Opposites Attract (25 page)

‘Come on, dude,’ the kid said, grinning wider. ‘Let’s see what you got.’

How could he pass up a challenge from a ten-year-old kid? Ethan took the board and set it down on the sidewalk. He rolled a few feet before trying to kick-flip the board into the air. The trick failed miserably and he fell on his back with a heavy thud.

‘Oh, dude.’ The boy laughed, half in amusement, half in sympathy. He rescued his board before leaning over Ethan. ‘You all right?’

Ethan groaned, chuckling at his own foolishness. He should’ve known better. His body was sore, but nothing he couldn’t handle. He pushed up. The kid grabbed his arm, helping him. ‘Hey, how’d you know I was a tattoo artist?’

‘Oh, I heard that old guy on the phone,’ he said.

‘Brandon!’ a woman screamed.

‘That’s my mom. I got to go,’ the kid said.

‘Hey, wait,’ Ethan yelled. ‘What old guy?’

‘The one with the camera,’ the boy yelled as he skated off down the sidewalk. As Ethan watched, he did the kick-flip perfectly, waved and kept going.

Ethan frowned. Old guy with a camera? Well, the kid was ten and it was possible he’d consider anyone over the age of twenty old. But with a phone and a camera? Could he mean Ted? Ted made business calls all the time. Only, Ted didn’t have a camera. Maybe the boy was mistaken about that. Maybe Ted had borrowed Alexis’s camera. Then, thinking of how she guarded that bag with her life, he doubted Ted would take it without permission.

A shiver worked over his spine. Instantly, he thought of Alexis’s man in the grey car. He looked around the parking lot. There were no grey cars. He was probably just being paranoid.

Stretching out his back, he grimaced at his sore muscles. Mumbling to himself, he said, ‘That’s what you get, old man, for taking challenges from a kid.’

‘I see a camel,’ Alexis said.

‘You’re supposed to see a train and a face,’ Susan insisted.

‘Oh, yeah, I see it, right there,’ Ted said, pointing at the distant rock.

Ethan looked, but said nothing. He was still a little disturbed about the kid’s comments. The Highway of Legends was definitely worth the side trip. They’d just started to travel, but already they’d seen so much beauty. Alexis was demanding they stop the car every five minutes to take pictures. At this rate, they’d be sleeping in the wilderness. Ethan didn’t mind. He liked seeing her happy. For that reason alone, he didn’t mention the kid to anyone.

‘OK, I got the picture,’ Alexis said. ‘I’ll blow it up really big later and we can all stare at it because I still see a camel.’

Ethan was in the driver’s seat. She smiled at him, an almost shy smile, as he put the car into drive. They drove in silence, taking in the beauty of the area. Large stone jutted up from the land, almost like a thick white wall that blocked one side from the other. Brown and red valleys turned into dark-green peaks. Tall, skinny trees lined the roads and wildflowers seemed to cover every inch of the landscape.

‘Check out this town,’ Susan said as the highway led through a small mountain town. Some of the buildings were made out of logs. ‘It’s just like turn of the century Colorado.’

‘Check out that man,’ Alexis added, pointing to a bearded mountain man in a flannel shirt. ‘I think he’s from the turn of the century too. Let’s not stop. I really don’t want to make friends with Billy Bob over there.’

As they watched, the man spat tobacco on the ground and glanced at the car. He smiled at the women, staring hard, his teeth stained brown. Yellow tobacco streaks stained his whiskered mouth.

‘Drive,’ Alexis hissed. ‘Just drive.’

As they passed a lake, Alexis’s hand slid close to Ethan’s thigh. She didn’t caress him, just let her hand rest along his leg as she looked out the window. Just as he was about to take her hand in his, she pulled back, demanding he stop so she could take a picture of a bear.

‘Don’t unroll the windows,’ Susan said, sounding panicked. Alexis ignored her. Ethan laughed. ‘Lexy!’

‘It’s too far away to attack, sweetheart,’ Ted assured her.

‘But the brochure says not to bother the wildlife,’ Susan insisted. ‘And the lady at the hotel told me that bears have been known to attack people who bother them. Her cousin was camping and was mauled by one. And she said that one even attacked a car and smashed it to bits. That –’

‘Sweetie, trust me,’ Ted said, kissing the tip of her nose. ‘We’re fine.’

Alexis laughed. She winked at Ethan. His heart nearly stopped beating at the playful gesture. He drove down the highway again, not sure how much time passed. He felt like he couldn’t breathe as he gripped the steering wheel. The urge to pull over was strong, but he fought it. If he pulled over now he’d jump out of the car and confess to Alexis and the whole world that he loved her.

