Advice of Counsel (The Samuel Collins Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

them.  They were loud and
obnoxious, and more often than not, they were dirty.  Dirty hands, dirty face,
dirty clothes.  But Oliver was different.  Not that he wasn’t dirty.  I think
he’d been digging for worms in the Johns’ flower bed while I was running, and
he had dirt under his nails and all over his shirt where he had wiped his
hands.   But for some reason, I couldn’t help but like the kid, and I found
myself telling him we’d play catch after I showered.
    He waited on my steps until I came back out, then we threw the
football back and forth for the next 30 minutes.  We were sitting on my lawn
taking a break, when Mrs. Howard’s front door opened and out she came with
Landra Krally.   My heart rate picked up a couple of notches.  They looked over
and it was obvious that Mrs. Howard was talking about me, then they crossed the
street and headed in our direction.  Yes !
    I stood up and walked across the yard and met them halfway.  I
greeted Mrs. Howard then held out my hand and introduced myself to Landra.
    “Hi.  I’m Samuel Collins.”
    She smiled and looked me in the eye when she shook my hand.
“It’s nice to meet you, Samuel.  I’m Landra Krally.”
    Her hand was soft and warm, and I held it longer than necessary
before releasing it.
    “Sara told me she had a new neighbor.  You moved in last
Thursday?”
    She had the most beautiful white teeth and big brown eyes. 
“Yeah.  Do you live around here?” I asked.  My eyes kept traveling to that bare
stretch of stomach, and I was trying, unsuccessfully, not to openly stare at
her.
    “I live a couple of streets over.  She smiled down at Oliver,
then looked back at me.  “Ollie told me you taught him how to throw a
football.”
    I looked at Oliver. “Did you tell her that?” I asked him,
nudging his shoulder.
    “Yes,” he laughed.  He shoved me back with both hands, putting
all his weight into it, but he couldn’t budge me.
    “Well, don’t just talk about it,” I told him.  “Show her how
good you are.  Go out for a pass.”
    He backed up about 10 feet and I threw him the ball.  It hit
him in the chest and fell right through his hands.  “Watch, Landra!” Oliver
called out, picking up the ball.  He threw a pass that came right to me.
    “Ollie, that’s great!” Landra said, clapping her hands, and I
could tell she was genuinely excited for him.  She looked at me and gave me
that incredible smile again.  “You’re really awesome, you know that?”
    The comment was so off the wall it left me speechless.  But it
was the way she said it that really got me.  Like the matter wasn’t up
for discussion.  You’re awesome, and that’s the end of it.    And as much
as I liked the idea of being awesome in Landra Krally’s eyes, I had to set the
record straight.  All I had done was show the kid how to hold the ball right
and swing his arm.  Oliver had done all the work.
    “Oliver’s got a great arm.  He just needed a couple of pointers
to get him on track,” I explained.
    She smiled again and kind of cocked her head, like she was
checking me out.  I realized that if Maddie had done that, it would have
totally irked me. Landra Krally pulled it off with no problem.
    “Do you have dinner plans?” she asked.
    She was just like Oliver – you had no idea what was going to
come out of her mouth next.
    “Tonight?” I asked, trying not to sound too eager.
    “Yeah.  Why don’t you come eat with us?  We’re just going down
the street to get a burger at Chester’s.”
    I pretended to think about it for a couple of seconds before
agreeing to dinner with Landra and Mrs. Howard, then I looked down at Oliver. 
“You want to come?” I asked him.
    “Yeah!” he said happily, jumping up and down.  “And can I get
some of those chips that give you bad breath?”
    Chips that give you bad breath ?   I was stumped. 
“What do they look like?”
    “They’re orange and they’re triangles.”
    “Nacho Cheese