Page 103 of Opposites (Never) Attract
“Good. As long as that’s settled,” I said. Hoping we’dput an end to the Tag conversation, I reached for a sandwich of my own. It looked like a curried chicken salad with raisins.
“Or, you could move back home with me, date and marry Tag, and maybe someday give me grand babies. A man with a chest like that would make good grand babies.”
“Mom!” We all shouted in unison.
TWENTY-ONE
SUNSHINE
“Are you sure about this?”Harmony asked me. We were standing next to each other in what basically served as the Lodge’s garage. It was a separate building, adjacent to the house, but it’s where all the equipment and vehicles not horse related were kept.
The building was big enough to house five trucks, four ATVs, and two dirt bikes I assumed were used more for fun than actual ranch business.
“Absolutely sure,” I said. I’d spent the morning in front of the computer and I had given myself one hour to step away from the screens and the numbers and the stress. I had my phone on me if anything started to happen, and I was going to take one hour to do something fun.
Ethan asked me if I wanted to learn how to ride one of the ATV’s and my immediate answer had been yes.
“A horse, an ATV? What’s next for you?” Harmony asked.
“Anything. Everything,” I said, feeling like that could be true. “Why didn’t I do any of this stuff as a kid? It’s fun.”
Harmony shook her head. “You just never wanted to.”
“Well, that was dumb,” I decided. I followed Ethan out to the gravel area that was just outside the garage, and listened as he walked me through the gas and brake. Then he handed me a pair of sturdy gloves to wear and a helmet.
“You’re not wearing a helmet,” I said.
“I’ve been riding one of these since I was six.”
“Wear the helmet,” Harmony told me. “We need your brain intact for this crypto thing.”
When I sat on the seat and put my hands on the handlebars, I wasn’t sure I was going to have the strength to grip the clutch. But it squeezed easily, and with a jolt I was moving. Another squeeze of the brake clutch, and I stopped. After a couple of those attempts I felt like I had some control over the vehicle.
“How far can I go?”
“Not far!” Harmony insisted.
“Stick around the Lodge,” Ethan said. “That way, I can keep eyes on you.”
Without another word, I was off.
And it was exhilarating. Almost like stepping on to a New York sidewalk for the first time during morning rush hour and truly having a sense of how many millions of people fit on a single, tiny island.
This was nothing like that, obviously, but it gave me the same buzz. The wind blew my hair back, I kept my body loose as the machine ran over the dips and ruts of the land. After a few trips around the Lodge, I could feel my butt starting to ache from all the abuse, so I pulled the four-wheeler into the garage.
As soon as it was parked I pulled out my phone, knowing who I wanted to share my excitement with.
Me: You done work?
Tag: Yep.
I waiteda second to see if he would follow that up with an invitation. But when it didn’t immediately come, I decided to woman up.
Me: Can I come over to your place? Otherwise, I have to spend all night watching Ethan and Harmony be in love…(vomit emoji)
Tag: That sounds worse than Netflix.
Me: So, can I come?
