Terry was walking toward them with a couple of water bottles, no doubt on a mission to mother-hen them into staying hydrated. Sean took one and then walked away to talk to the guys.
“Thanks,” Emma said, cracking the top and taking a long drink. “Dusty today.”
“It’ll be better once we get more into the woods. Still, it must be nice for you to get away for a few hours. You know, not having to pretend you and Sean are a couple and all that.”
Emma forced herself to nod when, in reality, it was just as hard pretending they weren’t together as pretending they were. “Yeah, it’s a little stressful at times.”
“I bet the family having a little fun with it doesn’t help.”
“I’m so grateful everybody went along with it, I don’t mind a few laughs at our expense.”
Terry laughed. “It’s too good not to, really. But Sean’s always been a solid, level-headed guy, so we figure it must all be for a good cause.”
“My grandmother’s going to go back to Florida without any worries about me, so it’s definitely for a good cause.” Assuming it didn’t blow up in their faces before her plane left, of course.
Kevin gave the signal and it was time to put the water away and put the gear back on. Sean winked as he walked past her to his machine, but she just smiled and put her helmet on.
After a half mile or so of dirt road they hit the woods, but Kevin didn’t slow down. They crashed and banged along the rough trail, dodging the bigger rocks and low-hanging branches. And when Sean started playing—tapping the back of her machine with the front of his—Emma laughed and gave it a little more gas.
The corner came up fast, but she didn’t panic. No brakes. Just goosed it a little to bring the rear end around so it would slide through the corner and she could throttle out.
Then she saw the chipmunk.
All it took was a second’s hesitation and the inside wheels lifted and the ass end came up off the ground. Oh, shit, this is gonna hurt.
Sean saw Emma’s machine start to roll and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it.
He skidded to a stop, his ATV sliding sideways, and watched as she managed to push herself off, diving for the dirt. She hit the ground, bouncing and skidding until—thank God—she was clear of the four-wheeler as it rolled twice before coming to rest against a tree.
He was off his machine and at her side before the dust even settled. Emma rolled to her back as he dropped to his knees.
“Ow,” was all she said.
“Jesus, Emma. Are you hurt?”
“That would be why I said ow.”
He resisted the urge to grab her by the shoulders and shake the smart-ass out of her, but just barely. “Answer the damn question. Are you hurt bad?”
“I don’t think anything’s broken. Just gimme a minute.”
She didn’t look too bad. She’d gotten lucky and plowed through a mostly rock-free patch of trail. Her arm was scuffed up a bit and she was winded and filthy, but as long as nothing was broken, she’d made out pretty good.
“Has it been a minute yet?” He wanted her on her feet so he could look her over.
“No.” She took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. He watched her closely, but she didn’t wince and her breath didn’t hitch in her chest at all. “How bad did I muck up Lisa’s machine?”
“Don’t care. Are you ready to get up yet?”
“I think so.”
He moved to kneel behind her head and slid his hands under her back to help her sit up. “Just sit for a couple minutes. Make sure you’re not dizzy.”
Riding as hard as they were didn’t lend itself to looking over one’s shoulder, so the group in front had kept going. Sean knew it wouldn’t be long before they reached an intersection. Kevin would stop to make sure he had everybody before choosing a direction and, when he and Emma didn’t show, they’d come back.
“I think I’m okay,” Emma told him.
He slid his hands under her arms, gently hoisting her to her feet. “Take it nice and easy.”
“I’m okay, Sean. Really.” She pulled off her goggles and then undid her chin strap and lifted her helmet off.
“I shouldn’t have been pushing you.” She gave him a look. It was the kind of look he saw his cousins’ wives give them and it made him bristle. “Don’t give me that look.”
“What, the you’re being an ass look? Don’t be an ass and I won’t give you the look.”
“How am I being an ass? Because I’m sorry I was pushing you and almost got you killed?”
“No, you’re an ass because you think you were pushing a girl to go too fast.”
He crossed his arms and scowled at her. “So?”
She scowled right back at him. “So, you had nothing to do with it. Believe it or not, I’ve rolled an ATV before. Today, I was riding the way I always ride when we’re dumb enough to let Kevin lead and I got ambushed by a chipmunk. It could have been any one of us.”
He couldn’t help it. He stepped close and threaded his fingers through hers. “I wish it hadn’t been you.”