Bad Uncle Too

“Tell me!” Somehow I knew this sadness had nothing to do with me not taking her to bed these past two days. I’d explained to her that I was just giving her body time to heal, and though not entirely true, it was a viable reason.

She smiled but it didn’t quite meet her eyes and I didn’t like it. Not sure since when I cut off my balls and started caring about this shit, but there you have it.

“Sydney I asked you a question.” She put her head back down on my knee and outright lied to me.

“I miss home that’s all.” I don’t know how I knew but I knew she was lying, still I chose to drop it for now.

I placed my book on the coffee table and snatched her phone, dropping it on top of it.

“Hey, what ‘re you doing?” She tried getting it back but I grabbed her hand and headed for the door. “Let’s go for a walk, or a ride on the ATV.”

If I stayed in there any longer I was gonna go back on my word. Apparently that sad look in her eyes makes me want to comfort her and right now I could think of only one way to do that.

She followed me to the garage where I kept my ATVs and other recreational toys. “You ever ride one of these things before?” I tossed the key to her when she gave me that look that says, ‘you’re stupid’.

We started out fine with me following behind close on her tail until I was sure that she knew what she was doing. I took her up into the back forty where they were trails from years of riding between the trees.

My heart got trapped in my lungs when she crested a rather steep hill that I was about to warn her not to attempt and went over to the other side.

I didn’t even realize I’d jumped off the damn death trap and ran up the hill on foot until I stood there looking down at her looking back at me.

“Where’s your ride did you fall off?”

“Get back up here.” I’m not sure how I got the words past the lump in my throat but I do know it was only due to my years of training that kept my knees from buckling under me.

She did a couple figure eights on the trail before riding at top speed back up the hill. She stopped next to me and turned it off.

As she opened her mouth to speak I snatched her off and held her tight enough to crack a rib. I’m nor sure what other people hear, feel, or think when their life is about to be turned upside down, but for me, all I saw was her.

14

“You little idiot, don’t you ever do that again.” I put her away from me and shook her by the shoulders before puling her back into my chest and then doing it all over again.

She seemed to understand that I was scared shitless before I did, and it was the soft caressing touch of her hand gliding up and down my chest that brought me out of the place I’d gone to in my head.

“Why did you do that baby?” This time I had my arms wrapped around her shoulders with her head on my chest as I waited for my heart to calm down. She tried pulling her head back to answer but I pulled it back to my chest and held it there.

“I didn’t mean to scare you, it’s just fun. I always ride like that.” Her words seemed to run together and it was then my world came back into focus.

Thankfully my ATV had come to a stop on its own a few feet from where I’d jumped off and didn’t seem to be damaged. “We’re going back.” I put her back on her ATV and pointedly put it in first gear instead of the fourth she’d been riding in.

She tried conning me with one of her pretty pouts and I noticed when I took her face in my hands that the sadness had gone from her eyes.

It was then I truly settled all the way and then she smiled up at me. “Well, fuck!” I lifted her face to mine and she lifted up off the seat to meet me.

As often as I’d had her that first night, this kiss somehow felt like the first. I found myself wanting to say stupid shit to her when I finally released her, but instead I smacked her ass before turning and heading for my own ride.

I rode next to her, making her go at a snail’s pace until we got back to the house. I hid the damn keys and promised myself to sell those shits first chance I get.