Kiss Me Hard Before You Go (4 page)

“Sure.” He beamed. Any ride suited him just fine.

Evie jumped off the fence and followed him. A rainbow colored sign flashing
Super Slide
illuminated the darkening vanilla sky. Red triangles with yellow bulbs flashed on both sides of the three lane slide. Each lane was a different color: light green; aqua blue; and sky blue. She and Gray walked up the metal ramp to the top.

Finch stood at the top, tightening one of the bolts with a wrench. He turned his gaze in their direction. Evie shot him a dirty look. He responded with an arrogant smirk and stifled a laugh.

“Is this one ready to ride?” Gray asked Finch.

“She is, but this is a kiddie ride,” he said to Gray.

“It is?” Gray said.

“Yeah. There’s a weight and height limit,” he said and peered over at Evie. “She should be okay, though.”

Evie tried ignoring his snide comment. She hated being petite, and he had just pointed out the obvious – that she was small enough to ride a kid’s ride. Just what every eighteen- year-old girl wants to hear.

Gray gave a look of disappointment and frowned.

“We don’t have to ride this. I’ll ride that spinny thing over there.” She pointed to The Whirly Twirl. She gulped loudly and hoped her dad didn’t notice. Finch heard her loud and clear. It was the last thing she wanted to get on, but she’d make this one exception for her dad. Five minutes of pure hell and the aftermath of throwing up would be the penance for trying to make her dad happy, but she’d do it. She’d do it for him.

“Nah. You go on ahead and ride this. It’ll be fun,” he said and nudged her on the arm.

“That’s okay.” She shook her head slowly, spun on her heels and started down the ramp.

“If she’s scared, I can promise you this is one of the safest rides we have.” Finch stood up and placed the wrench in his jeans pocket.

She turned around quickly and glared at him. “I’m not scared,” she said defensively. She was high up off the ground, but frightened of a stupid slide? He made her sound like a timid weakling. Who was afraid to ride a slide? Toddlers rode slides. She was an adult. She could glide down a slide. No problem. She jerked the sack from his hand and plopped down, pushing herself off.

She slid down and reached the bottom before Gray had walked down the ramp.

“How was it?” Gray called down to her.

“Great. I had so much fun, I think I’ll ride it again,” she said, looking up at Finch. His arms were folded against his chest, and his eyebrow was cocked. She wanted to punch that cocky look off his face.

“Have fun. I’m gonna go ride some of these rides.” Gray rubbed his hands together excitedly. “Can’t wait to get on the ferris wheel.”

Evie stormed up the ramp scowling at Finch the entire time. She had no idea why she was so irritated and why she felt so compelled to prove a point to him. He was under her skin.

“You’re back?” he said, teasing her.

“Humph,” she mumbled. A sassy response escaped her. “I had so much fun I wanted to ride it again,” she lied. Okay, so the slide wasn’t scary, but fun? No. Entertaining to toddlers and six-year-olds maybe but definitely not worth another trip.

“Well if you liked all the excitement this ride offers, Laura Ingalls, you should probably go on that one.” He pointed to the compact fire trucks that were bolted down to a rotating platform moving as fast as a turtle. “I hear it’s a thrill of a ride.” He flashed a sarcastic smile.

She glowered at him. “My name is Evie, not Laura Ingalls. How would you like it if I called you Jerk Face?” She quickly plopped down and pushed herself off, hearing him laugh her entire way down.

Chapter 5

Evie was counting down, waiting for the arrival of the thirty-fifth day so she could move on with her life. The carnival would consume her entire being for five entire weeks, and she’d be exhausted by the end of it.

It was early in the afternoon, and in less than twenty-four hours, hordes of locals would invade her land (at least that was how she saw it) to enjoy the carnival. Even though the carnival was set up on the far end of Gray’s property, she knew that the air would soon be filled with whiny organ music emanating from the carrousel layered with rock tunes blasting from the speakers of one of the faster rides. There would also be the nonstop sound of people screaming at the top of their lungs, thrilled that they were going so fast they’d surely puke once their ride came to an abrupt end. The sweet scent of cotton candy and funnel cakes would drift with the wind and eventually find its way to Evie. She had no doubt that her body would revolt and send the acidic taste of bile up the back of her throat into her mouth. None of this was appealing to her. None of it.

