When Denny finally appears to be getting the upper hand, the horse gives him a few solid bucks and a four-legged leap into the air that has everybody laughing. Even the little kid who’s been glaring at me every chance he gets meets my eyes with a hesitant smile.
When our makeshift rodeo is over, both the horse and the cowboy are out of breath and sweating. And there’s no standing room left along the fence, with nearly everybody on the ranch gathered to watch. Denny climbs out of the saddle with wobbly legs, handing off the horse to a smug-looking Jackson, and bends to scoop up his hat on his way to the gate.
“I could use a beer after that.” Denny brushes the dirt from his Stetson before placing it back on his head. “Mind taking the kid home? I was planning to give him a ride, but I’ll be a while yet. That whole thing kinda interfered with me doing actual work.”
“No problem.” I motion for Jonas to follow, and we walk side by side back toward the barn.
Finger and thumb wedged against my tongue, I whistle and Betty comes bounding around the corner of the barn not a second later. Likely expecting another puppuccino, she’s hot on our heels and leaping in the passenger door before Jonas has time to climb in. And this time when the truck lumbers over the cattle guard, Jonas tucks Betty under his arms and rolls the window down so she can hang her head in the fresh air. Her big black ears bend in the wind and her tongue hangs happily out the side of her mouth.
Turning down the stereo, I ask, “Have any big summer plans?”
Jonas softly strokes Betty’s side. “A video game I’ve been waiting for comes out next month. My dad said he’d buy it for me.”
At ten I would’ve had something planned for every day ofsummer vacation. Growing up on my uncle’s farm, there was always a herd of kids running amok from sunrise to sunset. My mom had a giant dinner bell to call us in for meals, but otherwise we were practically feral. Building forts, fishing, swimming, trying to ride various farm animals, and getting into any mischief we could.
“No plans to go swimming or fishing or hang out with friends?”
“We game online together every night. I can fish and swim in game.”
My nose involuntarily scrunches, and I steal a glance at him. “That sounds like the worst summer ever.”
“Better than shoveling horse poop.”
“Not by much, man.”
After a few minutes of silence—save for the loud panting coming from Betty, who’s made a home on Jonas’s lap—the kid clears his throat.
“I used to go fishing with my grandpa a lot,” he says.
“My grandpa took my brother and me fishing all the time, too.”
More silence. The painful kind.
“If you ever wanted to go”—my right hand twists on the leather steering wheel—“there’s a river at the ranch. We fish pretty often after work. Swim, too.”
His nod’s barely noticeable in my periphery.
• • •
Pulling up to the house half an hour later, I’m once again reminded that I haven’t changed my shirt. Now I’m about to make a second bad impression in a single day. But, hey, I brought the kid back alive.
He didn’t exactly talk my ear off for the entire trip, but it was less awkward and stilted than the journey to the ranch this morning. Turns out he’s more than happy to explain theins and outs of his current favorite video game, and once I got him chatting about that, the drive went by quickly.
Giving Betty one last ear scratch, he slips out of the truck and strides toward the house, stopping briefly to raise an eyebrow when he notices I’m following him.
“Just wanted to talk to your mom for a second” is my response.
Jonas flings the front door open with a squawky yell for his mom, then kicks his shoes off in the middle of the entryway and walks away without another look in my direction.
Mere seconds later, Whit turns the corner with a nervous pinching of her lips. Still wearing the pantsuit from this morning, she gives my dirty clothes a once-over, nose twitching to imply I don’t onlylookdirty, I smell it, too.
“Thanks for bringing him back. I hope he wasn’t too much trouble for you.”
“Actually, that’s why I didn’t just boot him out the truck door before coming to a complete stop. Wanted to let you know he was a huge help, and he’s welcome back anytime.”
As if pulled by puppet strings, her face twists with doubt. “A huge help?”
Okay, so she’s got me there.
