A Message for Julia Read Online Free

shattered and lost.
    A sob broke loose from her throat, and Julia let it settle in the night air. Where was she going? What was she supposed to do now? There wasn’t a single person in this godforsaken town she could turn to.
    She drove to the edge of town, out near the interstate where a few hotels sat scattered along the worn highway. The Holiday Inn was the first one she reached, and she checked in.
    Nothing was ever going to be the same again.
    Sunday Afternoon, 5:30 p.m.
    L INC DOUBTED THERE had ever been a game of chess played anywhere near the Chess Club. But the picture of a Black Queen chess piece looked cool on the old tavernsign. He stepped inside, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness.
    Miners came here after every shift. Since moving here, he’d gotten into the habit of stopping in once or twice a week to meet up with some of the guys. He’d started doing it to try to build relationships. Now, he just needed company.
    Art and Luther, old men who’d put in their time at the mines and now enjoyed retirement, sat in their usual seats at the end of the bar. Grant, the owner, stood behind the bar, perpetually polishing glasses. It all felt so normal.
    Linc was the one out of kilter. He claimed a barstool and ordered a beer. He’d downed half of it before a hand clapped him on the shoulder.
    â€œHey, buddy. Where the hell you been?” Mark Thompson, a miner he’d become friends with since he’d started coming here, smiled at him. He and Mark had developed a friendship of sorts, based mainly on their love of football and failure at darts. Mark climbed up on the barstool beside him and ordered a repeat of Linc’s drink.
    â€œBeen busy.” Linc had thought he wanted someone to talk to, anything but the silence of the house without Julia, but now he realized that talking was one thing he didn’t want to do.
    â€œYeah, I heard about what happened at the meeting. Bet your wife is ticked.”
    That was putting it mildly. “Yeah.” He took another deep swallow of his beer.
    â€œShe’ll get over it. You up for a game?” Mark tilted his head toward the dartboard. Linc just shook his head.
    â€œToo bad. I was in the mood to kick your butt.” Mark drank his own beer with a smile.
    They sat in silence for a long while. Linc had just finished his beer when the door opened. His gaze met Mark’s in the mirror. Darlene sauntered in. Mark’s eyes lit up while Linc groaned. He wasn’t up for her and her shenanigans. She knew Mark had a thing for her, and every time Linc came in she played this stupid game of coming on to him. All to make Mark jealous.
    â€œHey, guys.” She took the stool on the opposite side of Linc. He didn’t even look at her, but watched Mark eyeballing her in the mirror. He should just get up and leave, but going back to the empty house didn’t appeal to him at all.
    â€œHey, Grant, give me another one.”
    â€œI heard some news.” Darlene leaned over to Linc, staring straight into his eyes. “I hear your wife tore out of your driveway the other night and hasn’t been back since.” She gently rested her hand on his forearm as though to comfort him, but Linc felt she wanted more.
    He swallowed hard, but didn’t look at her. He did not need this. Grant set the beer in front of him and he resisted the urge to drain the glass. “Who’ve you been talking to?”
    â€œOh, people around.” She grinned, as if she knew she held a morsel of truth.
    â€œThat true?” Mark sounded upset by the news. Linc didn’t know if it was because he hadn’t told him, or because now he saw Linc as a real threat to his chances with Darlene.
    â€œWe just had a fight,” Linc said through clenchedteeth. “We’ll be fine.” He wondered if they knew he was lying.
    â€œThat’s not what people are saying.” Darlene smiled too brightly. She leaned against