Stepping Up To Love (Lakeside Porches 1) Read Online Free PDF

smiling. “Except for studying and working, drinking took over my life.”
    “You flunking out?”
    “No, I’m still getting good grades, and my boss likes my work. Unless Joel decides to fire me.”
    “I think that’s up to you. You hold up your end of the bargain, he’ll hold up his.”
    Manda let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you for saying that.”
    “You are one brave chick, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
    She rolled her eyes at him.
    He insisted, “It took a lot of guts to come clean with the big boss about what’s been happening. And to come back with me to the scene of the crime. What’s so funny?”
    Manda laughed. “The ‘brave chick’ thing. More like ‘desperate.’ I’d skip this mission if I didn’t know my glasses are somewhere in the living room and my laptop is in my bedroom. I can’t believe I drove without my glasses last night. I am seriously near-sighted.”
    “Were you drunk?”
    “No, for a change.”
    “I’m pretty sure I heard you tell Joel you’re planning to stay away from booze.”
    Manda nodded and looked unsure about what to say about that.
    Tony told her, “I’ve been sober six years. Went to AA. Best thing I ever did.”
    Manda swiveled toward him. “No way.”
    Tony grinned. “Way.”
    “What’s it like?” she pumped him. “Do you still go to meetings?”
    “Every day I can.” He told her about his first AA meeting, the sense of belonging he felt right away. “Everybody drank like I did and reached the point where they couldn’t go on drinking and have any kind of a life.”
    Manda was nodding, though she didn’t seem ready to disclose any more details about her drinking.
    He told her people welcomed him and wanted him to stay sober and be happy and useful like they were. “I’ll take you to a meeting this weekend if you want. There’s a hot dog meeting in Canandaigua Saturday night at seven.”
    “Yeah, I’d really like that. What’s a hot dog meeting?”
    “They serve hot dogs at the end of the meeting.”
    Manda laughed. “Some things are what they sound like.”
    “You’re right, we have our own vocabulary. You’ll get used to it. And, listen, no funny stuff out of me. I’m not looking to jump your bones. I’ve got a girlfriend. She might even come with us.”
    Suddenly Manda dissolved in tears. She choked out, “Are there any girls my age at meetings?”
    Tony reached under the seat for a grimy box of tissues. “Yes, guys, too, but you’ll want to keep your focus on recovery for a while. Stick with the women.” He watched her pull tissues out of the box as if she were planning for a flood of tears. “You go right ahead and cry, honey. You don’t ever have to feel this bad again.”
    She let the tears flow while Tony drove seven miles down the lake road and a mile on the gravel access lane to Cady’s Point. He pulled out his cell phone and speed-dialed Joel for a cryptic update.
    Manda was still blowing her nose when Tony stopped the truck, hopped out and opened the garage door without a key. He disappeared into the first of four bays.
    Moments later he gave a shout from the cavernous depth. “Do me a favor, Manda. Open the back of the truck. One bicycle coming up.”
    When he emerged with a shiny yellow Georgina Terry custom hybrid, Manda shook her head. “Tony, that’s not mine. It’s Lorraine’s.”
    “Lorraine ain’t coming back for it. You like it?”
    “It’s great, but—”
    “Joel asked me to get it. Let’s not waste time,” he told her. “Where’s your room and your stuff?”
    “Around the back, but there’s too much snow and crud to cart stuff from the back door. The best way is through the front.”
    “That’s using your head,” he praised, but he was worried. She was trembling all over. He didn’t think it was withdrawal so much as delayed reaction to trauma. He wanted to keep her focused and busy. “Lead the way, Manda,” he said with a comical arm wave toward the front of the house.
    Manda