Page 108 of We Redeemed the Rain

“You’ve never done it—it’s steep.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “Tag, you look so serious. Let’s be adventurous for twenty minutes. You won’t let me get hurt.”

She looked to me, waiting in anticipation. That smile could charge a dead battery. Every time I looked at it, life jolted into my chest. Before I realized what was happening, we were jumping the fence, calling after Windy Foot.

Bea cooed, “Oh, come here little, Windy Windy, we have some molasses for you.”

A laugh bubbled up from my throat. This was insane. After all this nonsense, we were going to miss the action anyway. We chose Windy because he was one of the most extroverted creatures I’d ever met. He ran over to us like we were walking bags of treats.

I made a loud kissing sound and Windy sidled up next to us.

I turned to Bea and her eyes danced with wild excitement.

“I’m gonna throw you up on his back.”

“Okay.”

“Grab his mane like it's the horn, pull, and swing your leg over while I lift you. Got it?”

“Wait. I forgot my legs feel like two-by-fours right now.”

I sputtered a laugh. “Mine too.”

“Is this going to hurt?”

“Uh…yes.”

She cussed. “Fine, just do it. I'm ready.”

I put my hands on her hips and counted down. “Three, two, one.” We both groaned in pain, but completed the mount, smooth as honey. Like we’d done it a thousand times.

“Scoot back.”

She scooted back on Windy, and I settled right in front of her, tapping him gently and reaching for his mane. He took off into a trot when I squeezed him.

“Hang on to me. We’re goin’ uphill.”

Her hands snaked under my arms, tucking around my torso. A sharp breath ricocheted through my lungs. I glanced down at her trusting hands as they gently clutched my rib cage. For some reason, flashes of memory hit me from left field. Like my refusal to play on the skins team in P.E. Like the summer I wore a t-shirt swimming for a few weeks and Randi said it was weird.

But the memories didn’t feel bad. Not right now anyway.

She palmed the front of me as I leaned forward and prodded Windy faster. As we neared the ridge, Bea squealed in fear and hid her face between my shoulder blades. “I’m slipping backward!”

“You ain’t slipping. I got you.” I reached back and wrapped my arm around her, pulling her flush against me. I leaned forward, activating my core and gripping Windy with my thighs. My muscles screamed in pain, but I’d die before letting soreness steal this moment away.

She held on tighter, squeezing the life out of me for the entire five minute ride.

I pulled us to a stop when we reached the clearing and patted Windy’s neck. “Whoa. Good run, Windy.”

Bea craned her neck over my shoulder and gasped. Her voice was breathy. “Tag, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Told you.”

The sliver of sun had turned into a semi-circle. The earth exploded with light, and the green all around us was lush, dewy, nearly transparent. The vibrant colors in the sky were fading away, but watchingthe rising orb of light roll out the blanket of sky blue would be worth the trip.

Sitting here together, on Windy’s back, was worth the trip.

The way her hands slid from my ribs to my waist—that alone was worth the trip.

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