I smile. “Really? I can have a talk with her about that, if you want.”
“You know, I don’t mind the early wake up. But it’s the other parts of the routine that get to me. She saw that you all do long marches in training while wearing your gear. So, every morning, at the crack of dawn, she loads up her school backpack with a bunch of junk and then she marches through the house — up and down stairs, too — while doing made-up military chants. I feel like the Army owes both of us a salary, now, because we’re basically enlisted at this point.”
I laugh. I know I’ve made the right decision coming here. Little Speed Demon never fails to make me smile.
“Send her out. I’ll take her for a little ride and have a chat with her.”
“It’ll be a minute for her to get changed. Unless you don’t mind her wearing her uniform?”
“Uniform?”
“She made her own camo Ranger’s outfit.”
“That’s fine. Send her out, Kendra.”
All it takes to get Josie out is for Kendra to turn around and yell, “Josie, Snake’s here for you.”
In seconds, there’s the thud of feet running down a staircase, and then she’s standing in the doorway, overstuffed backpack slung over her shoulders, wearing hiking boots and a mismatched camouflage outfit that looks like it was plucked out of the bargain bin at Walmart.
She’s huffing and puffing, with a sheen of sweat on her forehead, but she is all smiles.
Just being around this kid makes my world better.
“Snake!” She yells and she clomps over to me and throws her arms around my waist in the world’s tightest hug. “Are you here to train with me?”
“I think training will need to wait for a bit, Speed Demon. I’m here to take you for a ride and maybe give your mom a little break so she can get back to sleep.”
“A ride on your bike?”
“Yeah, so you better go grab your helmet.”
“Are you sure I have to wear a helmet? I saw Blaze riding without one the other day and I don’t like how they mess up my hair.”
“Are you really going to look to Blaze for life lessons, kid?”
She only thinks about it for a moment before shaking her head.
“No, maybe that’s not a good idea. I’ll be right back with my helmet. Don’t go anywhere, OK?”
Before I can even answer, she stomps off and comes back with her helmet clutched under her arm. She’s decorated it a lot since the last time I saw it — it’s covered in tons of designs, everything from the club emblem, to skulls, to zombies, and, front and center, there’s the silhouette of a motorcycle and a rider, with flames coming off the tires and the words ‘Speed Demon’ written in rainbow letters above it.
She holds it out to me, proud.
“You like it? Sophia helped me do it the other day. She even let me borrow some of her art supplies.”
I take it, marvel at it. This kid is all kinds of talented.
“You really did this? This is some real magnificent work, kid.”
“I did most of it. She’s been showing me how to draw and paint, since she has me over sometimes to help babysit Matty.”
“Well, Speed Demon, I like your art so much that, next time I decide I want another tattoo, I’m going to ask you to draw it for me.”
Her eyes get so wide and her mouth drops nearly to her feet. “Are you serious? Can I?”
“You have talent, Josie. I’d be so proud to have a tattoo you drew.”
“Can I do a zombie?”
“Only if it’s a bloody zombie. I have a reputation to keep up, you know,” I say, and her eyes somehow get wider. She’s so excited she’s practically vibrating. “But we can talk about that later. Put your helmet on and let’s go for a little spin.”
She does as I ask, even beating me to my bike and I’m half convinced that, if I was even a second slower getting on it, she’d be starting it up herself and leaving me in the dust. Together, we ride, and I keep it just fast enough for her to enjoy it without us going too fast that I’ll put her at risk. With every hoot, holler, and yelp of excitement over every sharp turn and speedy straightaway, the little Speed Demon brings a childish smile to my face. It’s a smile that lasts until I take us to an overlook above the town — a jutting edge off a mountain road that affords a view of Lone Mesa and miles of the surrounding desert.
It’s there I get off my bike and Josie hops down nimbly behind me. Up here, I need to think in the way that I can’t do while riding.
“Why’d we stop?”
“I need some quiet for a minute, kid. I have some thinking to do.”
“You brought me along to do some thinking?”
I shake my head. “I brought you along because you always make me smile. Even when the things I have to think about make me want to do anything but.”
“Why do you need to think, anyway?”
“Because I have to figure something out.”
“What’s that?”
“You wouldn’t understand, kid.”
“I’m not a kid. I’m practically a Ranger. I’ve been training for weeks, Snake. And Ranger School is only 62 days, so I’m over halfway there.”
“You mean you’ve been waking your mom up and doing that marching stuff every morning for the last month?”
“Yeah, duh. I have to be ready. I’m going to start ambush training tomorrow.”
“Listen, Speed Demon, I will make you an honorary Ranger if you promise not to practice ambushing your mom at five in the morning.”
“How did
