The Night Charter by Sam Hawken Read Free Book Online Page B

better, away from the stuffiness and the closed walls of the office. Maybe she would go out on the boat, though the day was already more than halfway gone.
    Parker tagged along in the back of her mind, with the sad, sorry tale of his life drifting out behind him.

Chapter Thirteen
    “B E SURE YOU eat all those green beans,” Parker told Lauren.
    Lauren poked at the French-cut green beans on her plate, and her expression was doubtful. “Why are they so crunchy? ”
    “It’s because they’re fresh,” Parker said. “I didn’t get them out of a can this time.”
    “I like them out of the can.”
    “There’s too much salt in that. This is healthier. Eat. And don’t forget your meatloaf, either. I gave you the end-piece special.”
    “Okay.”
    They had spent the day trapped in the house, with nowhere to go and nothing to do. Parker considered the beach because he always enjoyed the beach, but Lauren had shut herself up with her journal and said she wasn’t interested in getting skin cancer. That had been enough conversation.
    He escaped only once, to walk to the local convenience store and get the day’s paper. He spread the classifieds out on the table and pored over them with a ballpoint pen, looking for likely listings and circling them, no matter what they might be. Only when he was done with that did he turn to the rest of the paper and read the actual news. None of it pertained to people like him, and even sports news did not excite him the way it used to. He read only to have something to do and not because it held any real meaning.
    Eventually, he told Lauren he would be back, and he went to the grocery store. He bought the little bit he could afford with cash and his allowance from SNAP. In a moment of something like responsibility, he chose the green beans Lauren would later complain about and got a cheap metal steamer to prepare them in. The ground beef for the meatloaf was going to expire that day, so the store had it marked down. It was good enough for him.
    The smells of food lured Lauren out of her room at last, but there was little talking at the table. Parker knew she wanted to ask him about jobs, and he knew he didn’t want to talk about it. Tomorrow he would make all the calls, drive to all the places, fill out all the applications. Whatever it took. Today he wanted time.
    “Did Uncle Matt call?” Lauren asked him.
    “No,” Parker said.
    “Good.”
    There was nothing else to be said about it. Lauren finished the rest of her green beans with reluctance and cleared her plate of the meatloaf. She went to the kitchen and put her dishes in the sink, then went to the front room to watch television. Parker was alone at the table. He did not want to eat the last of his green beans, either, but he did it anyway.
    He rinsed the dishes and dried them and put them away. His phone vibrated in his pocket and then rang. It was not Matt. He answered and Camaro spoke. He felt a sudden lightness at the sound of her voice, and he tried not to let it seep into his. “I wasn’t sure you’d call,” he said.
    “I’m calling,” Camaro said.
    “Did you give any thought to what I said?”
    “I did.”
    “And what do you say?”
    “How much do you love your daughter?” Camaro asked him.
    Parker walked to the kitchen door. From here he could just see the television, but not Lauren on the couch. “More than anything,” he said. “She’s my life.”
    “Then what are you doing? Do you want to go back to prison?”
    “I’m not going back,” Parker said. “Never.”
    “You act like you get a choice,” Camaro said.
    “Right now the choice is yours. Are you going to help me or aren’t you?” A long silence carried over the phone. Parker checked to see if they were still connected. “Hello?”
    “I’m here.”
    “I have to know,” Parker said.
    “I’m going to do it,” Camaro said.
    “Thank you, I just—”
    “I’m not finished. I know you’re in a spot. I’ve been in a spot before, so I