on the lift, then back to them. “You know, I think I will. In fact, I may call it a day. You headed for the diner, too? If you wait while I wash up, I’ll walk along with you.”

Joshua gestured toward the money. “I’ve got the truck. I’m just headed back from the Wilsons’.”

“I’ll be seeing you there then, I suppose,” Earl said, and ambled off toward his washroom.

It only took a split second for Cassidy to round on him. “You were supposed to talk him into looking at my car sooner, not get him to stop for the day!”

“Didn’t you notice how tired he was? Earl’s not as young as he looks. He needs to take it a little easier. Tell me, what is your big hurry to move on?”

“I told you, I want a vacation.”

“So roll with the punches and make this your vacation. What you need is time to think, not just time away from work. Everyone needs to evaluate their choices in life occasionally. Maybe you didn’t land in Mountain View by accident. God may have put you here. This town and your car trouble may be His way of speaking to you. I think He’s telling you to slow down and take some time to think things out. What better place to do it than here? You have to admit that there’s very little to distract you.”

Standing there in the center of Earl’s garage, Joshua waited to hear her tell him to mind his own business. That God didn’t speak to people like that. He was even prepared to hear that in her opinion God didn’t exist. But none of those things happened. Cassidy nodded and walked quietly—thoughtfully—away.

At the doorway she stopped and turned to him. “’In God we trust.’ It’s on the penny. I told Him to send me where He wanted me to go if He really existed. I flipped it every time I needed to choose a direction. I never stopped to think that He’d actually answer me. Maybe He did send me here. Thanks, Joshua. I’d forgotten. I’ll give it a few days.” She started to turn away, but stopped and looked around. “Your God really has a sense of humor, doesn’t he.”

Confused, Josh frowned. “With a dog like mine and Him being the Creator, that’s a hard one to argue, but why in particular do you think that?”

“My regular mechanic has a cappuccino bar and leather sofas in his waiting room.”

Chapter Five

Cassidy heard Joshua call her name just as she passed the spot where he’d pulled his truck up to the gas pump. She needed to take time to do some of that thinking Joshua was so convinced she should do, so she planned to walk back to the parsonage through town. She stopped and reluctantly looked back. She’d agreed to try it his way for a few days even though she thought he was way off base, so what more did he want from her?

“I thought we’d eat dinner at the café,” he said, as if he’d heard her silent question.

To Cassidy, dinner suddenly sounded like a gigantic commitment. She knew she was being ridiculous but there it was. “Dinner?”

“Henry and I usually walk down and eat at the café on the nights Ma handles the dinner shift. It keeps her from having to cook again at home. She was only there when you arrived last night because the regular girl came in later than usual.”

Either she agreed to spend even more time with Joshua, or she’d force Irma to cook a special meal for her later. Wasn’t it bad enough that she’d unwisely spent time with him at the Swenson house? This man, this…country preacher-carpenter was a menace! He’d seen through the lies she’d nearly convinced herself were true to the truths she hadn’t wanted to face. And apparently that wasn’t enough for him.

The fact that he was handsome, obviously intelligent, kind and sensitive didn’t help matters at all. He was quite frankly, except for his inappropriate tax bracket, the man of her dreams. Why couldn’t he be a corporate executive home to visit his parents rather than a man with no past, no formal education, and, therefore, in her grandfather’s eyes, a man with no future?

“So, is dinner at the café okay with you?” Josh asked again, dragging Cassidy out of the fog of her confused thoughts. Well, there was no help for it. Her answer was a given.

“Of course,” she snapped, completely exasperated by her suddenly out-of-control emotions and life. “I wouldn’t want to cause Irma extra work.”

Something akin to hurt flashed in Joshua’s beautiful brown eyes. “Do you want a ride down or would you rather go on alone?” he asked in an unmistakably brusque manner.

Cassidy felt about as small as an ant at that moment. He’d been nothing but kind and friendly to her. He’d pried into her personal life, true. But considering his calling as a minister, she truly believed he had only the best of intentions. And now that she’d pushed him away, she realized that it was the last thing she really wanted. She could use a friend just now, and it may as well be Josh. What, after all, could happen between them in the few days she’d be in town?

