was aggravated with how well she was doing it. It made no sense at all, but then, all my common sense went out the window when I was around her.
It was still early morning and the cloudy, overcast gray sky had not opened up to the sun yet. The air was warm, though, and I figured it would be a hot day later on.
Pockets of wispy fog covered the roadway, and Sam slowed down accordingly.
Rock music was blaring from the radio, and I wasn’t surprised when Jacob, speaking loudly to be heard over the noise, said, “You probably shouldn’t play the radio when my uncle gets in.” He said it in a friendly but uptight way.
“Sure thing, bro,” Sam replied amicably as Rose reached for the knob and turned the music off.
It took just a few minutes to reach Uncle Reuben’s house, where he was waiting by the roadway for us. When the truck stopped, Rose jumped out of the front seat, offering it to my uncle, who tipped his hat and thanked her. Then she did the unthinkable—pushing the front seat forward and climbing in the backseat, right next to me.
While I was worriedly trying not to let my long leg touch hers in the cramped space, Uncle Reuben turned and said, “Good morning, boys.”
I froze.
“Good morning, Uncle. It looks like we’ll have a nice day for the sale,” Jacob answered in his best adult voice, thankfully getting Uncle’s attention away from me.
Uncle Reuben then looked over at Sam and said, “I don’t think I’ve met you, young man.”
“I’m Sam Cameron, sir, and that’s my sister, Rose,” Sam said, not taking his eyes off the road.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sam,” Uncle responded without acknowledging Rose. Usually I didn’t pay much mind to how the other men ignored the young, unmarried women of the community, but at the moment I felt the heat of embarrassment wash over me at my uncle’s rudeness. Wondering what Rose thought of it, I shifted just my eyes over to her. She sat perfectly still, looking out the window away from me, so I couldn’t tell what was going on in her pretty head.
It was uncomfortably tight in the backseat with very little legroom for two men over six foot. I continued to be careful not to lean my leg onto Rose’s, instead holding it awkwardly away from her.
As I tried to listen to Jacob and Uncle speak about crops and workhorses, the closeness of her body distracted me. I wanted to hold her hand and relax my leg onto hers. The scent coming from her was tantalizing my nostrils, a subtle, warm smell of lavender. I knew that smell well, for Mother had the plants growing in her garden.
I tried not to think about her scent, her body or her face, and just stared straight ahead for the hour-long journey through the countryside. It was damn near impossible, though, with her sitting just inches away.
When we finally arrived at the stockyard, I was happy to get out of the truck and stretch my legs. I needed to get my body away from the object of all its discomfort. Sitting so close to Rose without being able to touch her was like having an itch that I couldn’t reach to scratch. It bordered on torture. Careful not to look in her direction, I went to the back of the trailer with Jacob and unloaded the horses.
Uncle Reuben waited with me while Jacob went into the building to get the horses’ numbers. The place was filled to bursting, and we had to park in the neighboring field just to get a spot.
There was a festive atmosphere surrounding us with the murmuring of so many conversations popping from the crowd, mixed in with the neighing of horses in the air. The scent of grilling hamburgers floated on the breeze and my mouth watered even though I wasn’t actually hungry. Once Buttercup and Sally were tied to the trailer, I risked peeking at Rose and saw her staring intensely at the workhorses.
Then she turned to my uncle and asked, “How old are they?”
He seemed a little surprised that she had spoken to him, but he recovered and answered, “I believe they are eighteen and
It was still early morning and the cloudy, overcast gray sky had not opened up to the sun yet. The air was warm, though, and I figured it would be a hot day later on.
Pockets of wispy fog covered the roadway, and Sam slowed down accordingly.
Rock music was blaring from the radio, and I wasn’t surprised when Jacob, speaking loudly to be heard over the noise, said, “You probably shouldn’t play the radio when my uncle gets in.” He said it in a friendly but uptight way.
“Sure thing, bro,” Sam replied amicably as Rose reached for the knob and turned the music off.
It took just a few minutes to reach Uncle Reuben’s house, where he was waiting by the roadway for us. When the truck stopped, Rose jumped out of the front seat, offering it to my uncle, who tipped his hat and thanked her. Then she did the unthinkable—pushing the front seat forward and climbing in the backseat, right next to me.
While I was worriedly trying not to let my long leg touch hers in the cramped space, Uncle Reuben turned and said, “Good morning, boys.”
I froze.
“Good morning, Uncle. It looks like we’ll have a nice day for the sale,” Jacob answered in his best adult voice, thankfully getting Uncle’s attention away from me.
Uncle Reuben then looked over at Sam and said, “I don’t think I’ve met you, young man.”
“I’m Sam Cameron, sir, and that’s my sister, Rose,” Sam said, not taking his eyes off the road.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Sam,” Uncle responded without acknowledging Rose. Usually I didn’t pay much mind to how the other men ignored the young, unmarried women of the community, but at the moment I felt the heat of embarrassment wash over me at my uncle’s rudeness. Wondering what Rose thought of it, I shifted just my eyes over to her. She sat perfectly still, looking out the window away from me, so I couldn’t tell what was going on in her pretty head.
It was uncomfortably tight in the backseat with very little legroom for two men over six foot. I continued to be careful not to lean my leg onto Rose’s, instead holding it awkwardly away from her.
As I tried to listen to Jacob and Uncle speak about crops and workhorses, the closeness of her body distracted me. I wanted to hold her hand and relax my leg onto hers. The scent coming from her was tantalizing my nostrils, a subtle, warm smell of lavender. I knew that smell well, for Mother had the plants growing in her garden.
I tried not to think about her scent, her body or her face, and just stared straight ahead for the hour-long journey through the countryside. It was damn near impossible, though, with her sitting just inches away.
When we finally arrived at the stockyard, I was happy to get out of the truck and stretch my legs. I needed to get my body away from the object of all its discomfort. Sitting so close to Rose without being able to touch her was like having an itch that I couldn’t reach to scratch. It bordered on torture. Careful not to look in her direction, I went to the back of the trailer with Jacob and unloaded the horses.
Uncle Reuben waited with me while Jacob went into the building to get the horses’ numbers. The place was filled to bursting, and we had to park in the neighboring field just to get a spot.
There was a festive atmosphere surrounding us with the murmuring of so many conversations popping from the crowd, mixed in with the neighing of horses in the air. The scent of grilling hamburgers floated on the breeze and my mouth watered even though I wasn’t actually hungry. Once Buttercup and Sally were tied to the trailer, I risked peeking at Rose and saw her staring intensely at the workhorses.
Then she turned to my uncle and asked, “How old are they?”
He seemed a little surprised that she had spoken to him, but he recovered and answered, “I believe they are eighteen and
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