Hanging On

Never

“Tucker, will you slow down!” I panted, grabbing another bale and stacking it on top of another one. I was getting a build up, and Tucker just kept tossing them up. The wagon was almost half full, but we hadn’t even done half of the filed yet. We had a massive hay field, something I always despised when haying season came around. I caught sight of Tucker’s black hair before another bale came flying onto the wagon. My god, the boy was a machine.

I ignored the ache in my back and stacked the last bale of hay onto that row, staring another one with the bales that Tucker just kept throwing up. Sweat dripped down my face and neck, and the only pleasure I got from the whole thing was knowing that Tucker was just as uncomfortable as I was.

When the time came around for us to stop for the day, I nearly collapsed with exhaustion. I stood on the very top of the bales in the wagon, and easy twenty feet off the ground. I lifted the hem of my shirt to wipe my face with it, exposing some of my stomach before letting the material fall back into place. I looked down at Tucker and put my gloved hands on my waist as I looked past him out over our field. We were about half way done, so tomorrow we would finish gathering the hay, selling some of it but keeping most for ourselves.

Tucker was drenched in sweat, his shirt once again plastered to his body, much as mine was. I was too tired to focus much on that, though. My mother stopped the tractor and jumped out cheerfully, then walked to stand next to Tucker. Other than the usual amount of sweat from being out in ninety five degree weather, she was fine. She smiled at us.

“Great job, guys. As a reward, you have the rest of the evening off.” She said. I smiled at her. No evening chores was a blessing.

“Thanks, mom.” I said, carefully climbing down from the stack of hay. A wary look passed over Tucker’s face as he watched me. I stood in front of my mom and handed her my gloves.

“I’m gonna saddle Plum up and take her to the creek.” I said, wiping my sweaty hands on my jeans. She smiled at me. “Okay, be careful.”

I walked off towards the house to change into some shorts and clean shirt, then went out of the stables and pulled plum from her pasture, much to Zippy’s dismay. I tied Plum to the post outside the stable and quickly saddled her, ignoring the pain in my joints. I knew it would be worth it to get down to the water. I looked at the sky. I had a couple hours before the sun really began to set.

Plum’s ears pricked forward and I looked over my shoulder to see Tucker. He leaned against the wall.

“Where’re you going?” he asked casually. I tightened the girth on Plum, who looked at me quizzically.

“I’m going down to the creek to go swimming.”  I explained, slipping her halter off and replacing it with a bridal. I looked over my shoulder at him. He was watching me with a measured gaze. I almost sighed.

“Do you want to come?” I asked, expecting him to say no. He hesitated.

“Do I have to ride a horse?” he asked, glancing at Plum. I pulled myself into the saddle and gathered the reigns before looking at him, a small smile playing on my lips.

“Not if you don’t mind walking fast.” I said, raising my eye brows, still thinking he would say no. He seemed to think about before nodding, much to my surprise.

“Sure, lets go.”

I almost fell out of the saddle, but managed to compose myself before making a fool out of myself. “Um, alright. Let me tell my mom.” I said, nudging Plum in the sides. She walked forward, and I was glad I had taken her rather than Zippy. Zippy liked to go fast.

Tucker kept pace easily beside me, and Plum’s ears kept swiveling towards him. I went up the kitchen window, and my mother look out at me, unsurprised.