The grumble of her stomach and the position of the sun told her it was time to eat. Gray was on the other side of the pasture. She could see the speck of his large body far off in the distance. She jumped on her ATV and rode in his direction.

The rumbling engine got his attention. Deep in dirt, he was on his knees repairing a part of their wooden board fence. Just one of the many things that needed to be fixed around the deteriorating farm.

He peered over his shoulder.

“It’s time to eat,” she shouted so he’d hear. He nodded in recognition, and she turned the wheel, driving back toward the house.

She noticed Katie’s brown Toyota Corolla parked in her drive way and opened the screen door. “Katie!” she called as she marched through the house and headed to the kitchen.

Katie’s face was more pink than usual, and her hazel eyes were blood shot. Evie took a closer look at her best friend. It was a clear sign that she had been crying. She moved toward her and touched her gently on the arm. “You okay?” she asked.

Katie nodded, sniffling. Her eyes watered, and a few tears trickled down her face. She shook her head no and then started to sob.

Evie wasn’t sure what to do. She pulled Katie to sit down and made a concerned face. “What’s wrong?” She knew something bad had to have happened. Katie was usually bubbly and cheerful and definitely not one to cry unless it was for sentimental reasons. Katie was the only person Evie knew who cried at the end of
Star Wars
’ cheesy, happy over-the-top ending where Luke, Han and the rest of the bunch stood on stage facing the audience after receiving medals from Leia. 

“They’re all together, and the Death Star was destroyed,” she had said to Evie.

Evie grabbed a bulk of napkins and handed them to Katie. She dabbed her damp eyes and took a shaky breath. “I’m pregnant, Eves,” she said, causing a stunned Evie to sit down.

***

Evie and Katie McDaniels had been best friends since kindergarten. It wasn’t a friendship anyone expected would form or last as long as it had. Katie was Nate McDaniels’ daughter, the one man in town who Gray didn’t get along with.

It was during their first day of kindergarten—out in the playground during recess— that their friendship began. Katie had sat at the wrong place at the wrong time. A group of clumsy, amateur boys who were trying to dribble a basketball and shoot hoops way too high for their four foot frames, bounced the ball beyond their reach, and it found its way to the back of Katie’s head.

The sound of the high-pitched cry got Evie’s attention. Evie went over to her, staring at her peculiarly and poked her in the arm.

“Are you okay?” Evie had asked, and at the time, she had a very prominent lisp thanks to her two front teeth missing.

“No,” Katie had sniffled.

“Do you wanna play with me?”

Katie lifted her head and smiled. “Okay.”

They sat side-by-side swinging back and forth, competing to see who could go the highest, who could reach the white puffy clouds up in the sky. It was a harmless competition, and neither of them cared who won. It was more about the thrill. After spending a few minutes on the swing, their friendship was sealed. When one is five years of age, the list of reasons to become friends is short. Often times, the simple question of “Will you be my friend?” is asked and then a friendship blossoms. In the case of Evie and Katie, the question wasn’t even needed.

***

“What? How?” Evie said, still shocked by Katie’s admission.

Katie raised an eyebrow at Evie’s question, giving her a “bless your heart” look. In the south, saying “bless your heart” was as bad as saying, “I’m sorry you’re too dumb to get it. Or, I’m sorry that you’re just so naïve.”

“Okay, I know how,” Evie said. “How far along are you?”

“About twelve weeks,” Katie answered. She unconsciously touched the small bump in her stomach. Katie had always been voluptuous, so if she was showing it wasn’t noticeable yet.

“Does Todd know?”

Katie shook her head, indicating she hadn’t told him.

Evie leaned forward. “What? You haven’t told him yet? You’ve gotta tell him.”

“I know,” Katie said, looking down at her fidgety hands. “I just need time to think.”

“Think about what? Do your parents know?”

