Twenty minutes later, Alex led Janie out to the barn behind the house. Dave was all scowl and bluster, but Alex didn’t care. He’d talked Janie into a quickie before they’d gotten dressed and hurried out and the flush on her cheeks made dealing with his brother’s displeasure worth it. After fetching the keys from the tack room, he tossed one to Dave and climbed onto the other and fired it up.

“Climb on behind me,” Alex told Janie. “Hold on tight. We’ll get moving pretty quick, and the terrain can get a little rough.”

“Not even gonna let her have her own?” Dave taunted.

“She’s never been on one before much less driven one,” Alex shouted back. “You’re just jealous that I’ve got someone clinging to me and you don’t.” That shut his brother up. Janie’s arms wrapped tight around his waist, he turned back to check on her. “You good?”

She responded with a quick nod and he hit the gas. They took it easy out of the barn and out to a nearby empty pasture then they laid on the speed. Playing games that brothers play they turned in circles and bumped along the field. After a little while he stopped and looked at Janie. He didn’t think her smile could get any bigger.

“Want to try?” he offered.

Her eyes went big. “I don’t know if I should.”

“Come on, give it a try. Hop off and slide on in front of me.”

“Really?” Excitement lit her eyes and his heart leapt at the sight.

“Really.” He waited while she climbed off, then scooted back on the seat to make room for her. He loved having his arms around her as he taught her all the controls. “Ever ridden a bike?”

“A—a couple times, but it’s been a really long time.”

“That’s okay, it steers like a bike,” he gave it a little gas and turned the handle bars to show her. “See.” Then he leaned back. “Now you try. Light on the gas, remember the harder you push it the faster you go.”

Janie hesitated then they jerked forward. She pulled her hands away as if burned. Without her thumb on the gas, the ATV rolled to a stop.

“I’m sorry.” Her words were rushed, as if she thought he was going to be angry.

“It’s okay. Try again. Easy on the gas. Push the lever slowly.”

She leaned forward and tried again, this time they still jerked forward, but not as hard and she didn’t pull away, instead she held on and they kept moving. It took her several tries, but she got the hang of it enough that he climbed off and told her to go for it on her own. She made several circles around him before venturing a little farther and a bit faster. The grin on her face made him happier than he could remember being in a long time. He didn’t know exactly when but knew it had been before that IUD had gone off, leaving him scarred and several members of his unit dead. Shaking his head, he pushed thoughts of his grim past out of his head as he enjoyed watching Janie become more confident in her ability to control the bike.

Dave pulled up beside him and sat astride his own ATV as they watched her. She raced away then turned and came back a couple times.

“Did you warn her not to turn going too fast? That these things roll easy?” Dave asked over the low rumble of his quad.

“No, I didn’t think about it,” Alex’s gaze never left Janie. He saw it coming before it happened. It was almost as if Dave’s question had triggered it. Her laughter carried to him on the wind as she turned the quad and two wheels came off the ground. “Shit.” Alex was running before the bike stopped rolling. Janie was lying in the foot-tall grass, not moving.

His heart stopped in his chest as he reached her side and found her eyes closed.

“Janie, are you hurt? Did it roll over you?” He looked down her body searching for signs of blood or dirt, anything that would tell him how she was.

“I’m still trying to decide.” Her eyes were still closed.

“Decide what?”

“If I’m hurt. I don’t feel hurt, but it might be shock.”

“Did it roll over you?” he asked again, not sure if she’d heard him the first time.

“No. I jumped as soon as it started to roll.”

His whole body sagged with relief. She might still be hurt, but it wouldn’t be nearly as bad as if the several hundred-pound machine had rolled over her.

“I’m okay.” She started to get up. Alex offered her his hand and pulled her too her feet.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”

She flexed several joints experimentally then nodded. “I’m good. I’ll probably feel it later, but I’m not seriously hurt.”

“Good. Let’s get back on.”

She eyed the ATV for a minute.

“Maybe I’ll just walk back.”

“Nope. It’s more than two miles back to the house. You can’t let one accident stop you.” He went to the quad, grabbed the handle bars and rolled it back onto its wheels. “Come on. You’re driving us back.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” She looked from it to him and back again.

“I do. Come get on.” She hesitated another minute and he thought she was going to refuse, then she started moving. She came close, then got on. He climbed on behind her.

“Good girl,” he murmured in her ear, then gave her directions on how to turn the engine off, it had stalled when it rolled, but the key was still on, then restart it. She drove carefully all the way back to the barn, but by the time they got back she wasn’t afraid it would just roll on her with no reason.