Bleeding Green by Anne James Read Free Book Online Page A

consider.
    The crisp, autumn chill caused her to shiver. Having placed an old woolen vest on the seat beside her for this very purpose, she wondered why she hadn’t put it on while safely stopped at the gas station. Preoccupied was the excuse she decided. With this observation concluded, she shrugged into the dark green vest. This was an agility act of steering with one knee and pushing one arm through the sleeve hole and then the other arm.
    In front of her was a Jeep Cherokee with a man driving. Presumably, his wife was the woman in the passenger seat. Children were lined up in the back seat. A vinyl luggage carrier on top of the roof was bursting with additional needs of the family. Easing into the passing lane, Laurel studied the blue vehicle as she passed it. A feeling of relief filled her. Examining this feeling, she realized it was completely due to the fact that she wasn’t under the thumb of a man. All her childhood and teenage years, she had been taught to revere the male species. He was the head of the house. The males made the decisions and the females abided by them. Submission. The head coverings worn to Meeting were to show the angels that the women were in submission to the man. This way of life works as long as it isn’t questioned or a woman became so bold as to think on her own without the Bible to spell out what exactly was her role in this world.
    Laurel squirmed in her seat and propped her left knee against the door with her foot on the column of the steering wheel. The only thing missing from her enjoyment of driving the ancient Landcruiser was cruise control. Her right knee threatened to kink into a tight knot of pain if she didn’t change positions every few minutes. A glance at her K-Swiss wristwatch helped her calculate about seven more hours of driving. A sigh escaped from her lips. She missed her children. Sometimes the longing was irrational, she knew, but the intensity was piercing. Although both of them were successful, daughter with a professional career, her son an engineer, the physical distance separating them was painful. She had always been close to her children. If this modern way of living didn’t mean they were strewn all over the United States in their various careers, some of her loneliness would be alleviated.
    Then there was Brodie. Brodie Black. A professor of environmental science. At fifty-one, Brodie had the health and look of a woman twenty years younger. Laurel felt the smile on her face.
    Reaching for her phone required sitting in a more upright proper position. Power steering didn’t exist on this particular love of hers.
    As she placed the phone on her ear with her left hand a familiar, melodious, low voice said, “Hello?”
    “Hello, Professor.”
    A low chuckle, “You still sane?”
    The weight of living pushing down on her being began lifting as she replied with joy in her voice, “Sane! You know I adore the bumper sticker that reads, I don’t suffer from INSANITY, I enjoy every moment of it!”
    The smile in Brodie’s voice could be heard as she answered. “Yeah, yeah, I know. The bumper sticker that Graham gave to you.”
    “Yup. My son knows me too well, methinks.” Laurel took a deep breath. “It’s good to hear your voice. Are you at school?”
    “I miss you. And yes, I just finished my biology class.”
    “I can tell by the quiet way you are speaking that you are in your office cubicle.”
    Brodie chuckled in a dry tone. “Yes, I am. Jackson misses you too and he’s driving me insane! While I was trying to get out the door this morning, whatever gleeful fits he was having managed to knock over both cats and his tail crashed all the books on the coffee table to the floor.”
    Laurel let out a belly rumbling howl of glee. “It’s good for you, Professor.” After her giggles subsided a bit she continued in a more even voice, “Seems as if I’ve been gone a long time.”
    “Are you okay?”
    “Well, how about this for a bombshell …? My