Cowboy Ending - Overdrive: Book One (54 page)

Warm Coke
sputtered out my bruised lips.

“Next
time?”

“Seems only
fair.”

“Next
time?!?!”

Tamara laughed
then. A quiet laugh.

I shook my head
tiredly.

Next time.

Not fucking
likely.

“Did you call
your mom?”

“Yeah. She’s
good. Worried, but good.”

“Good.”

“How’s
Mark?”

She grimaced.
“Asleep when I left him. Doctors figure he’ll need two months to
recover for sure.”

“Hard to find
work in that condition.”

Tamara
shrugged. “He says he’s got it covered. But I figure if he needs
help I can always … Joe, what the hell?”

“Sorry. Cup
must’ve been broken. I’ll clean it up.”

I grabbed a
dishtowel and creaked my sore ass down to my knees, wiping up the
spilled soda and hoping the flush on my face would be mistaken for
fire burns. My back creaked with the effort, a far cry from the
athletic displays I’d put myself through earlier in the
evening.

I stood up with
another groan, dropping the filthy towel into the sink and resting
both hands wearily on her countertop.

Tamara came
over on silent feet and stood next to me.

“You
stink.”

“I know.”

“Go take a
shower.”

Too tired to
fight. “Okay.”

Silence for a
few moments.

“What are you
going to do?”

“Huh?”

“Next,” Tamara
clarified an odd look in her eyes. She made a funny motion with her
tiny hand. “What are you going to do next?”

I took a deep
breath, holding it in my lungs as I pondered the question. Too many
thoughts. Too many questions. Too much responsibility.

The air escaped
my lungs in a heavy sigh. My ribs ached from the effort.

Tamara’s hand
reached out and touched my back, rubbing it softly.

“Joe?”

I grunted.

“What are you
going to do?”

I turned my
head slightly and looked her in the eye.

“Well for
starters, I’m gonna have to find a new job.”

Author’s Note
and Legal Disclaimer

The preceding
work of fiction is intended for entertainment purposes only. Any
reference to actual places is only to provide a sense of space and
relevance for the reader, and is in no way meant to take advantage
of or exploit other people’s properties or brands. In addition, any
similarities between characters mentioned in this book and actual
people is purely coincidental.

As a proud,
full time resident of the City of Winnipeg it seemed only
appropriate to begin my literary journey in my hometown and display
pieces of it prominently as set pieces in this novel. The axiom
“write what you know” has been essential for me in this process and
I am hopeful that this tale becomes a fun read for other citizens
of Winnipeg, whether current, former or future.

If you
have enjoyed this book I invite you to join the OVERDRIVE Official
Facebook Page HERE (
https://www.facebook.com/OverdriveSeries
) and
start a conversation. I will be visiting it as often as I can to
provide insights and updates for future stories and answer any
questions you might have about this or anything else I might have
written or done.

You can also
follow me on Twitter ( @OutlawAK) . Though I warn you in advance I
also use this forum to talk about my upcoming Pro Wrestling dates,
my workout routines and various other entertainments that make me
laugh.

Thank you very
much for taking a chance on my work. Writing has been a passion of
mine for as long as I can remember.

Hopefully I
don’t suck at it.

Regards,

Adam Knight –
July 1, 2013