"Slade, slow down." Lacey laughed uncontrollably as Slade sped around another turn on the dirt driveway. His race car driver sounds didn't help Lacey contain her laughter at all. 

      "And, here's Slade Reid, coming around the final left turn, drivin' very very fast. Will he make the checkered flag, and hold onto the lead?" Slade said in his best attempt at a NASCAR race announcer voice. Slowing the truck down, only slightly, Slade went to the edge of the large, open dirt pad at the end of the driveway. "Slade Reid wins the race. Show us your donuts, Slade!" Slade spoke in third person, again, in his NASCAR voice. 

      "Slade, don't you dare do-" Lacey started. Before she could tell him to not torture her poor truck anymore, Slade hit the gas pedal, turning the wheel sharply to the left, making the bed fishtail around behind them as Slade expertly drifted the truck into donuts. Dust flew up all around the truck, beginning to come into the cab through the open windows. Lacey knew that she should have rolled her windows up the second Slade jumped into the driver's seat. 

      After a few more spins, Slade gave the old, revving truck a rest. Looking at Lacey, Slade had one of the biggest smiles ever on his face. "Pretty good, huh?" Slade said in his normal drawl, back to reality.

      "That is the last time that I ever let you watch NASCAR before bed, Slade Reid." Lacey said after she could catch her breath from the exhilarating ride.

      "I did a little bit of racing when I was younger. I know what I'm doin'." Slade shrugged, casting that cockeyed grin at Lacey. 

      "Pretty impressive, especially considering this is a truck...my truck...my baby." Lacey emphasized.

      Relaxing against the closed door of the idling truck, Slade placed one hand on the steering wheel, turning so he was fully facing Lacey. "Uh nuh. You are not allowed to be mad that I drove her crazy. You were the one who told me that it hadn't been run for months, and you asked me to check her out. That's all I was doin'." 

      "Yeah, exactly. When I said check her out, I meant, 'Slade, let's change her oil, check the tire pressure, and slowly drive her around to make sure everything still ticks well.' I didn't say let's go see if we can crash!" Lacey spread her arms out for emphasis. 

      A deep laugh coming from the driver's side was followed with a hand sliding over, reaching Lacey's shoulder. "Oh, come on. You know that you had fun." 

      "That's true. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time." She surrendered. 

      A smile crept onto Slade's face. "Good. Well, now that we know that everything seems fine with your truck, what do you say we take a break?" His finger still played with Lacey's shoulder.

      "A break from what? We have hardly done anything!" A chuckle escaped her lips. 

      "Okay, let me rephrase." Slade retreated his hand off of Lacey's shoulder. Holding both of his hands together, Slade placed them in front of his mouth. "Lace, I would really love to spend some more time with you. What do you say we give your truck a rest, and sit in the bed and talk before we have to get back to work?"

      "Well, that's all you had to say, cowboy. I'm game." 

      "Great." Slade put the truck in reverse, backing it up so the bed faced one of the pastures where the horses were kept. Turning the key off, Slade walked over to the passenger side. Stretching out his arms, he said, "Here, I'll carry you." Knowing Lacey would approve, Slade carefully slid an arm under her knees, and the other behind her back. As always, Slade carefully lifted Lacey from the seat, walking her to the bed. Turning, Slade sat on the tailgate, sliding into the bed, still with Lacey in his arms. Standing up once he was safely in the bed, he walked the length of the eight foot truck bed. Bending down once they were against the cab, Slade carefully set Lacey down. Using her arms to lift herself, Lacey slid back slightly to rest her back fully against the cab. 

      "Thank you for your help." Lacey said once Slade sat down next to her. 

      "Anytime, darlin'." With a smile, Slade grabbed Lacey's right hand, interlacing their fingers. The way that her hand felt in his only made his smile grow bigger. Lacey reciprocated how she felt about being here with him by resting her head on his shoulder. "I meant to thank your mom, again, for inviting me over for supper last week. You're right. Her chicken salad is certainly amazing. I reckon it's safe to say I'm a fan." 

      "I told you you would like it." Lacey grinned, loving the feeling of being next to him. "Slade," She started, lifting her head off his shoulder to look at his face. "Thank you for bringin' me out here today. It's been so long since I have been able to come out and sit in the bed, and just look out at God's creation." It was a process, for sure, but these past three weeks, Slade has convinced Lacey to go to church with him, and has gotten her back into reading the Word. Finally, for the first time since her accident, Lacey had patched up her relationship with God; obviously, there were some areas she still needed to work on, but through Slade, Lacey had quit shunning her Best Friend. 

     "It's absolutely beautiful." Slade said, looking right at Lacey's shining blue eyes. Leaning forward, he placed a kiss on her forehead. "Lace," He started, his lips placing a second kiss on her forehead. "I wanna tell you something about my past, if that's okay." Slade pulled back to see her reaction. 

      Straightening her torso, Lacey looked at Slade. "Of course that's okay." She added a smile.

     Turning slightly more to face Lacey, Slade took in a deep breath before starting, "I know I shut you out a last week when you asked me about the scar on my torso, but there are certain things that are just real hard for me to talk about, and my scars are one of those things. Obviously, in time, I will be ready, but the memories of the scars remind me of a person I used to be, and no longer am." Looking down momentarily, Slade went on, "But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to talk to you about...us..." 

      With a nod, and a concerned look, Lacey asked, "What about us?" 

