The continuing saga of three generations of ranching family. Below the story you’ll find links to other flash fictions.
Chapter 96
Samantha glanced at Levi and grinned as they made their way through the midway. He had a look of determination on his face and knotted muscles on each side of his jaw. She managed to hit every one of his buttons and was proud of herself that she’d been able to play him that easily.
He glanced at her and she could tell he was barely keeping his temper under control. He kept glancing at her, and she was happy to fuel the anger she had been tending all day.
“You know there’s no way you’re going to win. You should just give up and pay up,” Samantha said.
He looked at her and twisted his lips in determination. “No way. No girl is going to beat me at anything, especially not this.”
She turned on him, this time he’d managed to get her temper flaring. She spun on him with a scowl that would send the banshee flying to for safe hiding spots. If Josh had been there, he would have been shaking his head and tisking. He could have told Levi he had made a fatal mistake. But he was having dinner with some friends and Levi was on his own.
Samantha crossed her arms and glared at him. “You saying no woman could beat you? Because I’m not a girl, I’m a woman. Also I live with five guys, and they expect me to do the same work they do. They’ve never complained about me not holding up my share of the work.”
With that she spun and moved across the fairgrounds at something close to a run. She couldn’t believe that boy thought she couldn’t handle a few midway rides, which was bad enough but easy enough to prove him wrong. But this last crack, well she would show him who was the one who could keep her dinner, and that girls, not girls, women, could do just as well as any guy.
She spotted the Tilt-a-Whirl and staked out their spot in line. When Levi caught up, Samantha turned to him with a hard line for lips. “We can start here and see how the tough stud is doing after a few rounds.”
“Bring it on! Anything you can do I can take twice as much.”
The ride operator motioned them onto a bench and locked them into the seat. As it took off, Samantha let out a high-pitched squeal. From the look on Levi’s face, he wasn’t having as much fun. By the time the ride was over, Levi’s tan had taken on a pale look and he was swallowing hard.
“You ready to give? Cause you look about ready to puke.”
Levi swallowed hard a last time and stared at Samantha. “That the best you got? This’ll be like taking candy from a baby.”
Samantha gave him a feral smile and proceeded to take him on every ride that spun, dropped, twisted and plunged that existed on the midway. But Levi refused to admit defeat. Samantha had them at her final attempt, and the pride of the amusement park, the Crazy Runaway Roller Coaster. You were strapped in standing up and the whole ride went downhill from there.
“There we are. Guaranteed to have you puking up your heals before the ride was over. The other great thing, you can’t get off the ride. Once you’re on, you’re committed to the whole ride.”
By now Levi was ghostly white and looked like he was barely holding on by the tips of his nails. “You can’t get off?”
Samantha went in for the kill. “Nope. You can be puking your guts out and you still gotta finish the ride.”
Levi’s face twisted into a frown, but then he motioned toward the coaster with his head. “Let’s do it. I’m ready.”
Fifteen minutes later Levi was holding onto the rim of one of the fifty-five gallon drums the fairgrounds used for trash, throwing up everything he’d eaten since breakfast. Once he was down to the dry heaves, Samantha slapped him on the back.
“Come on cowboy. There’s a turquoise bracelet with my name on it.” Her face took on a twist of mischievousness. “Then you can buy me a nice hot, greasy, corndog covered with a ton of spicy mustard.”
Levi sprinted back to the trash barrel.
The links listed below go directly to the individual stories.
Jon L Keys 