Promises to Keep by Nikki Sex, Zachary J. Kitchen Read Free Book Online

wrong to forget Bob—who he was and what he did.
    You
can't just let the past go and I guess no matter how painful it is, it’s wrong
to try. It’s a part of you, of who you are. The past changes you. It colors how
you see the present and the future—all at once.
    Thank
you so much for taking the time to reach out to me, and for what you did for
Bob. I know you did everything possible.
    Thank
you too, for all you are doing for those boys who are still over there. I hope
that you, all of you, come back home safely.
    God
bless,
    Laura
Wynn
    Jack
leaned back, strangely moved and comforted by her words.
    He
thought about the cold and foggy mornings that only LA could have in the middle
of winter. How he'd get on his surfboard and paddle out as far as his arms
could take him.
    Then
he’d just sit and listen to the silence.
    The
ocean was like his church. It thrilled him when he caught a wave. It calmed him
when he was troubled. He loved the ocean as much as anyone loved their
hometown, their first school or their favorite band.
    Homesick,
inspired and pleased with the memory, he stood up and went looking for a pen
and some paper. When he finally sat down to write, he sifted through his
emotions for a moment, trying to isolate exactly how her words made him feel.
    Jack’s
lips tugged up into a smile when he figured it out.
    The
woman had given him a rarely felt sense of peace.

Chapter 10.
    Laura
stumbled on the stairs.
    She'd
stopped at Miller's grocery store on the way home from work for a few
essentials. Without a car, she'd had a trying time balancing her grocery bags
and her shoes. Her boss insisted that she wear heels when she was working the
bar. He thought it gave the male customers something to look at.
    “You'll
get better tips if you sex it up a little, darling,” he'd said. Despite the way
he’d said it, it was an order, not a suggestion.
    All
Laura seemed to have more of at the end of the day, was sore feet. She began
stashing a set of heels out behind the kegs. She'd walk to work in sneakers,
then change once she got there.
    When
her shoes suddenly went missing, and nobody would fess up to taking them, she
needed a change of plans.
    Laura
couldn't afford to shell out sixty bucks for another pair of pumps, so she
carried her last remaining pair to and from Clancy's every shift. This wasn't
much of a problem if that was all she had to carry, but she'd gotten the bright
idea to save herself a trip and do a little shopping.
    She'd
managed to keep the bags from spilling but she smashed her knee against the
wooden steps in the process.
    Dammit.
    Laura
regained her balance and walked to her door where she was confronted with the
task of juggling her keys, her shoes and her grocery bags.
    She
finally decided to drop her shoes, shift both bags to the crook of her left arm
and try to unlock her door with the key in her right hand. That's when she
heard a voice behind her.
    "Need
some help?"
    Her
mind and body froze instantaneously. A thousand years later, Laura carefully
turned to face her ex.
    "No,
I don't need your help."
    "Looks
to me like you do," Jonah Lacks said, as he reached for the groceries.
    "No
I don't." Laura took a step back. She felt the doorknob press into her
hip. "I told you, I didn't want to see you again. We’re over."
    As
far as ex-boyfriends went, Jonah was the worst. Just like her mother, Jonah
started out kind and caring, but changed as time went on. He had a temper and
an unhealthy love of alcohol that made her uneasy.
    Laura
had promised herself to leave him time and time again, but she'd always
stupidly come back.
    Why
that was, she didn't even understand herself.
    When
he’d trashed her car while drunk, so her insurance wouldn’t cover the cost, she
was furious, but she still didn’t leave. It wasn't until he started taking
pills —and
much worse, she suspected—when she finally found the strength and resolve to
walk out and never look back.
    A
few months later, she'd met Bob and