Junior Year Box Set

“The adolescents decided to play in the mud and rain. I still have to catch two of them and then give them baths. Care to help me?” she asked.

My first thought was, ‘It sucks to be you,’ but as I always say, sex changes things. You do things you would never dream of if they were for a girl who you’re currently sleeping with.

“Oh, Boy!” I said and bounced up and down as if excited.

Zoe didn’t buy it for a minute, but I saw her frustration. She handed me a lead, and we walked out into the rain. I was wearing my letterman’s jacket, jeans, and tennis shoes, not dressed for a trip through a horse pasture when it was only forty degrees out and pouring rain. One of the troublemakers had gotten smart and waited for us at the gate. Of course, Zoe clipped the lead on him and left me to search for the other one. I found him in a giant puddle, using his front hoof to splash mud all over his belly. He would get the gold star for the muddiest horse I’d ever seen. When he saw me, he headed straight for me. Forget that, I didn’t need to have him anywhere near. My mistake was that I usually carried treats for the horses in my coat pocket.

Zoe came back out and found me as I ran for the barn with her big brute right behind me. She wasn’t happy when I deftly stepped around her. The horse rubbed up against Zoe to try to see if I had anything for him. I wasn’t sure my escape was worth it when she turned around to face me, entirely covered in mud. I handed her the lead so she could clip it on his halter, but she huffed and threw it at me. Zoe left the horse and me to stare at each other.

“I think we better get you cleaned up,” I said.

He seemed to understand that his afternoon of play was over. I led him to the cleaning station and made sure the water was warm before beginning to hose him off. I had no idea so much mud could be on one horse. Finally, I got him cleaned up and started the other wayward bad boy’s bath when Zoe reappeared. She’d gone into the house, taken a shower, and changed. She saw I had this and left to feed and water the rest of the horses. When I finished, I helped Zoe finish her chores.

We did our work in silence. It wasn’t awkward, it was just us working. Zoe was good at what she did. She let me do my jobs and subtly checked to make sure I did my tasks correctly. I think that because Zoe had a little brother, she’d become good at how she handled her help. I treated how she dealt with me as her helper as a lesson on the right way to do it. When we were done, Zoe smiled at me.

“Thanks. I needed the help today with the brats.”

“Sorry about getting you slimed,” I apologized.

“He’s just an attention-hog. I haven’t spent enough time with him lately, and he let me know it today. I figured you could handle him once the two of you reached the barn.”

We chatted, and I told Zoe a little about today. I didn’t want too many details of what we had learned about Cal’s mistreatment of Pam getting out, so I just said we’d worked it out. Zoe said that Pam had told some of the cheerleaders that she thought she might be pregnant. I remembered a few cryptic hints that now made sense. Zoe was mad about the rape and assault charges Pam had leveled. But I explained that it was all Pam’s dad’s attempt to make sure she and the baby would be financially okay. It was all I could think of that honored the terms of the agreement we’d just reached, and that wouldn’t get Zoe to dig for more information.

At that moment, I realized I needed to talk to Pam if only to get a united front for when we were asked questions. While I was okay with telling most people that it was between Pam and me, there were some who would expect to be given a little more detail. Zoe, Halle, and Brook were at the top of that list.

We then began to make out. We didn’t get very far before Roc stuck his head into the barn.

“What ’cha doin’?” he asked in a singsong voice.

“Kissing,” I responded in the same manner.

“Get lost, dork,” Zoe said.

“Mom sent me to tell you that dinner’s ready. Bring your boyfriend,” Roc said, and then skipped out as he sang: “David and Zoe sitting in a tree. K-i-s-s-i-n-g!”

“Roc!” Zoe called after her brother.

She chased him into the house. I figured it looked like a good idea because the rain hadn’t slowed down, so I ran after them. We all came thundering in through the back door.

“You kids stop running in the house,” their mom called from the kitchen.

Roc and Zoe ‘yes ma’am’-ed her in unison.

We were sent to the dining room while she brought the food out. I’d picked a great night for dinner because there was pot roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions, plus homemade bread. After we prayed and began to eat, I detected a little tension between Zoe’s mom and dad.

“David, does your family bring food to the church potluck lunches?” Mrs. Pearson asked.

I looked around the table to see if I’d missed something. I really didn’t want to be caught in the middle of whatever was going on.

“Yes, ma’am. My mom usually makes a casserole,” I said.