I glance over my shoulder to see Mom bearing down on top of us, and I shout at her to slow down. Bliss lays her head down on her arm, and I can’t tell if she’s shaking with fear or laughter. The billy goat is bleating loudly, angry that we’re still hanging onto his legs and preventing his escape.
Mom stops the side-by-side just short of running us over. She climbs out slowly, holding onto the hood to steady herself. “Are you two all right? You would think you’d never chased goats before.”
I stare at her, incredulous. “Mom! You could have killed us.”
“I thought you two were adults and that I wouldn’t have to tell you to hang on. Really.” She huffs. “I didn’t know I would have to buckle you in.”
Bliss glances at me with tears in her eyes from laughing so hard.
I climb to my feet slowly, careful to keep a hold on the goat’s leg.
“I’ve got him,” I tell Bliss as I grab one of his horns as well. He gives me a haughty look, like,How dare I interrupt his fun.
Bliss lets go of the leg and stands up. She looks at me, barely suppressing her laughter. “I bet you didn’t think this would be part of being married to me.”
I raise my eyebrows. “I bet you didn’t know your mother-in-law was going to turn out to be a race car driver…”
She throws back her head and laughs, and she’s absolutely no help at all when I lift the goat into the back of the side-by-side.
She’s still laughing as I make her drive the rig back to the barn. “No offense, Mom,” I tell her as she sits in the passenger seat. “But I don’t want to get thrown out of the back of this thing.”
Mom looks back at me, where I sit in the bed, hanging onto a stinky billy goat. “You know, son, if you hadn’t married Bliss, I would be worried that you’d lost all sense of adventure. It’s a good thing you have her. She’ll keep you fun.”
She reaches a hand toward Bliss, and they fist-bump. Heaven help me, because I think my wife and mother have formed an alliance against me.
CHAPTER 20
Bliss
On Friday morning,Zane and I drive into town together.
It’s a slow day for both of us, which is rare. Since we got married a month ago, and our “honeymoon,” I don’t know that we’ve had a day when we’re not both working all day.
This morning, I woke up and decided to run a couple of errands in town, and it turned out that Zane needed to also. So he offered to drive, and we’re riding in his 4Runner like civilized people.
I even put on cute clothes. I’m wearing a pair of paper-bag shorts with a floral tank top and sandals. My legs are painfully white and might blind someone, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take.
Our first stop is the post office, where I’m mailing a birthday package to Addison, who’s turning five next week.
Zane signed the card with me, and there was something really funny about seeing him writeUncle Zane. It brought a strong dose of reality to our marriage that I hadn’t thought about before—he is now part of my family.
When we walk out of the post office, Zane opens the passenger door for me and waits for me to climb in to close it.
“Thank you,” I tell him.
He nods and closes the door, then walks around to his side, climbs in, and fires up the car. “Where to next?”
“Well, I need to go to Henry’s and get a few things, and I also need to swing by Darlene’s. She has a box for me. So, either one works for me.”
“How about Henry’s next, then?” he asks.
“Sounds great.”
Zane makes the short drive around to the store. The parking lot is packed, and we barely find a parking spot. It’s the weekend, and it’s summertime, so it’s a busy time in our town. All the tourists are here. We have lots of great camping and hiking, and while the town isn’t a roaring hub of nightlife, there is a bar and grill.
All ten spaces in Henry’s parking lot are full now that we’re here. We wouldn’t have been able to fit if we had been driving one of the work trucks.
“Oh no, so many people,” Zane groans. “I forgot it was already summer.”
