Read Online Within a Man's Heart by Tom Winton - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Tom Winton
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as I lay in bed that night, before falling off to sleep, I demolished all the good feelings I’d had toward her.
To hell with her! Where does she get off . . . stringing me along then suddenly acting as if I’d fallen off the edge of the earth? No, it’s more like she pushed me off. She can go straight to hell. I don’t give a damn how beautiful she is. I don’t think she’s all that bright anyway. What the hell could I have ever learned from her? Small town woman, probably never lived anywhere else, probably never read a worthwhile book in her life. No . . . I don’t need her. She can run off to Afghanistan with that bonehead for all I care. As a matter of fact, I hope she does. I didn’t come up here looking to meet anybody anyway. If I had been looking, this is the last place I would have come to. I came here to get away and be left alone. Freak this! That’s it! I’m going to sleep .
It was getting cold in the cabin so I sprung up out of bed, snatched an extra blanket from the closet then got back in bed. I gave the pillow two hard slaps and lay down on my side. I drew a long breath, slowly let it out, and as I always did. I whispered, “Good night, Elyse. I love you honey.” Not long after that, I drifted off to sleep.
Squaring Things Away
I made up my mind the incident with Gina wasn’t going to drag down my spirits. Sure, I had thought that she just might be what the doctor ordered—a powerful prescription to help me heal. But now things were different. She’d taken that hope away. And when I awoke the morning after the party to bright sunshine and a fresh, eyes-ahead attitude, I chalked her off as a loss. I no longer had any desire to see her again. At least that’s what I told myself.
When I met Wally at the cabin, I liked it even more than I had the first time. I didn’t try to put on any disinterested fronts. I wasn’t about to start dickering. He’d already told me how much he wanted for the place, and I knew he was too much of a straight shooter to play the bargaining game. I was honest with him. I told him I absolutely loved the place and wanted to buy it. Then what does he do? He actually sweetens the deal. I couldn’t believe my ears when he told me he was including all the furniture in his price. The country-style furnishings were perfect. They looked like they were made for the cabin. Other than my bed, my desktop computer, my books, some pictures, and a few other things, I wouldn’t need the modern furniture from my New York apartment. I wasn’t sure what I’d to do with it yet, but that certainly wouldn’t be a big problem. For now, I was in my glory. I told Wally I’d like to close on the deal and move in as soon as possible.
But things don’t usually move all that quickly in small, rural towns. I had no idea how long it might take to complete a title search and set up a property survey. Nor did I know how much time it would take a local lawyer or title company to set up a closing date. I told Wally all that, and I told him how cramped I was beginning to feel in Connie’s little vacation cabin.
“Not to worry.” he said, with that knowing smile of his. “You just might be surprised how fast a good ole boy with the right connections can get things done. I’ll make some calls and get back to you by supper time.”
“But today’s a Saturday.”
For a short moment he just stood there looking at me, shaking his head as if I were a hopeless case. Then he widened his smile a bit more and said, “Like I said, Chris, not to worry. I’ll call you later today.”
At four-thirty that afternoon, my cell rang. It was Wally. He told me everything was set and that we’d be closing in Conway that Friday. That was only six days away. I couldn’t believe it.
But it did happen. And when the papers were signed and it was all over, something else unbelievable happened. As we stepped out of Chance McClure’s law office and headed toward our vehicles in the
To hell with her! Where does she get off . . . stringing me along then suddenly acting as if I’d fallen off the edge of the earth? No, it’s more like she pushed me off. She can go straight to hell. I don’t give a damn how beautiful she is. I don’t think she’s all that bright anyway. What the hell could I have ever learned from her? Small town woman, probably never lived anywhere else, probably never read a worthwhile book in her life. No . . . I don’t need her. She can run off to Afghanistan with that bonehead for all I care. As a matter of fact, I hope she does. I didn’t come up here looking to meet anybody anyway. If I had been looking, this is the last place I would have come to. I came here to get away and be left alone. Freak this! That’s it! I’m going to sleep .
It was getting cold in the cabin so I sprung up out of bed, snatched an extra blanket from the closet then got back in bed. I gave the pillow two hard slaps and lay down on my side. I drew a long breath, slowly let it out, and as I always did. I whispered, “Good night, Elyse. I love you honey.” Not long after that, I drifted off to sleep.
Squaring Things Away
I made up my mind the incident with Gina wasn’t going to drag down my spirits. Sure, I had thought that she just might be what the doctor ordered—a powerful prescription to help me heal. But now things were different. She’d taken that hope away. And when I awoke the morning after the party to bright sunshine and a fresh, eyes-ahead attitude, I chalked her off as a loss. I no longer had any desire to see her again. At least that’s what I told myself.
When I met Wally at the cabin, I liked it even more than I had the first time. I didn’t try to put on any disinterested fronts. I wasn’t about to start dickering. He’d already told me how much he wanted for the place, and I knew he was too much of a straight shooter to play the bargaining game. I was honest with him. I told him I absolutely loved the place and wanted to buy it. Then what does he do? He actually sweetens the deal. I couldn’t believe my ears when he told me he was including all the furniture in his price. The country-style furnishings were perfect. They looked like they were made for the cabin. Other than my bed, my desktop computer, my books, some pictures, and a few other things, I wouldn’t need the modern furniture from my New York apartment. I wasn’t sure what I’d to do with it yet, but that certainly wouldn’t be a big problem. For now, I was in my glory. I told Wally I’d like to close on the deal and move in as soon as possible.
But things don’t usually move all that quickly in small, rural towns. I had no idea how long it might take to complete a title search and set up a property survey. Nor did I know how much time it would take a local lawyer or title company to set up a closing date. I told Wally all that, and I told him how cramped I was beginning to feel in Connie’s little vacation cabin.
“Not to worry.” he said, with that knowing smile of his. “You just might be surprised how fast a good ole boy with the right connections can get things done. I’ll make some calls and get back to you by supper time.”
“But today’s a Saturday.”
For a short moment he just stood there looking at me, shaking his head as if I were a hopeless case. Then he widened his smile a bit more and said, “Like I said, Chris, not to worry. I’ll call you later today.”
At four-thirty that afternoon, my cell rang. It was Wally. He told me everything was set and that we’d be closing in Conway that Friday. That was only six days away. I couldn’t believe it.
But it did happen. And when the papers were signed and it was all over, something else unbelievable happened. As we stepped out of Chance McClure’s law office and headed toward our vehicles in the
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