Without a Doubt (10 page)

“I know,” she interrupts.

“When you're ready, I'll be ready. No rush, Eva.” There really isn't either. I'm glad she told me though. It's always better to know where she really stands on the matter, and now that I know, I can be sure not to do anything to make her feel pressured or uncomfortable.

“Thanks.” It's as if a weight has lifted from her shoulders and she gives me a smile.

“Let's go then.”

We leave and head to my hometown. When we get on the interstate, Eva asks, “Are we going back to your uncle's?”

“No; we're going to my hometown.”

“Oh.” For some reason, she seems unsure to me.

“Are you an outdoorsy person at all?”

She shrugs. “Not a fan of bugs and critters, but I like being outside. I don't mind getting dirty, obviously, or I would have asked to do something other than whatever it is we're doing. Can I at least ask how dirty I'll get?”

“You'll need a shower afterwards, and I'm going to have to lay towels over the seats.”

“For some reason, that makes me excited because it sounds fun.”

I laugh. “It is.” After a few minutes, I add, “Since I haven't been home in so long, my mom will probably try to talk us into staying for dinner. She'll add the incentive of washing our dirty clothes for us, too.” I don't know if Eva will want to stay, so depending on her answer will depend on if we'll actually stay or not.

“Okay. I don't mind if that's what you're fishing for.”

Looks like we'll be having dinner with my parents. I chuckle. “I was fishing,” I admit.

“Do you want to stay and have dinner with them?” Her voice lowers to a whisper. “P.S. that's how you ask a direct question instead of fishing.” Her grin is ridiculous and it makes me laugh again.

“Honestly? I don't know. It'll be nice to see my family though, so we'll probably stay. It'll make them happy.”

“Do you do a lot of things for people because it'll make them happy, even if it's not what you really want?”

My first thought is of Kelly and our situation. I agreed because it was what
she
wanted. We argued for days about it before I finally agreed, only doing so to make her happy.

“Sometimes,” I finally answer.

After a moment, Eva says, “Maybe you should do more to make yourself happy.”

There's not much for me to say to that. We fall into another stretch of silence. Eva once again controls the radio, turning it every time a song she doesn't like comes on. She taps her fingers on her legs to the beat, and she sings, but she's barely audible. The two hours home seem to fly by. To get to my parents' house, I have to drive past Kelly's house. No cars are in the driveway though.

“Here we are,” I say, pulling into the driveway. Instead of parking, I drive around to the back where I'll need to hook the trailer up to my truck. “Let's see my parents first.” We get out of the truck and I lead her into the house through the back door. “Knock, knock,” I say loudly as we enter.

“Emerson?” Mom calls back. “I didn't know you were coming!” The excitement is clear as she enters the den where we are. She rushes over to give me a hug.

“I thought I'd surprise y'all.”

Her hug is crushing, and I can finally breathe when she lets go, turning to Eva. There's a gleam in her eye and a grin on her face. It's all because she thinks I've come to surprise her with a new girlfriend, which isn't exactly the case. “And just who might this be?”

“This is Eva. Eva, this is my mom.”

Mom hugs her and says, “It's nice to meet you, Eva.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Montgomery.”

“Well, let's go sit and catch up.” Mom starts to turn towards the couch, but my words stop her.

“Actually, Mom, I'm taking Eva down to Calico Beach for the day, and I came for the four-wheelers.”

Mom frowns. “Well, okay. They should be where you left them. Are you at least staying for dinner when you come back? I'll even wash your clothes for you. You're not going to want to take them back to school like that.”

I quickly grin at Eva, to see her smiling as well, because I was right about my mom. “Yeah, we'll stay for dinner.”

“Wonderful! Eva, you can hang out with me while he gets the four-wheelers ready. Your father is out there tinkering, so he can help you.”

I kiss Eva's temple and tell her, “Have fun,” before I leave her in the safe hands of my mother. Dad is exactly where Mom said he would be. “Hey, Dad. Whatcha up to?”

He stands upright from where he was hunched over the engine of his truck. “Trying to figure out what's wrong with this damn thing. What are you doing home? It's been a long time.”

