Read Second Hand (Tucker Springs) for Free Online Page B

hand to block the sun from her spectacled eyes.
    “Excuse me?” I asked.
    “Irises would be perfect, but it’s not the right time of year. Maybe something tall like lilies or columbines. Sunflowers are nice, too.”
    Flowers would help hide the gray foundation of the house, and the flier had said the judges would be on the lookout for yards that were well-kept, colorful, and inviting. Of course, flowers would also cost money. How much could I justify spending in an effort to win $500?
    I glanced over at my neighbor, who stood watching me, his hose hanging forgotten in his hand. He was clearly hoping to win the money, too.
    “That’s a good idea,” I said to Velma. “Thanks for the advice.”
    She smiled at me. “You bet.”
    Too bad the pawnshop didn’t sell flowers.

“So,” Denver said as he shoved his laundry into the washing machine next to El, “what’s up with Strawberry Shortcake?”
    El laughed, less at Denver’s description of Paul than at the fact that El knew exactly who his friend meant. “Nothing.”
    “Not like you to date, is it? Always thought you were more about quick and easy.”
    “It wasn’t a date.”
    “It looked like one.”
    Choosing not to answer, El finished loading the washer and put his money in.
    “Not sure what I thought your type was,” Denver said, “but that skinny kid sure wasn’t it.”
    His words annoyed El, but the fact that he was annoyed at all annoyed him even more. “Lay off, man.”
    Denver leaned against his machine. “Don’t get touchy. Kinda got a thing for that type myself. Just not what I imagined you being into, that’s all.”
    “That’s because I’m not,” El said, but there wasn’t much conviction behind it.
    El couldn’t really say that he’d ever had a “type” the way Denver meant it. For him, real attraction had never been about age or size or the color of their hair. It was more complicated than that. It had to do with gentleness and vulnerability, and the truth was, Paul had both those things in spades. He was the only thing El had thought about for days. Something about his confused eyes and his freckled nose made El smile. The thought of his pale lips and the soft skin of his throat made El’s heart pound and his blood race for his groin.
    “You’re smiling,” Denver said, interrupting El’s thoughts. “Cut it out. You’re giving me the creeps.”
    “It’s not that unusual, is it?” El asked as they headed for the booth to wait out the wash cycle.
    “It’s not that you’re smiling. It’s the way you’re doing it.”
    That brought El up short. “What the fuck’s that mean?”
    Denver sat down and regarded him across the mustard-yellow Formica of the table. “Nothing wrong with admitting you like him, you know.”
    “I have an idea.” El turned to stretch his legs out along the length of the plastic bench. “Let’s talk about your love life.”
    Instead of answering, Denver flipped him the bird. Which was exactly what El had expected. Denver Rogers was not the kind of guy who sat around laundromats chatting about his personal life.
    “Fine,” Denver conceded. “Forget Strawberry Shortcake. Tell me the latest about your sister.”
    “She’s in love. He’s wonderful. He’s the best thing that ever happened to her. For now.” El’s fingers itched for a cigarette but had to settle for drumming irritably against his thigh. “This one isn’t an ass to the kids, which is a nice change.”
    “Maybe it will work out this time.”
    El couldn’t decide if Denver was deliberately trying to rile him up or if he truly was that secretly romantic. With Denver, one never really knew. Threading his hands behind his neck, El regarded Denver. “So what about you? When you moved to town four months ago, you said you were passing through. You look like you’re settling in.”
    Denver shrugged noncommittally. “Maybe. Jase’s still paying me, and I got plenty of ass on tap. What more is there?”
    They’d had this