Read More Than Rum (The Maple Leaf Series Book 3) for Free Online Page A

deep well of… of
possibility. He had been able to see his own reflection in her eyes, and he
wondered what she saw when she looked at him.
    Was she having trouble sleeping
tonight after her experience at Black Wolf Tavern? He hated to think she was
wide awake like he was, afraid to close her eyes, continuously picturing that
douchebag who’d attacked her. At least he’d gotten the bastard.
    But I could have done more.
    He could have folded her into
his arms when he’d gotten back to the bar. He could have whispered words of
consolation to her. He could have driven her home or to his place or to
anywhere she’d wanted to go. He could have…
    This wasn’t productive. He
hadn’t done any of those things because, bottom line, Hope Stannard deserved
much better than he could give her.
    Adam went back to watching
zombies terrorize a group of children on a broken-down school bus, and he must
have closed his eyes, because the next thing he heard was his cell phone
ringing. Morning light streamed into the living room now, and though he’d
gotten some sleep, he still felt like absolute shit.
    He dragged his legs off the
coffee table and picked up his phone. “What?”
    “Man, you need to work on your
phone etiquette,” Orion said.
    “I’ll keep that in mind. What
do you want?” Adam stood and stretched, but he’d gotten up too fast and the
room spun around him like a fucking top. He sunk back to the couch and rubbed
his left ear, which still buzzed sometimes and threw him off balance.
    “I’d like your lumberjacking
services. I’ve tagged two trees on the southeast corner of my property. They
are slated to become two giraffe sculptures.”
    “Giraffes? Who the hell wants
giraffe sculptures?”
    “Some lady in Boston. Her twins
love giraffes and she wants carvings for their tenth birthday this spring,”
Orion said.
    “I think my parents gave me a
skateboard for my tenth birthday. It wasn’t even a new one.”
    “Well, this chick wants the
giraffes as true to scale as I can make them and is willing to pay top dollar.
She selected the price she’d pay, which was more than I would have charged, so
how can I say no? Besides, if she likes them, she’ll tell her rich friends, and
I’ll have opened up another market for myself.”
    Adam yawned and tried standing
again, slowly this time. “Aww, aren’t you cute, going all businessman on me?”
    “Shut up, dude,” Orion said
around a chuckle. “Can you cut the trees today by any chance? They’ll need time
to dry out and whatnot.”
    “What the hell else am I
doing?” He hadn’t meant to sound so grumpy, but since he’d gotten back from the
failed treatment, he was doing grumpy really well.
    “Oh, boo-hoo. I know winter can
be slow for all of us outdoorsmen, but you’ll be at the bar now. That ought to
supply some entertainment, though you do realize bartending involves being
friendly to other humans, right?”
    “Ha-ha. I can be friendly.”
    “I know. At least I remember
anyway.” Orion was quiet for a moment. “It’s going to get better, man.”
    “Maybe.” Adam wanted to skip
the counseling session, so he said, “I’ll pop over in a few, okay?”
    “Great. I’m going to do a quick
plow up to the tree site so you can get your bucket truck in. See you.”
    Adam tossed his phone onto the
coffee table and, after getting dressed in jeans and his favorite red and black
flannel shirt, he went down to his workshop and loaded his truck with a
chainsaw, an axe, his helmet and chaps, gloves, and a toolbox. He drove over to
Orion’s, stopping only to get coffee and a muffin from Micky’s, the little
corner deli where all Danton’s men congregated at some point during the day.
    “Here.” He held out the coffee
he’d bought for Orion. “See, I can be friendly, you idiot.”
    Orion took the cup and smiled
at Adam. He did that a lot now. Smiled. It was sappy and ridiculous and… and…
enviable.
    “Where’s my buddy, Ian?” Adam
asked before Orion