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small chuckle to escape.  “Laugh now.  Just you wait,
you’ll get yours too.”  I snickered as I tried to wipe as much of the mud off
my face.  “Damn stuff is as thick as tar.”
    I helped her off the bike so we could head back. 
As luck would have it, the moment she let go of my hand, she slipped.  So sue
me for standing there enjoying her misfortune; it was all in good fun.  She
squealed as she tried to right herself only to land back onto her ass again and
the mud sucked her in deeper.  It was my turn to bust a gut.
    “Karma’s a bitch,” I said in a singsong fashion.
    “Shut up.”  She laughed as she took my
outstretched hand again.
    “What?”  I gave her my best angelic face and then
grinned like the devil.  “You know you’re enjoying this.”  She was wiping the
mud off her hands and onto her shirt.
    “Can’t say I wasn’t.”  She looked up at me and
grinned.  “Next time, if you want to mud wrestle, just ask.”
    Damn this girl is fun.
     
    After a half hour trek, I suggested we take a
small break when we’d reached the fields.  I collapsed onto my back and pulled
on her hand so she followed me down.  She laid her head on my stomach, both of
us staring up at the sky.
    I don’t know how long we were there for, but I was
aware of the fact that the mud on my skin was pretty well caked on dry.
    “This shit is gonna be hell to take off,” I said.
    She peeled a dried chip of mud off my cheek,
flicked it and said, “I think you might be right but you’ll look pretty with a
more even complexion in the end.”
    “ Pretty? ”  I lifted my head and gave her a
perplexed look.  She tried to hide her laugh but it was next to impossible with
her head bouncing up and down off my stomach.  “I’ll show you pretty .  I
think it’s time you earned yourself a few extra laugh lines, honey, then you
can talk to me about mud baths.”  I rolled her under me and set to tickling.
     
    We made it back to the house, still laughing about
our earlier mishap.  I started the hose and sprayed her down while she squealed
when the water made contact.
    “Damn that’s cold,” she said shivering with her
lips gaining a blue tint.
    “A white t-shirt would have made this whole
experience that much better,” I said, wiggling my eyebrows.
    She snagged the hose from me, smirked and said,
“Oh, it’s about to get better alright.”   Taking aim at me, she fired.
    She soaked me good and proper as I used my t-shirt
to scrub as much of the mud off as I could.  I grabbed a few towels from the
house, left a note letting my parents know what had happened to the ATV and we
headed home.  I’d have to go back with the old man at some later time and get it
out.
    ***
    In an attempt to avoid the debacle of what was
last night’s dinner, I made Alissa sit at the kitchen island while I cooked.
    The dishwasher handled the aftermath as we made
our way to the living room.
    She walked up to the built-in library and grabbed
the frame that held a photo of Jasper and I.
    “He looks so much like you.”  She graced me with a
sweet smile and I could have sworn I had seen a look of longing cross her face
but as quick as it had appeared, it vanished.
    She put the frame back where it had been and I
found myself envisioning a day where Jasper and her would meet and wondered if
he would like her.  Almost immediately, I was convinced that he would. 
However, my son getting used to her would take time as it had with Julie’s man.
    “Uh oh, you’ve got that pensive look again. 
What’s on your mind?” she asked as she sat down beside me.
    Before I had the chance to answer, there was a
knock at the door.  “Hold that thought,” I said and got up to see who could be
calling on me.  I hadn’t the faintest idea nor did I expect to find the person
that stood there before me.

Chapter 5
    I drew my front door inward and cursed when I saw
her—Julie.
    She pushed past me.  “Can I come in?”
    Do I really have a