Walk (Gentry Boys) Read Online Free

white blouse, gray skirt and heels weren’t casual. 
    The girl fidgeted, perhaps sensing my eyes on her.  I looked away before she could notice my stare.  Even after all this time I still had a sense about women and this one was obviously the type who came from clean living.  If she knew she was being checked out by a guy who was sleeping in a prison cell last night she probably wouldn’t be too excited. 
    Then the waitress brought our food so I had something else to do besides stare hungrily at strange women. Prison food wasn’t quite as terrible as the movies made it seem but it was nothing compared to the first bite of a freshly grilled hamburger. 
    “Good?” Chase asked with a grin.  
    I nodded and finished that sucker in three more swallows while Deck talked about practical things like the apartment I’d be staying in, rent prepaid for three months by Deck himself, and the job I’d be reporting to tomorrow. 
    “I would have really preferred if you stayed with us,” he said, looking troubled, “but Jen and I figured you wouldn’t want to be kept up all hours by a crying baby.  Sorry about that, man.” 
    I stared at him with some surprise.  Deck had already done so much for me.  I didn’t know why he would ever think it hadn’t been enough.  When I told him so his dark eyes fastened on me intently and he seemed on the verge of saying something but then changed his mind and started eating his food. 
    “You know,” announced Chase, “our ladies are really keen on throwing you some kind of ‘Get Out of Prison’ party but we asked them to give you a few days to regroup.” 
    “I’d like that,” I said earnestly and I meant it. 
    The girl I’d been staring at left some money on her table and stood up to leave.  I saw her glance casually around the restaurant but her gaze didn’t linger on anyone in particular.  As I watched her walk briskly to the exit, heels clacking the whole way, I felt the stirring of a deep hunger that hadn’t been satisfied in a hell of a long time.  From what I’d heard, most convicts spent their first hours of freedom searching for a soft piece of flesh to exercise with.  It was a tempting idea.  But there were no women eagerly waiting around to hear from me.  Even if I found one willing to lie down for while it wouldn’t mean more than a sweaty workout, ironically something I had no problem with before I was locked up.  Maybe that was why I didn’t seriously consider it. There was something distasteful about the idea of moving backwards. 
    As Deck paid the bill I watched the money change hands and hoped I’d be able to pay him back one day.  Deck and the rest of the Gentry cousins could have easily shrugged over the sad fate of some distant relatives and called it a day.  This family was made of strong stuff though.  I was proud to be a part of them.
    “You ready?” Chase asked me, standing and stretching. 
    “I’m ready,” I answered. 
    And I was.  I was ready to meet life head on.  This time I would do the best I could with it. 
     

CHAPTER THREE
    Evie
     
    When I was a kid I had some pretty spectacular ideas about where I would be by the time my years on earth reached the quarter century mark. 
    I didn’t plan for anything too outrageous like queen of a remote space colony or mother to a half dozen children who looked very similar to their Academy-Award-winning, Super-Bowl-ring-wearing, Adonis-faced father. 
    No, what I had in mind was more reasonable yet still impressive.  I had my eye on a useful kind of destiny such as head of a global cosmetics empire or a Pulitzer Prize winning author. 
    Those dreams happened a long time ago.  Back then I was full of all kinds of bold predictions as I traipsed through an idyllic childhood in the ponderosa pines of northern Arizona. 
    My brother, Macon, the practical half of this twinset, would have none of these fantasies.  He would just look at me with sympathy and say something