Being Jolene by Caitlin Kerry Read Free Book Online Page A

FIVE
    Jolene
    “The wilderness pushed me beyond what I thought was capable.”- From the diary of Maggie Brown, June 1891
    It was freezing in my room. Though, I didn’t know if I would call the little alcove that held the full bed in this small cabin a “room.” I had forgotten to turn on the little heater the night before, my thoughts elsewhere. It was five-thirty in the morning and I was supposed to be ready to run in thirty minutes. I bundled the covers and blankets closer, trying to find warmth. No one warned me for the extreme range of temperatures you experienced in a single day here.
    No one warned me about a lot of things.
    Like Ty.
    How in all reality, it was wrong. He was all wrong. He was younger than me, only a few inches taller than me, and he had a beard. He was everything I avoided. But I couldn’t help but wonder why it felt right. And that was why I was pulling back; something I never did. I could still have fun, but I had to set clear boundaries. I never really had friends that were guys that I didn’t sleep with. I guess Reece was a friend but only because he was dating my best friend. Otherwise, I enjoyed my time spent with guys playing in and out of the bedroom.
    Ty was different.
    I rubbed my hands over my face, trying to clear away my restless sleep filled with Ty’s rugged handsome face. One I never thought would fill my thoughts. I succumbed and dragged myself out of the bed, the cold coating my skin and giving me the chills. I threw on sweats, shirt and tennis shoes. I was lucky if I was coherent enough to grab matching socks.
    I yanked open the cabin door. The morning was breathtaking and unexpected. The great thing about being out here in central Idaho was at any point of the day, the scene in front of you was different. The light reflected differently and it made the same landscape vibrant and diverse. This morning the air was clear and crisp, untouched by human influence. Birds were chirping in the background and a small ground squirrel was eating grass off my front porch. It was like my own fairytale land.
    As I looked out, I heard Ty before I saw him. The crunch of the fallen twigs from the tree-covered path alerted me of him.
    He walked out of the little trail connecting our homes and just like I was taken back by my landscape only minutes ago, the same thing happened as Ty came into view. He looked like he belonged in this magical land. I was the stranger, the invader into this pristine scene and for once in my life I wasn’t too sure about it all.
    “Hey Jo,” he greeted as he put his hands on his hips and raised his head towards me on the porch.
    I loved how he called me Jo. When it came down to it, there were only a few people who called me that, and that list consisted of June, Reece, Hannah, and my dad. That was it. Whenever I was dating a new guy, I only let them call me Jolene. Jo felt too personal and for some reason I had no problem with Ty being one of those privileged. It felt right for Ty to call me Jo. I wasn’t even going to think about all the reasons that statement was so wrong.
    “You ready?” he asked me, bringing me back to the new adventure I was about to go on.
    “Yeah.” Because how hard could trail running be. I mean, really?
    In an hour I soon found out. Holy shit, did I find out.
    “Jo,” Ty called to me. By now it was forty minutes later and my ass was on the ground. I was lying with my head on the grassy part on the side of the trail, breathing heavily.
    Trail running? Slightly different than workout classes.
    “You gotta get up.” I heard his voice, but the ground was cool and refreshing on my sweaty forehead. My legs felt like jelly and I doubted they could hold me up at this moment. Getting up didn’t seem like a good idea. I didn’t even know how far we had gone. All I knew was that I was done. Screw this. Fuck trail running.
    “No,” I told Ty. “Leave me here for the animals.”
    Ty sighed and tried to hide the laughter in his voice.