Waylaid (8 page)

I felt something underneath my thigh. And no, it wasn’t his belt buckle. He wasn’t wearing one since he had on softball pants.

Holy cow.

The feeling was mutual. Suddenly I was so overheated that I longed to take off my shirt — something else I had never done with a guy — to cool off. Though one look at Graham told me it would only cause both of us to ignite if I did.

I turned my head to catch my breath and caught sight of the clock. “Oh crap!”

Graham tightened his arms around me. “What’s wrong, Addy?”

“I hate to say this but I… I need to go home.”

He blinked and rubbed his hand down his face as he glanced at the clock, too. “I’m so sorry. I totally forgot that you have school tomorrow.”

“This is only Thursday, ya know.” I shrugged.

He angled his head toward the clock. “A lot closer to Friday than Thursday.”

“Yeah, I know.” I sat up and slid off of his lap when he let me go. Graham opened the windows, which had steamed up. The cool night air felt good on my face, but I hated to leave Graham even though I wasn’t ready for where we seemed to be headed. Where we were definitely headed.

Addy, what have you gotten yourself into?

Graham

“Why does it
smell funny?” Addy wrinkled her nose as we got out of my truck.

“What smells funny?”

“The… air. Everything.”

I chuckled. “Because it’s a farm. Manure on fields. Pigs. Cows.”

“Oh.”

“In town there are smells too.”

“Not like this.” She covered her nose with her hand.

“I don’t even notice it. But then, I’ve lived in the country my whole life.”

“Guess that a big difference between us.”

Unfortunately.
I took her hand and led her around cow piles. “Come on Miss Outdoorswoman.”

“Ha ha.”

“Addy, you said you wanted to study to be a vet. Cows are animals, you know. We have a vet come and check the cows pretty often.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of small and cuddly things.”

“Oh, like lizards and snakes?”

“Eww! No.” She waved her hands in front of her as if pushing away the reptiles. “Cats and dogs. Maybe the occasional rabbit. You know, things with hair.”

I pointed to the cows.

She rolled her eyes. “I meant
small
things with hair.”

“Rats?”

“No!” She wrinkled her nose.

“Bats?”

“Ah!” she screamed. “Stop it!” She squirmed around like a worm on a hook.

I laughed and snorted so hard I almost doubled over. After I’d calmed down, I pointed to the barn. “Listen, I just have to do a couple of things and then we can leave.”

“Are you sure you’re done making fun of me?”

I tilted my head and narrowed one eye, making a show of sizing her up. “For now.”

Addy sighed. “All right. Need any help, then?”

“You want to help me?”

She shrugged.

I racked my brain for something she could do. Fix the exhaust on the old truck? No. Repair the downed fence? Nope. Shovel manure? Not even going there. “Maybe there is something you can do.”

Her eyes lit up. “Really?”

“Follow me. But watch your step.”

“Yeah, really wish I hadn’t worn sandals today. You could have warned me, you know.” She hopped to the left after nearly stepping right in a steaming pile of cow dung.

“And spoil the surprise? Never.” I walked to the gate and stopped. “All right. Here’s what you can do.”

She nodded and placed her hand on her hip.

“I need to drive the farm truck through the gate and into the barn, but I don’t want the cows to get out of the fence.”

“Okay…”

“They don’t run fast or anything, but it’s a pain to corral them back once they get out.”

“So, you want me to tell them to stay?”

I laughed. “They’re not dogs, Addy. They don’t listen very well.”

Her face reddened and she peered at the ground.

I stepped forward and hugged her. “Sorry. You didn’t know.”

“Couldn’t we just stand here and you hold me like this all day?” She let out a sigh.

My body instantly snapped to attention.
Yes, please!… Down boy…
With a tinge of regret, I stroked my hand down her back. “While I’d like nothing better, I do have to do this before we can leave.”

“All right. Just tell me what to do.”

I stepped back. “I’m going to open the gate. It has to be opened all the way so the truck can drive through. Stand just inside the fence and keep the cows in.”