She hugged her thrift-store jacket to herself. “It’s chilly but still looks like it should be a nice evening. We probably won’t see many more like it for a while. Why don’t you walk down to the café with me? We can come back for the truck later.”

An eyebrow arched over one of his dark, expressive eyes. “I got the impression that I’d been royally dismissed.”

Cassidy shook her head. “No. Pushed away momentarily. And I’m sorry. I’m not used to sharing my personal feelings. Nor letting anyone close enough for me to want to share them. It just spooked me for a minute there. I was feeling hemmed in, but it wasn’t your fault. It was mine.”

Joshua nodded his acceptance of her apology. “The walk sounds like a good idea,” he agreed, and they set off toward Irma’s Café.

They’d walked in silence for a minute or two when Joshua stopped. “Bear. I’d better wake him up and bring him along. Last time I left him alone in the truck, we found him cowering and shaking with his paws over his eyes. He’s been afraid of the dark ever since.”

Cassidy couldn’t help the spurt of laughter that erupted as they turned back toward the truck. “He’s afraid of the dark? Is that why Irma has all those night-lights all over the house?”

His mouth kicked up on one side. “Pitiful, huh?”

“You could get that dog on TV with that late-night talk show host who likes stupid pets.”

Josh laughed. “No. That’s stupid pet tricks. Bear’s just a stupid pet. But he’s lovable and loyal. And when I found him, I really needed something of my own.”

Cassidy didn’t know whether to reveal what Irma had told her about him or not, but lying to him even by omission seemed inherently wrong. “Irma told me how you came to live with them and about your memory. I hope you don’t mind. We started talking and…”

“It’s okay. It’s the way my life is. Everyone in town knows. I’ve come to grips with most of it, and the rest will come with time and the Lord’s grace.”

“You have an incredible attitude.”

“Not really. I’ve just been incredibly lucky. I don’t have a clue what my real parents were like, but I can’t imagine them being better people than Irma and Henry.”

“I imagine you’re right. They are wonderful people.”

“I think the three of us being together is God’s plan. Since Henry turned eighty, he’s slowed down. So has Ma,” he said as his beautiful mouth formed a teasing grin, “though I’d never let her hear me say that. They were there for me when I needed them. Ma taught me so much. She spent an untold number of hours teaching me how to talk, read, do math. Then Henry not only helped me forge a new life, but showed me the path to an eternity in heaven by teaching me about Jesus Christ and His saving grace. In the beginning, I relied on them pretty heavily, and now they lean on me. God’s been incredibly good to us by bringing us together.”

“You know, Joshua, you are the most incredible person I’ve ever met. Would you answer a burning question for me? How did you get your name?”

“Henry hated that they called me ‘John Doe’ at the hospital, so one day he balanced his Bible on the spine and helped me hold it between my hands. He told me we were going to let the Lord choose a name for me. Then he pulled my hands off the book and it fell open to Joshua. He closed it and did it again, and it fell open at Daniel. So I became Joshua Daniels. I even have a Social Security card and driver’s license under that name.”

“So your last name is Daniels. I thought you were their real son and that Daniel was your middle name. I guess your Lord was good to you. Think of the name you could have wound up with by using that method.”

They’d reached the truck where Bear was sleeping like a baby. “Bear!” Josh called out, and shook the truck bed. “Come on, boy. Wake up!”

Bear lay still as a rock.

“He’s kind of a deep sleeper,” Joshua explained, then clapped his hands loudly over the side of the truck bed near the dog.

The furry mound produced a paw that landed over a floppy ear. Other than that, he showed no movement except a sigh and deepened breathing.

“Maybe you should reach in and shake him,” she suggested.

Josh tried her suggestion, but to no avail. “I guess it’s time to pull out the big guns. Come on, Bear. Let’s go have dinner at Ma’s.”

A furry head popped up, followed quickly by the rest of the dog as he careened recklessly over the side of the truck, nearly knocking Joshua over. Bear was gone like a flash, running and barking down the road toward Irma’s Café.

“Will she feed him?” Cassidy asked.

“Sure. She’s crazy about him. But she may not feed me. I’m in for it when we get down there. He’ll go charging into the place and start begging for handouts. Bear’s just nuts for Ma’s cooking.”

“I imagine everyone in town is.”