Next to Me by Emily Walker Read Free Book Online

would start to get easier for him, and that he just needed to keep his mind stimulated. There was always the fear in the back of Zane’s mind that something would go wrong, or he would have some sort of relapse or another stroke, which would be horrible.
    When his dad had gone into the hospital, it had been the scariest time of his life. Whitney had been there for him when she could, and a lot of nights he had just slept in the intensive care waiting room just passing the time between visiting hours. He knew it was a miracle his dad was even alive after the ordeal and was just glad he was slowly getting back to being himself after two years in recovery. Sometimes he would get down on himself because he couldn’t remember something, or do something he used to do, but for the most part Dustin kept his spirits up. This was why he was Zane’s hero, and why he really wanted to get this job to make life a little easier for both of them.
    Going to work now was a promise of something better. He was catching hell from the other workers for getting special treatment, but he thought it was mostly good-natured. His crew knew how hard he worked, and they knew about his situation.
    “There he is, the golden boy.” Cole was waiting outside the office to give him a hard time when he got there. Cole was the opposite of Zane with light brown hair, tan skin, and a deep southern drawl. He was a self-proclaimed ladies’ man and loved his truck more than anything.
    “Now, now, Cole, don’t be jealous just because I have it and you don’t.” He clapped his buddy on the back and made his way into the trailer.
    “Let’s go out tonight and celebrate. I’ll buy you a beer or two, and we can check out the ladies at that new bar just outside town. It’s in Stanley County.” Zane thought that sounded like a plan and the two worked hard until lunchtime when the rest of the crew showed up and everyone sat around eating their sandwiches.
    “Don’t forget us when you make it big, buddy. Remember the people who got you there.” Marco, one of his longest working crew members, pointed at him with his sandwich.
    “You guys act like I am leaving the company. I will more than likely still be over your job too. You can’t get rid of me that easy.” It made Zane feel good that his crew was happy for him and wanted him to keep in touch.
    As Marco went back to the job he couldn’t resist one last jab. “When you’re top dawg big man don’t forget where you came from.” He tapped on his hard hat and went back underneath the bridge while Zane and Cole went to do their daily inspections. When five o’clock rolled around they decided to go home and shower then go back out. They would meet up around nine, because the bar wouldn’t really be busy until after then.
    Friday night in downtown Ruftin wasn’t really a happening place, but since there was so little to do most people went to Stanley County or another surrounding area to have fun. The bar was starting to get full when they piled in, and since ladies got half off their drinks on Fridays, Cole determined it would be a good night to find some company for them.
    Almost immediately he had the whole crew surrounded by pretty girls wanting to know what their story was. Cole never missed an opportunity to embarrass him and tonight was no different.
    “My man here is about to get a huge promotion, and that means he’ll be rich. He can buy you ladies all the Jimmy Hues and Coco bags you want.” The girls laughed at his version of Jimmy Choos and Coach bags as he continued. “You should all buy him a drink, because soon he will buy you all one.” Cole stood up in his chair. “Or maybe he will buy the whole bar!”
    “Dude, sit down.” Zane hated all the attention, but one of the girls was already practically in his lap. She was pretty, a little brunette girl who looked to be around twenty-two and dressed conservatively compared to her friends.
    “Let me buy you a drink, rich man.” She