Read Online Rick Carter's First Big Adventure (Pete's Barbecue Book 1) by Samuel Belcher - Free Book Online Page A

hours. 
                                               
     
        When he awoke it was already past noon and a light rain shower was pelting the glass doors on his balcony.  The sky was a shade of gray typical of summer rainstorms in Florida.  Rick yawned widely.  He could hear the sound of his bathroom shower in full blast.  He looked at the sofa, but it was empty.  Mel must be in the shower, he thought.  At least, I hope that’s Mel in the shower.  He got up and stretched, looking out the curtains of his balcony at the rain.  His apartment was on the third floor, facing east where most of the rain came from.   He decided that he needed some iced coffee, and he went into the kitchen to fix some.  Mel appeared shortly after that, one of Rick’s towels around his shoulders, rubbing his wet hair dry.  Fortunately, he had his dark brown trousers on, but no shirt.  Rick noticed how thin and gnarled looking he was, the bones of his shoulders sticking out and his ribs visible.  There were old scars across his hairy chest.
       “I hope you don’t mind me getting a shower.  I don’t get the luxury of a shower often.”  He said, smiling again.
        Rick looked over at him as he prepared his coffee maker. “Really?” he said, sarcastically, “I hadn’t noticed.”
        “Yeah, always running about.  Hey, I like your apartment.  Nice, but bare.  I take it you’re not married than?”  Mel’s attention span seemed to drift and flutter about. He hadn’t lost any of that over active mind of his or agitated way of speaking.
         Rick seemed a little annoyed at that question, but he kept his attention on the coffee process.  “No, but I almost did a few years back.”
         Mel sat down in Rick’s old recliner, admiring the broken fabric and the comfort.  From where he was standing in the kitchen, Rick could see scars running across his bare shoulders.  He had obviously seen some brutal days in the past.  “Me either.  No time for it.  Always on the go. Hey, I wanted to thank you for bringing me here last night.  I’m terribly sorry about your taxi.  I hope I didn’t hurt it.  I wasn’t aiming for the taxi.”
        Rick walked slowly back into the living room; everything accomplished on the coffee maker that could be done.  “It’s a Crown Vic.  The things built like a tank.  It would take more than you landing on it to hurt it.”
         Mel popped up from the chair, still full of energy, and walked over to the glass doors of the balcony.  He parted the long plain curtains and looked down at the parking lot below.  He could see Rick’s taxi parked in its usual spot three stories below.  He stared at it a few moments in silence.
         Rick did not move.  But, he grew impatient.  “Look, Mel, we have to get something straight here.  This is all just a bit too much.  I mean, you reappear out of nowhere, disappear then you reappear again and fall on my car.  Just exactly what is happening here?”  Rick tried to hide the frustration he was feeling, but it crept into his tone anyway.
         Mel didn’t turn around to face him. “Have you met the Managers yet?”
         Rick didn’t immediately respond.  “How do you know about that?”  He finally said.
          Mel kept his back to him, still looking out at the rainy world outside.  “I take that as a yes, then.  Did they explain everything to you?”
          “They offered me a job,” He replied.
         Mel twisted around, his eyebrows narrowed in confusion.  “I thought you already had a job.”
           “I do.  Now I have two.  The new one pays better.  Why are you so concerned?”  Rick didn’t change his tone or expression.
           “Did they explain it?”  He continued, looking back out the glass doors.
           “They explained the job.  Not a whole lot else.  How do you know about them, Mel?”  He