Page 44 of Rootbound
“Alright, let’s roll. They’re still out on the eastern ridge area, so coming at them from over here will push them closer to the house and southeast, away from the main hunting areas.”
“All shit that we know, Charlie,” James drawls, makingme laugh. It’s obvious Charlie is trying to do an overview for my benefit.
“If you push this button here before you speak, it’ll stay between you and I,” Charlie says as he shows me another button on the inside of my helmet. He points to the one Henry showed me. “This one goes out to everyone.”
I push it before I say “Okay” to let him know we’re good to go, and that I’m ready. I’m anxious to take off, to feel myself flying.
Henry and James speed off ahead, and Charlie floors it. I let out what I’m sure is a delighted, but very girly squeal as we propel forward, the rig gliding across the field. Every time we approach what looks like a huge divot, I’m shocked at how smoothly we skate over it. It takes a while, but eventually I stop tensing up for each bump and start laughing at the sheer delight of it all. The speed, the music blaring—90s country to be exact. Charlie is a Shania guy, apparently, a fact that delights me. I’m singing along at the top of my lungs without the bummer of having to hear myself, the roaring engine blocking out the sound. I haven’t felt so much pure, simple bliss in forever. The heat is intense, but the speed keeps it off of us and morphs it into a pleasant, breezy blanket that pours over my skin continuously in waves.
I’m aware that the impending awkwardness of whatever this rekindling is will be intense, but I feel an easy contentment settle on me, despite the chaos that carries us across the valleys and over hills.
Sometime later, as I’m singing along to Brooks & Dunn,“Mariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeee, Oh, my Marieeeee—ieee—aaaaahhhhhh!”loud laughter booms in my earpiece from three male voices as Charlie lets off the gas. I see Henryand James ride up, holding their sides, trying not to fall out of their saddles.
“Tait”—gasp—“your radio button is still on,” Henry’s voice gets out in between bouts of laughter.
“Honey, you cuss like a sailor on HBO,” comes Charlie’s reprimand.
Oh, God.Allthe sound effects.“How long was it on?!”I ask.
Henry snorts and starts dying again. “The entire time,” says James.
Cool, probably forty-five minutes of me sayingwhoop, whoopat every little hump, and singing directly into their ears when I couldn’t even hear myself. That had to be gold.
Oh, God—thesinging.
“Were those Muppet impressions?” James asks.
Kill me now.
“Alright, alright. Why don’t we take a beer break here for a bit? Probably some good spots for pictures.”
Bless Charlie’s heart …
We pull over on the top of a hill, and it takes me a beat to get my bearings when I look out over the other side. It didn’t appear to be a large or steep incline from the slope we crawled up on, but the dive down is a monumental canyon.
It’s an odd combination, looking over and seeing the places where fall has begun to take over, viewing it through ripples of heat. It makes it feel like I’m looking at a well-done version of the valley: sunbaked, overcooked—not one on the verge of autumn.
Charlie and I remove our helmets, and he goes to undo a tied-down ice chest in the back when Henry and James ride up. A pang of sympathy rings through me for Henry’s mount. He’s probably 250-ish pounds, a veritable mountainof a man. The mare herself is sturdy, though, probably close to sixteen hands. I share my observation out loud when Henry dismounts in an easy swoop, and he replies, “She’s pushing seventeen, actually. This is Murphy girl.”
His movements and mannerisms are so swift, easy, and natural on him… an exhibition in contradiction—like watching a buffalo sprint, or a bear scale a tree, and watching him does these jumpy things to my insides. Unfortunately, I now know firsthand what’s he’s working with, and remembering the feel of his mouth on me has a fresh layer of sweat gathering above my lip. I track his hand as it slides gently across her hide before doing a leisurely circle. Enormous hands, large knuckled and calloused, fingers thick and long.
He snaps off a quick swat of appreciation against Murphy’s rump and I visibly jolt at the satisfyingthwapthat it makes, squeezing my thighs together. He catches me, lips pulling with suppressed laughter again. Bastard.
Really on a winning streak here.
I groan and turn in embarrassment, anxious to get a cold beer in my hand. Charlie tosses me one, and Henry’s giant hand jets out and grabs it before I can catch it.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get her a beer—All she’s gotta do is just gimme that wink,” he offers, singing the line with an actual wink that doesn’t help relieve my situation. Ugh, that Neal McCoy song is a classic and it is officially ruined forever. I feel my face flush, which really annoys me further since the last thing I need is more heat in my face when I feel like I’m already stuck inside a toaster.
I snatch it from his grip without a fight, his expression a playful challenge. He’s dust-covered, sweat pooling through his shirt, but according to the sparklers currently being setoff under my skin, there’s nothing gross about it. I can’t come up with a snarky reply, so I turn to retreat back to the shade. He snakes an arm around me and flips me back around before I can, starting in on an off-key rendition of “Any Man of Mine.” I cover my face in embarrassment, but let it melt into laughter as they all three continue on. If I was awful,theyare horrendous.…
“Okay okay, I guess I’ll pay more attention to the radio tutorial next time,” I let out.
“Hey, I didn’t mind.” James shrugs. “We don’t normally get to hear the music from horseback real well, so that was a treat as far as I’m concerned.” I smile at him gratefully.
Henry takes his arm off of me, along with the weirdly pleasant smell of his sweat/dust/deodorant/man combination. He heads out of sight, presumably to take care of a bathroom-related need, since the other men disperse in different directions and James declares, “Piss break.”
I decide to chug my beer before I’ll break the seal myself, and I find a tree to settle under.