“I would like that. Only let’s do it the day after the holiday. I want to see fireworks somewhere that evening.” Consenting to a date was a little scary—but then, so was traveling from Tucson to the Tumbleweed on a prayer and a few crackers. “No, that’s not right. I don’t want to just see them. I want to set them off like kids do. Mama was too afraid that I would get hurt to let me play with them when I was a little girl.”
“You’ve never gotten to light a firecracker or hold a Roman candle?”
I shook my head. “I usually watched them from the window or balcony of whatever hotel we were in until I was fourteen.”
“And then?” he asked.
“Then I was playing poker in a room that seldom had windows,” I answered. “So, this year, I want to go to one of those roadside stands, spend money on fireworks, and set them off myself.”
“It’s a date. I’ll bring the beer and pizza,” Jackson said, “and find a good place for us to celebrate.”
What will happen in the five months ahead of us? Will I have put down more roots in that time?
“Will that be our eighth date?” I asked.
“No, ma’am.”
“So, is this our last date?”
“No, ma’am,” he repeated with a chuckle. “Independence Day will not be the date when we have a fight the first time. It could be our thirtieth one, but definitely not the eighth. That is, if you are willing to keep going out with me.”
“Depends,” I replied with my best poker face.
“On what?”
“By your standards, this is our third date, and you still haven’t kissed me,” I answered.
“Well ...” He braked and pulled the truck over close to the piled-up snow on the side of the road. “I expect it’s time to remedy that problem.” He got out, rounded the front of the vehicle, and opened thepassenger door. His arm brushed against mine when he reached across my body to unfasten my seat belt.
I put my hand in his when he held it out, and a huge tumbleweed floated over the six-foot-high bank of dirty snow. He helped me out of the truck, cupped my cheeks in his hands, and his eyes fluttered shut. I moistened my lips with the tip of my tongue, and his mouth closed on mine. Heat like I had never known before shot through my body, and I leaned in to him so close that I could hear his heartbeat pounding against my chest.
When the kiss ended, he scooped me up and set me back in the seat. “Does that help you make up your mind about dating me?”
“It does, but I would like to know if we are exclusive.” My voice had gone high and squeaky.
“I don’t have the time, energy, or want-to for anyone else in my life,” he answered. “How about you?”
“Same,” I told him.
He started the engine and pulled back out onto the road. “Then tonight we will celebrate our decision to date—that kiss was hotter’n blue blazes.”
“Yes, we should—and yes, it was.” I didn’t tell him that I’d never been in a committed relationship before. Or that he was the one person that might make me get off the fence concerning spreading my wings and going back to my familiar lifestyle or falling over to the other side and putting down roots.
“Feels a little surreal out here, doesn’t it?” Jackson said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen snow piled up this high. Seems like we’re driving through a tunnel.”
“If we had a full moon, it might be different, but that little sliver up there doesn’t give us much light,” I answered. “But I kind of like it this way. It seems so intimate and private.”
“Me too. Like we’re the only two people in the whole world,” he said.
“Exactly. You were with your team when you went on missions. Did you ever wish for more alone time?” I asked.
“You had lots of alone time,” he said in return. “Did you ever wish for family?”
“Not the kind that Frank had,” I chuckled.
“Why not? What was wrong with his kinfolk?”
“I only saw them four times a year. Easter, Independence Day, Thanksgiving, and sometime close to Christmas. They all came down from the hills for the holidays with a truckload of casseroles, their Bibles, and moonshine. They would argue about religion, politics ... and it got louder every time they emptied a quart jar of ’shine.”
