Read Online Restless Spirit by Sommer Marsden - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Sommer Marsden
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and refused to give those bad thoughts room to grow.
‘Good morning, A-frame. Good morning, sun. Good morning, Nan!’ I shouted the last one.
I still had a lot to say to my grandmother it seemed, and since I was the only one here (though sometimes I felt she still was) I figured I was free to say it.
I padded to the bathroom and took care of business. Then I pulled on leggings and a football jersey that had been Stan’s. I would run today. It was chilly in the house so it was perfect running weather.
The coffee pot gurgled and hissed at me as I braided my hair in a fat, messy French braid. I rummaged in a duffle bag and found my tennis socks and my beat-to-shit running shoes.
A cup of coffee, a piece of cheese and I was ready. I brushed my teeth and pulled a cap on and took off down the gravel road. I would rediscover the wonders of Allister Lake on foot.
It’s tricky to run on gravel for someone like me. By “like me” I mean clumsy. I started out slow so I wouldn’t fall. Once I found my stride I looked around. That was right around the time I came level with Shepherd’s house.
I was almost past and I heard ‘Tuesday Cane!’
I stopped, shielding my eyes despite the cap. The sun off the lake was dazzling and almost painfully bright.
His breath puffed out of him and he was wiping those big hands – hands that had been manhandling me just hours before – on a rag. ‘Good morning. Don’t want to hold you up.’
I shivered. ‘Morning, Mr Moore,’ I said coyly. I was blushing and it felt good. The heat in my cheeks warred with the biting air.
He waved. ‘Hi.’
He seemed almost shy and sort of irritated by it, which made it that much more enjoyable for me. ‘I have to move,’ I said bouncing.
His eyes flashed predatory as he took me in. ‘You should have worn the hoodie.’
‘I couldn’t,’ I admitted, blushing even more.
‘Why not?’
‘Because I’d sweat on it, and then I’d have to wash it,’ I confessed.
‘So?’
‘So then it wouldn’t smell like you any more, would it?’ I launched myself at him, kissed him boldly and took off before he could grab hold. ‘Off I go.’
‘I’m working at the school auditorium today. It’s not in use while we renovate. Stop in if you’re bored.’
‘Will do,’ I said and waved.
It had felt good to kiss him but it also felt good to run from him. I was not ready for anything more than fucking. The three Fs–fun, flirting, fucking.
I ran, harder than usual but it felt good to get my heart racing and my body sweaty and flushed. It felt good to run like I was trying to beat the devil. Because maybe I was.
I ran along the gravel road until gravel turned to dirt with little bits of blacktop. Like they were going to pave the road but couldn’t quite commit. The lake was still visible though much farther off.
The wind lifted my long bangs and then dropped them in my eyes. I ran through the stitch in my side, the cramp in my calf and a sudden staggering wall of exhaustion that rose up out of nowhere. But I kept running.
Then I hit a divot in the dirt, lost my footing on the funky half-done road, and I twisted my ankle.
‘Motherhumper!’ I sank down and rubbed my ankle, praying no one would come along and run over me. Even in a bright purple jersey with my bottle blonde hair I could be missed. At least I feared I could be.
I flexed and relaxed my ankle several times and finally stood and put a tiny bit of pressure on it to test my strength.
Pain. Not excruciating pain, but pain.
‘And you, genius, have a cell but not a single God damn number of anyone you can call in Allister Lake!’ I put my head back and gritted my teeth.
I shut my eyes, trying to breathe, still standing in the middle of the road like a doofus. The bright sunlight penetrated my eyelids and turned the sight in my shut eyes blood red.
‘Dumb, dumb, dumb,’ I sighed.
‘Not dumb. Really cute and possibly injured. Good thing you decided to hurt yourself outside my
‘Good morning, A-frame. Good morning, sun. Good morning, Nan!’ I shouted the last one.
I still had a lot to say to my grandmother it seemed, and since I was the only one here (though sometimes I felt she still was) I figured I was free to say it.
I padded to the bathroom and took care of business. Then I pulled on leggings and a football jersey that had been Stan’s. I would run today. It was chilly in the house so it was perfect running weather.
The coffee pot gurgled and hissed at me as I braided my hair in a fat, messy French braid. I rummaged in a duffle bag and found my tennis socks and my beat-to-shit running shoes.
A cup of coffee, a piece of cheese and I was ready. I brushed my teeth and pulled a cap on and took off down the gravel road. I would rediscover the wonders of Allister Lake on foot.
It’s tricky to run on gravel for someone like me. By “like me” I mean clumsy. I started out slow so I wouldn’t fall. Once I found my stride I looked around. That was right around the time I came level with Shepherd’s house.
I was almost past and I heard ‘Tuesday Cane!’
I stopped, shielding my eyes despite the cap. The sun off the lake was dazzling and almost painfully bright.
His breath puffed out of him and he was wiping those big hands – hands that had been manhandling me just hours before – on a rag. ‘Good morning. Don’t want to hold you up.’
I shivered. ‘Morning, Mr Moore,’ I said coyly. I was blushing and it felt good. The heat in my cheeks warred with the biting air.
He waved. ‘Hi.’
He seemed almost shy and sort of irritated by it, which made it that much more enjoyable for me. ‘I have to move,’ I said bouncing.
His eyes flashed predatory as he took me in. ‘You should have worn the hoodie.’
‘I couldn’t,’ I admitted, blushing even more.
‘Why not?’
‘Because I’d sweat on it, and then I’d have to wash it,’ I confessed.
‘So?’
‘So then it wouldn’t smell like you any more, would it?’ I launched myself at him, kissed him boldly and took off before he could grab hold. ‘Off I go.’
‘I’m working at the school auditorium today. It’s not in use while we renovate. Stop in if you’re bored.’
‘Will do,’ I said and waved.
It had felt good to kiss him but it also felt good to run from him. I was not ready for anything more than fucking. The three Fs–fun, flirting, fucking.
I ran, harder than usual but it felt good to get my heart racing and my body sweaty and flushed. It felt good to run like I was trying to beat the devil. Because maybe I was.
I ran along the gravel road until gravel turned to dirt with little bits of blacktop. Like they were going to pave the road but couldn’t quite commit. The lake was still visible though much farther off.
The wind lifted my long bangs and then dropped them in my eyes. I ran through the stitch in my side, the cramp in my calf and a sudden staggering wall of exhaustion that rose up out of nowhere. But I kept running.
Then I hit a divot in the dirt, lost my footing on the funky half-done road, and I twisted my ankle.
‘Motherhumper!’ I sank down and rubbed my ankle, praying no one would come along and run over me. Even in a bright purple jersey with my bottle blonde hair I could be missed. At least I feared I could be.
I flexed and relaxed my ankle several times and finally stood and put a tiny bit of pressure on it to test my strength.
Pain. Not excruciating pain, but pain.
‘And you, genius, have a cell but not a single God damn number of anyone you can call in Allister Lake!’ I put my head back and gritted my teeth.
I shut my eyes, trying to breathe, still standing in the middle of the road like a doofus. The bright sunlight penetrated my eyelids and turned the sight in my shut eyes blood red.
‘Dumb, dumb, dumb,’ I sighed.
‘Not dumb. Really cute and possibly injured. Good thing you decided to hurt yourself outside my
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