sure I wanted to at all. He was a lot bigger than my dad and I knew what my dad could do to me. Paul was bigger in the chest, the arms, and the height. The damage he could cause would be worse than my dad. Ten times worse.
“Come on, Tyke. We don’t have all day and we have a while of riding to do.”
“Paul!” The woman stood up fast, her eyes open wide. “You’re not taking her out on horseback.”
“How else am I going to get down there? Pretty sure I’m not carrying all that stuff down through the woods.” Reaching over, he nudged my arm. “Come out to the porch when you are ready.”
Swallowing hard, I took the heavy jacket and squeezed my hands. Riding? Alone with Paul? Well, he did take me home last night, didn’t ask any questions and didn’t make any attempt to touch me or anything.
“Okay….If I had known that…” Going back to the closet, she pulled out a pair of leather pants and snapped her fingers. “One thing about Paul is you don’t keep him waiting. And if I am guessing where the fence is down because you are taking the horses, you won’t be back until dinner.”
Slipping off my shoes, I watched her jaw tighten a little as she picked them up and looked them over to look at all the holes and the glue that I used to fix them before.
“Okay, hold on.” Handing me the leather pants, she rushed out of the room only to come back with a pair of black fuzzy socks. Pointing to the chair, she took the clothing from me, put it on the large island counter, and handed over the socks. “Put these on. They will help your feet stay a little warmer.”
“I have….” Was I that disgusting? My old white socks were so thin, I could see my toes through the fabric. I only had a few pairs of socks and I mended them as best as I could. It wasn’t like my dad was going to spend some money and get some clothes for me. When he worked for some money, it wasn’t money he spent on me. Which he reminded me a lot. He spent money on me to get me into school. That was it. He had to or people would look into our “situation”.
“You can keep those. I have a lot of them.” Her hand came down on my shoulder , letting the warmth shoot through me. She wouldn’t be this nice to me if she knew I was stealing her son’s lunch at school. “I have some extra clothes that I will send home with you. I just cleaned out my closet…if you would like them.”
Nodding, the burn hit my eyes so fast, I was afraid to do anything. In all the places we lived, I never had someone be so nice to me before. In North Dakota, that one church lady had given me a jacket, but the zipper was broken and there were large holes under the arms. And in North Dakota, you needed a heavy jacket. I mended it the best I could, but half the time, I was still freezing.
Putting the socks on, I wanted to just cry even more. The warmth was something I never experienced before. My toes were so snuggled into those fuzzy socks and warm for a change. With her help, I dressed in the leather chaps, as she called them, and the jacket. Slipping the boots on, for once, I knew what it felt like to be warm.
“When you get back, dinner should be done. Just come in and I will have a place set for you.” Smiling, she grabbed the fuzzy stocking hat and pulled it over my head. “Go and be careful. Do you need me to call your dad?”
“He’s at work and I told him I would be over here.” Lie! I hated lying to her, but if she were to talk to my dad about me being there, he would flip. I would never be able to sit again or leave the house until the wrath would disappear. Then again, it wasn’t a complete lie. Wednesdays, he was playing cards with someone else in the next town and he preferred I wasn’t there , anyway. Do you know how hard it is it stay hidden outside until the “guest” was gone? Pretty hard, but it was something I was used to doing.
“Go and be careful.” Rushing me out the door, she shoved something into the coat pocket as I
“Come on, Tyke. We don’t have all day and we have a while of riding to do.”
“Paul!” The woman stood up fast, her eyes open wide. “You’re not taking her out on horseback.”
“How else am I going to get down there? Pretty sure I’m not carrying all that stuff down through the woods.” Reaching over, he nudged my arm. “Come out to the porch when you are ready.”
Swallowing hard, I took the heavy jacket and squeezed my hands. Riding? Alone with Paul? Well, he did take me home last night, didn’t ask any questions and didn’t make any attempt to touch me or anything.
“Okay….If I had known that…” Going back to the closet, she pulled out a pair of leather pants and snapped her fingers. “One thing about Paul is you don’t keep him waiting. And if I am guessing where the fence is down because you are taking the horses, you won’t be back until dinner.”
Slipping off my shoes, I watched her jaw tighten a little as she picked them up and looked them over to look at all the holes and the glue that I used to fix them before.
“Okay, hold on.” Handing me the leather pants, she rushed out of the room only to come back with a pair of black fuzzy socks. Pointing to the chair, she took the clothing from me, put it on the large island counter, and handed over the socks. “Put these on. They will help your feet stay a little warmer.”
“I have….” Was I that disgusting? My old white socks were so thin, I could see my toes through the fabric. I only had a few pairs of socks and I mended them as best as I could. It wasn’t like my dad was going to spend some money and get some clothes for me. When he worked for some money, it wasn’t money he spent on me. Which he reminded me a lot. He spent money on me to get me into school. That was it. He had to or people would look into our “situation”.
“You can keep those. I have a lot of them.” Her hand came down on my shoulder , letting the warmth shoot through me. She wouldn’t be this nice to me if she knew I was stealing her son’s lunch at school. “I have some extra clothes that I will send home with you. I just cleaned out my closet…if you would like them.”
Nodding, the burn hit my eyes so fast, I was afraid to do anything. In all the places we lived, I never had someone be so nice to me before. In North Dakota, that one church lady had given me a jacket, but the zipper was broken and there were large holes under the arms. And in North Dakota, you needed a heavy jacket. I mended it the best I could, but half the time, I was still freezing.
Putting the socks on, I wanted to just cry even more. The warmth was something I never experienced before. My toes were so snuggled into those fuzzy socks and warm for a change. With her help, I dressed in the leather chaps, as she called them, and the jacket. Slipping the boots on, for once, I knew what it felt like to be warm.
“When you get back, dinner should be done. Just come in and I will have a place set for you.” Smiling, she grabbed the fuzzy stocking hat and pulled it over my head. “Go and be careful. Do you need me to call your dad?”
“He’s at work and I told him I would be over here.” Lie! I hated lying to her, but if she were to talk to my dad about me being there, he would flip. I would never be able to sit again or leave the house until the wrath would disappear. Then again, it wasn’t a complete lie. Wednesdays, he was playing cards with someone else in the next town and he preferred I wasn’t there , anyway. Do you know how hard it is it stay hidden outside until the “guest” was gone? Pretty hard, but it was something I was used to doing.
“Go and be careful.” Rushing me out the door, she shoved something into the coat pocket as I
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