Homecoming by Swank Denise Grover

Author:Swank, Denise Grover [Swank, Denise Grover]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: short stories
Amazon: B008UYR52Y
Goodreads: 15814285
Publisher: Bramagioia Enterprises
Published: 2012-09-08T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter Five

Will’s head throbbed as he tied a lure onto a fishing line, and his stomach protested the coffee he’d tried to put in it earlier. He spent a third of his days sleeping, another third drunk and the last third nursing raging hangovers.

“You gonna take all day to tie that thing on?” the man next to him muttered.

“Yeah. I just might.” Will’s temper was short. The last thing he wanted to do was placate the asshole next to him.

James took a step toward them, handing the client a cup of coffee. “What Will meant was he was going to take as long as necessary to make sure you have the best opportunity to catch fish.” James twisted his neck so the man couldn’t see him glare at Will. “Isn’t that right, Will?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly it.” Will said in the driest tone he could manage.

James took the pole with a jerk. “Why don’t you go get a little fresh air, Will.”

“Yeah. Why don’t I?” If he spent one more minute in this shack, he was going to fucking lose his mind. Will pushed open the door to the icehouse, and stopped in the opening, in shock from the frigid air. Goddamn, he’d fucking hated the Iraqi heat, but freezing his ass off wasn’t much better. He’d never understand why James like it here so much or why he enjoyed his boring-ass job. James had made Will help out with his last two clients but both outings had been disastrous. Of course, Will hadn’t been the most willing participant.

James followed Will out onto the frozen lake. “What the fuck was that, Will?” he hissed.

“I don’t what you’re talking about. I was tying that asshole’s line.”

“That asshole is paying me good money to help him catch fish and you’re screwing it up.”

“Then maybe I shouldn’t be here.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t.” James spun around and stomped back to the shack and opened the door. “Mr. Peterson, did you get your line into the water?”

Will ran a hand through his already semi-frozen hair. Fuck, it was cold here. He trudged the fifty feet back to the shoreline. He wasn’t sure he’d ever get used to walking across a frozen lake. James had to convince him it was safe, but Will expected to fall through at any moment. No matter how many times James showed him all the safety precautions he took to make sure that wouldn’t happen.

What Will needed was a strong cup of coffee. He reached the front door and closed his eyes. The images of the fire were back. While he was thankful they appeared less often than before, now they were more intense. The heat of the flames burned his skin. The images of the children had more detail. Fear filled their eyes while their screams filled his ears. Their palms banged on the glass; the thud, thud, thudvibrating through his body. And standing behind the screaming children, he swore he saw a blond-headed boy. Only the boy stood silently staring at Will, his face expressionless.

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