Read Online Emmerson's Heart by Diana Fisher - Free Book Online Page B

and move…again. I didn’t want to move. I liked Will and his lunches. I liked the way he overlooked the fact that I stole his food. He knew it was me and yet, he didn’t ask me about it. He didn’t look down on me about it. Nope. Instead, he just looked the other way.
    “This weekend, I have to go through the cows to check for any illnesses. It would be an adventure. I can’t get no help from Rob with his basketball games this weekend and Will….He doesn’t know what to do even though we do it all the time. I can talk to your dad and…”
    “He’s working this weekend and I can ask him. I don’t know how much help I can be….”
    “It’s a lot of work. We have over a thousand cows and we would be riding a lot.”
    “Please! I will talk to him. I can help.” If I got to spend the weekend hiding while my dad was home with his “weekend guest” or ride out checking on a thousand cows, I would rather the riding. I could learn. Besides, my dad wouldn’t care as long as no one questioned him about me.
    “We might not make it back. If I can get Will away from his video game, he will come , too. We might camp out so it would mean sleeping on the ground in a tent.”
    As if I never slept on the ground before. A tent would be a luxury item that I never had when I “camped” out before. And my dad would rather me not be home on the weekends anyway. Last weekend, I spent my time under the side steps hiding so no one would know that I was locked out while he had his little party. The less attention on him meant the less bruises and beatings I received. “I’ve never been camping in a tent before.”              
    “Alright. I will talk to my mom and dad. The extra hand would help, but you would have to stay by me and listen to me.”
    “I would!”
    “You will get really dirty.”
    “I don’t care.” As if I hadn’t gotten dirty before. If he only knew what I went through. A little dirt would never kill me. My dad, maybe. But not dirt. Oh, how I wanted to spend the weekend there. I wanted to wear these fuzzy socks, this warm jacket, and ride this horse again. I wanted to ride out into the world of freedom again. I wanted to enjoy this more. I wanted to do this a whole lot more. Maybe it was the running. We were running through the wide open that I always dreamed about.
    When we had gotten in sight of the woods, we went back to a walk and I relaxed even more. Glancing over at Paul, I smiled. I liked him. I really liked him and his way. Something about him just made me at ease. Something I really hadn’t gotten from a man before. Not with the way I had to size them up because of my dad, see how much damage they could inflict on me. Paul was different. Paul was….someone I didn’t fear.
    “There is going to be a steep decline to get to the fence. Let the horse do the work. She knows what she needs to do.” Reaching over, he grabbed the pocket of my jacket and pulled out a large baggie. “Thank goodness for my mom.”
    “What is that?”
    “I figured she snuck you a treat.” Letting his reins hang on the horn of the saddle, he opened the bag and pulled out two cookies. Fresh, baked cookies. They weren’t bought in a store. I could tell that from the cookies my dad bought that I didn’t dare touch. Hell, I thought I could have one once and I took one. I could barely shower because of the pain he induced on my back. It was so raw that the water hitting it would make me nauseous. “Here.”
    “Can I have one?”
    “She packed them for you. She’s usually more caring to you younger ones than me.” Shoving one into his mouth, he groaned loudly. “What the heck! Chocolate chip!”
    Taking the bag, I pulled one out and felt the hunger rumbling in my stomach. Ugh, how I wanted to eat it all as fast as I could just to get rid of that pain. I didn’t have time to stash Will’s lunch I stole today because I was coming straight over to his house so I had to leave it in the bathroom. Lifting