Page 17 of Riding the Line (Willow Ridge #2)
Cherry
A rainbow of dazzling lights flash and flicker around me, while cheers and squeals echo along with the whoosh of rides, the distant music from the live band across the other side of the fair filtering through.
Laughter floats on the air, along with bubbles blown by children as they pass by.
The sweet and sugary scent of cotton candy wafts through the warm summer evening, mingling with the mouth-watering smell of freshly cooked corn dogs sizzling nearby.
This might be one of my favourite parts of summer in Willow Ridge – the town fair.
Even Sawyer does whatever he can to make a trip back for one night, knowing how fun it is, usually bringing a date with him – tonight it’s a beautiful woman called Cassidy who works in the feed store in town.
Wolfman’s babysitting for his twin sister, so he brought his four-year-old niece, Bonnie, along, and my heart melts watching him take her on the kids’ rides, despite barely being able to fold his massive frame into them.
The little girl has curly dark hair just like Wolfman, but the brightest blue eyes.
My head is spinning so much from being on the waltzers with Rory and Fliss that I accidentally bump into Duke as we clamber off the ride to join him and the rest of our group.
His large hands fly out to steady me but retract as quickly as they caught me.
He shoves them straight in his pockets afterwards.
Fliss grabs Rory by the shoulder for balance too. After catching her breath, she asks, ‘Okay, so what’s next?’
‘I’m thinking Ferris wheel,’ Rory suggests, pointing behind us to where the huge wheel currently sits idle, the evening sunshine glinting off its metal frame.
‘Sounds good to me,’ I add, trying to feign confidence in my tone, which only makes Wyatt’s head whip round so he can perk a brow at me incredulously.
‘ You want to go on the Ferris wheel? Pretty sure the last time you went on any ride above six foot tall you bawled your eyes out.’ Wyatt crosses his arms.
‘That was years ago. I’ve grown up since college.’ Fake it ’til you make it, right? He doesn’t have to know that I’ve been close to peeing my pants every time I’ve thought about making myself go on one of the bigger rides today to try to tick facing my fear of heights off my bucket list.
‘I just don’t want you getting stressed, y’know?’ Wyatt frowns, a divot appearing between his dark brows. ‘Remember what happened when you went to that theme park when you were fifteen? The nearest hospital was ages away. Stress isn’t good for your—’
‘I’ll be fine, Wyatt,’ I rush out, trying to push the bleak memory of ruining Montana’s theme park birthday out of my mind. ‘Chill out.’
The concern doesn’t dissipate from Wyatt’s face, but he does hold his hands up in surrender, mouthing, okay.
‘Do you wanna go on the Ferris wheel, Bonbon?’ Wolfman jiggles his niece in his arms. Her gorgeous little blue eyes light up with glee, and for a second I’m jealous of a four-year-old’s lack of fear.
It’s a low point, I know.
‘Ferris wheel sounds fun,’ Sawyer admits. ‘As long as we get our own pod.’ He shoots a saucy wink at Cassidy and the rest of us groan.
‘Sign says the Ferris wheel isn’t open for another ten minutes,’ Fliss adds, covering her eyes from the early evening sun to squint and read the sign better.
‘Oh, damn.’ Rory throws her hands to her hips. ‘Well …’
‘Hey, isn’t that Honey Goldman?’ Wyatt interjects, nodding his head to our left, forcing all our gazes to follow.
‘What?’ Sawyer almost gasps, his eyes frantically scanning the surrounding fair.
‘There.’ Wyatt points through the crowds, somewhere towards a ring toss stand. There’s a few people around the activity, including a woman with her long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail, helping a young boy. ‘Yeah, that’s definitely her.’
‘Oh yeah,’ Wolfman chimes in. ‘I forgot to tell you – guess who got a job at Willow Ridge High? I couldn’t believe it when I heard.’
Rory taps Wyatt on the arm. ‘Who’s Honey Goldman?’
‘Ask Sawyer, he’s the one who used to spend so much time with her,’ Wyatt suggests, forcing everyone to turn to the bull rider.
There’s a paleness to his face while his eyes are trained on where Honey must be in the distance.
I wonder where he’s gone, because there’s no way his mind is still with us.
But he’s quick to blink away, pulling his brows together with a shake of his head.
Sawyer tightens his arm around Cassidy’s waist, throwing on a cocky smile.
‘Bit of an exaggeration,’ he scoffs. ‘She was just some random choir girl who used to tutor me so I didn’t get kicked off the football team.’ He glances back once to where Honey was, a muscle feathering in his jaw. ‘Anyway, wanna go get a drink, Cass? I’m kinda done with all these rides and games.’
‘Sure thing.’ Cassidy places a hand against his chest before Sawyer salutes us with a ‘Catch you guys later,’ and whisks her off towards the drink vendors.
