Read Crashed: The Death Of The Dollar for Free Online

your life with?”
    “ Then I'll spend the rest of my life with her. But I don't need some damn license involving the government in our relationship to do that,” he answered.
     
    "So you all have thought I was gay all this time?" he asked, laughing again.
    "Stacy's not sure. I've told her you were several times, but she's kinda insecure so part of her thinks you ran off because she's not attractive anymore. I don't know if Taylor has ever thought about it or would care. I'm certain Brad's never thought about it. Me, yeah, I thought you were totally gay. I told Stacy she better learn to accept being single because the only man around didn't like women."
     
    A few minutes passed as they sat quietly, enjoying the peacefulness of the mountains. "Well, I probably need to head home." Jessica started to get up, but paused. She turned to Mike and kissed him on the lips. "There, now you can't say you don't know what it's like to be kissed," she said, as she smiled real big. He froze up, with a long blank stare on his face. "Good night, Mike,"  she said softly, as she started her walk home.
     
    "Hey, Jess," he said. "Don't say any -"
    "No," she replied shaking her head. "You'll tell them when you're ready."
     
     

 
     
     
     
    Chapter 3
     
    Friends Become Family
     
     
    Almost a month had passed and life went on perfectly as normal. Mike's birthday, his real birthday, was sincerely being celebrated for the first time in his life. He was sitting on his porch having a glass of warm mint tea when the others showed up.
     
    "Good morning birthday boy!" Taylor said excitedly. She went inside to get herself some tea, refill his glass, and returned to join him.
     
    Jessica told them all that breakfast would be ready in about twenty minutes. She was cooking some eggs, cubed goat meat, and biscuits. Stacy went straight to Mike's room and gathered up his old, torn clothes. She was intent on mending what she could, and making something else out of what was too damaged to fix.
     
    "Where's Brad?" he asked Taylor.
    "He's up checking on the animals in the pasture. That's his birthday present to you. He's taking over all the chores on the farm today."
    Mike kinda chuckled. "Nine years old, and that boy works like he's in his twenties. Let's not tell him I already made the rounds this morning."
     
    He looked inside at Jessica cooking. Every day of the last few weeks he had thought about that quick kiss. He wanted it to happen again, but couldn't bring himself to say anything. He didn't know if he should say anything. He liked how things were, and didn't want any weirdness between them, or between the others if they found out.
     
    He got up and walked over to a spot near the edge of the canyon where he liked to stand. Taylor followed along, mostly out of habit. He stood there looking down between the mountains. It was such a clear day he could see his reservoir glistening in the distance. As she wrapped her arms around him, Taylor said "I'm sorry I don't really have anything special to do for you or give you for your birthday."
    Mike smiled. "But you are," He put his arm around her and hugged her tight.
    "What do you mean?"
    He gave her an abbreviated version of what he had told Jessica a few weeks ago. "You sitting here hugging me," he paused. "I can't think of anything more special I could ask for."
     
    Off to the side they saw Brad coming towards them, speeding down on his bike. "Does he sleep with that bike too?" Mike asked jokingly.
     
    "Hey, we're missing a goat," Brad said in a panicked voice, trying to catch his breath.
    "Slow down, son. From where?"
    He kept goats in three separate areas. Alpine goats, for milk, in a small pasture behind the barn. Boers, for meat, out with the sheep and cattle. And a weaning pen to separate kids from their does.
     
    "There's a wether missing from the weaning pen."
    "Just one? Any signs of blood or anything?"
    "Nope. Just the little runt Alpine is gone. I can't find him."
    "Well, we can try