Jack Beale 00 - Dangerous Shoals Read Online Free PDF Page A

came, they vaporized, replaced in his mind by a pair of eyes staring at him, all else hidden by darkness. They were the eyes from his dream, the eyes he had seen earlier in the day in the park, eyes that he knew but couldn’t place. When he tried to consciously bring them into focus they faded, but he knew they were still there, one layer down waiting to surface when least expected. “Whose were they?” He shook his head, forcing them further back. The spell was finally broken when a large truck roared past spewing diesel fumes and kicking up stones from the road, forcing him to close his eyes and hold his breath for a moment. He ran on and eventually the road turned back toward the boulevard. Those troubling thoughts were now replaced by the more immediate dangers of the endless stream of evacuating cars filled with happily sunburned people.
    * * *
    Max was busy behind the bar when Jack walked in. He took one of the two remaining seats at the bar and then nodded a hello to the guy on his left and the couple to his right.
    “Hi Jack,” said Max as she placed a draft ESB in front of him. “How was your run?”
    “Nice, really nice. It felt good to be able to finally run in just shorts and a singlet. How’re things here?”
    “Busy.”
    Before she could say anything else the printer at the bar began its chikka-chikka-chunk as another order from the dining room came in. Max began to make a Cosmo and a Tanqueray and tonic while Jack watched. Patti came in to pick up those drinks, and when she saw Jack she walked around the bar and gave him a friendly hug and kiss. “Hi Jack. I heard you had a nice picnic earlier.”
    “Yeah. It was nice.”
    “Sometime the four of us will have to get together and go on one.”
    “Sure,” Jack agreed lightly. He knew that Dave would probably be off fishing whenever the weather was good enough to picnic, so it seemed unlikely that this would happen anytime soon.
    “C’mon Patti. Leave Jack alone and pick up your drinks; they’re getting warm,” Max teased.
    Patti gave Jack a final kiss on the cheek and said, “Gotta go. Wouldn’t want those drinks to warm up.”
    Jack watched her put the drinks onto a tray and leave the bar. Max came back over to face him. “Today was really nice. We’ll have to do that sometime with Dave and Patti.”
    “Yeah right, when pigs fly,” thought Jack. What he said was, “Dave’s pretty busy. I think it’ll be hard to get him away.”
    “Oh, I don’t think so. Patti can be pretty persuasive.”
    His silent reply was a sip of beer.
    Jack stayed until Ben’s closed and then he helped Max lock up. The moon was out and it was still warm as they walked back to his place.

CHAPTER 7
    >SEVERAL WEEKS HAD passed since the picnic in the park. The weather had continued to be perfect, with warm sunny days and cool calm nights. Every day Ben’s was a little bit busier and Jack was dividing his time between helping Courtney ready the restaurant for the summer and working on his boat. Plastic still covered Irrepressible , and the temperature under the cover in the middle of the day became too hot for working, so he reserved the two ends of the day for boat work and spent the middle of the day at Ben’s.
    Max bartended five days each week, mostly nights, so she was able to help Jack work on the boat now and then. As much as he appreciated her help, and she was getting better and better at sanding bright work, she could be a distraction. Jack loved to watch her work. Beads of sweat would form on her forehead and her face would begin to shimmer. She would tie her hair up so it stayed out of the way, but inevitably a few strands would come loose and stick to the side of her face. She’d try to brush them back with the back of her hand without success. Then, when she’d use her fingers to remove them, a smear of sanding dust would be left on her cheek.
    Her standard uniform for boat work was one of Jack’s old running t-shirts from some long forgotten