He positioned his hands on the trunk. "I weigh nearly twice as much as you."
She positioned her hands on the opposite side of the car and grinned back at him.
"With or without your ego?"
He chuckled and called to Katie that they were ready. Katie hit the accelerator and the wheels spun wildly, instantly coating Carmen and Alex with mud.
"Ho!" Alex yelled as he jumped away from the car. And then they were both laughing. Carmen stepped around him.
"I'd better go get the gate. When you push this thing out of the mud, she's going to be plumb through the gate before we can get to it."
"Good idea."
He explained the situation to Katie and added. "Easy this time. And keep going once you get started."
Carmen sloshed through the mud, and by the time she opened the gate, the car was out of the mud. Alex waved Katie through and closed the gate. Caked with mud, they both decided to walk to the house while Katie parked the car.
"I'm sorry your birthday turned out this way," Alex said as he fell into stride beside her.
She shrugged. "Oh, don't worry about it. This has been a typical day for me - with the exception of a nice evening out. Thanks."
Thunder rumbled again and a cold drop of rain gnawed at the mud on her cheek. Maybe Katie was right. Maybe she needed to get out more. In spite of the mud and weather, she felt much better.
"Do you like living like this?"
"Like this? If you mean cold and muddy, no, but it isn't always this way. When you live on a farm you learn to expect days like this and roll with the punches."
"No, I wasn't talking about the mud and cold. I meant living out here in the middle of nowhere with questionable transportation and no way to get help. I admire your courage."
Courage? She shrugged. "It's not all that bad. Not when you grow up with it. Shoot, Dad put a bathroom in the house the year after I graduated. I can remember more than one time with a case of flu in the dead of winter - running back and forth to the outhouse. I have it made, now." She shrugged again. "I made the decision to work the farm instead of selling the place and getting a job at some factory. The farm doesn't pay as much, but it's more rewarding. Anyway, I always figured I'd raise my children on this place. It's a wonderful place to grow up. There's a spot down yonder on the creek where all us kids used to swim in the summer. Me, Lori, Josh and Bill."