Dylan's Redemption by Jennifer Ryan Read Free Book Online Page A

you’d like to come to dinner tonight?”
    Jessie smiled softly. She didn’t want to hurt Marilee’s feelings. “Not tonight. I’m not staying in town. Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow. I think it would be good for Brian to go to the cemetery. It’s time to put the past behind us. I think we could all use a fresh start.”
    Marilee nodded and pulled her own purse off the counter.
    “Are you partial to that couch?” Jessie asked.
    “It smells like stale beer and sweat. It’s old and worn like everything else in this house, including my husband. I’m partial to the man, not the couch.” With that, she waddled out of the kitchen, blond curls bobbing at her shoulders.
    Jessie laughed. Marilee still had a lot of spunk. She may be down, but she wasn’t out. Not by a long shot. Jessie related, making her like Marilee even more.
    Jessie finished her cup of coffee, set the cup in the sink, and grabbed another cup out of the cupboard and filled it from the coffee carafe for her brother. Black. She took a pitcher out of the strainer next to the sink and filled it with cold water.
    Standing over her sleeping brother, she held the pitcher in one hand and the cup of coffee in the other. She poured the cold water over her brother’s face and chest. He sat bolt upright and yelled, “What the hell!”

 
    Chapter Five
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    B RIAN HELD A hand to his wet head and one to his stomach. He probably had a splitting headache to go with his rotten gut. As far as Jessie was concerned, he deserved both.
    “Good morning, brother. Nice of you to rise and shine.”
    Brian wiped a hand over his face and turned to sit on the sodden couch. His blurry eyes found Jessie standing over him. His mouth dropped open and his eyes rounded before he gained his voice.
    “You’re dead. I’ve hit that bottom people talk about. I’m dreaming, hallucinating after a night of drinking. It can’t be you. You’re gone, and it’s all my fault.” He covered his face with his hands. Choked-up tears filled his voice, his pain and sorrow sharp and piercing. She refused to let it get to her, despite her guilt for making him believe she died. Brian needed a good ass kicking, not a sympathetic ear.
    “You’re going to wish I died when I get through with you, you miserable drunk. What the hell happened to you?” She handed over the mug of coffee and shoved it up to his mouth to make him take a sip. Reality setting in, he needed the coffee and a shower before he’d concentrate and focus on her and what she had in store for him.
    “Don’t yell, my head is killing me.” He pressed the heel of his hand to his eye, probably hoping his brain didn’t explode.
    Jessie sat on the coffee table in front of her brother between his knees and leaned forward with her elbows braced on her thighs.
    “Listen to me, brother dear. It’s past time you cleaned up your act. Starting today, you are going to quit drinking yourself into a stupor. You’re going to take care of your wife and child. You’re going to show up for work on Monday morning clear-eyed and ready to earn an honest day’s pay.”
    “Work? I don’t have any job lined up for Monday.”
    “Yes. You do. I gave Marilee the information. You report to James on Monday at the new housing development going up on the outskirts of town. You’ll earn a decent paycheck and have medical benefits for your family.
    “The old man left you the house. I’ll go over tomorrow after the funeral to see what needs to be done to make it livable for you and Marilee. I, big brother, am going to make you be the man you used to be, because I can’t stand to see you turn into the next Buddy Thompson. You got that?” She’d yelled at him to get his attention and to reinforce the fact he’d created his condition. His eyes rolled back in his head, and he groaned in pain, all the reward she needed.
    “If you don’t show up for work on Monday, I’m coming after you. And I’ll keep coming until you get it through that thick head