Read Online Renewal 2 - Echoes of the Breakdown by Jf Perkins - Free Book Online Page A

telling me all of your flaws.”
    “I’m not surprised. She told me a handful too.”
    “What about her? Did you see any flaws to tell? Here’s your chance to get even.”
    “Except for her being mean as a rattlesnake, no. She seemed fine to me.”
    “Seems like you figured her out. I don’t know where she gets it. We think she spent too much time training with her Uncle Kirk... or eating gunpowder; we’re not sure.” Aggie’s smile grew into a slightly evil grin, which infected Terry as well, until he realized it and felt sort of stupid for sharing this private moment with Sally’s mother.
    “Terry, why don’t you wait out on the porch while I close the store? Then we can watch the setup for our gathering. Won’t be long now.”
    “Ok, Mrs...” Terry said. “I just realized I never caught your last name.”
    “We didn’t mention it. We were waiting to see what you decided. Until then, we thought it better to keep it a little mysterious. Anyway, it’s Carter. See you in few minutes.”
    Terry turned and stepped out the front door, waving as he went. He was mildly shocked to see that the square had already changed. A group of people were setting up long picnic tables in rows across the open space, and younger kids were carrying a bunch of folding chairs, setting them in place on each side of the few tables without built in benches. Those were placed in a row along the tavern and church side of the square.
    Terry decided to pitch in, and took two steps off the porch when a man with a huge mustache said, “No, no. It’s not your turn. Have a seat, Mr. Shelton.
    Ok, that was a little creepy , Terry thought. Everyone knew his name, and he only knew a bare handful of people. He went back to the porch and plopped down on the bench nearest the doors. He sat for a few minutes, watching all the activity, before the weight of all the changes started funneling through his mind, and his eyes began to stare blankly into the distance.
    He vaguely noticed the footfall on the steps, when he heard, “Hey there, Lazybones. You just gonna sit while everyone else does all the work?”
    His attention popped back to the moment and he looked up at Sally, standing there with a hand on her hip, which was jutting out in a fetching fashion. He was ready for her this time. “No. I was busy watching all the crying babies crawl by. They can’t even walk yet, but they can still scream your name.”
    Sally seemed to approve of his response. She took three steps over and leaned on the rail in front of him. “They can also climb a rope ladder faster than you.”
    “Well, sure they can, when they’re running from the Terror of Teeny Town.”
    Sally was struggling to keep her face locked in a stern expression. “I could throw one out of the watch post, and they would still land on their feet.”
    “Wow. Word really gets around in this place.”
    “It’s all in who you know,” she said, smiling with impending victory.
    “So far, almost everyone I know is related to you. They’re are such nice people. What happened to you?”
    “Dropped on my head as a baby... twice.”
    “That explains it. Were you climbing a rope ladder at the time?” Terry asked.
    “No. I was putting the roof on the barn, with a hammer bigger than your head.”
    “Well, at least it didn’t break any of your cute freckles when you fell.”
    The smile fell away from her face as her mouth dropped open and her cheeks turned bright red. Insults, she could handle. Compliments were another thing altogether.
    “Ok, well... you... have big feet,” she said, knowing it was weak.
    Now Terry was grinning at her, amazed that his conversational victory came so easily. “All the better to run when I see you coming, my dear.”
    “Don’t call me that. I’m not your dear! And I’m sure as hell not CUTE!”
    “True, Sally. Cute doesn’t cover it.”
    Her face found a deeper shade of red. She gave an audible huff, and strode angrily off the porch and across the