“How do I do that?”

I let out a breath. “I never really gave it much thought. I usually just stand there with my arms crossed and they don’t even try.”

“But you’re huge. They’re probably afraid of you.”

“I really don’t think you’ll have any trouble.” I opened the gate.

“If you say so.” Addy turned and carefully watched the ground as she made her way through the gate and into the lot. I lost count of the “eeewwws” after she hit twenty.

I hurried to the farm truck and climbed in. Even I had to grab for the bar to hoist myself up into that one. I popped it in gear and drove slowly forward. The cows were especially interested in Addy. They stared at her, unblinking, and as if choreographed they stepped forward as a group, crowding her toward the fence.

“Graham! What are they doing?”

I leaned my head out the window. “They just find you interesting.”

“Can you make them stop?”

“Cows are nosy, Addy. Kind of like my aunt. They just want to look at you.”

She wrapped her arms around her waist. “But it makes me feel self-conscious.”

A chuckle rumbled its way up from my chest. “Uh, why?”

“It’s like they think my hair looks funny or something. They’re just staring.”

“Don’t worry. Cows don’t give things like hair much thought.” I drove the truck a few more feet toward the open gate. The cows were still crowding Addy. “Wave your arms and yell at them to back off.”

Addy angled her head and gave me a disgusted expression before turning back to the interested bovine. Instead of madly waving her arms in the air as I had intended, she made small movements like she was shooing away a fly. “Go away, cows. Back to your cow house.”

It had the opposite effect. The cows had Addy pinned against the fence. She yelped.
Uh-oh
. If one of them stepped on her bare toes with a hoof, that would leave a mark along with depositing something unpleasant there.

This wasn’t gonna work. I put the truck in park and jumped down. “Addy, hold on.”

“What do you mean hold on? Hold on to what? A cow snout? A disgusting tail?”

I reached her and took her hand while at the same time gently hipping a couple of cows out of our way. “I meant hold on a minute while I rescue you.”

She followed me out of the gate and I closed it. “Rescue me? What’s that supposed to—” A loud moo had Addy turning her head toward the cows who were once again staring right at her. She took a step closer to me. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” I dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head and rubbed my hand lazily across her back making long, slow circles. I pressed a kiss to her lips and pulled her close against my chest. “Honey, do you know how to work a stick?”

She gasped. “
Graham.
You shouldn’t talk that way to me. At least not out in public.”

I chuckled, trying to push away an image of what she’d thought. “Well first of all I’d hardly call cows public, but I think you and I were thinking two totally different things.”

“Then what were you talking about?” She avoided my eyes.

I pointed my thumb over my shoulder to the truck. “If I have to keep the cows back, then I need you to drive the truck.”

Her cheeks turned a fiery red. “Oh, so you weren’t talking about—”

“Not that I’m opposed or anything. I mean if you really want—”

Her hand smacked my chest. Hard. “Graham Stewart!”

I opened my eyes wide in mock astonishment. “What?”

She hit me again. Although I’m not really sure what she was so indignant about, since a few nights before in my truck she was lying on top of me. I leaned down and whispered, “Addy, I think you’re forgetting the other night in my truck.”

She whispered back. “Uh, no. I don’t think I could ever forget that.”

“Then why were you so upset when you thought I meant something else?”

She tilted her head to the right. “Them.”

I followed her motion with my gaze. “Who? The cows?”

“Not so
loud
.”

“Addy, they don’t care.” I bit my lip trying not to lose it again. “Now, back to the real question I’d asked you. Do you know how to drive a stick shift? On a
truck
.”

“Not really.”

“What if I show you how? It’s really easy.”

Addy frowned. “I’ll try. But I’m not promising anything. I’m not very coordinated.”

“I thought we’d talked about that before. On the dance floor you were and then when I kissed you—”

She stomped her foot, which probably didn’t have the desired effect since she wore flimsy sandals. “You know what I meant.”

