Favorite Son by Will Freshwater

Author:Will Freshwater [Freshwater, Will]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi

CHANCE TILTED his head and listened to the pounding bass of a hammer. Hugging the trunk of the oak, Peter watched from the shadows and tried to convince himself that there was no such thing as love at first sight. Still, he refused to be self-critical. Indulging a fleeting infatuation was better than wallowing in self-pity, or worse, feeling nothing at all.

Daniel Cavanaugh was hard at work repairing the broken steps. Despite the weather, he was shirtless, and a thin sheen of sweat covered his skin. Lifting his hammer, he sank a three-inch nail into the wood with one strike. He was just about to move on to the next riser when Chance let out a yelp and darted from behind the tree. Ready for playtime with a new friend, he ran circles around the yard, venturing a little closer with each pass.

Daniel pulled off his baseball cap and wiped the sweat from his face with a red bandana. He waited until the dog made a third pass, then tossed his hammer into the toolbox. Hearing the clang of metal, Chance dropped to the ground and rolled onto his back. Peter worried for a second that the dog might have stumbled into trouble, but before he could react, Daniel kneeled to scratch the animal’s pink belly. With his paws flailing, the dog whimpered and squirmed in delight. Wishing they could somehow switch places, Peter called out a hello and walked into the yard.

Peter knew it was going to take more than just a squeaky plastic toy to capture this guy’s attention. John would have been ready with the perfect opening line, but speaking first is always risky—especially when you don’t have anything to say. After an uncomfortable pause, he decided to skip the small talk and stepped closer to inspect Daniel’s work. A second window, presumably the one Peter saw being constructed, had already been completed and installed next to the first. Golden sunlight ignited the red-and-orange flames trapped inside the colored glass. In addition to the repairs to the steps, Daniel had begun the painstaking process of stripping the doors. Peter had imagined how he’d carefully applied a heavy coat of toxic gel to the surface and used a putty knife to scrape away the thick layers of paint. The exposed wood was pristine, but progress would have been slow. Even when this task was complete, it would take months to replace the rows of rotting boards.

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.