There was a chilly morning mist hugging the ground when Dorothy came outside. She did some loosening up exercises then jogged down to the big wrought iron gates. The guard inside the gatehouse, a stoic-faced black man, had the look of someone who would rather be anywhere elseâlike in a warm, cozy bed, spooned naked with someone equally cozy and warm, but he returned her wave with a good-natured smile.
She jogged in place and surveyed the grounds. She could catch glimpses of the estateâs perimeter wall uphill through the trees and judged it to be about a mileâmaybe a little moreâfrom where she was now, around the inside of the wall, back to here. She had promised Quentin five miles to work off what she had pigged out on last night; she would do five laps. She started off at an easy jog.
Dorothy was mad, upset, disappointed. She didnât want to think about what was angering her, so she concentrated on her running, letting her mind dwell solely on navigating the uneven ground under foot, weaving through the trees and around the bushes, and not on why she was pissed. She never saw the man appear out of the trees to her left. In fact, she wasnât even aware that it was Lincoln until he was jogging along side her.
One look at Dorothyâs face was enough to let Lincoln know that she was teed off⌠and he couldnât blame her. He wanted to apologize, tell her why he hadnât made it to her room the night before. The absolute last thing he wanted was Dorothy thinking he thought of her as nothing more than just another piece of cheap white fluff that could be blown off.
But, Lincoln never got the chance to so much as open his mouth. Dorothy kicked her running up a couple of gears and was darting through the trees like a rabbit. It took all he had to catch up with her. âBetter slow it up,â he cautioned when he was once more running alongside her, âor you wonât make your five miles.â
Dorothy glanced over at Lincoln. His legs were almost twice as long as hers and he knew the grounds much better. She would never be able to out run him. She slowed back to a jogging pace, but maintained her stony silence. âOne,â she said as they approached the front gates five minutes later.
âActually, a full circuit is closer to a mile and a half,â Lincoln commented.
âOne and a half,â Dorothy snorted and continued on past the gates.
Even though he had to adjust his stride because of Dorothyâs shorter legs, Lincoln was still working to stay with her. The girl was setting a steady, ground-eating pace; one that, unless she was a daily jogger down in the city, he knew she wouldnât be able to maintain⌠not for the entire five miles.
âThree,â Dorothy counted when they jogged past the gatehouse for the second time. She was getting winded and couldnât understand why. She wasnât a compulsive joggerâa couple of miles, two or three days a week, at bestâbut, even still, three miles was nothing. Or, it shouldnât be. Why were her calf muscles beginning to burn like she had run the full five miles?
They ran side by side up the mild incline; Lincoln courteously dropping back a couple of steps whenever they were weaving and twisting through the trees, pulling back alongside Dorothy when the land opened back up. The ground flattened out somewhat at the top of the circuit, with a gradual downhill slope back around to the front gates. âFour and a half,â Lincoln counted as they jogged past the gatehouse. He had to; Dorothy didnât have enough wind left to say anything.
Dorothy forced herself to keep jogging. What the hell was wrong with her? Her heart was pounding like a trip-hammer, she could barely draw in a ragged breath, her leg muscles were starting to cramp up⌠and Lincoln wasnât even breathing hard. She hardened her determination; if he could make it all the way around to the gates once more, then âDamnit!â she could, too.
At the top of the circuit, Dorothy stumbled. Only Lincoln skidding to a halt, wheeling around and catching her just in time kept her from landing on her face. âLet me go,â she yelled, trying to extricate herself from his arms, âDamn it, let meâŚâ The fight suddenly went out of Dorothy and she collapsed. âWhyâŚâ she gasped.
âYouâre not acclimated to the altitude,â Lincoln explained as he lowered her to the ground. âThis isnât sea level, youâre up around two thousand feet here⌠the airâs thinner.â He partially unzipped the front of her jogging suit. âDeep breaths, Dot. Thatâs a girl, concentrate on getting your breathing back to normal. Youâre going to be okay in a couple of minutes, baby.â
Dorothy could tell Lincoln was saying something to her⌠his lips were moving, but the rush of her own blood was too loud inside her head to clearly hear him. If she could just catch her breathâŚ
âYouâre lucky you didnât try this in the Rocky Mountains, Dot; the airâs a whole lot thinner up there,â Lincoln continued. He sat back and wrapped his arms around his knees. âI remember running in a meet at University of Wyoming, in Laramie⌠thatâs in the Medicine Bow Range, elevation over a mile high. Anyway, this guy Iâm running againstâlong, lanky white dude⌠my recorded timeâs almost two full seconds faster than his and this guy goes by me like Iâm jogging backwards. And why? Cause he was used to there being so little oxygen that high up and I wasnât.
âWe got to yakking after the race and he tells me he was born and raised in the northwest corner of the stateâlittle bitty town called Meeteese, if I recall right. Anyhow, he tells me this townâs elevation is like twenty-five times higher than itâs population, which was around three hundred.â Lincoln plucked a long blade of grass and stuck it in the corner of his mouth. âCouple months later, UW comes down to our neck of the woods and this guy whizzes right by me for the second time, cause now heâs breathing what almost amounts to pure oxygen for him.â
Her breathing finally back to normal, Dorothy sat up. She was going to be okay. âDonât that beat all,â Lincoln drawled, âa cowboy makinâ ME look like Iâm out for an afternoon stroll, and not once, but twice⌠the second time on my own turf.â He fell back on his elbows. âJust had to buy that olâ boy a beer and get him laid for doinâ that.â
Dorothy had to smile; Lincoln was playing the good olâ hick country boy to the hilt. Then, she remembered. âIâm mad at you.â
âI know,â Lincoln answered dryly. âAnd you got every right to be. Get me out of the doghouse if I say Iâm sorry?ââ
âNo.â Dorothy got to her feet. She wasnât feeling light headed any longer, but she didnât feel like running anymore. She started off downhill through the trees for the house. Lincoln was up and alongside her in a couple of strides. They walked without talking. A minute ticked by, then two, the strained silence between them deafening. âWhy didnât you come to my room last night?â Dorothy finally demanded. âLike you promised.â