Page 51 of In the Dust

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Harvesting is done, and the past few days have been filled with work, work, and more damn work. I’m sore in places I didn't know could get sore. That’s what moving from a farm will do; this work used to be easy for me, and now I’ve gotta get used to it again.

It wasn't all terrible, though. Harper came to help yesterday, and Grandpa made us a batch of fried chicken to close out a successful harvest.

“Ready for your surprise?” Colton stretches beside me on the bed. It’s eleven in the morning, the first time we’ve really gotten good sleep in a few days.

I grit my teeth. “You know how terrible I am with surprises, Colton.” I blush.

He sits on the edge of the bed, his palms curling around the edge of the mattress. “I’m not taking you anywhere we haven't been before.”

I slide onto my knees behind him, wrapping my arms around his chest. “Then tell me.”

He turns, planting a kiss on my lips. “Grab a swimsuit.”

When he says that, I know exactly where we’re headed.

Our spot.

The spot.

* * *

I slidein behind Colton on the four-wheeler, wrapping my arms around his waist. I’m wearing his t-shirt that fits me like a dress and a simple bikini underneath. We have a picnic basket strapped to the back.

Another place on this farm I haven't been to in years, longer than Mama’s grave. Everything revolves around my leaving, and everything is a reminder of time lost. But today, I’m going to enjoy strolling down memory lane—and creating new memories.

We stop at the edge of the forest. I grab the blanket, Colton grabs the basket, and we both reach for each other's hands.

It’s not long before I see the glimmering water. “Gosh, it’s been years,” I whisper as we walk closer to the bank. A place frozen in time, like it was waiting for me all along.

I take in my surroundings, sucking in a deep breath before I lay out the blanket on the pine straw. As I do, we both look at each other and smile.

My gaze pans to the right. “Colton!” I gasp. “There’s a little canoe!”

“It’s mine.” He grins. “I come out here to think.”

The silence stretches between us, rooting me in place. He comes here. Of all the places in this town, he comes here. I walk around, remembering the history between us this place brings.

My fingertips trace the heart that Colton carved into the old, weathered pine, our initials inside of it. As kids, we would chase each other all over the pastures, playfully teasing and picking on each other.

But it wasn't until the summer of my sixteenth birthday that everything changed. It was our first, real summer of falling in love. Right by that bank where I laid that blanket was where we lost our virginity to each other.

I step towards the little canoe. “Can we?”

Colton extends his hand. “Yes, we can.”

He drags it away from the shore, and I slip off my flip flops to step inside. It wobbles a little, but as Colton’s giant self gets in, he holds it grounded. Now, he’s only wearing his swim shorts, and his muscles glisten against the sun. “Where’s my paddle?” I ask as he dips his into the water.

“We only need one.” He smiles.

I position myself so that I’m on the bench facing him, and we float out into the calm waters. “This is so beautiful.”

“Yeah.” He doesn't take his eyes from my face. “Yeah, it is.”

I blush from his remark, having to look anywhere but his handsome face. “We would have loved this as kids.”

“Even better,” he says, paddling us a little further out, “we have it now.” He looks at me so intently, his short sentence meaning much more than that. He’s saying that we have each other back, and no amount of time can change how important this moment right here is.

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