“Um, yeah?” She eyed the four wheeler apprehensively. “I’ve never been on a four wheeler. I thought there might be seat belts or something?”
“Weird.” I couldn’t imagine an existence where I’d never been on one. It was the main mode of transportation for kids outside of town. On the farms, changing pipes, feeding cows, or just driving into town. “Just hop on. You can squeeze behind Danny and hold on to my coat or the bars behind you.”
She took a deep breath and exhaled. “Okay.”
Danny slid closer to me.
I moved my foot out of the way as Faith climbed on. If she had never been on a four wheeler, it seemed only right I showed her what they could do. “Ready?”
“Umm, yes, I think?”
“Perfect.”
I gunned it. Faith screamed and pulled hard on my jacket as I laughed into the cold, frozen air.
Chapter Ten
FAITH
Iwas going to kill Adam! He floored that machine as he whipped around corners and dodged fallen logs. After my initial scream caused him to cackle, I refused to make another sound and encourage him. Plus, Danny had flinched and didn’t appreciate my volume. I would have said so many words if Danny wasn’t there, and none of them would have been appropriate for him to repeat.
Adam pulled over and cut the engine. “This looks like a good place to start.” He grinned, clearly pleased. “So, how was your first time on a four wheeler?”
Danny pushed against my arms that caged him between Adam and me. I forcefully pried my fingers off Adam’s jacket, stood on shaking legs, and let Danny get off. My stomach was still doing loop de loops, and I clenched my fingers as I tried to bring the feeling back into my hands.
Danny exhaled loudly. “That was kinda scary and kinda fun.” He stood to the side of the four wheeler and stared at the snow.
Adam turned to face Danny and closed his eyes. “Shoot, sorry.” He squatted so he was eye level with him. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I should have asked first.”
He shrugged. “It’s okay.”
“I’ll ask next time.” Adam tilted his jaw toward Danny. “But if you ever want to tell me to slow down, just slap the back of my jacket.”
Danny nodded. “It’s okay. I think I liked it.”
Adam stood and went to the front of the four wheeler. As he unstrapped the saw and tarps, his eyes searched mine and then his shoulders dropped. “You didn’t like it either?” He sighed. “Sorry.” He looked at his feet.
“It was just a lot really fast.” I flexed my fingers and studied my footprints in the snow.
“Fair.” He pursed his lips and looked down. “I should have asked first.” He flinched and gave me a partial smile. “Sorry ’bout that.”
I brushed my hair out of my face. “It’s fine.” I saw his sincerity in his expression. I couldn’t believe how readily he apologized, even to me. My heart sped up and this time it wasn’t because of the four wheeler.
He grabbed the saw in one hand and Danny’s hand in the other. “All right, let’s see what we can find.” They started up the hill to the left, their feet crunching in the snow.
We were farther into the snowy peaks and they reached to the sky, like fingers of a hand reaching for the heavens. My family wasn’t exactly outdoorsy. I had seen snow and mountains…but these mountains were huge, steep, and powerful.
The insignificance of my existence wrapped around me, and I reveled in it. I thought Hillsdale was quiet and in the middle of nowhere, but this was something different entirely. There was a heavy blanket of silence that enveloped my fears.
“Can we build a snowman?” Danny’s voice drifted down toward me.
I smiled, the boy was obsessed with snowmen right now.
“Sorry, Champ. We are going to have a full day of it as is. Let’s race to that log instead.” Adam pointed up the hill.
“I get a head start.” Danny started charging up the hill. “Count to fifty,” he yelled over his shoulder.
“Fifty!” Adam laughed. “No way.”
