“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.” I replied.
She laughed again, “I enjoy it, sometimes the long hours make everybody cranky but it’s totally worth it.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” I told her.
“Nope you don’t get the full experience until you’ve been in the tractor and the combine! Come on!” She dragged me out of the house after we finished lunch.
I wasn’t prepared for how bumpy is was going to be, even though common sense would have told me to be prepared for the jostling of my life. “I’ll go slower than this when they unload into the cart, they just get pissy when their bins are full.” Vidalia told me with a smile.
“How long have you been helping?” I asked.
“Since I was about eight or nine, I’ve always driven the tractor though. I dig the header into the ground too much to run the combine. It can get kind of boring out here, thank god for cell phone service though.” We both laughed at that. “That’s Vance over there.” She pointed at a green combine off in the distance. Then pointed out where Kevin was, Corbin, and finally Felix one of the hired hands. “The other hired hands drive the semi’s to the elevator in town.” She explained. “So, tell me all about Morgan. Are you two going to be going out any time soon?”
I shrugged my shoulders, “We’ve been talking and texting a lot, but he’s pretty busy. He wants to go out Friday after he’s off work at the elevator.”
“Yeah, usually on the fourth of July they try to shut down early because there’s a big party at the pond. It’s been a big thing for years. I think you and Morgan would make a great couple.”
“He seems really sweet, I’m just worried about the age difference. Him being a senior and what not.”
Before she could say anything Vance’s voice filled the cab of the tractor, “You got a copy, Vi?”
She pulled the black square mic down from the visor, “What’s up brother?”
“Gonna be ready to unload in about ten minutes.”
“I’ll head your way.”
“Copy that.” He said, and then the cab fell silent.
“Julia usually comes to ride with him but she’s working at the elevator this summer. Every so often Vance will take the semi in so they can have supper together.” Vidalia told me.
I wasn’t sure what to say so I just nodded as we bounced our way across the rough terrain to where Vance was. He continued to drive as we pulled up next to him until we were ahead of him slightly. He looked over at the tractor, looked away then quickly looked back like he was shocked to see me sitting beside Vidalia. I watched as the long green arm extended out from the side and waves of wheat poured out and into the grain cart. A little while later the arm folded back in to the side of the combine and he looked back at me. He pulled his mic down, “You ready to throw your rider out yet Vi?”
She laughed, “Nah, we’re talking about boys!”
Vance laughed, “She needs to ride in luxury for a while.” He stopped the combine and the large header slowed down until it stopped. “Come on Tabi.” He said.
“Try not to run over any animals with her in there. That’s a sight that just can’t be unseen.” Vidalia told him. My eyes got big and I tried to protest that I was fine riding with her.
Vance’s laugh filled the cab, “Haven’t seen any for the last couple of days.”
“Fine!” Vidalia said with a chuckle and a sigh. “I’ll see you at the house later.” She told me.
I opened the door of the tractor and stepped down the thick metal steps until I was standing in between the tractor and the combine. Vance opened the door and motioned for me to hurry. “You’ve got a lot to learn, there’s snakes out here.”
With lightning speed I was up the short metal ladder and shutting the door behind me. “Why would you say that?” I practically yelled.
He pointed at my flip-flops, “Those don’t stop snakes from biting you, there are rattle snakes out here.”
I shivered then sat down on the small seat beside him. He smiled at me, waved goodbye to Vidalia and put the combine in gear. The header started spinning slowly then sped up and Vance lowered it to the ground. I was in awe watching through the massive front windshield.
After about ten minutes of silence Vance finally spoke, “Sorry about that night after the party. I had a little too much to drink.”
“I figured.” I replied and shrugged my shoulders.
My phone dinged with a text message, I pulled it out of the back pocket of my shorts.
“Are you taking a semi in tonight?” I asked Vance.
“More than likely. Why?” He questioned but didn’t look at me.
“Can I ride in with you so I can see Morgan?”
He finally looked at me, “Sure.”
I decided not to send Morgan a text to let him know I would be with Vance when he showed up later. I wanted to surprise him instead.
As we crept along through the field and the sun started to set, the horizon turned into the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. The pinks, oranges, yellows and deep blues painted the sky like a nature made masterpiece. I took my phone out and snapped several pictures.
Vance chuckled, “Don’t see that in the city do ya?”
“It’s so pretty!” I said with a smile.
We talked about what sports Vance plays, it didn’t surprise me when he said he does football, basketball and track. Anybody could tell that with his physique he was athletic.
He had to call Vidalia a couple more times so he could unload, ‘on the go’ again. When darkness started to set in he turned the big lights on, “Huh, who would have thought that combines have headlights.” I mumbled.
Vance laughed so hard he had to wipe tears away, “Sorry, that was too funny.” He said with a snorted laugh.
I crossed my arms over my chest with a huff. “Go ahead, call me a city slicker.” I jutted my chin out trying to make him think I was mad.