“Yeah, I know. I'm taking a girl out to Calico Beach for the day. I already told Mom I would stay for dinner, so we can hang out with y'all for a bit.”

Dad's white brows rise. “A girl?”

A smile appears on my face. “Yeah, her name is Eva. She's pretty great so far.”

“Good. I'm glad you're moving on; it always felt like you were waiting to reunite with Kelly whenever you would come home.” The only thing I told my parents was that we broke up because we were going to different colleges and Kelly didn't want to do long distance. It's no surprise to me that Dad would think I wanted to get back together with her when it's what I had been trying to do each time I visited home.

“Well, I've known her since kindergarten. Can you really blame me for wanting to work things out with her?” Was I supposed to move on without a backward glance, no matter why things ended or were put on hold? I had to try.

“Don't get your panties in a bunch, son. You've moved on, she's moved on, everyone's happy.”

“She's moved on?” I gulp, not sure how to take the news.

He shrugs, turning back to his engine. “I guess so. Your mom said she's seen her in town with a guy a few times. Are you going to need help loading the four-wheelers and hooking up the trailer?”

“No, I've got it.”

I leave him to get the trailer ready before I grab the keys from the holder and two helmets. I back my truck up to attach the trailer to the hitch and then one by one, I drive the two ATVs onto the trailer. The entire time, I'm trying to figure out how I feel about the fact that Kelly is seeing someone else. I figured she would. After all, it was part of the deal. But to have it confirmed and for my parents to think she's moved on means it's serious.

All done and ready to go, I return to the house, leaving thoughts of Kelly behind as I see Mom laughing over something Eva must have said. The sight makes me smile.

“I hate to break up the good time, but everything's loaded.”

They turn to look at me, standing. Eva hugs my mom, commenting on how it was nice to meet her.

“Y'all don't have too much fun,” Mom tells me.

“We won't,” Eva answers before I can.

“We'll be back around four, if you want to eat around five?” I say to Mom.

“Sounds like a plan.”

Once we hop into the truck and are on the road, Eva says, “I love your mom and I think she likes me. She may try to convince you keep me around.” She grins.

“She won't have to convince me. You do a pretty good job of that yourself.” Her grin widens. “Have you ever driven a four-wheeler before?”

She nods. “Why is this place we're going to called Calico Beach? We don't live near the beach, so it obviously isn't a beach, right?”

I laugh. “No, it's not. It does have a few lakes though. It's just a place people take their four-wheelers and such to go muddin'. Sometimes, people bring campers, stay all weekend, and ride. Dad, me, and a few of my friends would come a lot during the summer. It was the first thing I thought of when you said we should do something I liked.”

“So, we'll be caked in mud by the time we leave then?” I nod. “I'm excited! I've ridden on a four-wheeler before, but I've never been muddin'.”

“You'll never have so much fun getting dirty.”

It doesn't take us long to reach the ATV park. I pay for us to get in and then we both sign waivers before we're finally admitted entry. Eva is soaking in all the people, water holes, mud holes, hills, and everything that makes up Calico Beach. Once I find a place to park, we get out and I start unloading the four-wheelers while Eva grabs the helmets from the backseat.

“You have to promise me something,” she says as I go to back up the other four-wheeler.

“What's that?”

“Don't laugh at my hair when this helmet comes off. I can already tell you it will be a disaster of epic proportions.”

I laugh at her request and imagining her hair all wild and crazy. “How about if I do laugh, I'll be sure to tell you that you still look as beautiful as ever?”

She tilts her head as I turn off the four-wheeler and walk toward her. “That will work too.”

“All right. You ready? You can pretty much follow me if you want. Do you need a recap on four-wheelers?”

“How about a recap on this one, just to be safe? It's been a while.”

So, I show her where everything is on the one she will be driving. She gets on and I take the extra helmet. With her all set, I get on my own four-wheeler and we start them up. The helmets already have goggles on them, so we cover our eyes before taking off.

