Today, I really wanted to get back to my wonderful works I love so very much. This one, Just Shut Up and Drive, is one of my favorites and I really hope you all have a bit of time to check it out.
I have a book blog tour in the making for this book and will keep you all posted on that.
For now, here is a sample from the second chapter. This snippet gives a hint not only about the journey to come, but also gives a glimpse into Wil's past. It also offers plenty of that banter between Gramps and Wil that I've heard many readers love.
Please enjoy and let me know your thoughts. I love reading constructive feedback from readers.
Happy Hump Day!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wil had the
worst sleep. So he wasn’t impressed with being shaken awake just as daylight
blared through his window.
“Great balls of fire, boy! Get up!”
“Gramps, for the love of all that’s good in the world.
It’s Saturday. I don’t have to work and I just want to sleep in. With all due
respect, and there isn’t much at the moment, get out!”
“You pick your lazy butt up off that bed and downstairs in
the next five minutes, or I’ll pour all the coffee down the sink.”
Wil opened his eyes as wide as he could. He made out the
fuzzy image of his grandfather perched on the edge of his bed, the man’s hand
still on Wil’s forearm. “What is your problem? What can’t wait for another
couple of hours?”
Gramps didn’t answer. He just stood up, gave Wil one last
shake, then walked out.
Wil rolled over on his back, and put his pillow over his
face.
I wonder how much time I’d have to serve offing a guy his
age. Really. The courts would be empathetic if they knew
what it was really like to deal with him.
He groaned, threw his pillow across the room then lugged himself
up to a sitting position. He reached down and pulled on the same clothes that
he’d worn the day before. If Gramps made him get up that early, Wil wasn’t
going to make an effort to look and smell all pretty.
As he walked down the stairs, the sweet aroma of coffee
flooded his nostrils. Gramps was nowhere to be found, so he took the time to
pour himself a cup of coffee then yelled, “Gramps!”
No answer.
“Gramps? Where are you? You wake me up before the sun has
made a full appearance, and you are nowhere? Gramps!”
Still no answer.
Wil stirred cream and sugar into his coffee, turning the
caffeine-packed liquid from black to a caramel color. He side-glanced to the
back hall and noticed the inside back door was wide open. He tapped the spoon
on the rim of his cup, tossed the spoon into the sink, then sucked a big slurp
of coffee.
Ahh! A few more gulps and I’ll feel half-human.
He walked over to the back hall, cup in hand, and stuffed
his feet into his runners. He figured Gramps must have been out in the backyard
watering the garden or in the garage. Since he had no explanation of what he
was supposed to check out, he figured he was expected to search it out.
Not uncommon.
“Gramps? C’mon, ya old goat. This Hide-and-Seek thing is
getting lame!” Wil raised his cup to take another sip when Gramps’ voice
startled him, causing him to drool hot coffee down his front.
“What are you doing out here? I told you to meet me in the
garage.”
Wil cursed under his breath, then rubbed the coffee drips
on his t-shirt. “Um, actually you didn’t. You just ordered me downstairs.”
“Hmph. Guess I hoped you’d be smart enough to come out
here since I left the door open.”
“I think you just had your hearing aid turned off.”
“What are you rambling about?”
Wil took a deep breath in through his nose, then released
it slowly before replying. “Nothing. My mistake, as always. I’m coming. Just
excuse me while I nurse the third-degree burns on my chest.”
“Not my fault you have a problem with drinking.”
“I don’t have a drinking problem.”
“You’re right. The problem is getting it anywhere near
your mouth in the first place, obviously.”
“Alright! That’s enough, already!” Wil raised his free
hand. “It’s too early for this and I don’t have enough coffee in me to deal
with you. Just tell me what the hell we’re doing out here and what specifically
I’m supposed to be doing.”
Gramps walked up in Wil’s face, gripping his wrist. “Let’s
get something straight, son. You don’t talk to me that way. That sort of
disrespect is exactly why we’re going on our trip. You got things to
learn…things to know…before you can be a real man in the world. Just like your
dad did. He learned. You’re gonna. Now get your sorry butt in that garage
before I kick it across the street.”
