Read Online The Keys to Jericho by Ren Alexander - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Ren Alexander
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ready?” I abruptly stop and give my dad a sharp look, but when I look back to where Kat was, she’s gone.
“What going on?” he asks, walking up to me and observing the blazing trail she just made.
Shaking my head, I mutter, “I have no idea.”
“Well, let’s get going. We can order a pizza if you want.”
I mindlessly answer, “Sounds good.” And so does getting drunk off my ass.
Monday morning, I’m on a mission. I need to find out what her problem is with me. I don’t take kindly to being treated like shit by a girl, especially one that I’ve been nothing but cordial to.
The night before, my dad tried to get me to have dinner with him, but I was in no mood, so I told him I had a headache and wanted to sleep. It wasn’t a lie; though, I didn’t do as much sleeping as I did staring at the ceiling.
When we pull up, I notice Tony’s van. He’s always the first one here. I don’t even know what kind of car Kat drives. She’d better be here. We need to finish our conversation.
I can’t do this with you.
Before I find myself asking Brenda where her daughter is, I find Lange and we continue working on the siding.
By late morning, I’m immersed in siding and Lange’s stories about his kids. Normally, that would bore me out of my skull, but his kids are idiots and should probably live in a cage. He actually has me laughing.
“The night of his college graduation, he actually came home wearing a Frisbee around his neck, his hair spray painted neon green, and his fingernails painted bright pink. You don’t even want to know about the Barbie tattoo we saw on him two days later.”
“Shit.” I laugh, shaking my head at his grimaced face.
“He said he and his best friend picked out each other’s designs and kept it a surprise. Well, surprise.” He leans his head back, looking up at the side of the house as he places his end of the siding section. “Don’t even ask why he painted his hair green because trust me, it’s best you don’t know.” I again find myself laughing.
“Do you know how hard that shit is to get out of hair? Sherry and I refused to be seen with him. We told him to shave his head or no graduation money. He went right out and had it shaved, right down to a shiny dome, but then we told him he looked worse than he did with green hair, so he had to wait three months for it to grow back. I thought he was going to cry. We gave him the check after we stopped laughing.”
“That’s a new level of evil.”
“Lange. Jared. Coffee?”
I nearly drop my end of the siding as I look over my shoulder. Kat stands at the bottom of our scaffold, holding up a tray of Styrofoam cups. With a smile. My expression positively has to give away my confusion.
As soon as we make our way down to the ground, Lange thanks her as she hands him his cup, but I’m still undecided. She pushes the tray toward me and smiles again. When I take the cup, she smiles even wider. “Sorry, it’s not very hot. I had some errands to run. Do you need cream or sugar?”
We both answer no.
With still a smile, Kat says, “Have a great day, you two.” She turns to leave, glancing back once before she disappears around the corner.
“I think she likes you,” Lange announces with a snort.
I skeptically regard him, chuckling at his insanity. “I doubt that.”
“Better watch. The boss’ sister.” He laughs again, elbowing my arm.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m pretty sure she hates me.”
“What’d you do to her?”
“I honestly have no fucking idea.” Striving to sound as casual as possible, I ask, “Do you know much about her?”
He scratches his graying beard and shrugs. “No. She’s pretty quiet. I’m not around her much, though.”
Considering what he said, I take a large sip of my coffee and the taste that invades my mouth is horridly bitter. As if my head is launched from a slingshot, I turn, spraying the coffee into the air.
Lange humorously asks, “What? Not
“What going on?” he asks, walking up to me and observing the blazing trail she just made.
Shaking my head, I mutter, “I have no idea.”
“Well, let’s get going. We can order a pizza if you want.”
I mindlessly answer, “Sounds good.” And so does getting drunk off my ass.
Monday morning, I’m on a mission. I need to find out what her problem is with me. I don’t take kindly to being treated like shit by a girl, especially one that I’ve been nothing but cordial to.
The night before, my dad tried to get me to have dinner with him, but I was in no mood, so I told him I had a headache and wanted to sleep. It wasn’t a lie; though, I didn’t do as much sleeping as I did staring at the ceiling.
When we pull up, I notice Tony’s van. He’s always the first one here. I don’t even know what kind of car Kat drives. She’d better be here. We need to finish our conversation.
I can’t do this with you.
Before I find myself asking Brenda where her daughter is, I find Lange and we continue working on the siding.
By late morning, I’m immersed in siding and Lange’s stories about his kids. Normally, that would bore me out of my skull, but his kids are idiots and should probably live in a cage. He actually has me laughing.
“The night of his college graduation, he actually came home wearing a Frisbee around his neck, his hair spray painted neon green, and his fingernails painted bright pink. You don’t even want to know about the Barbie tattoo we saw on him two days later.”
“Shit.” I laugh, shaking my head at his grimaced face.
“He said he and his best friend picked out each other’s designs and kept it a surprise. Well, surprise.” He leans his head back, looking up at the side of the house as he places his end of the siding section. “Don’t even ask why he painted his hair green because trust me, it’s best you don’t know.” I again find myself laughing.
“Do you know how hard that shit is to get out of hair? Sherry and I refused to be seen with him. We told him to shave his head or no graduation money. He went right out and had it shaved, right down to a shiny dome, but then we told him he looked worse than he did with green hair, so he had to wait three months for it to grow back. I thought he was going to cry. We gave him the check after we stopped laughing.”
“That’s a new level of evil.”
“Lange. Jared. Coffee?”
I nearly drop my end of the siding as I look over my shoulder. Kat stands at the bottom of our scaffold, holding up a tray of Styrofoam cups. With a smile. My expression positively has to give away my confusion.
As soon as we make our way down to the ground, Lange thanks her as she hands him his cup, but I’m still undecided. She pushes the tray toward me and smiles again. When I take the cup, she smiles even wider. “Sorry, it’s not very hot. I had some errands to run. Do you need cream or sugar?”
We both answer no.
With still a smile, Kat says, “Have a great day, you two.” She turns to leave, glancing back once before she disappears around the corner.
“I think she likes you,” Lange announces with a snort.
I skeptically regard him, chuckling at his insanity. “I doubt that.”
“Better watch. The boss’ sister.” He laughs again, elbowing my arm.
“You don’t have to worry about that. I’m pretty sure she hates me.”
“What’d you do to her?”
“I honestly have no fucking idea.” Striving to sound as casual as possible, I ask, “Do you know much about her?”
He scratches his graying beard and shrugs. “No. She’s pretty quiet. I’m not around her much, though.”
Considering what he said, I take a large sip of my coffee and the taste that invades my mouth is horridly bitter. As if my head is launched from a slingshot, I turn, spraying the coffee into the air.
Lange humorously asks, “What? Not
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