Love?

Ethan forced a deep breath. He couldn’t be in love. They’d only known each other a few weeks. So what if they spent every second of the day together in the car and that they slept together at night. Two weeks wasn’t a long enough time to know something so important. He was just being foolish. Wasn’t he? He turned to Alexis.

‘Ethan?’ she asked. ‘Are you – oh my gawd, look out!’

Ethan looked at the road. A small furry creature darted in front of the car. Instinctively, he swerved to miss it. Alexis and Susan screamed as the car spun. When they stopped, no one said a word for several long moments.

‘Is everyone all right?’ Ethan asked, glancing at Alexis. She nodded.

‘Yeah,’ Ted said.

‘Yes,’ Susan said.

‘What was that?’ Alexis asked. As if to answer her question, they heard a dog bark. Ethan looked out the window. A small white dog sat on the pavement, looking at them as he made a horrendous racket. It looked like a little lion with long straight fur around its head and shorter fur on its body.

‘It’s a Pekingese,’ Susan said.

‘Where did it come from?’ Alexis asked.

Ethan opened his car door to assess the damage. In the distance, several campers were stopped along the road. ‘I think it came from there.’

‘Ah, man, we have a flat,’ Ted said.

Ethan came around the car. Everything looked fine, but for a punctured tyre. ‘Damn it!’

‘You have a spare?’ Ted asked.

‘Yeah, but I don’t have a jack,’ Ethan said.

‘How could you travel without a jack?’ Alexis asked him. A bit of the condescending diva was back in her voice as she looked at him.

‘Because I don’t own one and I figured if I ever needed one there’d be someone to ask.’ Ethan pointed at the campers. ‘So, let’s go ask.’

Alexis grabbed her camera and Ethan locked up the car. The dog followed them, yipping the quarter of a mile it took to reach the cars. The animal held his head high with obvious self-importance. Ethan’s mood had soured with the accident and he had the strangest urge to kick the annoying dog, launching it into the surrounding valley. But since he’d never hurt an animal in his life, he wasn’t about to start now.

‘Oh, great,’ Ted said under his breath as they neared the parked caravan. The first small camper had a tie-dyed peace sign in the window surrounded by love beads. ‘Hippies. Just great. They creep me out.’

Ethan laughed, his mood lightening some at the odd comment. It was the first time Ted had ever expressed even the slightest hint of negativity.

‘His mother’s a hippie,’ Susan explained.

‘Yeah,’ Ted said. ‘And she creeps me out. I grew up having to listen to her describe my aura and trying to read my future.’

‘They’re artists.’ Alexis pointed down into the valley where several artists with their canvases and easels painted quietly. A long stretch of a flat green field with tall grasses stretched out. Dark-brown fence posts leaned sideways, their railing long collapsed. In the distance there were green hills dotted with evergreens, more of the curious white-stone wall jutting from the ground and finally snow-cap peaks. The sky was bright blue with white, fluffy clouds. It was breathtaking.

The little Pekingese yipped and took off into the taller grasses, disappearing in the field. They watched the grass move until the dog reached one of the nearby artists. The woman turned, looking down and then straight at them. Ethan waved. The artist set down her brush and left her canvas to walk towards them.

‘Well, Emperor, what have you found?’ the woman said to the dog. Her long black hair had touches of grey along the bangs and temples. She wore a dress of bright orange, the front of which was spattered and smeared with paint.

‘We’ve come to borrow a jack,’ Ethan called. ‘We found your dog just up the road. He ran in front of our car and we had a slight accident.’

The woman almost looked offended. ‘If my dog ran out in front of your car, it was no accident. Pekingese are known for bringing good luck. If you wrecked, it was lucky that you should do so.’

‘Yep, hippies,’ Ted mumbled under his breath so she couldn’t hear him.

‘And, it’s equally lucky that I don’t have a jack,’ she said, continuing forwards. ‘You must be meant to stay here.’

Ethan frowned. ‘Actually, we’re meant to go to New Mexico today.’

The woman reached them, glancing down the road to Ethan’s car. She smelled of patchouli. ‘No, I’d say you were meant to stay.’

‘Maybe someone else has a jack,’ Ted said.

The woman ignored him, looking down at Alexis’s camera. ‘You’re a photographer?’

‘No,’ Alexis began modestly.

‘Yes,’ Ethan automatically supplied, ‘she is.’

