Mountain Mystic by Debra Dixon

You have rattledmy skeleton over every pothole in these mountains.”
    “You picked all the roads!”
    “
And
you’ve forced me to sit on every porch between here and Knoxville. You owe me.”
    “But what—”
    “Be ready at seven. Wear a dress.”
    “I haven’t said—”
    “Bye, Vicky.”
    Promptly at seven, Joshua knocked on the door, and Victoria scrambled to spray perfume and slip on her shoes at the same time. She hadn’t been this nervous about a date in years.
It’s not a date. It’s two friends having some fun.
    “It’s a date,” she said under her breath. “Who do you think you’re kidding? You’re wearing your best dinner-and-dancing dress, for God’s sake.” She put on a smile and opened the door.
    The smile fell immediately as she looked over Joshua’s attire. He had on black cowboy boots that crinkled up a little bit at the toe, boot-cut faded jeans, and a crisp long-sleeved cotton shirt that was a patchwork of muted colors. He looked carelessly sexy, and she was dreadfully overdressed.
    Forgoing the pleasantries, Victoria protested, “You said to wear a dress!”
    “And it’s a great dress,” he commented as he glanced at the neckline. It was as far off the shoulder as a dress could get without actually being off theshoulder. The sweetheart neckline curved and dipped over her bust, and the fabric was a richly textured cream color that stopped mid-thigh. He repeated, “It’s a great dress.”
    Seeing the laughter in his eyes, Victoria knew she’d been had. “That’s not what I meant. We do not look like we are going to the same place. You deliberately misled me, didn’t you?”
    “So shoot me for wanting to see you all dressed up and shiny instead of wearing business clothes and your hair stuffed into a knot on top of your head! Would you have worn that if I’d told you that we were going to an old-fashioned meet-and-greet at the high school gym over in Mention?”
    “Of course not!”
    “Well, there you go.” Joshua was clearly unrepentant.
    “Shiny enough for you?” Victoria snapped, and swung her head in an imitation of shampoo ads.
    Joshua answered with a slow, warm smile before he spoke. “You beat the hell out of moonlight on a clear night. And that’s not easy to do. At least not by my standards. You ready?”
    Joshua sounded so sincere, Victoria forgot about being irritated until she saw the motorcycle. “No. I’m not getting on that thing dressed like this. We’ll take the truck.”
    “This is my shindig. I’m picking you up. Not the other way round. When you ask me out, you can drive the truck. Right now we take the cycle.”
    “I cannot believe you don’t have a car.”
    “I do. It’s in the shop. The transmission died a while back, and the mechanic had to order one because they don’t stock something like that for foreign cars.”
    Putting her hands on her hips, Victoria asked reprovingly, “Haven’t you heard of loaners?”
    “They didn’t have one, and I already had the cycle,” he explained patiently. Part of him was testing her, trying to see how important her image was to her; trying to see if she cared about what people thought. The other part of him wanted her body resting on the back of his bike, curved around him. “Can we go now?”
    Victoria paused and looked down at the straight skirt of her dress, wondering how awkward it would be to sit on the back of the bike. She laughed at herself for even considering it. “Are you blind? I can’t get on that thing. Not in this dress.”
    “Sure you can. I’ll bring the bike right alongside the steps, and you can slide on behind me. What could be easier?”
    “Getting my truck keys.” Victoria crossed her arms, prepared to hold her ground.
    “I’ve got two helmets. Come on, Vicky. You owe me.”
    “No, I don’t. Going to the dance evens the score. You didn’t say anything about my having to ride on this machine when we struck the bargain. If you want me to get on that contraption,