8-Track Read Online Free PDF Page B

turned up the volume and started singing.
    Moving his head to the continuous bass and piano of Ace’s “How Long”,  Bill made his way back through the house and out the slider. He stopped in the center of the porch, brought the beer bottle to his lips like a mic and sang into it loudly.
    “Hey!” A loud voice behind him yelled. Bill dropped the bottle, nearly missing his foot, and spun around like a top.
    “You got one of those for me?” Sam asked gleefully smiling ear to ear.
    “Sam? Are you alone?” Bill asked over the music.
    “Yeah, I was in the area, thought I’d say hi.”
    “How’d you find me?” Bill asked before disappearing into the kitchen.     
    “I have my ways.” The music faded and so did Sam’s smile.
    Bill returned holding a roll of Bounty. “Do you want me to leave?” Sam asked. Bill shook his head.
    “No. Stay awhile,” he replied tearing off a sheet and kneeling down to wipe up the beer.
    “For sure. I’m sorry if I scared you.”
    “It’s all right.”
    Sam went around the porch, up the stairs and hugged him. Bill got up and stood motionless. Her skin was smooth, her body warm, smelling her he felt an uneasiness in his throat. It was her perfume . I bought it once for Laurie at Filene ’ s Basement in Boston. Citrus, hyacinth, jasmine and sandalwood. Ralph Lauren ’ s Charlie.         
    “Here, where’s the trash at?” she asked taking the wad of wet towels from Bill’s hand.
    “Follow me.” Bill shook off the long ago memory of his wife and headed inside to the kitchen.
    ***
 
    “Wow, this place is groovy.” Sam was admiring the house when Bill handed her a beer.
    “So this is the kitchen, it’s more of what you call an open floor plan. Over there is the living and dining room.”
    “The ceilings are so cool.”
    “Yeah, the style is called Cathedral.” 
    “It’s rad.”
    “Let me show you the rest.”
    Sam sipped her beer and followed Bill downstairs.
    “This is the garage, but I gotta show you this.” Bill pressed the button to open the garage door. Sam laughed as the garage door noisily rose up overhead.
    “I wanna try,” she blurted like a little kid, pressing the button and watching the garage door go down.
    “So friggin cool.”
    Bill ran his hand over his neatly trimmed beard and smiled at her excitement. “You wanna see something really cool?”
    Sam nodded and took Bill’s hand. Bill found it difficult to ignore the electricity he felt holding her hand. They walked out to the barn, went inside and upstairs to the loft. It was hard not to miss the view once you were up there. The wide picture window faced north towards the Cranmore Mountains.
    “It’s so beautiful,” Sam said.
    “Yeah, it is. You wanna get out of here, maybe take a ride?”
    “Right on,” Sam replied before downing her beer.
    Bill was just about to lock the front door when he heard his phone ringing. He ran back up the stairs to answer it.
    “Hello?”
    “Bill, hey man it’s Eli. Can you do me a favor?”
    “Sure, what’s up?”
    “Can you go by the lake house and bring in the drywall and crap we left on the front porch. It’s gonna rain the next couple a days and I’d rather not have to buy new shit. I’d go but I got some stuff I gotta take care of. ”
    “Sure.”
    “Thanks, much appreciated brother. Let’s plan on working next Thursday. If you got no plans for the fourth, swing by.”
    “OK, thanks.”
    Sam was singing in the passenger seat of Bill’s Jeep when he came out of the house. The sight of her stopped him dead in his tracks on the front door step. Her bare feet were up on the dashboard, blue toe nail polish gave way to cocoa-colored legs, shapely and toned like a runners. Her long curly dark hair was swept back, putting even more emphasis on her big hazel eyes. Red lipstick covered her full lips, which coincidentally happened to match the Kiss logo on her t-shirt. She looked so dynamite Bill nearly forgot to lock the front