The woman grinned. ‘Then welcome, child. This day is for artists. And the rest of you?’

When no one said anything, Alexis motioned at Ethan and said, ‘Ethan’s actually the artist of the bunch. He’s the one with the talent.’

Ethan felt a moment of tremendous pride at her statement. He wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and stake claim to her with a kiss. He held back from the impulse. It wasn’t like they were officially a couple. Susan might suspect something was going on, but Alexis had made it clear she didn’t want to be seen publicly as his girlfriend, or lover, or whatever she was.

‘And what do you do?’ the woman asked.

‘Tattooing,’ Ethan said.

‘But he draws as well,’ Alexis supplied. ‘He’s very talented.’

The woman nodded. ‘Ah, then you are in the right place. We’re all artists here. We’re travelling north along the Sangre de Cristo Mountains to capture them in all their beauty. Get your supplies and join us. It’s a beautiful day for it. The lighting is perfect. Later tonight we will gather by a campfire and share stories. Tomorrow someone can take you to town if no one has a jack. I’d ask them today, but today is a quiet day where we all concentrate on the beauty of nature, breathing her in. We can’t break their meditative trances. By the way, I’m Summer.’

‘Ethan, Alexis, Susan and Ted,’ Ethan introduced.

The woman nodded and walked back towards her canvas, her dog trailing behind her.

‘Told you,’ Ted said, shaking his head, ‘hippies.’

‘What do you want to do?’ Ethan asked.

‘I’m hungry,’ Susan said.

‘Want to go into the woods and pick berries?’ Alexis asked, giggling. It was clear by the look on her face she wasn’t going anywhere. Ethan eyed her designer denim jeans and her long-sleeve cashmere sweater. Yeah, she wasn’t one to hike – at least not in that outfit. She wouldn’t make it too far in her heeled boots.

‘Well, Ted and I did get stuff for a picnic earlier,’ Ethan said. Susan grinned. ‘It was supposed to be a surprise.’

‘Oh,’ Susan instantly sighed. She wrapped her arms around Ted’s neck. ‘You did? How sweet.’

‘I’d say here is as good a place as any.’ Ted waved his hand towards the valley before hugging her close. Susan kissed him, moaning softly.

Ethan glanced at Alexis and teasingly wiggled his eyebrows, pursing his lips for a kiss. She laughed, but didn’t come to him. He was slightly disappointed.

The picnic was hardly a grand affair, but no one complained about the sandwiches, sodas and potato chips. Ethan borrowed a blanket from one of the artists. Emperor kept them company. They tried to shoo him away, but the dog kept trying until they let him sit on the blanket. Ted tossed the animal a piece of sliced roast beef.

Ted and Susan went for a walk near the woods, leaving Alexis to her photographs and Ethan to his sketch pad. Alexis smiled at him, taking his picture. She wanted to remember this day always. Seeing that they were finally alone, she asked, ‘Today really is wonderful, isn’t it?’

‘Mm, yeah, it is.’ He glanced at her, grinning.

‘I think I’m actually running out of space on my memory sticks,’ Alexis said, studying her camera. ‘Do you think I could load the software on your laptop and store the photos I’ve taken on there?’

‘Sure,’ Ethan answered. ‘No problem. We’ll do it at the next hotel.’

‘Can I ask you something?’ She sat down by him on the blanket. Emperor lifted his head up for a moment, yawned and then laid it back down to sleep.

‘Sure,’ Ethan said, concentrating on his drawing. ‘But I don’t have to answer.’

Alexis studied his drawing of the mountains. It was a rough sketch, but decent. ‘When we first started this trip, you said that a girl like me wouldn’t understand about the marking off the maps.’

Ethan lowered his sketch pad and turned to her. ‘I shouldn’t have been so hard on you.’

‘No, you should have. I know it sounds crazy but I’m different now. I can feel that I am. I mean, nobody changes overnight, but –’ She grew nervous, trying to backtrack her words.

‘Alexis,’ Ethan said, gently, ‘you have changed.’

She smiled, feeling like he’d just given her the biggest compliment in the world. ‘So, can I know now about the maps?’

Ethan threw back his head and laughed. ‘It really isn’t a big deal.’

‘Still,’ Alexis said, ‘I’d like to know.’

Ethan flipped to the end of his sketch pad and took out an outline map of the United States. Some of the states were coloured in with bright-orange marker. Alexis didn’t know if she should be insulted or not. He’d thought she wouldn’t understand a coloured-in map?