“I know.”

“Don’t you ever get tired of teasing me?”

“Nope.”

She sighed. “That’s what I thought. Okay, hotshot, show me how to work it.”

I snorted. “You gotta stop saying things like that to me. Just gives me more ammunition to use against you.”

Addy quirked a one-sided smile. “Sorry.”

“Not really sorry, are you?”

“No.”

I grabbed for her thigh. She yelped and ran toward the truck but stopped short when she got there.

I crossed my arms. “Can’t climb up there yourself, can ya?”

She let out a breath and sauntered back toward me. “Well if you must know, I think I’m going to need a little assistance.”

I’d left the truck door open, so I picked her up easily since she weighed next to nothing and plopped her on the seat.

“Wow.”

“What?”

“Knowing a giant has advantages.”

I laughed and climbed up to stand on the running board beside her. “See that?” I pointed. “That’s the clutch. And that? That’s the brake.”

Addy lowered her eyebrows. “That’s it? The end of your lesson? Better stick to farming, ’cause you’d never make it as a teacher.”

“You’ve really never driven a stick shift? How is that possible?”

“I don’t know. I just never had to. We’ve always had automatics.”

I nudged her aside and climbed in.

“Ha! You used the handle to get up here. I saw you.”

“Did not.”

“Did too.”

“Your eyes are playing tricks.” I smirked. “Pay attention.”

“Yes sir.” She gave me a mock salute.

I leaned forward and demonstrated how to use the clutch, brake, and gears. “Make sense?”

“I think so.”

“Ready to give it a whirl?”

“I guess so.”

“You don’t sound any too sure.”

“I guess we’ll never know. That is until I drive it through the gate opening or… end up putting a new opening in your uncle’s barn.”

My mouth dropped open.

“Kidding.” A quick smile lit up her face. “Mostly.”

I wiped sweat from my forehead and jumped to the ground. “All right.” I trotted to the gate. “Ready!”

Addy edged forward on the seat and leaned down. I could barely see the top of her head through the windshield. A creak followed by a whine was topped off with a loud pop.

Uh oh.

The truck lurched forward two feet and then stopped.

“Addy just use the—”

The engine revved loudly and the gears groaned.

“Addy try not to—”

Something from inside the truck’s hood sounded like someone tap-dancing on a floor of sand. A small stream of smoke drifted up around the edge of the hood.

“Wait, Addy don’t—”

The truck lurched forward again, going faster. I caught sight of Addy’s expression through the window. Pure fear. A flash of long dark hair whipped past me as Addy jumped from the still-rolling truck and kept going. My mouth went dry as I ran toward the truck. The cows could fend for themselves.

“Graham, be careful!”

I ran toward the door trying to time my jump with the speed of the truck. If I had wanted to do stunts, I would have been an actor. Lunging up and forward, my foot struck the running board and I dove onto the seat. Since my feet were still dangling over the edge, I reached over and yanked the gear into neutral. Then I turned off the ignition and lay there, catching my breath. Sweat poured off of my face and dripped onto the seat. I pulled myself up and sat.

The truck had stopped three inches from the side of the barn, nowhere near the open door. Slow footsteps came from outside the truck until Addy stood below the open door. She bit her lip. “I am so sorry.”

After taking a huge gulp of air to help get some oxygen to my lungs, I climbed down from the truck. I was irritated, yes, but did I have a right to be? She’d said she’d never driven a stick, and I hadn’t taken much time showing her. I held out my arms toward her.

“Oh, Graham. Is the truck wrecked?”

I sighed. “Lucky for you, my uncle is also a mechanic.”

“I feel terrible.”

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“Yes it was.”

“No.” I placed my finger under her chin. “You’re just a silly city girl, that’s all.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Moisture sat just at the edges of her lashes.

I hated that I was the cause of her tears. I never, ever wanted that to happen because of me. “Listen, no harm done, all right?”

Addy wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. “You are so sweet, Graham.”