19. Will
CHAPTER 19
WILL
SEVEN SUMMERS AGO
“ C ome on, Will. If you don’t hurry, we’re gonna miss it,” she says as she pulls me to where my trucks parked.
I give her a questioning look before saying, “What the hell are you talking about woman? All you asked for was the check on top pasture before the end of the day. Not sure what part of that adventure we’re in the process of missing.”
“Well if you don’t move your ass, it’s not gonna matter,” she replies, pushing me past Leroy’s pig pen. “Leroy, tell this man to move his butt,” she calls out, and her pig sticks his head out of his bed at the sound of his name. “See, even the pig is telling you to hurry!”
I laugh, throwing her the keys to an old farm truck I used to check on the horses this afternoon and letting her drive to wherever we’re headed.
“You sure do have a thing for surprises, don’t you?” I ask.
“What gave it away?” she teases, pausing when “Get Your Shine On” by Florida Georgia Line comes on the staticky radio. She turns it up, singing along in the most horrendous singing voice I’ve ever heard while she rolls down the crank window on her side. When the breeze hits her blonde hair, she yanks her ponytail down and wiggles her hips while she drives. I think about reaching out and brushing her hair back, desperate for a reason to touch her, but she looks so carefree, I don’t want to do anything to ruin the moment.
It's been three days since I kissed her, but since I didn’t work the last two days thanks to the weekend, today’s the first time I’ve seen her. All weekend I fantasized about her, but now that she’s in front of me, it’s clear that anything I thought about doesn’t compare to the real thing. Hannah Scott is the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen, and I’m desperate to soak up any part of her that she wants to share with me.
I’m still lost in my thoughts when Hannah slows the truck, pulling to a stop at the top of one of the rolling hills in the middle of the pasture. I raise my eyebrow in question, waiting for her to explain what we’re doing, but she just smiles.
“You coming?” she asks, opening her door and jumping to the ground.
“Uh, coming where? We’re in the middle of a field, Han,” I point out, wondering what in the world she’s up to.
“Oh, come on and live a little,” she says with a laugh, moving to the back of the truck.
Not wanting to miss whatever it is, I throw my door open and jump out of the truck, following Hannah and waiting to see where she wants to go. But instead of taking off down one of the hills, she just pulls the tailgate down and pats the spot beside her, clearly waiting to see if I’ll join her.
Yeah, like I’m gonna pass up an opportunity to be close to her? I don’t think so.
I walk over and sit beside her, still waiting for her to explain, but Hannah seems content to sit in silence. I give her a few minutes before finally saying, “So, do you wanna clue me in to what you were so worried about missing?”
She looks over and bumps her shoulder against mine before saying, “Don’t you see it?”
“See what?” I ask, not understanding what in the world she’s talking about.
She lets out a sigh before turning away from me and gesturing out in front of us. “This, Will. This is what I didn’t want to miss.”
I look up, expecting to see one of the animals making their way toward us or find something I missed, but all I see is miles of the pasture below us, stretching out from the barn to their farmhouse. I open my mouth to tell her I’m still lost, when I stop, taking in the sights. The sun is setting, casting the sky in shades of pink, orange, and yellow, and the breeze has picked up cooling the summer evening air. In the glow of the sunset, everything almost seems to shimmer, and I take a few minutes to pay attention to everything. From the crickets starting to chirp and the first few lightning bugs start to surround us, causing Hannah’s face to light up in excitement.
“I know it’s lame, but this is one of my favorite views in the world, and I thought you might want to see that this farm isn’t all sweat and cow shit. I know it’s a lot of work, but damn, moments like this make it worth it, you know?”
I nod, understanding what she’s saying. “It’s beautiful, Han. When’d you start sitting out here?” I ask, wanting to know more about her and knowing if we don’t keep talking I won’t be able to stop myself from kissing her. And as much as I plan to do just that before the night’s over, I want her to know I’m not just looking for a cheap hookup. I’ve spent the last semester at school convincing myself that I wanted to be casual, but it lost its appeal pretty fast.
Hannah shrugs at my question, and I get the impression she’s trying to figure out what to say before she finally admits, “I guess about the same time my parents left me here with Gramps a few years ago. Gramps and MiMi were always the best, and I’m honestly grateful I got to grow up here. But I struggled a lot when my parents just up and dipped. So I’d come out here to think and I guess it just became a habit.”
She looks embarrassed that she admitted that to me, but I just nod, completely understanding what she’s saying. I haven’t talked about my dad in years, and before I know it, I hear myself confessing, “God, do I understand that. After my dad left, I didn’t really know how to process it. Now, I just developed a temper a mile wide for a bit there, but in hindsight, sitting out in a field and taking in the sunset would have been a better coping mechanism.”
That causes Hannah to smile and lean against me, resting her head against the side of my shoulder. “I remember you used to have a bit of a temper in high school. But you seem to have grown out of it.”
I laugh at that before saying, “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t know if you know this, but Huey realized I was spiraling and kinda stepped in to help me get my head back on straight. That man’s been much more of a father figure than my sperm donor ever was. He helped me get it together.”
“He’s such a sweet man,” Hannah says before letting out a weak laugh. “You know, now that I think about it, we’re really not that different, you and me.”
“Oh yeah? Why's that?” I ask, wrapping my arm around her.
“We were both left by the people who were supposed to take care of us. Your dad ran out and my parents dumped me with my gramps just because they didn’t feel like dealing with me.”
She makes this statement so quietly, I’m almost convinced I made it up, but the look on her face tells me I didn’t. I’m not sure what to say to that because she’s right.
We sit in silence for a few moments, before I finally say, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but your parents are fucking idiots for not realizing what they were missing.”
She smiles at that and lets out a small giggle. “Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing about your dad. I just don’t get it, you know? I mean I’ve had a great life, and I just told you how much I like living with Gramps. But I can’t shake the feeling that eventually everyone’s gonna abandon me.”
I sit there, waiting to see if she’ll say anything else. Eventually, she just shakes her head and runs her hand through her long hair. “God, I’m being such a downer. I brought you here to show you the sunset and because I hoped we could talk. But instead, I’m whining about things that happened years ago.”
I can tell she’s about to pull away from me, but I pull her tighter and whisper in her ear, “Thank you for telling me that, Hannah. I get it. I really do. But at least for the summer, I’m here and I’m not going anywhere. So what do you say we have some fun?”
“Hmmm, I like the sound of that,” she whispers, leaning into me. “What did you have in mind?”
I pretend to be deep in thought before saying, “I don’t know. You have any ideas?”
“Why don’t we try this one?” she says before leaning in and kissing me hard. I’d worried I spent too much time this weekend building up the kiss we shared in our head, but one taste from her and I know that’s a lie. It’s just as good as the last one and I lose myself in her, kissing her and wondering who in the hell can let a girl like this go?