      "I know that we have been 'together' for about a month and a half now, but I would like to talk to you about why I have been takin' things so dadgum slow between us." Bringing his eyes back up to look at Lacey, his eyes began to glaze over again, but after blinking a few times, Slade was able to fight the urge to sink back into the depressed state he did whenever he thought about his past. "I'm goin' to tell you straight up...I am not a virgin. Now, I know that you are, but I used to use sex almost as an escape. I was never raised to know the importance of abstinence until marriage. I have only ever had two serious girlfriends in my life. But, unfortunately, there have been several other girls that I have had a 'relationship' with, if you understand what I am sayin'. When I became a Christian, not too long ago, I finally understood why God calls us to stay pure until marriage and why it is best to have a relationship pleasing and honoring to God." Taking a pause to make sure that Lacey didn't emotionally check out, or that she wasn't going to slap him for any reason, Slade continued. If she hadn't slapped him now, she probably would after what he told her next. "My most recent girlfriend, I broke up with her about three months after I became a Christian. The relationship was toxic for both of us. She was pregnant with another man's child, but I was determined to stay and help her raise the child, but she refused to allow me to be a part of the child's life in any way, since it was not my own. There were so many problems with that relationship, but I will not go into them all now." Surprised a hand hadn't crossed his face, Slade willingly continued on, "In a sense, when I came here, I was almost running away from who I used to be. I wanted a new start instead of confronting my past. I desperately needed to start over with my life, especially since I found the Lord, but I couldn't do that where I used to live, around the people of my past. No one could have prepared me for what I experienced when your dad hired me here. I truly believe that he saw something in me that I struggle to see in myself. I would've been perfectly content just workin' and livin' here on this ranch, being surrounded by such a lovin', welcoming, Christian family, but God also blessed me with you." 

      At this point, Lacey had felt a lump swelling in her throat. Tears began rising in her eyes, and they weren't because of Slade's sweet words, but rather because he was opening up to her, sharing such a huge, deep, important part of his life with Lacey. This subject would be a touchy subject for anyone to talk about, but Slade was choosing to talk to Lacey about it. 

      "After I became a follower of Christ, I made it a priority to go back into my past and try to reconnect with some of the girls that I treated so terribly, but most of them blocked my number, or made it clear they didn't want my apology." Slade took a deep breath, seeming that he was possibly holding back his own tears. "But I am ready to move forward, instead of backwards. Lacey Anne, you are the first girl that I have really taken an interest in since I gave my life to Christ, and I want to start over, and I want you to be the girl that I start over with." Taking a moment to reach up, tucking some hair behind Lacey's ear, Slade looked intently into her eyes as he said, "I wanna do this right, but honestly, I'm kinda new to the whole 'official datin' world. I mean, yes, I have had girlfriends, but I was never raised with an example of what a good, right relationship is supposed to look like, so I apologize if you think that I'm movin' too slow, or anything. I am tryin' to learn all of those thangs that my mama tried teachin' me of how a woman deserves to be treated. I want-no- I need, this relationship to be pleasing to God. He needs to be the center." 

      By now, Lacey was certain that she would start crying at any moment. The glossy look in Slade's eyes told her that he may start crying as well. Partly to keep herself from crying, Lacey squeezed Slade's hand a little tighter. Never in her life did she ever want to let him go again for any reason.

     Just when Lacey thought Slade was done talking, he still said more, "And I don't want you to think that the reason I haven't kissed you or anything is because I'm not into you, because, Lacey, I am into...really into you, honestly. But, because of my past, sometimes, it is hard for me to stop...y'know. So, that is the only reason that I have not kissed you...I want to take things slow. I realize now how important purity is in a relationship, and that's what I want but, I just have never had a good, honorable relationship with a girl, but I want to have that with you." Slade's free hand was holding Lacey's cheek, his thumb slowly making small circles. "I really want that with you, Lace. I want to see this example of a Christ-pleasing relationship in my life, and I want to see that relationship with you, baby girl." Leaning forward, Slade softly kissed Lacey's forehead, sniffling when he pulled away. "I'm done pourin' out my heart now." Slade said with a chuckle.

      Lacey was sure a tear would fall to her cheek at any time. Reaching a hand out to Slade's jaw line, Lacey spoke in a shaky voice, "Slade, I understand. I never had any idea about any of this. You've been so Christ-like to me, I just assumed that you have always been a Christian. I know that I have been raised in a very Christian home, and I became a Christian at a younger age, but honestly, my accident has pulled me from God, but Slade, you have reminded me what it is like to live in faith, and believe God has a plan and that everything that we go through is part of that plan. Slade, because of you, I have come back to God, I have patched up our relationship." With a look in her eyes and a smile only Slade truly knew the meaning of, Lacey said, "I want nothing more than to honor your wishes in a Godly way. I know in my last relationship, God was not the center, but I truly believe that whenever you are ready to move forward in this relationship, I trust that we will both put God first." 

      Pulling Lacey closer to him, Slade replied, "I am ready for that next step, Lace. I am ready to make us official. Are you?"

      A smile and nod was the only answer Slade needed from Lacey, but still, she added, "I thought you would never ask."

      Just like that, a new step in Slade and Lacey's relationship was reached. Coming away from their conversation, Lacey knew that they were making the right decision. 

     Leaning her head against her new boyfriend's chest, Lacey wrapped her free hand around his bicep, smiling to herself. She knew for sure at this exact moment, she was, without a doubt, the happiest girl in the world.