Being Jolene by Caitlin Kerry Read Free Book Online Page B

“Jo, I promise this is almost over.”
    “I don’t believe you.” Because right now, this spot was perfect and I couldn’t move my body anyways because it had met its match and it was the dirt path that looked like a fun time but was really hills and rough terrain and kicked my ass. Yeah, this spot? This cool grassy spot was perfect. No reason to move. I would just eat the grass around me and make friends with the squirrel eyeing the dandelion currently tickling my nose.
    “If you get up I will give you a present when we get back.”
    I was tempted. I did like presents. I only grunted in response though. Next thing I know I was being picked up under my arms and set on my feet. Ty’s warm hands held me on my upper arms. My legs killed and my feet felt like led. I missed the grass, even if things were crawling on me.
    “I’m not going to carry you Jo. This isn’t a chick flick.”
    I frowned because the idea of being carried did sound kind of nice right now. Ty gave me a small laugh and moved his arms up to my shoulders, slightly rubbing them. It felt so nice and took away the thoughts from my tired legs.
    “Remember what I said?” he said softly to me, whispering in my ear. His voice was as calm and serene as the landscape. I felt it sweep through me, soft and soothing like honey, as it cleared my head.
    “One foot in front of the other,” I replied.
    He tucked a piece of hair that had stuck to my sweaty forehead. “Exactly.” He turned around and slowly started jogging. I followed. I always did.
    Over the hill we went, to only find out that was the last hill. Mother Fucker. I was literally only about a hundred feet from the trailhead.
    “I told you. Look how close you were,” Ty said.
    He was right. So close. I was out of breath, sweaty and thinking I never wanted to do that again.
    “Where’s my present?” I asked Ty. Damnit, I went over that hill and I wanted my present.
    Ty chuckled as he started to walk up the porch.
    “Wait. Where are you going?” I asked him.
    “To get your present.” In my cabin? Was it a shower? With him in it?
    Oh hell, I didn’t need those thoughts right now.
    I followed him in my small cabin. It was an A-frame with the front of it the small living room and to the right an open kitchen. The back wall was my bedroom, the bathroom and washer dryer, a wall separating each section. Ty moved to the kitchen and started to pull out pots and pans.
    “My kitchen is already clean, so that can’t be my present.”
    “Good observation.” Ty replied. Was that sarcasm I detected? I did respond to that like it was my second language. Most days it was my first.
    “I’m making you breakfast. Is that cool?” he asked me. I was slightly taken back. Why? Because I never had a man make me breakfast. I had either already left the morning after or made sure they left before that. Though, thinking back, no one had ever offered to make breakfast. Ty was not only offering, but also asking if it was okay and this wasn’t even a morning after deal.
    “Yeah. It’s cool,” I said quietly. I was out of my element in so many ways I had lost count. I was at the point where I was about to give up on relying on what I knew and going with the flow.
    Ty was busy putting a bunch of veggies into whipped up eggs and pouring the egg mixture in a pan. “Do you like it here so far?” he asked me.
    I was in a cabin in the woods underneath these tremendous mountains, and there was a handsome guy cooking me breakfast with no pressure for sex or a relationship. It was different, but not bad. I smiled. “I do. It’s nice.”
    He nodded and went back to the eggs. “What’s the one thing you want to do this summer?”
    I hadn’t really thought of that. “I don’t know.”
    He stopped and turned around to face me. “What do you mean you don’t know? Everyone that’s a seasonal worker comes up here with some kind of idea of what they want to do.”
    “Nope, not me. This was kind of a last minute thing