A moment later, fingers wrapped around his hand and stopped him in his tracks. He turned to see Michelle tugging on his arm, her eyes glowing with excitement. His heart jumped at the sight of her, his anger instantly melting away.
“What are you doing?” she asked with a shake of her blonde head. “Aren’t you coming with?”
He held onto her hand, not quite able to release it yet. “On the hayride?”
“Yes. It’ll be fun. You should come.”
“But Garret...”
She lifted her chin and her smile brightened. “He’s coming, but I’m not going without you. Come on. I’m in the mood for some kettle corn and I know they’ll be selling it. If you’re lucky, I’ll even let you have a piece. Or two.”
He chuckled and raked a hand through his short hair. He’d meant to give them some time alone, but saying no to her face was going to be impossible. If she really needed him there, then he supposed he could make an exception.
“Fine, I’ll come.”
“Good.”
She squeezed his hand and a thoughtful expression came over her face. He waited for her to say something, his arm tingling from feeling her hand in his. She was so cute with the little thought line between her eyebrows, her mouth scrunched to one side. He really couldn’t help but stare at her.
“I can’t thank you enough,” she finally said, resting her index finger on her lips. “Yesterday, I was ready to bury my head in the sand and hide out in my house for the rest of Thanksgiving break. But you helped me get over my fears. Whatever comes out of this, I wanted to thank you now. You’ve been a really great friend to me.”
The warming sensations he’d been feeling in his chest just a second ago were suddenly doused. He tried his best to nod his head, to indicate he accepted her thanks, but he was pretty sure he’d lost all control over his muscular system. Michelle didn’t seem to notice. She pulled her hand away and smiled at him once again.
“Come on, Garret’s saving us seats. The hayrides are about to start.”
His feet moved of their own accord, following her slowly toward the John Deer tractors waiting in the street to haul the citizens of Blessings to the Arts Festival in their hay-filled trailers. All along the way, the wheels in his head turned. Why was the thought of being Michelle’s friend so deflating? Why couldn’t he just get a grip? Had his time in the military really affected him so much that he couldn’t act like a normal person?
They came to the trailer where Garret sat on a long, square hay bale. He offered a hand and hauled Michelle up on the spot next to him. Joseph hopped up after her and took the seat on her other side. The trailer filled up fast with people of all ages. A cute little curly-headed blonde sat next to him in a frilly blue dress. She held a plastic pink wand in her hand and had glitter swirls all over her face. Grinn
ing up at Joseph, she displayed her missing front tooth.
“What’s your name?” she asked, pointing a finger awfully close to his nose.
“Joseph,” he said with a laugh. He’d always liked kids. They said what was on their mind. No holds barred, no filter system. “What’s yours?”
“Emily. Is that your girlfriend?” She pointed to Michelle, who was watching them, her blue eyes crinkled with laughter.
“No, she’s just my friend,” he replied, the last word leaving a sour taste in his mouth.
Friends. Just friends. As if friends were a dime a dozen and disposable.
“I have a boyfriend,” Emily said in a squeaky voice. “His name’s Trent and we like to play Go Fish.”
Joseph laughed and ran his hands up his legs. Young love was so simple like that. If a kid liked a girl, all he had to do was tell her so and they’d go skipping off into the sunset to play card games. Easy. Too bad love wasn’t that simple in the grown up world.
Just listening to Michelle try and talk to his brother was painful. She seemed to forget how to talk around him. But get her alone, and she could talk about anything. Just like on the Ferris wheel yesterday evening. He’d enjoyed her company more than he had expected.
“Do you like to play Go Fish?” Emily asked Michelle, leaning forward to look at her.
“Actually, I do,” she said. “I just haven’t played it in a very long time.”
“You should play it with him.” Emily pointed at Joseph. “He’s cute. And he likes you. I bet he’d let you win.”
The tips of Joseph’s ears grew warm as Michelle grinned at him. He was starting to rethink his love of little kids’ honesty policy. Maybe they were a little too honest for his taste.
“He is cute,” Michelle said, raising her eyebrows. “But I don’t think he likes me enough to play Go Fish. Or, to let me win.”
The little girl shrugged and went back to playing with her older brother sitting beside her. Michelle shook her head and laughed, glancing at Joseph as if to get his take on the whole thing. He tried to chuckle along with her, but something about that conversation had hit him straight in the gut.