Polkacide Read Online Free PDF Page B

his head.
"If I go back without you, I'll get my butt chewed."
    Suddenly, some of the things
he'd been saying penetrated my bleary brain. "Wait. Are you working for
her?"
    "I work for Polish Lou
Enterprises," said Eddie. "So technically, I'm now working for
Peg and you. If you
don't bail out and force the attorneys to send the money to the
orphanages, that is."
    I frowned as I tried to wrap
my brain around what he'd said. "Do you mean to tell me you're working for my
dad's company?" I cracked the door a little wider to get a better
look at him. "How did that happen? Your dad is my dad's biggest rival. "
    Eddie shrugged. "I came back
to town, Lot. I needed a job, and Lou offered me one."
    Came back? "You left town?"
I'd assumed he'd been here since I'd been away. Eddie Jr. had
always been kind of a hometown boy.
    "Well, sure, Lot." Eddie's
expression darkened. "But things didn't work out the way I'd
thought they would."
    For the first time in
forever, I actually found myself identifying with Eddie Kubiak, Jr.
I knew exactly how
it was when things didn't work out as expected. "How long have you
been back?"
    "Eight months." Eddie
smiled, but I thought it looked forced. "Your dad really helped me
out. He made it so I didn't have to go crawling back to my old
man."
    I frowned. I'd always thought Eddie
Jr. had gotten along fine with Eddie Sr.
    "But now it's back to square
one, kinda." Eddie scratched the back of his head and looked
sheepish. "I'm not sure if the new bosses will keep me on. Don't
know how it'll work out with you and Peg."
    As irritated as I'd been when he'd
woken me up, I found myself feeling sympathetic. "I don't think you
have anything to worry about." I even managed a reassuring
smile.
    "I, uh..." Eddie scuffed his
feet on the sidewalk. "It's not you I'm most worried about, Lot."
    "Ohhh." I nodded. Things
were starting to come together. "But you've been working with Peg
for eight months now, right? You ought to know her pretty well by
now."
    Eddie cleared his throat.
"Exactly." He pursed his lips and raised his eyebrows in a look
that spoke volumes.
    And made my heart sink like
an anchor. "Not really a ringing endorsement of Polish Peg there,
Eddie."
    "Let's just say I
have...concerns." Eddie sniffed. "Concerns about working for her instead of with her."
    "You're not exactly talking me into
this." I brushed back stray tangles of hair that had fallen into my
eyes. "You know I haven't made up my mind yet, right?"
    "Actually, that's why I'm here," said
Eddie. "To try to talk you into it." He shrugged and came up with a
boyish grin. "I lied about being under orders."
    I planted my fists on my
hips and glared. "So Peg didn't put you up to this? She didn't send
you over here after all?"
    Eddie shook his head. "I
need an ally, Lot." He met my gaze. "I need this job."
    I held his gaze a moment, and memories
of our times together rushed through me. I remembered one day in
particular when we went tubing on the Vista River, and I flipped
over in the strong current, and he pulled me out. I remembered
kissing him gratefully, our lips wet with river water, his brown
eyes sparkling in the sun.
    It seemed like it had
happened only yesterday...and yet, so very long ago. Whatever had
happened since, it had changed him, added layers I couldn't quite
piece together. But he was still the same guy, deep down, I'd once
loved. That counted for something in my book.
    In his book, too. I'd bet on
it. If our positions were reversed, I knew exactly what he'd say
about all this.
    "I'll do it." As the words
left my lips, I knew I was doing the right thing. I had my doubts
about how it would work out, but I owed it to Eddie to give it a
try. Owed it to my family, too, and Luke. I couldn't let Dad's
legacy slip away when it meant so much to so many
people.
    "Really?" Eddie looked at me
expectantly, and I nodded. "So we can get going?"
    I shook my head. "Come back
in an hour. Make it an hour and a half. I need to get
ready."
    Eddie grinned and