The Fireman's Secret by Jessica Keller Page B

it?” She offered it back to him.
    He took the helmet and lifted it over her head. “I’m more concerned with you being safe than me. Besides, if something did go wrong, you have people to miss you. I don’t.”
    That wasn’t right of him to say. She wanted to correct him and tell him she’d miss him. But that would cause another awkward moment between them. And how could she miss him when she didn’t know him? Honestly, in the past fourteen years he hadn’t crossed her mind except for a couple of times. Somehow, the past week had changed that. If Joel did leave again, Shelby’s mind would wander to thoughts of him often. Hopefully that wouldn’t happen.
    She held her hair together at the nape of her neck while he eased the helmet onto her head and fastened the strap.
    “It’s probably a little big on you, but it’s better than nothing.”
    Shelby felt silly. Were people staring? Her fingertips found the ends of the sleeves of the coat she wore, and she tugged down the fabric as far as it would go over her hands. Did the helmet make her look as ridiculous as she felt?
    “Stop fidgeting. It’s a good look on you. Cute. I promise.” Joel swung onto the bike. “Go ahead and get on.”
    “I don’t know what I’m doing. What if I do it wrong?” No longer doing somersaults, her heart jackhammered against her ribs. Her throat went dry. This was stupid. How had Joel tricked her into doing something so dangerous? People died in motorcycle accidents. Although, she supposed, they died doing mundane things, too.
    Stop worrying. She could do this. Something small. Something out of her control.
    “I’m going to teach you. Trust me. That’s all I ask.” He held out his hand. “Come with me, Shelby.” His voice was low and his eyes searched hers. “Go ahead and get on the bike.” She took his hand and stepped closer. “Now when you lift your leg over the seat, find the peg on the side of the bike. That’s where your foot goes. There’s one on each side.”
    Following his instructions, she swung her leg over. She grabbed Joel’s shoulders to steady herself as she found the pegs for her feet. It felt as if the bike was going to tip over at any moment. “Are you sure two people can be on here?”
    “Positive.” He twisted in the seat to make eye contact. “You’re doing great.”
    “I’m just sitting.”
    “There are only two things you need to do and you’ve already mastered the first. See? This is easy.”
    “What’s the second?”
    “Hang on.”
    “Where do I put my hands?” She fumbled to find a handhold on the seat. How fast would the bike go? What if she fell off the back? “I don’t think I can hold on tight enough.” Her voice faltered.
    Joel acted like he hadn’t heard her, even though he must have. “You have two options. Just behind the bike’s taillight you’ll find two handles. You can hang on there.”
    Again, she grabbed Joel’s shoulder to steady herself as she found the handles. They were so far back. She’d have to be almost to the very edge of the seat to get a good grip. “I can’t do this. I don’t feel safe. What’s my other option?”
    “Hold on to me.”
    “You won’t mind?”
    “Not one bit.”
    “Where will I...?”
    “You’ll lean into my back, wrap your arms around my waist and keep your hands under my arms.” He held her gaze. There were only inches between them. “Honestly, it’s easier for me to balance the bike if you hold on to me and not the handles.”
    “Okay. Since that’s better for you.”
    “When we’re going, follow my body moments as much as you can. When we take a curve you’ll want to fight what I’m doing, but don’t. We’ll lean into the turns, and it’ll feel scary at first because your brain tells you to lean against the turn, but if you do that it can throw off our balance and make me lose control of the bike.”
    She swallowed. “Maybe I shouldn’t do this.”
    “You’ll be fine. We won’t go far this first