Full Circle Read Online Free PDF Page B

Raintree house long before he wanted to go. An eleven-year-old, claiming he was starving and in need of help with his homework, interrupted them. That was okay, because although Josie had given him a view into her past, he didn't think he was up to revealing his to her.
    He picked up a pizza and six-pack, and headed back to his house. It was not home, not yet, and it might never be, again. What he had was a dilapidated old house and a lot of land currently leased out to other ranchers. He was not a rancher and had never had a desire to be one.
    Josie had returned to what she considered home, and her self-worth was well earned. She was doing something with that old house of her uncle's. She was making it more than it had been when she was a kid. She had made something of herself. He didn't understand why she felt an attachment to the town and an old house where she had experienced nothing but neglect throughout most of her childhood.
    He pulled out a can of beer, set the pizza down on the table and walked through the large rooms of the house where his parents had raised him. Jack realized he hated almost every piece of furniture, every picture on the wall, every rolled up rug and dusty piece of crap. He didn't hate the antiques; he hated what it represented, the arrogance and the facade of normalcy. Nearly everything in the house represented his father and his grandfather. With a sudden burst of disgust, he threw the can of beer across the room. It shattered a gold-gilded mirror and split open spewing beer in every direction. He turned and walked out.
    Jack was nursing a beer at Riley's. He absentmindedly responded when anyone tried to strike up a conversation while pretending to watch the sports channel. Riley Connors was bartending as he did most nights. He let him sit and brood. He had to admit; he had done a lot of brooding over the last several months. It was Riley who alerted him that something was wrong, a certain tilt to his chin, and a squint of his eyes. Jack slowly turned his head and looked directly into the ice-cold eyes of his grandfather, Amos Rawlings.
    "Have a seat," Jack grunted.
    "I'll speak to you outside," Amos Rawlings ordered. "I don't want anyone to see me here."
    "Why? Do you fear for your reputation?" Jack laughed.
    "Show some respect," Amos snapped. "I am a man of God."
    "Don't preach at me, old man. I know you for the devil you are, and I don't have to listen to your crap anymore," Jack said, sliding off the stool and walking to the door. He had seen the look in Riley's eye, and he didn't want to cause his old friend any problems.
    Amos Rawlings walked to his restored 1940 Packard convertible as Jack followed him. As much as he despised the old man, you could not deny the old bastard's taste in vehicles.
    "What do you want, Amos?"
    "You've been in town three days. Don't you think you at least owed me a visit or a phone call?" the old man demanded.
    "No," Jack retorted. "I don't owe you anything."
    "Are you staying out at your parents' place?" Amos demanded.
    "My place, now," Jack snorted. "At least you couldn't screw me out of that."
    "How long will you be in town?" Amos said coldly.
    Jack studied the only man on earth he could honestly say he hated. "Anything longer than a day is long enough to worry you, old man. How long I stay here is no concern to you. Stay out of my way, and stay out of my business. I know your secrets."

    Josie sat on one of her cream-colored, overstuffed sofas confronting Jolene Watson, caseworker in charge of Alex Carter. "Jolene, this isn't a good idea," Josie pleaded. "Alex does not want to see his mother. The last time he did, she was defending her doped up boyfriend who beat the crap out of him."
    Jolene twisted her lips in the same manner that she had done in junior high when someone opposed her opinion. "The point is, Josie, Marcy wants to see him. She is his mother, and she has rights."
    "What about Alex's rights?" Josie demanded. "He doesn't want to see her. Marcy