Momma had been right. The first time had hurt, but not as bad as I thought it would. Still, I had a deeper connection with him, a love so potent that I was ready to burst.
I giggled. “More than okay. You?”
“I feel…” He ran a hand through his wild hair. He looked as though he’d just gotten out of bed. “Like I’m walking on water. I want to see you, like, right now.”
A cozy shiver blanketed me. “If I had a car, I would ditch school today and drive up to the academy.”
“So no regrets?” He lost his smile, and trepidation took its place.
I shook my head. “Absolutely not. You?” I held my breath.
He leaned into the camera. “I want to do it a thousand more times with you.”
Butterflies went wild in my stomach, and heat covered my body like a warm blanket on a snowy day. “Me too.”
He chuckled. “I got to get ready for school. I love you, babe.”
Headlights bounced down the driveway as Celia pulled in.
“Celia’s here. Love you to the stars and back.” I blew him a kiss. “Talk later.” I ended the call before I jumped through the phone or decided to bribe Celia to drive up to the academy.
I darted down the porch steps, when Momma came out of the house. “Quinn, please make sure you’re home right after school. You’re working at the farm store today.”
“I know, Momma. Love you. Kiss Daddy for me.” I jogged the short distance to the car.
“You guys be careful,” Momma called out. “The news just reported that roads are slick with black ice.”
I hopped in. “Black ice?”
“That’s why I’m late,” Celia said. “I was driving like a grandma.” The wipers cleared the droplets of snow from the windshield as Celia backed out.
I adjusted the heater in my direction. “Maiken and I did it yesterday.”
Her neck snapped in my direction. “Oh, hell no. You can’t tell me this while I’m driving.”
I pointed at the road. “Pay attention. Black ice, remember.”
She huffed as she traveled super slow down the two-lane country road. “Tell me everything.” She sounded more excited than I did at the moment.
We’d promised each other we would tell the other when we stepped into womanhood. She hadn’t yet. She and Liam had never taken that step.
I let out a contented sigh. “It was tense and beautiful and unexpected.” The boy I fell in love with, who had the bluest eyes on the planet, made my heart sing even more than ever before. I felt as though we had sealed our relationship forever.
She adjusted the hat on her head, glancing at me. “You do look different.”
I rolled my eyes. “Please.” I pulled down the visor to check myself in the tiny mirror just the same. “I don’t see anything different. You’re full of it.”
She snorted then laughed. “We’re growing up, Quinn. I’m not sure if I’m happy about that or not.”
I closed the visor. “I know what you mean.” I thought of Daddy and the farm. I was seriously considering not applying to any college. “I think I might take a year off after high school.”
Again, her gaze rounded to me. “What?”
I stabbed a finger at the windshield. “Road, please.”
“You’re going to give up your dream of being a doctor?”
“I might change my major to teaching actually.” I hadn’t had a chance to share that with her yet.
She pumped the brakes, slowing to a stop way before the stop sign. “You would make a great teacher.”
“Thank you, bestie. But with Daddy’s health, I have to stay and help. I can take classes at the community college at night.”
“What about your brothers? Surely Liam isn’t going to drop out. Please tell me he isn’t. He’s got a great gig with his scholarship, a once-in-a-lifetime gig for that matter.”
“He’s not,” I said. “He wanted to, but Carter and I convinced him not to. Besides, Trevor, Noah, and Dustin are helping for the short term, especially since we’re selling Christmas trees now.”
With the coast clear of any cars, Celia turned right. “I can help too. My mom only needs me in the wee hours of the morning. I’ll help at the farm store after school.”
It was humbling that friends were rallying to help us. Momma was going to talk to a couple of Daddy’s friends from church too. She wanted to find someone who could be on the farm during the day, helping Carter, since Trevor, Noah, and Dustin had school. Coach Dean had offered to help as well.
The snow continued to fall as we slowly made our way to school.
“Okay,” Celia said. “Since we’re on the topic of growing up and college and stuff, what about the prom? Are you going to go? I found out from Elise, who’s on the prom committee, that the theme is the Roaring Twenties.”
“I hadn’t thought about the prom.” Given my luck with parties and dances, I wasn’t sure I wanted to attend. However, it was my senior year.
“Maiken will have a prom to go to at the academy. So you’ll have two.”
“You know parties, dances, and proms are bad for me and Maiken.”
She tittered. “What could go wrong? Come on. It’s our last hoorah in high school. We’ve got to go. And it will be cool to pick out an outfit for the Roaring Twenties.”
“Let’s get through the next couple of months.” I wanted to wait to plan things after my dad came home.
The roads were much clearer in town as Celia zipped through the side streets of Ashford. “Fair enough. Now, one more thing. I heard from Elise that Trevor’s girlfriend, Claire, has it out for you.”
My neck swiveled in her direction so fast I got whiplash. “Come again? That’s nonsense.”
“Sure, but put yourself in her shoes. You have been spending a lot of time with Trevor since you’re tutoring him, and then he gets a job on your farm. How would you feel?”
Oh my God. I wondered if Maiken thought the same thing. When he’d walked into the hospital, I’d been snuggled up to Trevor, crying. I’d also been bragging about how Trevor was a hero.
“What’s wrong? It looks like you’ve seen a ghost. Please tell me you and Trevor—”
“Hell no,” I said in a rush as my blood coagulated. “Maiken probably thinks the same.” I definitely had to talk to Maiken, although he’d given me no indication he was jealous.
Why would he be? Your dad just had a heart attack. You were distraught, and Maiken wasn’t the type to lash out in dire situations.
“After your tryst with Maiken yesterday, I doubt he thinks anything of the sort.”
She had a point. Maiken had shown me nothing but love, love, and more love. And if I knew Maiken, he would’ve broached the subject of Trevor and how he didn’t like him touching me or around me if it bothered him. I’d seen firsthand how he had dealt with Chase Stevens when Chase was interested in me. Not only that, he’d been cordial to Trevor when he’d met him. I decided not to bother Maiken about Trevor. He and I were in a great place, and I wanted to keep that momentum going.
The school loomed in the distance.
“Well, be on the lookout in case Claire confronts you.”