“Not yet,” Katie said. “I’m scared to tell them. You know my dad. He’s libel to shoot Todd.”

“That wouldn’t be too bad would it?” Evie said, trying to sound like she was joking. Truthfully, she had never liked Todd. He was arrogant, and she had heard one too many stories about him cheating on Katie. Katie refused to believe the rumors, but Evie knew better. She had seen his wandering eye, how he flirted with any girl that passed in his direction.

“That’s not funny. He’s the father of my baby,” Katie said.

“Sorry,” Evie lied. She was sorry the schmuck got her best friend pregnant but not remorseful for saying what she said. “What are you going to do?”

“I have to tell my parents and Todd. I just don’t know when the time will be right,” she said. “Todd’s so excited about going to Wake Forest. I hate to ruin it for
him
.”

“Ruin it for him? It takes two to make a baby. He was just as much a part of this equation as you were. You’ve gotta tell him,” Evie said.

“I will...” she started and then abruptly stopped talking. She gestured with her eyes toward the door.

Gray swung the screen door open; it slammed into the wall. Gray could never just open a door like normal people. There was plenty of evidence of his strong armed pushes. Dents and chipped paint were scattered throughout their old home.

“Well, hey there, Katie,” he said with a smile on his face. He liked Katie even if she was Nate’s daughter. His ball cap hung low against his sweaty forehead, and he wiped his dirty hands against his denim jeans.

“Hi, Mr. Gray,” Katie said. She didn’t call him by his last name and refused to call him by his first name without adding the “Mr.” In the south, it was considered disrespectful otherwise.

She got up and headed toward the door. Evie followed.

“You leavin’ so soon?” Gray asked, making a face. “We’re fixin’ to eat lunch. Evie made pimento cheese.”

“That’s okay. I already ate. Thank you,” Katie said, offering him a plastered grin.

“Call me later,” Evie whispered.

“I will,” she said. She closed the door and walked toward her car.

“What was wrong with her?” Gray asked, opening the refrigerator. He grabbed the pitcher of sweet tea and poured it into his cup, gulping it down within seconds.

“Nothing,” Evie lied. She slathered pimento cheese on a two slices of bread.

“She looked like she was crying,” he said.

“She and Todd had an argument, that’s all.” Evie placed a pimento cheese sandwich on his plate.

He pursed his lips. “He’s a no good for nothing.”

“You’re preaching to the choir.” She handed him his plate.

He grinned at her. “Glad you’re not dumb about boys.”

“I can’t be dumb about them if I don’t date them,” she said. She poured the rest of the sweet tea into two glasses, fixed her sandwich and sat them down at the table.

Gray frowned and sat across from her. He said, “You know any boy in town would love to date you.”

“That doesn’t offer me any consolation. The pickings are pretty slim, and most of the boys around here are either dumb as doorknobs or are as slimy as Todd.”

He took off his cap and wiped the sweat off his sunburned face. “Well, it’s a good thing you’re not dating any of them then.” He grinned and playfully nudged her on the arm. “The rink’s gonna be busy tonight.”

The roller rink—it was such a novel idea. A few years before, Gray had a huge slab of concrete poured. He figured if he offered it, people would come. They’d pay to skate under a moon lit sky, with white lights and music in the background. A long pole was dead center in the rink and on it hung a huge glittery disco ball that captured the light from the moon’s glow. White lights were strung at the nearby concession stand. A roller rink wasn’t a roller rink without sustenance and music. And he was right. They did come. Roller skating had become a favorite way to spend wonderful summer nights for both young and old. Little kids, big kids, adults, and the elderly paid a few dollars to skate on Gray’s concrete slab and snack on popcorn and Cokes afterward.

Evie, with the help of Cooper, an old friend of Gray’s from his high school football days, managed the rink. She ran the concession stand, and he took their money and gave them their pair of skates. Gray, with his deep southern drawl, was the disc jockey. Many swore that he was born to be a radio announcer. Gray would shrug the compliment off and tell them he could never give up his cattle. “I’m one of the great many that feed this country, and I’m proud of it.”