Damaged Souls (Broken Man) Read Free

planning around the limited attention span of four and five year olds. And, thanks for lending me Delaney and Greg. They’ve been a huge help today.”
    “No problem. I just hope they don’t get into the booze,” he second guessed his decision to let them bartend the party.
    “They will be fine, don’t worry. You’re not at work now,” Amanda reminded him as she touched his arm. “Even if they have a drink, they’re not going anywhere. I invited Greg to stay for dinner.”
    “That’s fine, I didn’t know we even invited him anymore. I just thought he showed up every Sunday.”
    “Well, he does seem to be part of the family now,” she responded as Jack could sense her happiness. “And I know Delaney and Logan love having him around.”
    “You know it’s fine with me, especially if he cleans up this mess,” he replied as he surveyed the disaster in the back yard. “We should probably join the parents for a little while and then wrap this party up before these kids get too wired.”
    “Look at you,” Amanda teased him. “Already plotting a way to get me alone.”
    “Well, it wouldn’t be a Sunday without it,” Jack laughed, knowing she had read his mind.
    * * *
    “Here is your martini, sir,” Delaney presented another drink as Greg enjoyed the formality of her bartender routine.
    She is so beautiful, he thought to himself as he looked away, trying not to stare. The most beautiful girl in school, the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. He had formed this crush on her from the day they met in middle school, Delaney already mature and stunning while he was just a short, awkward, braces wearing kid trying to recover from the loss of his father.
    He didn’t know her well at first. They only had one class together as sixth graders, fortunately it was math. It wasn’t her best subject and a couple times he had helped her with her work during quiet study time. Even now, he remembered the way she would twirl her long blonde hair around her fingers as she struggled with concepts that came so easily to him.
    But, math was the only subject where she came up short. A great student and an even nicer person, everyone liked her and every boy in the school had a crush on her. There had simply been no way for Greg to compete, and he had quickly fallen into the dreaded friend zone.
    “What are you doing, Greg,” the sound of her voice snapped him out of his trance. “Am I going to have to serve every drink.”
    “I’m sorry,” he apologized and smiled sheepishly. “Just fell asleep for a second.”
    “Well, wake up now,” Delaney replied as she smiled back at him. “I have to run inside for a minute.”
    “Okay,” Greg managed to mutter as he admired her perfect figure walking away and returned to his thoughts.
    I guess it’s not so bad being friends, he remembered how she always treated him normally when the other kids subconsciously ignored him for the first few months after his father’s death. She would never know how much it meant to him during that difficult time, and he had returned the favor when Delaney finally returned to school after her own mother’s tragic death at the hands of a drunk driver.
    And while they never really talked about their parents’ deaths, it formed a bond between them that would never be broken. They had been best friends for the last five years and did everything together. They studied together, babysat for Logan together, worked at the same job bussing tables at Jack’s hotel, they would even be going to the same university together in the fall. There was nothing they didn’t do together. Well, almost nothing.
    “Everything going okay,” Delaney asked as she returned to behind the bar and poured a bucket of ice into the well.
    “Everything is good,” he replied and tried to show he was paying attention. “Looks like the party is winding down.”
    “It does,” she drove him crazy as she tied her hair up with a rubber band, exposing her neck and well toned