Read Renewal 5 - an Untimely Fall for Free Online Page B

you,” Bill said with respect.
    “The honor is mine, sir. Please call me Mike.”
    Neither man had the use of his right hand. They settled for slight nods instead of a handshake.
    “Now that I’m sure this rascal is going to make it,” Judith said with a false look of irritation, “I’m going to head home for a while, and make sure that Juanita and Becca are taking care of your men.”
    “Wait, Judith. Is John still here?”
    “No. They sent him home to our house last night. I believe they did it because if he were here, you would have escaped for sure.”
    The look on Bill’s face showed that she had headed him off at the pass.
    “And let me say, gentlemen,” she added, “If I hear of any trouble out of you two, I will send Charlie’s entire office staff over here to watch you both use the bathroom. Clear?”
    The response from both of them, “Yes, ma’am,” was so tightly synchronized, she had to make sure that both sets of lips were moving.
    “All right, then. I’ll see you both later. If you’re good, I may even bring some real food.” Judith turned and purposefully strode out the door, leaving two grown men to look helplessly at each other.
    ***
    “Hey, Seth! If they keep bringing us food, I’m going to start slipping you scraps under the table,” Terry said, holding his belly against an imagined explosion.
    “Don’t look at me, Dead Eye. I’ve never been so stuffed in my life,” Seth replied with a groan added for effect.
    “Big man like you, you should be able to clear this table and ask for more.”
    “Well, sure. The breakfast table. Did you notice when it changed to lunch? I missed that part.”
    “Maybe if we leave, they’ll stop,” Terry said, looking around to see if he was overheard by the two servants, who had obviously been told to keep Bill’s crew happy.
    “Maybe, but I’ve learned that if the big man doesn’t eat, the cook gets insulted,” Seth said, caught between manners and a food coma.
    “We’re past that now. I guarantee we’ve eaten enough to make them happy.”
    “I’m not sure I can get up.”
    “Well, you carried Bill all by yourself. You’re just going to give it a try,” Terry said, shoving himself to his feet.
    “Ok, Terry. Let’s go find the others.”
    “John’s asleep upstairs. Nick and Rob said they were going for a walk. I’d bet Jeffry is upstairs with his big brother.”
    “In that case, I think I’m going to collapse on the porch.”
    “Want a sandwich for the road?” Terry asked, pantomiming a ducking motion.
    “Man, if this wasn’t someone else’s nice house, I’d flat knock you out with that sandwich.”
    They both left the dining room with silly smiles on their faces and unsteadily staggered their way out to the shade of the porch, settling into the broad wicker chairs. Seth listened with satisfaction as the snapping and creaking subsided, and he was sure the chair would not collapse under him.
    The sky was still overcast, in that hazy Tennessee summer way, suggesting only a nice afternoon thunderstorm could possibly break the stagnant humid heat. The manicured neighborhood was sheathed in a glare of golden white, muting the darker greens of June vegetation. There had actually been plenty of rain, but the look of dryness in the leaves made it look and feel more like late July. The whole effect, made Terry feel like he had been away from home for a long time. In his scale, that was true. Up until the past week, he had never gone more than a couple of days without seeing his folks, sharing their stories until the cool of the evening made sleep possible in the tiny salvaged cabin they called home.
    The men were well on their way to a nap on the porch, when Terry spotted Judith striding down the sidewalk. He let his gaze linger on her tall, willowy form and long brown hair far longer than he felt was polite, but with a twenty-year-old set of hormones, there wasn’t much he could do about it. Then his mind, properly primed,