Chapter 3
By the time all the compost was shoveled and raked into the garden beds, Josh was covered with sweat, wearing more of the soil than he wanted to admit, and had a nice set of blisters going on both hands.
He was also deep into a solid crush on Keith.
Not only was he good looking in a lanky, outdoorsy kind of way, with loopy blond curls and sparkling blue eyes only making it worse. He also had the dry, sarcastic sense of humor Josh hadn’t even realized he was going to miss.
He knew very well that the Midwest wasn’t a monolithic culture any more than the South was. Ohio and Illinois were hardly identical in their culture, politics, or even their landscapes.
But the voice and smartass attitude from somewhere close to home helped Josh feel a whole lot less homesick.
He settled t
