Page 35 of Riding the Sugar High

“What happened?”

“Uh, nothing much. She was in a shitty mood after you insulted her, so I brought her to get ice cream. We just got back to the farm, right? But it’s dark, and with the rain last week, the valley is still pretty muddy, and...”

My throat clenches. “Is Primrose okay?”

“Oh, yes. Totally fine. But she—uh...fell.”

She fell.She fell.

I smack the receiver down, grab my helmet on the way to the door, and stop with the handle between my fingers. Looking down at the black helmet, my heart beats through the roof. The bike’s faster, but if I use it to go to her, I’ll also have to use it to bring her back here, and I can’t let her ride with me.

I just can’t.

I set it down and grab the keys, flying out the front door into the night—the pickup turned on before I’m even fully sitting.

I drive across the farm, testing the power of my pickup’s engine like I never have before. It’s either going to break down or take flight like a shuttle.

She fell.

What if she’s hurt? Kyle said she wasn’t, but he’s a troublemaker. If she’s as much as scratched, I’ll waterboard him in cow piss. He’s done hanging out with her—she’s not here to make friends anyway. To go on dates and kiss Kyle. I want my eyes on her at all times.

She fell.

The closer I get, the faster I go, until in the darkness, the headlights flash on Kyle, waving.

I crank the handbrake and come to a stop in front of him. So close, in fact, that he bounces back with wide eyes. At least he knows exactly how I feel about him right now.

“Where is she?” I bark as I jump out.

“Logan, don’t overreact. Nothing bad happened—” When he notices my flared eyes and nostrils, he raises both hands in defeat. “There. Next to that tree.”

I rush past him, my chest so tight I can’t breathe, and my eyes settle on her, sitting on the ground. I run, and Kyle’s voice reaches me from behind. “That right there isan overreaction!”

* * *

“Two hours. I left you alone for two hours.” Knees deep in the mud, I study Primrose’s ankles, relieved when I see nothing horrendous like a bone sticking out.

“I slipped,” she says with a pout. “And I didn’t want Kyle to call you anyway. I’m fine.”

Yeah, she’s peachy, sitting in the mud. My eyes run up and down her no-longer-pink dress, looking for any damage. I still can’t tell if she’s regular pretty or if she made an extra effort to go out with Kyle.

Doesn’t matter.

Focus, Logan.

“Can you rotate your foot?”

She does, then hisses, letting it drop back into the mud. “Yeah, but it hurts.”

It shouldn’t be broken. If it was, I imagine she’d be in much more pain. Maybe she sprained her ankle. “Well, why are you sitting here?”

“Every time I tried to pick her up, she screamed bloody murder,” Kyle explains with a shrug.

My questioning gaze moves to Primrose, whose cheeks have turned a dark shade of pink. What’s with that? I kissed her two minutes after knowing her, so I don’t think it’s an issue of not wanting to be touched.

“CanIpick you up?”

She shakes her head, and though my first instinct would be to scream at her to quit whatever this is, I breathe out, trying to remember what she said about not being a goat. Not that I’d ever scream at a goat. “Look, I’ll pick you up and bring you straight to the truck, okay? Fifteen seconds, tops.”