I lead her on the many trails, through mud holes, and all around the park. It only takes us like ten minutes before we're covered in mud, and I swear I can hear Eva laughing behind me. When she rides next to me, I know she is laughing every time we sling mud. We ride for hours and still don't cover the entire park. It's that big. Plus, I avoid the few manmade lake areas and those with the huge mud pits. We don't need to be in all of that. When Eva finally says she's ready for a break, it's close to four o'clock.

I laugh when we step off the ATVs. There's not an inch of her not covered in mud. When she takes off her helmet, I finally see some mud-free places. She was right, too. Her curly hair is all over the place with nearly twice as much frizzy volume. I remove my helmet and laugh at her again. Eva comes over, wraps her arms around me, and kisses me.

“Most fun I've had in a while. Thank you, even if you did laugh at me.”

“Well, you didn't give me a chance to tell you that you still look as beautiful as ever.”

She grins. “You've now been forgiven.” She steps back, looking down at herself and at me. “We're a dirty mess. I'm glad we're going to be able to shower and change.”

“Me too. Why don't you grab the towels in the back of the truck and cover our seats while I load these up. Mom will be expecting us soon. There are extra towels for us to wipe off with too.” I pull my keys from my pocket and hand them to her.

I put the four-wheelers back onto the trailer. By the time I'm done, Eva has mostly just smeared mud around on her skin. She hands me a towel.

“I was able to get some clumps off, but I think I did more damage than anything,” she says. I try not to smile as I notice she's gotten some on her face and in her hair. She must have tried to push hair out of her face and did it then. “What are you smiling about, Emerson?”

“You've gotten it on your face.” I laugh, wiping myself off some, and she rolls her eyes.

“Hurry up and let's go before I decide I don't like you anymore,” she jokes.

“Here.” I find a clean spot on my towel and gently wipe the mud off her face. “Most of it is gone now.”

“Thanks,” she replies softly.

“Let's head out.” I open the passenger door for her before walking around and getting in myself.

“I won't even lie. I'm going to sleep so good tonight. It's fun, but really tiring. My hands hurt a little too.”

My hands are sore, so I know what she means. “You better not fall asleep on me again, Eva.”

She laughs. “I won't. The shower will help refresh me. You know, I'm starting to think it's you. I've never fallen asleep when I was out with a guy before.”

“Are you saying I'm boring?” I glance at her with a raised brow.

“No. I'm saying my mind and body must feel at ease around you to allow me to doze off. Say thank you because it's a compliment as weird as it may be.”

“Thanks,” I chuckle.

When I park at my parents, I send Eva inside to shower while I unhitch the trailer, unload the ATVs, and then rinse them off before placing everything back where it belongs. I finish just as Dad comes to tell me the shower is free now. Eva is smiling and helping my mother with dinner when I pass the kitchen to the bathroom.

The more time I spend with Eva, the more I like her. How can I not? She's this great girl with a bright personality, and I'm constantly laughing with her. And there seems to be a blunt type of honesty about her. It'll be interesting to see how it'll feel to have her around my parents.

When I exit the bathroom, all clean again, I take my clothes to the washer, where Eva's are already deposited. I start the load before making my way to the kitchen.

“Where's Eva?” I ask upon only seeing my parents.

“She asked if she could see your old room.”

Of course she did. Eva's also unashamedly nosey and in a way that's not bad. I'm halfway to there when I realize just what she'll see in my room. Aside from the normal things, I still have pictures of Kelly and me hanging up. I never considered taking them down before whenever I did come home. One year for Christmas, she fixed me a collage of photos of us, and it's hanging above my bed. Eva is standing next to my bed, looking at those pictures when I walk in. She doesn't notice me yet.

Her wet hair is even curlier than I thought it could be. Her change of clothes is white shorts and a green tank top. I'm so going to miss summer and those clothes. Shaking my head, I finally speak.

“What does this room tell you about me?”

My voice startles Eva. She spins around so fast she almost falls over onto my bed.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you.”

“It's okay.” She glances around the room and looks over her shoulder at the pictures one more time. “It tells me you were active.” She points to my trophies from where I played baseball as a kid and into high school. “You played video games then.” She points to the small couch and empty entertainment center. “And that girl meant a lot to you. Is that Kelly?” She turns back to the pictures, but I don't move from my spot by the door.