Tales of a Trail of Life by Ann Graham Read Free Book Online Page B

was forced to have some kind of dialogue before riding off. “That’s ok,
I do admit that you gave me a fright and that it wasn’t a bear and by the way,
your rendition sounded a lot better than mine.” With that she was peddling away
toward the tunnel. The man yelled after her. “I love that song, my girl and I sang
it together back in high school.”
     
    Ashley was overcome with an emotional
seizure. Her vision clouded and grew darker from a rushing blood surge that
swept over her. The wobbling bicycle left the trail and deposited her in a
swampy marsh. Her helmet took the brunt of the fall when her head landed near a
rotting log. She heard the dropping of a bike and a man’s voice telling her not
to move, just lay still Ashley Elizabeth.
     
    A shadow straddled her and Old Spice
after shave scent swirled around her head. Her dad’s aftershave smell and
Dwayne’s. Oh my god! It’s Dwayne, it really is Dwayne. Nobody ever called her
Ashley Elizabeth but Dwayne and her mother. Another embarrassing moment. She
opened her eyes, squinting into the bright sunlight and the man, Dwayne’s
helmeted silhouette.
     
    “Dwayne, it really is you.” “It’s ok,
you are going to be ok, just let me remove your helmet Ashley, easy does it.”
She is soaked and this April morning is making her wet and cold condition very
noticeable. “Try sitting up Ash, don’t move too fast.”  Ashley already knows
she is ok but she does what he says. How nice it is to follow directions from a
caring individual.
    Once she sat up, Dwayne noticed how
wet she was and helped her to stand up and to get back onto the trail where it was
dry. He had her sit down while he retrieved her unharmed bicycle. Thankfully
Dwayne decided to start his trail morning at the Chance trail head and the next
order of business was to get her into the parking lot and into his sun warmed
truck.
     
    Ashley could walk fine and the warm
leather seat on her wet backside felt so good. She watched as this handsome
senior tended to both their bikes. When he got into the drivers side she asked.
“How long did you know Dwayne?”
     
    “I knew from our first meeting. That
beautiful embarrassed look on your face when I startled you brought immediate
flashbacks to our high school days. You always had that turned down head and
upturned eyes when you felt silly or embarrassed or uncomfortable. Yes, just
like that, you are doing it now. Oh how I carried that look with me in all my
years.”
     

Chapter
Four
     
     
    Dwayne suggested he drive her to the
emergency room at the hospital in Myers. She refused but thanked him for the
concern. Her jacket needed to be removed; it was getting very warm in the
truck, both in temperature and emotions.
     
    She accepted his help to remove her
wet jacket and when he reached back into the club cab to grab a blanket his
face was almost next to hers. She leaned up to allow the blanket to be draped
around her shoulders and down over her legs. “We need to get you home so you
can get out of those wet pants.” “I’m ok, really. I can ride my bike back to
town to get my SUV.” Dwayne would have none of that. “I’m driving you home and
then I will ride my bike to the station to get your wheels.”
     
    “Before you do Dwayne, where do you
live now?” Dwayne didn’t hesitate. “I’m living on the farm Ashley. I purchased
it many years ago from mom and dad and I have the Amish farming it. I moved
back about six months ago after my wife died. I live in the little cottage. The
kids encouraged it and I was ready.
     
    “How about you Ash?” “My John died
after a lengthy illness and he encouraged me to move back to my home town that
he took me from all those years ago. I purchased a home that just came on the
market and here I am. I have one daughter who lives in Akron.”
     
    Dwayne started the truck and headed
for town. The two of them were becoming very excited that history has
reintroduced them once again. Ashley was thinking to