Of Yesterday Read Online Free PDF

with the meat.
    "I think I might have just learned a thing or two from
watching all those episodes of Little House on the Prairie ." Taylor
laughed.
    Mandy laughed as well. Her bare feet brushing back and forth
on the wooden floor, her giggles, and her constant company, warmed Taylor
through and through. It was hard to be anything but happy in the presence of
this young woman.
    A large crackle and pop pulled Taylor's attention back to
the stove. The fire! From the noises coming from the stove, it sounded like she
may have created a full blown inferno. Without thinking, she grabbed the coffee
pot full of water and tossed it onto the fire to extinguish the flames. Most of
the fire went out, but the kitchen soon filled with smoke. Coughing and choking
on the pungent vapors, Taylor fiddled with the damper some more to try to maintain
the fire but eliminate the smoke.
    Her adjustment seemed to work after a few moments. Wiping
the tears from her burning eyes, she turned to Mandy. "Open up the door
and let some air in."
    Mandy looked at her like a frightened doe. She quickly
followed the command and ran to offer her assistance.
    Taylor grabbed a dish towel and tried to wave the smoke out
past the open door. Coughing again, Taylor said, "Well, we're off to a
fine start, aren't we?"
     
    ****
     
    The full moon lit up the clear night, making it a perfect
evening for a quick jog. Taylor had had a great, yet exhausting day with Mandy,
but she needed to feel the air hit her face as her feet pounded against the
ground. She needed a release.
    Jason was still downstairs, awake. Did the man ever sleep?
Taylor waited for as long as she could, but had no choice but to plan her
escape now before fatigue took over. She knew that going for a run was out of
the question, per his rules. And a night run would even be worse in his
eyes, but Taylor did not care. She would sneak out of the house like a teenager
trying to meet up with her secret boyfriend.
    Taylor threw back the bed covers and pulled off the cotton
sheets.  She started to knot the bed linens into a makeshift rope she would use
to climb out the window. Throwing her leg over the pane, she found her first
footing. Holding onto the ledge, she backed out of the window and placed her
second foot onto the lattice that held all the beautiful yellow roses. With her
full weight on the framework, she could feel the wood break away from the house
and begin to sway. Moving as quickly as she could, she descended down the knotted
sheets, using the wooden lattice to aid in her escape. Every thorn of every
rose pierced and scraped her arms and legs with each move downward. If she had
not hated roses before, after tonight she would never want to see, or smell,
another for as long as she lived.
    Inches before reaching the bottom, the sheets broke loose
and she fell the remaining distance, landing square on her bottom. The thud,
and her own squeal, did little for her covert operation. She stood up and
brushed the petals, thorns, and dust from her body, praying Jason had not heard
a thing.
    Taylor started as a deep voice called from the shadows, "What
in the hell are you doing?" Jason emerged from the darkness, anger
painting his face. "Are you crazy? You could have broken your neck!"
    Taylor's heart skipped a beat. "I...I uh...I wanted to
go for a run. I knew you wouldn't allow it...and uh...well..." She knew
how stupid her idea seemed. And after her little misadventure, Taylor could not
help but be embarrassed by her poor use of judgment.
    "You've got one minute to march your ass back into that
house," Jason commanded.
    The demand attacked every ounce of feminism and woman power
Taylor had in her. Them were fighting words. "I will not! I will go on my
jog just as I planned." Even though Taylor's body stung and ached from her
climb and fall, she was not going to let this man win.
    "Wrong. You will turn your little butt around and get
inside before I do it for you."
    "You're not the boss of me!" she yelled,