Total pages in book: 26
Estimated words: 24821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 99(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
But that’s the hold she has on me. Her perfection, her beauty, her warmth, her innocence. I’m willing to risk it all to have it. To save her. Christ, it’s like she’s cast a spell on me and I’m incapable of backing down, despite staring into the face of such disastrous odds.
I step forward, and Patrick’s men immediately move in like they’re going to take me down. But Patrick stops them with the slightest motion of his hand. He steps closer to me, looking down at me like he owns me. I guess he’s used to looking at people like that.
“I know what you’re up to, Reverend,” I hiss, mocking his title straight to his face. “Your church? It’s just a façade. I’m going to expose you! I’m going to bring you down!”
Patrick just smiles, and for the first time since we’ve been looking at each other, his smile is actually genuine.
He leans in close, so close that I can smell the whiskey on his breath when he speaks.
“Try it, boy. I dare you.”
7
CASEY
“He seriously canned you?” Rodney asks in disbelief. “That son of a bitch. I say we smoke his house out.”
“Oh, yeah?” Chris asks, handing me a beer. “How we gonna do that?”
We’ve all gathered at Rodney’s for some of his barbeque and a funeral to honor the death of my job. My ID card for the site has been buried in a bowl of dirt in the middle of the table between us. Chris and Rodney have been chatty, but Dave’s been oddly quiet most of the night.
“I take my smoker–you know the one I used for those short ribs I made last month? We sneak it into one of his bathrooms, fill it with pork bones, barricade the door, and smoke the whole place out!”
Everyone laughs. Even I chuckle at the image of Reverend Tuttle scrambling to get Rodney’s runaway smoker out of his barricaded bathroom.
“This sucks, man,” Chris sighs. “The Power Four has been disbanded. What are you gonna do?”
“I dunno,” I admit. “Maybe go talk to Big Charlie. I heard he was looking for some landscaping help.”
“Landscaping?” Rodney sneers. “That’s a big pay cut.”
I shrug, taking a swig of my beer. “What am I supposed to do? Play the stock market?”
“You know, man, I told you this would happen,” Dave finally chimes in, slapping his palm on the table. “The other night at the bar. You acting the total fool in front of one of the goddamn Williams family kids. I mean, what were you thinking? You’ve never had an issue getting girls before. Now you’re throwing away your job over some girl you don’t even have a chance with?”
“Hey, take it easy, Dave,” Rodney says.
“Cool it,” I warn him. “I just lost my job. I don’t wanna get into it, all right?”
I can see he’s pissed. In all fairness, he does have a point. But this isn’t what I want to be talking about right now.
We all came to Rodney’s to relax. I thought being around the boys would help me get what happened today off my mind, but so far not so much.
So far, all I’ve been thinking about is her. Michelle.
What’s she doing? Where is she now? Does she still feel the same way as she did when she slipped away from me back at the house? I know that if I can see her again, I can change things.
I have to change things. And I will.
“I’ll see ya, boys.” I grab my keys head out front to the car, thanking Rodney for the food on the way out. I hear Dave’s boots following after me as I step out the front door. He grabs me just as I’m getting into my truck.
“Hey! What’s up with you, man? Are you good?”
“I barely even had a quarter of a beer, man. I’m good.”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it,” he replies.
“No, I’m not good!” I snap. “I just lost my fucking job over a fight I didn’t even get to have! Maybe it would have meant something if I’d managed to knock Jerry’s teeth down his throat, but I wasn’t even able to do that! And if I don’t do something soon, I’m gonna lose Michelle too!”
Dave is looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. “Lose Michelle? Casey, you never had that girl to begin with.”
That’s it. Something inside me just snaps. No more holding back. I can’t.
“Have you ever been in love, Dave?”
Dave looks at me like I’ve just hit him in the gut. He takes a step back and frowns like he can’t believe what I’ve just said.
“What the hell?” We both already know the answer. Dave’s frequented the strip clubs many a time and even pulled a few of the girls, but he’s never had a long-term relationship. “What the hell are you asking me that for, Casey?”