Out on a Limb by Rachelle McCalla

Author:Rachelle McCalla
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Steeple Hill
Published: 2010-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

NINE

Elise woke up in pain. She’d tossed and turned all night, her dreams haunted by gunshots and fear. Now her legs throbbed from their desperate flight through the woods and the cramped quarters of the latrine pit. She winced when she attempted to stand. Though high school cross-country had been years before, she still recalled that the best way to get rid of the pain was to get out and run again. With a grimace, she dug her sneakers out from under her bed.

When she stepped out the back door of the farmhouse, the scent of rain and early autumn filled her nostrils, and she took a deep breath. Late summer was fading quickly, and the rain that had fallen overnight had brought down the first of the yellowing leaves, covering the farmyard in a sodden carpet of gold. A hazy mist hovered near the tree line, and even the sun seemed reluctant to rise.

Elise smiled. If she had to run, she was at least glad to do so in her favorite kind of weather.

The gravel crunched under her running shoes as she headed off down the road, hobbled by her pain but determined to stretch out her stride and force the burning acid from her muscles. Early morning birdsong filled the air, lifting her spirits.

By the end of the first mile, Elise felt like she was going to crumple into a ball. She considered heading back, maybe even at a walk, but she refused to give the men who’d chased her the day before even that small victory. Instead of turning home, she pressed on down the road, realizing only after the intersection was long behind her that she’d pointed herself on a direct course toward the McCutcheon farm.

Whatever. She wasn’t afraid of the McCutcheons.

Her legs were screaming by the time she came up on the windbreak that circled the McCutcheon home. Though the farm had once filled an entire section, Elise had heard that Cutch’s grandfather had sold off all but the house and surrounding acreage after he’d lost his pecan grove. The McCutcheons still lived in the house, though Cutch’s dad had spent a thirty-year career at the First Bank of Holyoake and had never shown any interest in farming.

Elise had never been to Cutch’s boyhood home. From what she understood, he still lived with his parents. She tried to tell herself she ought to think less of him for that, but she honestly found it sweet that he’d moved back to help take care of them. There’d been some rumor that his father wasn’t well, but Elise didn’t like to listen to gossip—especially gossip about McCutcheons, and she had no idea how much of what was whispered in town was true.

In response to the cries from her throbbing muscles, Elise slowed her pace as she came up toward the house. She’d driven by it only a couple of times over the years; even though it was close to the McAlister farm, she tended to plan her routes around it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.