Page 158 of We Redeemed the Rain

She crossed her arms, sat back, her eyebrows arching into the sky. “Well, hello.” Her gaze went to Tag. “Tag, care to share where you two have been?”

“Uh”—he couldn’t quite sober his smile—“fixin’, um, fixin’ fences?”

I wheezed as I slapped him on the chest. “Could you sound any more guilty?”

He tipped his head forward, his wet hair flopping against his forehead. He could barely speak. “I’m—gonna go—change ‘fore I get in trouble.”

He didn’t look up as he passed Jackie to go through the hallway. Red bloomed in the top of his cheekbones, his smile huge even though he was doing his best to stifle it.

When we heard his bedroom door shut, Jackie demanded, “Start talking. Right the hell now.”

“He kissed me.” My heart raced admitting the wonderful news.

She spun her finger around, indicating the whole of me. “Thisdoes not happen from a mere kiss.”

I shrugged my shoulders, suddenly feeling the air conditioning in the house. “Okay, he gave me alongkiss.”

“That man got to second base, didn’t he?”

Heat,again, exploded in me. Flashes of Tag and I raced through my memory like a vivid dream. I groped for my sanity as I nodded. “Yeah, he—he did.”

For once in my life, Jackie held back the jokes. Instead, she hugged me and helped me pull dry clothes from the dryer. I threw my soakingwet hair into a bun, tied one of Tag’s bandanas around it, threw on his red t-shirt, and shimmied into my cut off jeans.

Tag finished his errands and was gassing up the Ranger at a gas station while I purchased some snacks and drinks. I got some salty peanuts, a granola bar, and a surprise for Tag. As I paid the clerk, a roll of thunder moved through the sky, growing in intensity as it lingered above us. My heart, still soaring far above the clouds, hardly heard it.

Under the gas station awning, the wind whipped, blowing drops of rain sideways. Mist bathed me. Cars zooming by on the main drag pealed through standing puddles on the road. Tag was screwing the gas cap back when I stepped up to the Ranger.

Lightning flashed, and Tag’s gaze darted beyond me to the clouds, then back to my face with the most relaxed smile I’d ever seen him wear.

“Guess what?” I swiveled back and forth, trying to be irresistible. “I got you something.”

His brows lifted in amusement as I dug into the plastic bag draped over my arm.

“I found”—I pulled out the can—“the world’s most useless Coke.” I swiped a dramatic hand over it as if I was filming a commercial. “Caffeine freeandsugar free.”

“Wow. Thanks.” He chuckled, taking it from me and turning it to look at the label. “I was probably a teenager the last time I had a Coke.”

“Which is crazy to me. I know you aren't into sweet stuff, but everyone enjoys a Coke now and then.”

Ten minutes later, the Ranger bumped up Meadowbrook’s gravel drive. Rain, torrential now, beat the truck and almost drowned the sound of the country music station Tag always had the radio tuned to. To my surprise, Tag threw the truck in park and idled in the middle of the driveway when the barn was still out of sight.

“What are you doing?” I asked as I popped a handful of peanuts into my mouth.

“As soon as I pull up, there’s gonna be a thousand things to take care of. I want to sit with you a few more minutes.” He reached over and palmed my bare thigh, incinerating my insides. “Are there more peanuts?”

“Yep.” I leaned forward to dig through the plastic bag on the floor board. “Here you go.”

“Thanks. I’m starvin’.” Quietly, we ate a few bites, enjoying our last minutes alone. He pointed toward the pond. “Pond’s gonna be nice and fresh. We should night swim.”

Tag reached to the cup holder and grabbed the Coke. One-handed, he popped the tab.

Pop.

He lifted the Coke to his lips, sipped.

I lifted my Coke, too. “I like that idea except for snakes. Aren’t they worse at night?”

He didn’t immediately reply.

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