Sierra Hearts (Part One) by Ash Elko Read Free Book Online Page A

was retreating, again. She had faced a
scary, uncertain situation, and her first impulse was to run to her
childhood room and shut out the world. Just like she had with the
whole Danny situation. Jenn frowned. She was sick of running and
retreating. She was sick of being managed by her parents.
She wanted to do something different.
     

Chapter 4

     
    The snow leading up to the front door had hardened
into ice. Jenn made sure to avoid the bigger chunks as she
approached the steps to the front door. She knew from experience
that it was a simple equation: losing your balance plus ice
hardened concrete equals the kind of pain that takes days to wear
off.
    The storm had passed and the sky was relatively
clear now with only a few wisps of cloud cover above. Sunlight was
reflecting off the snow and ice around her, but it didn’t offer any
respite from the cold. She could still see her breath. She felt
herself tremble but wasn’t sure if it was from the temperature or
her own nervousness. Nervousness wasn’t quite it though. Maybe a
dash of embarrassment too? Heck, why not add in a touch of guilt
with a good helping of regret?
    Mick had told her that morning that Danny had been
released from the hospital. He was back home. Even though she still
resented the fact that the whole set up the day before was really
an excuse just to get her to leave the house, Jenn felt herself go
through the motions of getting dressed, mumble to her parents that
she was going over to the Williams to check on Danny, and walk out
the door. Her feet took her along the edge of the road, and she
paid extra attention for the sounds of fast-moving cars. She barely
registered she was at the front door until she practically ran into
it.
    Jenn held her arm out to knock but hesitated.
    Would he even want to see me right now? Do I really
want to see him right now? She shook her head. Snap out of it
McKenzie, she thought. Be an adult. Because you are an adult. He is
an adult. There isn’t anything to worry about.
    She knocked. It could have been an instant or an
eternity before Danny opened the door, but when he did Jenn felt
herself relax.
    “Well look who it is!” Danny laughed.
    “I heard you were released this morning. I wanted
to… to make sure you were alright… and…”
    “I’m fine. Really,” Danny said. “I just have to make
sure nothing else hits my head for the next couple of days,” he
said, smiling. Jenn finally noticed he was holding a beer in his
hand.
    “Are you drinking?” Jenn asked incredulously. “Is
that a good idea in your condition?”
    Was this some kind of macho caveman thing? Survive
car crash, drink beer?
    “The doctor said I had a minor concussion. No broken
bones. No signs of internal bleeding anywhere. Just a nasty bump on
the head and some bruises. I’m expected to make a full recovery.
So, yes, in my condition, in my professional medical opinion, it is
a good idea.”
    Jenn made a face that told him she was thinking
about everything he just said.
    “Come on in,” he said. “Can I get you something? A
drink?”
    Inside the house was a night and day difference from
the cold icy exterior world Jenn had just walked through. The cold,
grey and blue world outside was replaced with a warm and inviting
yellow hue on everything. There was a nice fire going in the
fireplace. For such a tiny house the fireplace was massive. It
dominated an entire wall. It made sense for it to be so big. It was
the only source of heat. The mantle had a few knick knacks on it. A
piece of white quartz probably found out in the woods somewhere. A
giant pinecone. A photo of Danny and his parents that must have
been taken at a point before he was in the army because he was so
skinny. There was some music playing in the background that she
didn’t quite recognize but it was some kind of rock music with a
distinctive guitar riff she knew she had heard somewhere before.
Boys. Was listening to rock and roll a requirement to being a white
guy? It