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“Speaking of…are the dates planned ahead of time?”
Looking back at me with wide eyes, she replied, “Yes! You figured that out today too?”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “You didn’t know?”
She shook her head. “I had no idea, but when I saw the horses ready to go for the ride, I knew there was no way. I asked Jack, and he said they had to plan ahead of time or they wouldn’t be able to pull some of them off. He also told me all the tokens in the bucket say the same thing.”
“Do they pick the girls as well?”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “He did swear to me they don’t do that. I believe him.”
We danced in silence for a bit before the song changed to a faster one. “Do you know how to two-step?”
She mock gasped. “Of course, I do. Six years of dance classes. I can do any dance you throw at me.”
“Is that a challenge?” I asked with a grin.
Winking, Kipton replied, “Only if you want it to be!”
I took her hand, lifted it, and spun her around while she let out a laugh that felt like it went straight to my heart.
“Can you do the jitterbug?” she yelled over the music.
“The jitterbug?” I asked with a laugh.
She moved closer to me and stood on her tiptoes to speak directly into my ear. “Also called the country swing?”
When I shook my head, Kipton’s smile grew bigger.
The next two dances were a sad attempt on my part to learn how to do the jitterbug, or the country swing, whichever you wanted to call it. But I’d never had so much fun dancing with anyone like I did with Kipton. It was clear she danced a lot, and she laughed a lot while trying to instruct me, but never in a frustrated or exasperated way.
After dancing at least five songs, Kipton called out, “I’m thirsty!”
I guided her off the dance floor and back to the table. We all soon fell into easy conversations. I liked seeing how easy it was for Kipton to fit in, especially with my sister. I had no idea why that was important to me, maybe because she was my friend, and I wanted my family to like her as much as I did.
How many friends do you dream about taking in a barn stall?
Pushing my wayward thoughts to the side, I sighed when the DJ took a break. Talking was easier when we didn’t have to shout over the music.
“What about that time you got caught climbing up the water tower, saying you only wanted to see the stars?” Rose said, laughing.
I pointed across the table at her. “That was Bradly’s idea to do that, and we really did want to see if the stars were closer.”
“You climbed a water tower?” Kipton asked.
Nearly everyone at the table started giving each other telling looks. “Is that a question for the entire table?” Morgan asked with a chuckle.
Kipton looked around with a stunned expression. “You’ve all climbed the tower? Isn’t that against the law or something?”
“Only if you get caught,” Blayze said with a smile.
“You’ve never done that?” I asked. “Climbed a water tower?”
Kipton laughed. “I’ve never had a reason to.”
“You don’t need a reason to do something crazy.” Blayze chuckled. “You just need to be brave enough to do it.”
“Says the man who likes to ride bulls for the fun of it,” Ryan stated with a smug smile in my brother’s direction.
