Free Wild Dakota Heart by Lisa Mondello

work on the motorcycle when he got home. But something told him he’d only sit and stare at metal parts all night.
    He pulled out of the parking space and drove to the entrance of the Wingate Condominium complex. Hitting the directional for a left turn that would take him home, Ethan glanced in the opposite direction. The Nolan property was to the right.
    He recalled the day he’d walked the property and saw the farmhouse in disrepair. The Realtor had long since left, but Ethan walked down to the river’s edge and sat on a boulder for at least an hour, listening to the frigid water of January breaking through chunks of ice and snow to make it down river. He remembered thinking about Logan’s farm being just a half mile further down that same stream and how nice it would be to build a life someday with someone special.
    The ice storm and floods had destroyed his vision for rebuilding the property. But there was still something that drew him there. Clarity. Contentment. He’d felt those that day even though he felt frozen by the time he went back to his SUV and headed home.
    The tick, tick, tick of the blinker pulled him from his thoughts. He turned the wheel and headed in the opposite direction of home, toward the Nolan property.
    * * *
    Ethan hadn’t seen Maddie in a few days. He’d called her house but got no answer. He’d driven by MW Oil and seen her car in the parking lot. He’d even asked his father how she was doing. But she hadn’t shown up at the house to help him with the motorcycle.
    He wanted to kick himself from one end of the garage to the other. He’d kissed her. The way she felt in his arms had been so wonderful. And he knew without a doubt that if he hadn’t left Maddie right at that moment, he would have made love to her.
    Frustration, he put too much force behind tightening a bolt on the motorcycle. His hand slipped and brushed up against a sharp piece of metal that was protruding too far out.
    “Damn!”
    Ethan looked down at the blood and grease on his hand.
    “Now you’ve done it.”
    Deep in his thoughts, he hadn’t heard footsteps or even a car pulling into the driveway. But Maddie stood just outside the garage door, peering in with a wide smile that took his breath away.
    “Did you break it?” she asked.
    He looked down at his hand and moved his fingers. “No, but I have a gash. I’m getting blood all over the floor.”
    “I was talking about the motorcycle. It’d be a shame if you did, especially after all the work I’ve done on the fuel tank cap.”
    “Gee, thanks.” He stood up and walked over to her until they were both standing outside the garage. In her hands, she held two soda bottles. Both were unopened.
    “What’s that?”
    “One’s for you,” she said, handing one of the bottles to him and then unscrewing the top of hers. Looking at his hand she said. “You need to wash that out first.”
    She placed her thumb over the mouth of soda bottle and shook it. For a second, it caught Ethan off guard. But then he saw her mischievous grin and he started laughing.
    “What do you think you’re going to do?”
    “You need to cool off.”
    She released her thumb from the mouth of the bottle just a little to allow a stream of soda pop to spray and directed the spray at Ethan. He quickly did the same and started spraying her. The two of them laughed as they chased each other around the front lawn, spraying until there was no soda left. Then Ethan ran over to the hose on the side of the house and turned it on full blast. The surprised look on Maddie’s face when she rounded the corner and he blasted her with water was priceless.
    “No fair!” she screamed, laughing. “You have the advantage. I don’t have a hose.”
    “You started it.” That alone was enough of a surprise for Ethan. She ran to the faucet and quickly turned the water off. The hose slowly drained of water until it was just a trickle. Ethan used the remaining water to clean out the cut on his hand.
    Still