The Long Game by J. L. Fynn Read Free Book Online

keep my body still and voice steady.
“Pop, I want you to know how grateful I am for this chance. I don’t
think I can tell you how much it means to me.”
    Pop Sheedy nodded. “Well, if this works out
the way I think it will, you’ll be bringing in your fair share in
no time. Jimmy Boy may not be the best con there is, but I’m
confident you’ve learned what you need to from him.”
    “I won’t disappoint you,
Pop.” I sprang to my feet. “I promise. Gestena . Thank you so
much.”
    Pop Sheedy waved a hand, shooing me away.
“G’on, get out of here.”
    I bolted for the door before the old man
could change his mind. I practically sprinted through the foyer and
out the front door, slowing only once I’d made it down the porch
steps and back to the macadam.
    This was it—and only the beginning. First one
trailer sale for Pop, then who knows what next? As I walked back to
the trailer, I imagined taking Maggie to dinner every night and the
new truck I’d buy for Jimmy Boy. He’d warned me about my ambition,
but even he couldn’t be sour about this opportunity.
    I still wasn’t quite sure why Pop was being
so kind to me or what “potential” he saw, but questioning it
wouldn’t do me much good. One thing was certain, though. I was
being given the opportunity I’d been waiting for, and there was no
way in hell I was going to screw it up.

CHAPTER SIX
     
    JIMMY BOY JOGGED down the gull’s driveway
back toward where I sat on the edge of the truck’s bench seat. The
door was open just enough for my leg to poke through, and I kept it
from swinging wider by bracing it with one hand as if it were a
shield between me and potential disaster. I tried to relax. Being
tense or seeming nervous would be a sure sign something about this
deal was off, and it could tank the whole thing. All I needed to do
was relax, talk fast, and keep him from looking too closely at the
trailer.
    “Okay,” Jimmy Boy said, gripping the door
through the open window. “He’s coming down to have a look. All you
need to do is give him a good story about why we’re selling this
thing in such a hurry and at such a good price. Got it?”
    I nodded. “So what’s the story?”
    “I don’t know, but you better think of one
quick,” Jimmy Boy said, wrenching the door open and pulling me
along with it. “Because he’s coming.”
    Panic began to well up in my throat, and I
fought to keep my breath even. Don’t fuck this up, I reminded
myself. This is your shot.
    “You’ll be fine. Tell him you knocked up your
girlfriend and need the money to help her with the baby.” Jimmy Boy
chuckled when I scowled at him. “Whatever you tell him is fine as
long as you make it sound good and convincing.”
    I moved away from the truck and shut the
door, then turned to see a heavy-set man plodding down the
driveway. He had thin black hair that hung over his forehead in
greasy strings. He reached us and ran a hand through it, extending
the same hand to me. I hesitated a moment, then took it and gave it
a quick shake, afterward surreptitiously wiping my palm on the leg
of my jeans.
    “So you’re the one selling the trailer, that
right?”
    “Yes, sir,” I said, though the words came out
louder than I’d intended. I glanced at my brother who relaxed
against the front of the truck with his arms crossed. He urged me
on with a jerk of his head. “It’s a real wrench to give her up,
especially for so much less than she’s worth, but it’s the only
thing I have that I can get any money for. You know how the economy
is. No one’s buying trailers these days.”
    The man leaned back to have a better look at
the travel trailer still hitched to the old truck. He narrowed his
eyes and shifted his head from side to side. “Looks brand-new. Why
you in such a hurry to sell it?”
    I thought quickly. “My wife and I,” I said,
slipping my empty left hand into the pocket of my jeans. “We’re
expecting our first baby this winter, and you know how it