‘Well, that was weird,’ Fliss snorts. ‘Somehow I don’t think she was just some random choir girl .’
‘Uncle Miles.’ Bonnie tugs on Wolfman’s T-shirt from where he’s holding her on his hip with one arm. ‘Can we go on the carousel too?’
‘I don’t see why not, Bonbon.’ Wolfman pokes her on the nose, making her giggle. Duke clears his throat beside me, but quickly looks away, flexing his arm as he scratches his head.
‘Oh – yes, let’s go on the carousel!’ Rory suddenly squeals, far more excited than even Bonnie seems about the prospect. ‘That’ll be a great opportunity to take some fun pics too.’
‘A second ago you wanted to go on the Ferris wheel. Which one is it, princess?’ Wyatt asks, wrapping his arm around her waist.
Rory rises onto her tiptoes to check out the sign for the Ferris wheel behind us. ‘Fliss was right, they’re not opening for another ten minutes. Why don’t Duke and Cherry go wait by it so we can be first on while we go get some pictures?’
I open my mouth to speak – but before I know it, Rory’s grabbing Fliss and Wyatt’s hands, and dragging them off as she sings, ‘Perfect, thanks, guys.’
Wolfman just shrugs at us. ‘See you in a bit, I guess?’ And with that he’s carrying Bonnie off to the carousel.
That was a bit … random.
Duke offers me a hopeless smile, then gestures towards the Ferris wheel, its edges dotted with red and green lights, and we walk in silence until we reach it. No one else is hanging beside the ride, just the two of us.
‘So, I guess we just wait now then,’ I sigh, adjusting my white cowboy hat on my head as I scour the fair, toeing the ground with my boot.
Taking one glance up as we arrived at the wheel had my chest tightening instantly, even though I know my fear’s irrational. In fact, according to Google there are less deaths by Ferris wheel than a lot of other rides, so the odds really are in my favour here.
And yes, I did Google death by fairground rides statistics before coming here. That doesn’t stop me from anxiously shaking my leg, though.
But I can’t chicken out now. I’ve made a good start with my bucket list – I feel like I’m on a winning streak, each item an extra building block to the woman I’m becoming.
Plus, it’s fear that holds us back from what we want most in life – that’s what Rory always tells me.
If I can start tackling this fear, one that is literally based on zero grounding, then surely I can take on anything.
Moving away from home, having to be a professional in a new job, and even trying to flirt with a man are far less deadly than sitting in a rickety box fifty feet in the air.
‘Yeah …’ Duke presses his lips together into a brief smile, rubbing the back of his neck before he knocks on the vendor booth below the Ferris wheel, which causes my brows to lower.
‘Or we could tick off facing your fear of heights without the rest of the group around? Avoids Wyatt or Wolfman rocking the cabin to scare you.’
Before I can respond, a tall, brawny old man appears in the window of the booth, shoots a glare between the two of us, then cocks his head towards the wheel.
Duke gives him a thumbs up, then proceeds to reach over the gate to unlock it, the old man disappearing back down into the booth like he was never there.
My jaw is still hanging down when Duke turns back to me.
He explains, ‘Waylon’s an old friend of my grandfather.’
Well, that’s an odd coincidence.
With a half-smile, Duke gestures for me to follow him up onto the platform below the wheel, but my feet stay glued firmly to the ground.
And now my heart rate has kicked up, body suddenly aware that I don’t have ten minutes anymore to prepare to climb into this massive death trap.
I mean, these things might be tall and look sturdy, but they creak and sway in the wind.
And even the slightest movement has the cabins swinging so violently, I don’t know how more people don’t fall out.
I’m not sure I trust those Google statistics anymore.
I’ve closed my fists so tight that my nails are digging into my palms. I shake them out as I babble, ‘Maybe we should start somewhere a little …’ My head tilts up to the highest point of the wheel. ‘Lower.’
Duke holds his hand out to me. Tenderly, he says, ‘Come on. You can do this.’ When I’m still unconvinced and unmoving, he adds, ‘I’ll be right here with you.’
Each word wraps around my heart, giving it a gentle squeeze.
I swallow thickly, letting my eyes drop to his outstretched palm, following the path of his tattoos.
I start with that new mystery horseshoe, eagerness to discover its meaning still abundant.
My gaze wanders along the barbed wire wrapped around his forearm, the trees above them, and each petal of the roses blooming across his bicep.
Each inked illustration reins in the loud adrenaline coursing through my veins, calming my hands into a lighter tremble. They’re so familiar – a reminder that I’m safe in his arms. That even if I fall, he’ll be there to help me back up, to keep me strong when I feel like shattering.
Because this is Duke. Warm, strong, gallant Duke. I’m safe with him. He’s got me. Even when he doesn’t realise that he does, he’s always got me.