He stopped laughing and put his hand on my thigh…just like that night after the party my body started to heat up. I should have pushed it off; I should have stopped myself from putting my hand on top of his. My heart rate sped up, I turned and looked at him, he had one hand on my thigh and the other gripping the steering wheel so tight that his knuckles were turning white. “I don’t know if you feel it too, but, FUCK!” He slammed his hand down on the wheel before turning and looking at me. His blue eyes pulled me in even more, he caressed his thumb back and forth and a shiver of heat crept down my spine. He leaned toward me, our faces so close I could feel his warm breath against my face. “I shouldn’t want to kiss you…” his lips brushed against mine.
I raised my hand and cupped his cheek, the kiss was slow and gentle…I should have stopped it, but my body and mind wouldn’t let me. Every nerve ending in my body was tingling, then when our tongues touched I sucked in a breath, swallowing the moan that Vance breathed out. One of us needed to stop so I pulled away, at some point he had stopped the combine. He sat there his eyes closed and took a few calming breaths before slowly pulling his hand off of my thigh.
He shook his head. I was confused and knew that what we just did was wrong and shouldn’t or couldn’t happen again. “I’m sorry…I should have stopped myself.” He said.
“I—I won’t tell anybody.” I spoke softly.
Vance pinched his lips together and nodded his head in agreement.
Chapter 5
I knew that kissing Tabitha was wrong, for many reasons. One, I had a girlfriend that would be crushed if she ever found out that I kissed another girl. Two, I just kissed the girl that, may someday, be my stepsister. In that very moment though, none of it mattered. There was something about Tabitha that drew me in to her and when we kissed I felt it throughout my entire body.
“You still wanna ride in with me?” I asked as I drove across the field.
Tabitha nodded her head yes, “If…if it’s okay with you.”
The drive to town was silent between us, I glanced out the
corner of my eye at her and she was staring out the window into the darkness.
When we got to the elevator we had to wait in line for almost an hour and the silence had now turned into tension. “I don’t want things to be this weird between us.” I finally said.
“I know…it’s just. It was wrong and we both know why.” Tabitha said with a sigh.
“I promise it won’t happen again.” I extended my hand over to her.
She smiled and nodded in agreement, “Okay.”
I pulled onto the scales, Julia did a double take when she noticed I was there. She leaned to the side, when she seen Tabitha she smiled and waved with excitement. The mechanical arm probed into the load of wheat then folded back in. I pulled forward to the unloading stall and glanced at Tabitha. She spotted Morgan and a big smile spread across those beautiful lips. He waved at me to stop, I got out and pulled the handle to start unloading the wheat. “This the last load for the night?” He asked.
“Yep, can you go pull it forward so I can go see Julia?” I asked.
“Will do.” He patted my shoulder and walked past me. I took my hat off and ran my hand through my hair before putting the old torn up John Deere hat back on. He didn’t know that Tabitha was in the truck. And for some reason I didn’t want to see or hear his reaction when he realized she was in there.
When I walked into the office where Julia was, she smiled big and wrapped me in a hug. I gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, “Busy night?” I asked.
“I have done nothing but listen to Morgan go on and on about Tabitha.” She said with a laugh.
“I’ve done nothing but listen to her cell phone ding for the last hour.” I replied with a sarcastic groan.
I leaned against the desk and watched as she organized the printouts and put them on her boss’s desk. “I take it she’s adjusting well?” she asked.
I shrugged my shoulders, “She didn’t want to ride with me but I made her.”
Julia laughed, “If she is wantin’ a job I’m sure she could get hired on here.”
The door opened and Morgan walked in with Tabitha, his hand clasped with hers. Morgan smiled, “Thanks for dragging her along.” He said.
My eyes snapped up to hers, she blushed and looked away. I looked at Morgan, “Not a problem, I’ll work the city out of her and make her country eventually.”
We all laughed, then our conversation turned to Friday night. Tabitha’s cell phone rang, her eyebrows drew together before she excused herself and went outside to talk to whoever was calling.
“Dude, do you think she really likes me?” Morgan asked.
Julia rolled her eyes, “You sound like a twelve year old. If she didn’t like you she wouldn’t have rode in with Vance.”
Tabitha came back inside about ten minutes later, “Sorry about that, it was my dad. He wanted to let me know he’ll be sending my birthday present next week.”
“Awesome! Why didn’t you tell any of us that your birthday is coming up? When is it?” Julia asked with a big smile.
Tabitha shrugged a shoulder, “I wasn’t sure if I was going to be here or have to go stay with my dad. It’s Tuesday.”
Morgan put his arm around her shoulders, “Well, we’ll just have to put together a little pasture party. How does that sound?”
“I’d like that.” She smiled up at him.
“You ‘bout ready to head back to the house? I need a shower, food, and sleep.” I said.
“Sure.” Tabitha replied. Her and Morgan walked out and toward the semi.
Julia and I followed a few paces behind them, “Text me when you get home.” Julia stood on her tiptoes and kissed me. When I closed my eyes, Tabitha’s face flashed through my mind. I kissed Julia then pulled away, she gave me a questioning look but didn’t say anything. Hopefully she would think that I was just tired.
I climbed in the semi and started it, and waited for Tabitha. I glanced over and could see the tops of their heads. Morgan leaned down and kissed her, I gripped the steering wheel tight and looked away. After a few minutes the passenger side door opened and she got in.
