Ride the Fire by Jo Davis Read Free Book Online Page A

bonus for a job well-done.

    Sean stepped out of the shower, grabbed a towel off the bar on the wall, and briskly dried himself from head to toe. After getting off shift at seven this morning, he’d gone straight home, stripped, and stood under the hot spray, washing away the grit from the river. Lord, it had felt good.
    When finished, he hung the cloth over the bar again and padded into his bedroom. A pair of black boxer briefs lay on the bed next to his jeans and he snatched them, pulling them on. The jeans were next and he yanked them up, leaving the top button undone. He’d just started for the dresser to find a shirt when the phone rang, shattering the peace and quiet.
    Reversing direction, he strode to the nightstand and grabbed the receiver from its charger. “Hello?”
    “Sean, my boy! How are you?”
    Sean smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. “Hey, Uncle Joe. Doing okay. How are you and Aunt Clara?” His late father’s seventy-one-year-old brother and sister-in-law were just about his favorite people in the world.
    Joe snorted. “Same shit, different day, kid. Can’t complain too much, ’cause we’re still here on this earth.”
    “I can relate. So, what’s the news from Texas?”
    “Oh, a fair bit. First, Clara wanted me to call and see if you’re coming for Thanksgiving this year.” His uncle paused, voice growing soft. Concerned. “You know how we hate for you to be alone, son, and your cousins would love to see you.”
    Sean cleared his throat. “I know. And I appreciate it. The truth is, though, I’m scheduled to work this year and I don’t have another day off to spare. Wish I did.” He hated for his aunt and uncle to worry. God knew they’d done enough of that on his account. “But we’re having a feast at the station, so you guys don’t have to be concerned about me.”
    “Well, that’s all right, then. Your aunt’s been after me to find out and I told her I would. Maybe you can come at Christmas.”
    “We’ll see.” He didn’t like putting them off. For his own good, he had to stop isolating himself.
    “How’re the AA meetings coming, son?”
    Shame washed over him, but he managed to hold his voice steady. He hated how he’d let his only family down. “Productive. Therapeutic.”
    “You hate the hell out of them.” His uncle had a way of cutting through the bull.
    “With a passion.”
    “Someday you won’t have to go anymore, or at least not as often. I have faith in you. We all do.”
    “Thanks, Uncle Joe. How are Eddie and Alicia?” he asked, referring to his cousins.
    The diversion worked. Joe launched into an animated discussion of his and Clara’s grown children and all the grandchildren, and what wonderful accomplishments each of them made in the past few months. Sean was truly happy for them, but he couldn’t help but be reminded of his official status as the family disaster. Which wasn’t his sweet uncle’s intention at all.
    By the time they said good-bye, Sean’s ears were ringing and he breathed a small sigh of relief as he hung up the phone. Forgoing the shirt after all, he headed barefoot into the kitchen and inhaled, grateful that he’d set up the timer on the coffeepot last night. Coffee was quickly becoming a replacement for the booze, but if that ended up being his worst vice, he’d consider himself a fortunate man.
    He poured himself a cup and then settled in his favorite recliner with the morning paper he’d fetched from the driveway when he got home, and didn’t move except to refill his mug on occasion. He read until almost noon, when a knock at the front door interrupted his solitude.
    “Now what?”
    More curious than annoyed, he folded the paper, set it on the table next to his chair, and went to answer the door. He didn’t get many visitors. Out of habit, he looked out the peephole first, and his eyes widened—partly in surprise, and mostly because of the rush of pleasure that went due south.
    Suddenly, he was nervous, and