Catching Kent by Ruth Ann Nordin Read Free Book Online Page B

or disgusted
by his weak condition.
    “ Do you want to sit in the
parlor before going out?” Adam asked.
    “ I want to get some fresh
air.” Kent waited until his breathing returned to normal before he
carefully made his way to the door.
    Adam helped him onto the porch and
motioned to the porch swing and rocking chairs. “Which would you
like?”
    Realizing the trek outside had worn
him out more than he expected, he hobbled to the nearest rocking
chair and breathed a sigh of relief when he settled into it. He
couldn’t recall a time when sitting felt so good.
    “ I’ll tell Ma you’re down
here so she can give you something to drink,” Adam said. “In this
heat, you’ve got to be thirsty from all that work.”
    Kent thanked him and set the crutch by
his feet. He couldn’t wait until he could walk without anyone’s
help. How he hated relying on someone for anything, especially with
something as simple as walking down some steps. He hated thinking
what going up them would be like. Pushing aside the urge to
shudder, he decided to study his surroundings.
    The land was flat with corn swaying
gently in the breeze. Horses’ neighs came from the barn. A dog ran
across the grass, chasing something. He gripped the chair’s arm. He
hated dogs. Ever since that dog attacked him in North Dakota, he
stayed as far from them as possible.
    “ You stay away from me, and
I’ll stay away from you,” he muttered.
    The storm door opened and he sighed
when he saw Rose carrying a drink. Of course. She’d made it her
mission to be around him all the time. Why should it be any
different when he wasn’t in the bedroom?
    “ Adam said you were
thirsty, so I thought I’d bring you this.”
    She held it out for him and he
reluctantly took it, hoping by doing so he wasn’t somehow
encouraging her. The last thing he wanted to do was feed into her
fantasies that they were going to get married and live happily ever
after.
    She tucked a stray strand of hair into
her bun and smiled. “How do you feel?”
    “ Fine.” He turned his gaze
to the lawn. Yes, it was rude to cut their conversation off, but
did he have a choice? He’d been polite and pleasant to people he
didn’t want to talk to in the past and it’d caused him nothing but
grief. He wasn’t going to make that mistake again. “Thanks for the
water. Now please leave me alone before I call for your mother or
someone else to take you away.”
    Her face grew pale and her lower lip
quivered before she went back into the house. He momentarily
cringed, knowing full well he’d just hurt her feelings. He reminded
himself of everything he’d been through in Virginia and steeled his
resolve. It worked. His guilt subsided.
    He’d never go through anything with
someone like his father again. He was done being made a fool of,
being manipulated to suit the whims of others. He was heading to
California for a fresh start. This time, no one was going to stop
him from doing what he wanted.
    His jaw clenched, he stared ahead, not
really seeing anything. He hated thinking of the past. Nothing
would change it. He couldn’t go back in time and undo any of it.
His grip tightened on the glass until he thought he might break it.
Relaxing his hand, he slowly exhaled.
    “ I don’t know how to let go
of the past,” he whispered, pretending his uncle was sitting next
to him. “I thought coming back to America would be easy as long as
I didn’t step foot in Virginia.” He shook his head. “All it did was
bring back memories I thought I’d left behind.” He swallowed the
bitter lump in his throat, fighting the tears that threatened to
come to his eyes. All he wanted was to be free of the
past.
    The dog barked and his attention
snapped in its direction. The dog ran toward the barn where Eli
emerged with a pail. Eli set it down and patted the dog before he
threw a stick for it to chase. The dog caught it and brought it
back to him, and the two continued the game for a few minutes. Kent
watched