Covered in Coal (Buried Secrets 1)

Reachin’ for her hand, I open the passenger door to help her climb inside.

“No, not kiddin’.” I shake my head with a cocky smirk splayed across my face.

“Colton, why the hell would you think I’d wanna go muddin’ for a date? Have you lost your damn mind?”

“Carly Jo, get your ass in the truck. Now.” I reply, walkin’ around to the driver side. She shakes her head and lets out a frustrated sigh. She climbs inside the truck, makin’ sure to stay on the passenger side, out of my reach. I climb inside the cab, and notice that she’s sittin’ too far away. I laugh out loud, wrap my arm around her waist then close the distance between us. Before she can bitch one word, I crash my lips down on hers, bitin’, nibblin’, lickin’; a breath defyin’ kiss. She melts against my lips. I grasp her head in the palm of my hand tuggin’ her closer to me, causin’ my pants to get tighten against my suffocatin’ cock. Carly Jo twists free as I try to pull her into my lap, breakin’ from our embrace and slides across the seat away from me.

“Damn you, Colton. Does everything with you have to always be so damn physical?” She yells, her face flamed red with heat. Wrappin’ my arm around her waist, yet again, I slide her back across the seat and hold her tight to me, as I start the truck, backin’ it out of the driveway. She releases a gruff sigh and I laugh inwardly to myself. I ignore her little fit, because I know this is just her way of pushin’ me further away. I ain’t havin’ it.

“When was the last time you were up in the hills?” I ask, after her breathin’ has calmed down.

Carly Jo keeps her focus on the road, refusin’ to look at me as she mumbles, “I don’t know, I guess when we were kids, maybe.”

“Well damn, you’re in for the time of your life.” I reply, givin’ her a wink of the eye when she finally looks up at me behind defeated hazel eyes.

I keep the conversation light on the way up to the trails, tryin’ to ease the tension between us. I can tell that Carly Jo is less than thrilled that I chose muddin’ as our first “date”, and I’m sure she remembers that amazin’ night so many years ago, just as I do. I’m not tryin’ to recreate anything, I’m only tryin’ to create new memories and make her fall in love with me all over again.

When we finally reach the top of the mountain, I park the truck over in the brush. I hop out of the truck and start to unstrap the side-by-side from the trailer, while Carly Jo stays in the truck. When I’m finished, I open the passenger side door, and without a word, I scoop her up in my arms and carry her over to the side-by-side. She doesn’t even look at me, but her body trembles at my touch.

Settin’ her in the seat, I buckle the seat belt, but when she looks up at me, she looks so disconnected. I slowly trail my fingers up the side of her chin, cuppin’ her face in my palm. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?” Releasin’ a deep pent up sigh, she drops her eyes with a look of defeat.

“You’re pushing too hard, Colton.”

“No. No, you’re givin’ up too easily.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

“Because I’m trying to bring my girl back. I’m tryin’ to make memories with you.”

“But here? Really?”

“Yeah, here, really. Now, calm down, put a smile on your face and enjoy yourself. I promise ya, we’re just gonna ride the trails, darlin’. Nothin’ more.”

I grab the cooler and blanket from the cab of the truck, placin’ them in the back of the side-by-side. And with that, I climb in, start the engine and soar off up the trail.

It’s been years since Carly Jo has been on these trails. When we were kids, these were just man-made trails, off the beaten path that us kids rode our four wheelers and dirt bikes on. In the last few years, they decided to re-vamp the trails, widenin’ them, and makin’ them more accessible from several routes. These trails span across eight counties here in Eastern Kentucky and offer some of the best off road ATV ridin’ in the Appalachians. People come from as far as Canada to ride these trails. It’s boosted tourism for small towns like Williamstown.

I didn’t bring Carly Jo up to the mountains to flood her mind with memories of our past relationship. Honestly, I hadn’t even thought of that. I brought her up to the mountains so she could live, and laugh a little. There is no bigger rush of excitement as climbin’ a mountain side, or the gush of wind hittin’ your face as you fly down a huge ass hill. But the best, the absolute hands down best is the muddin’. Damn I love sendin’ this Can Am 1000 through a mud hole so deep that when I bring it back out, the canary yellow paint is smeared in nasty brown mud. It’s friggin’ awesome.

It ain’t long before her face lights up with excitement, laughter eruptin’ from her lungs as we climb the tallest mountains, and hit the deepest mud holes in Kentucky. Even though she is protected by the safety belt, she still clings tight to my bicep each time we climb a hillside that’s too steep. But as we come racin’ down the other side, her face lights up, beamin’ with excitement. She always loved muddin’ when we were teens, and I’m just glad to see she is lettin’ go and havin’ fun.

We’ve been muddin’ for a couple of hours, when I park the side-by-side by the pond. Carly Jo looks up at me with a confused look on her face. I hop out, grab the blanket and cooler from the back, and find us a spot by the pond to sit. Spreadin’ the blanket on the ground, I look up to see that Carly Jo is finally approachin’ me.

“Sit down, darlin’, I brought your favorite snack.”

“Colton, we’re covered in mud, you can’t be serious.”

“Like hell, sit down.” I smirk at her. She giggles and shakes her head before ploppin’ down beside of me on the blanket. I open the cooler and take out the snacks, spreadin’ them out on the ground. Carly Jo eyes the peanut butter kiss cookies and chocolate milk then smiles back up me.

“Dig in, sweetheart,” I say, givin’ her a wink of the eye.

“You brought me milk and cookies?” she asks innocently.

Poppin’ a fresh baked cookie into my mouth I mumble, “yep”. Her eyes soften, and her smile gets brighter. She grabs a cookie and inhales the peanut butter scent before takin’ a small nibble.

“Mmmm, your momma always did make the best cookies. Oh, these are like heaven.” She says devourin’ the cookie.

“My momma? What the hell, woman? I made them damn cookies.”