highway, though she would get
there.
“ You got it.” I said,
putting my hand on the wheel as she turned a short time later down
the long dirt drive of the inn. “Give it a little gas.”
She clapped. “This is fun.”
“ Hands on the wheel,
darlin’,” I grinned. “If you think this is fun, wait till I get you
in a tractor.”
She took her eyes off the road for a
second to stare at me. “You have a tractor?”
I stared at her. “I have a ranch. A
tractor is common for that kind of atmosphere.”
“ Is it big?”
“ Depends on the one you
pick.” I motioned back to the road and helped her steer it up the
drive in front of a large two-story house. She parked it, with only
a little jerk, next to another truck with a trailer hitched to the
back.
We went up to the front door and rang
the bell. A tall, older man with a white handlebar mustache
answered. He was my kinda people. Just a good ol’ country boy. He
showed us up to the second floor to the room we could stay in, and
then took us out to the stables. I had Ash settled for the night,
with Briar keen on helping whenever she could.
We finally crashed in the upstairs
room. I didn’t even bother changing. I kicked off my boots and fell
right into the squeaky twin bed, only to be awoken shortly after by
a phone ringing.
“ Hello?” I glanced at the
clock, bleary eyed. It was seven in the morning. Shit. Time flew
by.
“ Just lettin’ ya’ll know we
got breakfast downstairs if you want to eat.”
I thanked the woman on the phone and
hung up. “Briar?”
“ Hmm?”
“ Time to get going,” I
pushed up on my elbows and looked her over. She’d fallen asleep on
top of the covers, and like me, hadn’t bothered to change out of
her clothes from yesterday. I smiled. “Breakfast is ready if you’re
hungry.”
She pushed her curls out of her eyes
and squinted at me. “I’m not human enough to be hungry until I
shower.”
I laughed, sliding out of the bed and
heading for the bathroom. “Better hurry up then.”
I threw on a clean shirt and pulled on
my boots. Briar took a little longer, but she emerged from the
bathroom her usual cheery self, ready to get on the road. The
couple who owned the inn fed us, and even gave us sandwiches for
the road.
I hooked up the GPS and Briar’s eyes
nearly bugged out of her head. “We have twenty five hours left of
the drive to your ranch?”
I laughed, “Yeah, we’ll do fifteen
today.”
She nodded, taking a deep breath.
“We’ll be in the truck until eleven.”
“ I warned you.”
“ Hey, I’m not complaining.”
She smiled. “In fact, after you fell asleep, I stayed up most of
the night playing games on my phone.”
“ Why?”
“ So I can do this…” she
pulled the hood of her jacket up to cover her face.
“Goodnight.”
I shrugged, “Whatever
works.”
Chapter 12
Briar
I only slept for a few hours. Turns out
I wasn’t the kind of person capable of snoozing in bright daylight
with other cars zooming past us on the highway. By lunchtime I was
wide awake, and climbing into the backseat of the truck to grab a
couple sodas and the sandwiches. Chase was content behind the wheel
most of the time, but he got a little fidgety as the day wore on.
We talked, I’d pretend to sleep, and he would make fun of me for
trying. A few times we stopped at rest stops to use the bathrooms
and to stretch. Ash was an old pro at riding in a trailer, and
didn’t seem to care what we did. He just grazed on the little bit
of hay Chase had provided.
I checked in with Grandma via text
throughout the day. My parents were clueless, thinking I’d gone to
Boston with her for the summer. Maybe it should have irritated me
that my parents were self-absorbed snobs, but I’d been around them
my whole life, and could only roll my eyes and hope one day they
came to their senses. If not, at least I had them as an example of
what not to be like as I got older.
Once night had fallen, we decided
against stopping
there.
“ You got it.” I said,
putting my hand on the wheel as she turned a short time later down
the long dirt drive of the inn. “Give it a little gas.”
She clapped. “This is fun.”
“ Hands on the wheel,
darlin’,” I grinned. “If you think this is fun, wait till I get you
in a tractor.”
She took her eyes off the road for a
second to stare at me. “You have a tractor?”
I stared at her. “I have a ranch. A
tractor is common for that kind of atmosphere.”
“ Is it big?”
“ Depends on the one you
pick.” I motioned back to the road and helped her steer it up the
drive in front of a large two-story house. She parked it, with only
a little jerk, next to another truck with a trailer hitched to the
back.
We went up to the front door and rang
the bell. A tall, older man with a white handlebar mustache
answered. He was my kinda people. Just a good ol’ country boy. He
showed us up to the second floor to the room we could stay in, and
then took us out to the stables. I had Ash settled for the night,
with Briar keen on helping whenever she could.
We finally crashed in the upstairs
room. I didn’t even bother changing. I kicked off my boots and fell
right into the squeaky twin bed, only to be awoken shortly after by
a phone ringing.
“ Hello?” I glanced at the
clock, bleary eyed. It was seven in the morning. Shit. Time flew
by.
“ Just lettin’ ya’ll know we
got breakfast downstairs if you want to eat.”
I thanked the woman on the phone and
hung up. “Briar?”
“ Hmm?”
“ Time to get going,” I
pushed up on my elbows and looked her over. She’d fallen asleep on
top of the covers, and like me, hadn’t bothered to change out of
her clothes from yesterday. I smiled. “Breakfast is ready if you’re
hungry.”
She pushed her curls out of her eyes
and squinted at me. “I’m not human enough to be hungry until I
shower.”
I laughed, sliding out of the bed and
heading for the bathroom. “Better hurry up then.”
I threw on a clean shirt and pulled on
my boots. Briar took a little longer, but she emerged from the
bathroom her usual cheery self, ready to get on the road. The
couple who owned the inn fed us, and even gave us sandwiches for
the road.
I hooked up the GPS and Briar’s eyes
nearly bugged out of her head. “We have twenty five hours left of
the drive to your ranch?”
I laughed, “Yeah, we’ll do fifteen
today.”
She nodded, taking a deep breath.
“We’ll be in the truck until eleven.”
“ I warned you.”
“ Hey, I’m not complaining.”
She smiled. “In fact, after you fell asleep, I stayed up most of
the night playing games on my phone.”
“ Why?”
“ So I can do this…” she
pulled the hood of her jacket up to cover her face.
“Goodnight.”
I shrugged, “Whatever
works.”
Chapter 12
Briar
I only slept for a few hours. Turns out
I wasn’t the kind of person capable of snoozing in bright daylight
with other cars zooming past us on the highway. By lunchtime I was
wide awake, and climbing into the backseat of the truck to grab a
couple sodas and the sandwiches. Chase was content behind the wheel
most of the time, but he got a little fidgety as the day wore on.
We talked, I’d pretend to sleep, and he would make fun of me for
trying. A few times we stopped at rest stops to use the bathrooms
and to stretch. Ash was an old pro at riding in a trailer, and
didn’t seem to care what we did. He just grazed on the little bit
of hay Chase had provided.
I checked in with Grandma via text
throughout the day. My parents were clueless, thinking I’d gone to
Boston with her for the summer. Maybe it should have irritated me
that my parents were self-absorbed snobs, but I’d been around them
my whole life, and could only roll my eyes and hope one day they
came to their senses. If not, at least I had them as an example of
what not to be like as I got older.
Once night had fallen, we decided
against stopping
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