The Damned Summer (The Ruin Trilogy) Read Online Free Page B

for the bill. Right before he stood up his eyes meet
Steve Hendrix’s as he and his family stepped through the front door of Joe’s
Cup.
    Less than eight feet stood between them. Both
men were full of stress and anxiety over what they considered a passion. Both
were also nauseous with the evil that had suddenly contaminated that love,
making it something putrid, like a beautiful woman who suddenly became a rotting
corpse as you kissed her for the first time.
    They moved towards one another with dark eyes
and scowls. Neither of them condoned violence, but nor did either man shy from
it when it was necessary. A logical man would say this was not one of those moments,
unfortunately, neither one of these wise men were in a logical mood at the
moment.
    “What in the hell…” Steve began.
    “What have you found?” the old Indian
bellowed at the top of his lungs, his finger in Steve’s face. “What have you
unleashed?”
    “History!” Steve yelled back as the diner
suddenly got quiet. “The history of this land and the people who lived here!”
Steve’s finger pointed right back at the old man’s face. “People that you have
no way of proving are your ancestors!”
    “Does that really matter now?” The Indian
whispered as he got in Steve’s face, even though he was a good six inches
shorter than Steve’s six foot two frame. “Are you getting more than just dirt
on your hands now, professor?”
    Steve’s mind stumbled as he tried to think of
what to say. “I’m not a professor,” he replied. “I’m a teacher.” He pushed past
the old Indian.
    “All the more reason that you should know
better,” the old man said, walking out of the diner.
    Linda and Sarah looked at one another,
mortified.
    Steve looked back at them. “Come on, let’s
get a table.”
    Linda was about to tell her husband she
wasn’t going to eat at a place where her husband just embarrassed the hell out
of her when Lenny Marshall started clapping.
    Lenny was a short, stocky middle-aged man
that was known for being a loud mouth, but had enough of a personality to
usually get away with it. He also owned the local construction company that
Steve was using to excavate the dig site.
    “That was a better show than anything that is
going to be on the Saturday Matinee!” Lenny said with a laugh. “Jenny!” he
called out to the waitress. “I’m picking up their bill.” He tipped his coffee
cup at Steve, “It’s the least I can do after such an entertaining show.”
    Steve waived Lenny down. “You just get your
boys to be more careful with the backhoe and we're square.”
    Lenny shrugged. “They’re construction
workers, they ain’t artists.”
    “Fine, then you are paying for my breakfast,”
Steve replied. “You should be able to afford it with those union rates you’re
charging me.”
    “You think my boys are rough with your
ancient pottery pieces, let’s see what happens to that shit when you bring in a
bunch a rats to do the work instead of union men.” Lenny said as he shoveled in
a forkful of pancake.
    Half the restaurant laughed, including Steve,
so the tension in the room seemed to dissipate as Steve took a seat and looked
at his wife and daughter, who still stood in the same place they had been in
during the argument.
    “What?” he asked, looking down at the menu.
    With an angry sigh Linda went to the table
with Sarah following behind.
    “You’re an asshole,” Linda said, looking at
her own menu.
    “Aren’t you an excellent role model for our
teenage daughter,” Steve replied still looking at his own menu.
    “That was so embarrassing, dad,” Sarah said,
looking around the diner to see if anyone from school was here.
    “That was nothing compared to what I’ll do
when you start bringing guys home.”
    Linda grinned slightly and shook her head.
    Steve pointed at her. “Hey, you’re not
allowed to laugh at my jokes, you’re mad at me, remember?”
    Jenny the waitress came over to their table.
“You crazy kids