Wil yanked his arm from Gramps’ deceivingly strong hand,
and walked into the garage. Hot tears stung his eyes, which he hated. He wasn’t
a crier and he certainly was never sensitive to his grandfather’s spout-offs.
Must have been the mention of his dad.
The garage was smaller than most of the other garages in
their neighborhood. But it was big enough to fit Wil’s rundown hatchback and
some other vehicle that had been covered up by a blue tarp since Wil had moved
in. He was never allowed to touch it or even know what was under it. The one
time he tried peeking Gramps went off on him so badly, he was afraid to ever go
near it again. It just became some sort of mysterious relic like all of the
other things in the garage.
And the basement.
And the attic.
Beside the vehicles were three wooden shelves packed with
mason jars filled with different kinds of screws, nails, bolts and other things
Wil neither recognized nor cared about. Under that was a small, double-door
tool bench. A car-jack, a crowbar, a few dirty rags, and a few other tools were
scattered across the top of the bench.
Wil frowned, then put his coffee down. “What’s going on,
Gramps? What is all of this stuff?”
When he turned around, his grandfather was standing in
front of the tarp. “When your daddy found out he was having a boy, he went out
and found a special gift for ya. Guess he figured it could be something the two
of you could work on together. Here. Gimme a hand with this thing, will ya?”
Gramps bent down, grabbed the bottom of the tarp with both
hands, then pulled. Wil rushed over to help. His heart pounded. He wasn’t sure
whether it was from excitement, curiosity, or the joy of being given a part of
his father.
The two men slowly pulled the tarp back, gently tugging
back around each crevice and part. When the vehicle was finally revealed, Wil
stared at it with his mouth hanging open, the tarp still clutched in his fists.
It was a classic pick up truck, with the most beautiful
fire engine red paint job he’d ever seen. “Gramps. Is that a 1955 F-100?”
“Yep. Your dad got it for a steal from one of his buddies’
fathers. He was just gonna send it to the dump to get crushed. Your dad took it
off his hands, then he and a few friends worked on it the whole time your mom
was pregnant.”
Wil walked around the truck, running his hands over the
body. “It has a school bus chassis body and grille. The tires are more modern,
and I have no idea how they got this back seat here, but it’s…awesome!”
“Yeah, that took the longest. Guess he figured with
another person coming along, he needed another seat.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me about this? Or show it to me?
You know how much I’m into cars.”
“Your dad didn’t want you to see it until you were old
enough to help him work on it. Then, well, he passed on and I just had it moved
it in here. Kept it polished, did things here and there, you know. Until I
thought you were ready.”
Wil’s throat tightened. “You mean…this is mine?”
“It’s your dad’s. But I think his plan was for you to have
it once it was all fixed up. You took those automotive courses in school. I’m
thinking you can help take over the maintenance for me on this thing. Besides,
I ain’t traveling with you in that unreliable crappy thing you drive around
in.”
The young man spun around to face his grandfather. “You
mean, we’re going to drive this on that trip you want to take? For real?”
Gramps nodded. “Here’s the deal, son. You help me get that
old truck up to snuff in the next two weeks, and we’ll drive it. You got time
with exams and classes being over now. Do it around your shifts at the drug
store, now. No ditching anything else for that truck, or I’ll cover it back up.
Deal?”
“Freakin’ deal, old man!”
They both took on the same stance—legs apart, arms crossed
across their chests—and stared at the old truck, sipping their coffee.
For the first time as long as he could remember, Wil
actually felt good about his situation. He was happy living with Gramps, but
never felt like he really…belonged there. They cared about each other, yet had
always kept each other at an arm’s length. Maybe it had been because his dad,
the part that was supposed to connect the two of them, was missing.
That day, they finally had a way to bond. And for
the first time in way too long, he felt his dad with him too.
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