Rising From Ashes by Rebecca Hartt

Author:Rebecca Hartt [Hartt, Rebecca]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rise UP Publications

“You’re late!” barked a male voice, booming out of the confusing blend of multiple conversations, rumbling bowling balls, and crashing pins.

Searching the crowd, Ruby quickly picked out the source of the voice. A broad-shouldered man in his late thirties with a streak of silver in his black hair was striding toward them.

“You missed the warm-up.” He glared at Tony with eyes of such a pale hue they were nearly opalescent. “What part of eleven-hundred hours didn’t you understand, Bambino?”

Ruby realized Tony had a nickname. She went to gauge his response and found him grinning. “Come on, Senior Chief, you know I don’t need to warm up.”

“You’re a cocky SOB, Bambino. That’s what I like about you.” The senior chief peered past Tony, ignoring Ruby. “Where’s Theo?”

“Theo’s not coming.”

“What? This is a tournament, for God’s sake.” A V-shaped vein appeared on the senior chief’s forehead.

“It’s not God’s fault, McLeod.” With affable authority in his voice, another man stood up from tying off his bowling shoes. Ruby gaped, awed by his size and his all-American good looks.

Mr. Sports Illustrated eyed Ruby with interest while asking Tony, “What’s Theo doing?”

“Nate’s got him looking at houses.” Tony sent them an elaborate shrug.

“Unbelievable,” muttered the senior chief on a note of disgust. “I knew a woman was to blame.”

Ruby took immediate offense.

Tony threw an arm over her shoulder. “But I brought someone to take his place. This is Ruby Bonheur. Ruby, meet Lieutenant Strong and Senior Chief McLeod.”

She forced a smile for them, then hissed in Tony’s ear, “I haven’t played in years. I can’t be in a tournament!”

“We just want to play.” Tony squeezed her and let her go. “We don’t care if we lose.”

“Speak for yourself,” the senior chief muttered, but Lieutenant Strong cut him off.

“We need a fourth player, or we have to forfeit.”

“So, we play with Ruby,” said Tony, like the matter was settled. “Let’s get our shoes.” He drew Ruby over to the rental counter, where she grudgingly requested a pair of size sevens.

“I can’t wear these,” she protested when the clerk handed her what appeared to be clown shoes.

“Believe me,” said Tony with a twinkle in his eyes, “no one’s going to be looking at your feet.”

That was possibly quite true. The bowling alley was chock-full of men, most of whom had military haircuts and incredibly broad shoulders. For Ruby, it might have been a social paradise, only the majority of them were pointedly ignoring her.

Tony hustled them back to their lanes. The atmosphere, complete with music from the fifties, put a spring in Tony’s step. His enthusiasm was contagious. Ruby donned her clown shoes with rising excitement.

She watched Senior Chief McLeod place a pitcher of Gatorade and four plastic cups on the table behind them.

“His code name’s Mako,” Tony divulged, following her gaze.

As in mako shark? Ruby reassessed McLeod. With the silver streak slicing through his dark hair, a thick black mustache, and pale eyes, he looked just like a shark.

Tony pitched his voice lower. “But don’t worry. His bark’s worse than his bite.

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.