The drive home was silent except for the music that crackled through the speakers. Because of my lack of self-control things were obviously going to be awkward between us…and that wasn’t what I wanted.
I didn’t see Tabitha much over the next few days, I made sure I woke up early and worked late. The only time I did see her was if she was riding with Vi in the tractor, I’d give a quick nod for a greeting then pay close attention to the wheat as it rolled out of the combine.
Friday night we were finishing up in a field about five miles from the house, Vi’s voice came over the CB. “You copy Vance?”
“10-4, what’s up?”
“I was just telling Tabitha that she needs to ride with you since it’s dark and you have the best view for fireworks.”
“Does she want to?” I asked.
There were a couple minutes of silence before Vi responded, “She said if you don’t mind.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, “I’ll come around and get her.”
“10-4” Vi said back.
When I got over to where they were, I stopped and opened the door. Vi waved and Tabitha rushed up the ladder.
“It’ll be a good night for the big fireworks.” I said.
“That’s what Vidalia was saying. Isn’t there a party tonight too?” Tabitha asked.
I nodded, “It’ll start later, what you’ll see getting shot off in a bit is from the city folks.”
“They shoot them off in town?” she asked in shock.
I laughed, “Have you seen the size of the town? As long as nothing gets set on fire they allow them.”
Silence filled the cab, Tabitha was looking straight ahead when a massive purple and pink sky firework lit up the sky. For the next fifteen minutes or so, random fireworks shot up and exploded with color. I stopped the combine at the edge of the field so we could watch.
“Pretty awesome huh?” I asked.
“Amazing, I’ve honestly never seen so many of them.” She told me.
“You’ve missed out on a lot being in the city.”
She laughed, “I would have to agree.”
We both turned and looked at each other, only the orange light from the gauges illuminated the small space.
I stared into those beautiful blue eyes, I brought my hand up to her face and traced the sharp angle of her jaw. She closed her eyes and her breathing sped up. “Vance…” Tabitha whispered.
I dropped my hand and looked away, “I don’t know what it is about you, but the thoughts that go through my head are pretty fuckin’ wrong for a guy that has a girlfriend. I think it’s best if we stay away from each other for a while.”
Even though I wasn’t looking at her, I could see out the corner of my eye that she was nodding her head in agreement.
< < < > > >
Morgan showed up at the house a little before eleven to get Tabitha. When she came downstairs she was wearing a pair of blue jeans, white Converse shoes and a faded fitted AC/DC concert shirt. She had her hair pulled up into a ponytail and just the right amount of eye makeup on that her blue eyes looked brighter than usual.
After talking to dad and Claire they left to get a good spot at the pond for the fireworks show. I grabbed my pickup keys and left about ten minutes later to go get Julia. Vidalia had one of her girlfriends from the cheer squad coming to pick her up.
At the pond there was a massive bonfire burning and half the town parked in rows in the field next to it. Julia and I found Tyler and Corbin, since there was so many adults the high school kids couldn’t drink. “So Morgan is the lucky one to grab Tabitha first huh?” Tyler asked.
I shrugged my shoulders, “Guess so.” I didn’t want to talk about Tabitha and Morgan, so I started talking about football. We only had three returning seniors so the underclassman would get more playing time, that was something we all were looking forward to.
Morgan and Tabitha joined u
s, he sat on the tailgate of the pickup and Tabitha stood between his knees. Vidalia and her friend showed up a few minutes later and pulled Julia and Tabitha away so Vi could introduce Tabitha to the drill team coach.
Dad and Claire stopped by to introduce Claire to our other friends before joining a group of parents in conversation. When Vi and the other’s came back Tabitha was smiling from ear to ear, “She said that I can be on the dance team!” Tabitha bounced in place before throwing her arms around Morgan.
“Ready to go back to the truck so we can watch the show?” Morgan asked her.
“Sure!” Tabitha said with a smile then turned toward us. “Where are you guys going to sit?” she asked.
“We’ll go sit with you two.” Julia said with a smile.
Back at the pickup Morgan pulled a blanket out of his extended cab and laid it out. Julia grabbed a blanket out of my pickup and spread it out next to them. Morgan sat down and Tabitha sat between his legs then leaned against his chest. I watched out the corner of my eye as he whispered in her ear and stroked his hand up and down her arm.
“I think they make a cute couple, don’t you?” Julia asked softly.
Before I could answer, the first firework shot into the sky and exploded with bright colors.
I tried not to look over at Tabitha and Morgan, but I couldn’t stop myself. When she turned her head and Morgan kissed her, I gritted my teeth, the site of her kissing him made me want to pull them apart.
They finally broke away from the kiss, then Tabitha turned and looked at me. The fireworks continued to illuminate the sky as we stared at each other. Morgan wrapped his arms around her mid section and rest his chin on top of her head. Tabitha looked away, that’s when I realized that Julia had seen the way we were staring at each other.
Chapter 6
I couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss with Morgan and the fact that the kiss didn’t feel as good as Vance’s. When we broke away from the kiss I could feel Vance staring at me. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed or shocked, I looked away but not before catching a questioning look from Julia.
Right Kind Of Wrong Page 4
