As she settled inside, she tossed a set of keys at him.
Theo caught them. Looked at them. “Ah. See, I believe I forgot to mention I’ve never driven a stick shift before—”
“You’ll be fine.” Skye put the key in the ignition. “Just be sure to press the clutch all the way to the floorboard with the gear shift in neutral first.”
“The clutch,” Theo said uncertainly. “Right. And that is the...”
Skye’s brow creased as though she both could, and couldn’t, believe the man before her. “Left. The little pedal on the left.”
“Right.” Theo nodded.
Skye pointed up the road. “We only have to take it those five or six miles, but the road will be steep, so you’re going to have to keep it firm in second and be careful not to let it stall out.”
He nodded again. Stalling out. On a mountain with woods on one side and a cliff-like drop-off to rocky crags on the other. “You know, I am actually very good at jogging—”
At last, Skye cracked. “Oh mygosh, Theo. You are not going to jog next to the tractor for six miles in your . . . your”—shefrowned as she glanced down at his feet—“absolutely hideous cowboy boots that look three sizes too small.”
Theo looked down at the overly ornate, gold-threaded black boots. “Two. But it was all they had.”
“Come here.”
He raised a brow and took a step forward.
“You’ll ride with me.” She stepped down from the tractor and waved impatiently for him to get in.
Theo hesitated, then glanced up the road.
“Get in.”
He felt momentarily helpless, unable to drive not only the tractor—which, given his occupation and lifestyle, was at least understandable—but a standard-transmission vehicle as well. Had he known, however, that she had expected him to drive her car, he could’ve driven his own, dropped her off at the gas station instead—
“You first.”
Theo’s thoughts dissolved as he peered inside. “Can this handle both of us?”
Skye gave him a look as if to say,Did your eyeballs just see Luke? What are you trying to imply about my weight?
“But of course we’ll fit,” Theo said. “With you being so petite, the tractor will need me simply to keep us grounded.”
“For heaven’s sake, Theo,justget in.” Theo felt her two hands press against his shoulders and push him forward. He scrambled up the steps and, careful to avoid touching any gadgets, sat on the cracked seat. The weathered steering wheel was large and tilted toward the sky. Numerous dials and switches were arranged beside the armrest to his right. Glass surrounded him.
Skye dropped all of her weight on his knee. He nearlygrunted but managed to hold it in. “Ah. So that’s how we’ll fit. That makes perfect sense.”
She frowned at him and turned the key. The engine rumbled.
Skye flicked the switch and turned the vast wheel, and the massive tires of the tractor began to move. Theo’s world slowed as the wisps of her hair tickled his cheeks. While trees flickered by in his periphery, his breath caught on the scent he had almost forgotten. After all these years, her hair still smelled of strawberries and cream.
He lifted his voice to match the grumbling noise of the tractor. “You use the same shampoo.”
Skye jerked the wheel and looked over her shoulder. “Try not to sound like a creeper while I’m stuck in here with you. And... I can’t believe you remember that.”
He didn’t reply, but instead looked out the window. Only then did he realize just how quickly the trees whipped by. “How fast does this tractor go?”
“Twenty-five.” She looked back, noticed the car crawling behind them, and pulled closer to the creek-side edge. She pushed the window open and waved them on. Theo watched the tire creep over the white line and inhaled sharply before looking the opposite direction.
But as he watched her intent posture, her alert gaze, the confidence with which she handled the wheel, he remembered another thing he hadn’t called to mind for years: the way he used to trust her. Blindly trust her, really. Always eager for the next adventure.
“Do you remember the time I let you drive me around in that four-wheeler?” Theo said, his voice barely audible above the rumble.
