Read Online September Wind by Kathleen Janz-Anderson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kathleen Janz-Anderson
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drifting across the road.
She reached the schoolhouse and headed for the swings. Halfway there, she thought she heard something and stopped to listen. Off to the back of the building came the steady thump , thump, thump of a basketball.
She rushed around the building.
He grinned and stuck the ball under his arm, flicking his hair back. “De cided to finally make it, huh?”
“Meant to come sooner. I tried.” She ached with the memory of missing him, and wanted to fling herself into his arms.
He pulled the ball from under his arm an d put a shot through the hoop.
She grabbed the rebound, and they began to play their usual games. But things had changed. Every time he brushed against her, she felt a mixture of frustration and excitement. She wished that whatever was stirring inside her would stop. Yet, at the same time, she was weak from wanting him near. Finally, she became so overwhelmed with those crazy emotions she caught the ball and walked off.
“Hey, where you going?”
She bolted across the grass. “Last one to the swing is a dead rat!”
He shot past her, already on a swing when she got there.
She hopped on next to him and pumped herself up.
“I let you win, you know,” she teased. The wind caught her breath and she squealed, loving that he was willing to share the experience with her. None of the older boys would have been caught dead on the swings, and she was touched he took t he chance of anyone seeing him.
When the sun hit the mark where she knew it was time to go, she had a bad feeling about leaving him. After Haity died, nothing felt safe for long. She stopped her swing and stood, waiting. “I have to leave now.”
As they started toward home, he took he r hand. That’s all she needed.
At his turnoff, he faced h er and gently kissed her cheek.
“I can’t make it until week after next!” s he hollered as he wandered off.
He stopped for a look back. “See you in two weeks then, Friday?”
“Yep, week after next.”
As he turned back up the road, she called to him again before she could stop herself. “Daniel… I’ll be up in my favorite sycamore tree at sunset. And I’ll be thinking about you.”
He looked over his shoulder with a smile winding up his cheeks. “I’ll be at my bedroom window. And I’ll think about you too.”
At that moment, any doubts she may have had about their future disappeared. She was certain that the something stirring inside of her was also stirring inside of him, and nothing was going to get her down these next two weeks.
Everything was just as she promised herself it would be. Every meal she cooked, every floor she washed, and every trip to the barn was not a chore, but a step closer to the one she loved.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Two days before Emily was to see Daniel, everything changed. Her life, her thoughts, her hopes, and even her dreams would never be the same.
Emily was up in the hayloft playing with the new kittens when Claude found her. She’d always had good sense to avoid him, though why, the reason failed her even now as he walked toward her. She pulled the kittens close, and then everything went blank until she awakened to a wrenching pain, to Claude’s smothering weight crushing her, and this horrible thing she didn’t understand.
After, she raced to the creek, ran faster than her legs had ever taken her, and there she gathered herself together. The threat of a scolding could not pull her away until she found the courage to look on the new world that waited for her. She still did not know how to face the men with shame in her eyes.
The journey home was a series of running, and then stopping to catch her breath, of prayers and thoughts of anger, and guilt. She reached the house with the courage she needed, but with doubts no lighter than when she started.
She breathed in, and took the steps up to the veranda entrance. Her heart pounded, her hands shaking as she opened the kitchen door and walked in.
There wasn’t a sound but
She reached the schoolhouse and headed for the swings. Halfway there, she thought she heard something and stopped to listen. Off to the back of the building came the steady thump , thump, thump of a basketball.
She rushed around the building.
He grinned and stuck the ball under his arm, flicking his hair back. “De cided to finally make it, huh?”
“Meant to come sooner. I tried.” She ached with the memory of missing him, and wanted to fling herself into his arms.
He pulled the ball from under his arm an d put a shot through the hoop.
She grabbed the rebound, and they began to play their usual games. But things had changed. Every time he brushed against her, she felt a mixture of frustration and excitement. She wished that whatever was stirring inside her would stop. Yet, at the same time, she was weak from wanting him near. Finally, she became so overwhelmed with those crazy emotions she caught the ball and walked off.
“Hey, where you going?”
She bolted across the grass. “Last one to the swing is a dead rat!”
He shot past her, already on a swing when she got there.
She hopped on next to him and pumped herself up.
“I let you win, you know,” she teased. The wind caught her breath and she squealed, loving that he was willing to share the experience with her. None of the older boys would have been caught dead on the swings, and she was touched he took t he chance of anyone seeing him.
When the sun hit the mark where she knew it was time to go, she had a bad feeling about leaving him. After Haity died, nothing felt safe for long. She stopped her swing and stood, waiting. “I have to leave now.”
As they started toward home, he took he r hand. That’s all she needed.
At his turnoff, he faced h er and gently kissed her cheek.
“I can’t make it until week after next!” s he hollered as he wandered off.
He stopped for a look back. “See you in two weeks then, Friday?”
“Yep, week after next.”
As he turned back up the road, she called to him again before she could stop herself. “Daniel… I’ll be up in my favorite sycamore tree at sunset. And I’ll be thinking about you.”
He looked over his shoulder with a smile winding up his cheeks. “I’ll be at my bedroom window. And I’ll think about you too.”
At that moment, any doubts she may have had about their future disappeared. She was certain that the something stirring inside of her was also stirring inside of him, and nothing was going to get her down these next two weeks.
Everything was just as she promised herself it would be. Every meal she cooked, every floor she washed, and every trip to the barn was not a chore, but a step closer to the one she loved.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Two days before Emily was to see Daniel, everything changed. Her life, her thoughts, her hopes, and even her dreams would never be the same.
Emily was up in the hayloft playing with the new kittens when Claude found her. She’d always had good sense to avoid him, though why, the reason failed her even now as he walked toward her. She pulled the kittens close, and then everything went blank until she awakened to a wrenching pain, to Claude’s smothering weight crushing her, and this horrible thing she didn’t understand.
After, she raced to the creek, ran faster than her legs had ever taken her, and there she gathered herself together. The threat of a scolding could not pull her away until she found the courage to look on the new world that waited for her. She still did not know how to face the men with shame in her eyes.
The journey home was a series of running, and then stopping to catch her breath, of prayers and thoughts of anger, and guilt. She reached the house with the courage she needed, but with doubts no lighter than when she started.
She breathed in, and took the steps up to the veranda entrance. Her heart pounded, her hands shaking as she opened the kitchen door and walked in.
There wasn’t a sound but
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